Section B Motivation Essay Question

If you're anything like me, you should find this helpful. I really like past papers, especially past essays. They're good practice, the help you see how you should be writing, and are a great revision sheet once you've got it top-notch. So heres one from a recent Psychology and Education paper.

Section B Essay on Motivation
January 2007

(a) Describe what psychologists have learned about motivation and educational performance [10]

This is nice and simple - remember the 3 expansion points you get for motivation? All you have to do is describe a Key Study/Theory for each of them. Simple!
So the first expansion point is:
•definitions, types and theories of motivation
So use either:
•Yerkes-Dodson (preferred),
•Bandura,
•Maslow
And describe the:
•Key Terms,
•Theory
•Results

Second expansion point is:
•improving motivation
So use:
•Rosenthal and Jacobson
And describe the:
•Key Terms,
•Aims,
•Methodlogy,
•Procedure,
•Results

Third expansion point is:
•motivation issues: attribution theory and learned helplessness
So use either:
•Dweck (preferred),
•Seligman
And describe the:
•Key Terms,
•Aims,
•Methodology,
•Procedure,
•Results

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have learned about motivation and educational performance [16]

Not quite as easy as the first, but still reasonable simply. Take 4 evaluation issues - any four - and compare/contrast the studies with each point i.e. each evaluation issue will have 2 studies attached to it.

For example, you could use:

Reliability
•Define
•Link to 2 studies
Rosenthal and Jacobson & Dweck (just examples, you don't have to use them, but you do have to use the 3 studies you picked above.)

Validity
•Define
•Link to 2 studies
Yerkes-Dodson & Dweck

Ethnocentric
•Define
•Link to at least 2 studies
Rosenthal and Jacobson & Dweck

Protection of Participants
•Define
•Link to at least 2 studies
Rosenthal and Jacobson & Dweck

(c) A primary school teacher has noticed that some of the children are showing signs of learned helplessness. Using your psychological knowledge suggest one stratgey to prevent children giving up too easily. Give reasons for you answer [8]

•Accentuate the positive - use student strengths, restore confidence, praise
•Eliminate the negative - don't show off weaknesses, do not push failure onto students, deal tactifully with weaknesses
•Go from familiar to new - use organizers, guided discovery, familiarise students with new concepts/skills/ideas, link lessons to own experiences/student experiences
•Create challenges - students creat problems and solve them