A Motivated Exploration of Motivation Terminology - Anitacrawley.net

MOTIVATION TERMINOLOGY 37CONCEPTUAL ISSUESWhen the specialized lexicon of the motivation literature is consideredcollectively, as indicative of interrelated programs of research, several perplexingissues or questions surface. Many of these issues, which we havejust foreshadowed, have been addressed by motivation researchers in particular(e.g., Ames, 1992; Bong, 1996) and psychologists in general (e.g., Alexanderet al., 1991; Bruner, 1990). However, it is again important to bringthem to the attention of individuals who seek to incorporate motivation termsin their programs of research. Specifically, from this review of the motivationliterature, we wish to consider three significant issues:• accessibility—the degree to which individuals are presumed to have direct access or deepunderstanding of these central motivation constructs;• separability—how dichotomous, unidimensional, and independent such variables are: and• variability—the degree to which identified constructs represent motivation traits or states.AccessibilityAs far back as James (1890) and Cooley (1983/1902), there have beenphilosophical debates about the accessibility of one’s self-knowledge, whichwould encompass the motivation variables we have chosen to explore in thisreview. James believed that the self was composed of three parts: the materialself (e.g., body, family, or home), the social self (e.g., who we are and howwe interact with others), and the spiritual self (e.g., inner or subjective being).Moreover, James believed that an individual could explore these aspects byintrospection and observation and that one’s personal identity arises fromthe continuity of the stream of consciousness. The difficulty, however, isthat James felt that only some portion of one’s self is knowable at any pointin time and that even knowing a particular portion was difficult becausemuch of human experience and action takes place at an unconscious level.In fact, as is reflected in the following quote, James believed that much ofhuman action and experience took place at a subconscious level. ‘‘Keep youreye on the place aimed at, and your hand will fetch it; think of your hand,and you will likely miss your aim’’ (James, 1890, p. 520). Both James andCooley referred to this portion of the self that could be known as the empiricalself.As we sought to decipher the language of the motivation literature, it wasunclear to us how researchers would judge their success in excavating the‘‘self’’ and its related constructs. How well do they feel that they are tappinginto learners’ goal orientations, their perceived competence, or their individualinterest, for instance. To what degree do the ratings these researchersreceive or the statements they hear accurately reflect the deeply held, pervasivemotives, needs, or drives of their participants.Whether the focal point is self-efficacy, individual interest, or mastery