Motivation and Personality Traits
Humans are different from one another in various ways. For instance, some can be motivated to do something or an action like eating whereas some will lack the motivation to eat. Today, people are motivated to study, hence; they have invested so much time, money, as well as effort to go to college and obtain college degrees. The situation is different for some individuals in the US. Principally, the Latinos, African Americans, and Native American male teenagers stop studying, become inactive in class, and end up dropping out of school. In this case, the male teenagers lack motivation hence cannot continue with their studies. Motivation can be described as the psychological and physiological factors that make or cause individuals to act in specific ways at particular moments. Thus, some of the factors that motivate students to sacrifice a lot in order to obtain college degrees are cognitive factors and incentives.
Every individual has emotions, and the role of emotions in humans is to ensure the satisfaction of several social and biological needs. We can be annoyed or angry at times and this can help us ensure that our tasks are completed. Moreover, we can be happy and this can help us attract friends. When studying, students are intrinsically motivated. This means that they embrace or engage in certain activities with the aim of fulfilling their beliefs and expectations. There are expectations that accompany the learning process. People expect to be accepted by the society more when they obtain a college degree. Others believe that obtaining a college degree differentiates them from others in the society. There are those who have goals that can only be achieved through attainment of a college degree. Essentially, these are personality perspectives that must be met and this is the reason why some students are motivated to learn. They invest so much time, money, and effort to go to college and obtain a college degree in order to meet their set goals, as well as satisfy their expectations and beliefs.
In the modern generation, people study for the rewards and money that accompany the study. Students give preference to big professions such as Medicine and other technical courses not because they have the ability but because of the huge salaries that individuals in such professions pocket. With this in mind, the common question of why students sacrifice a lot and invest so much in their studies can be answered. Students are motivated to study because of the incentives that come after the completion of the studies. Incentives can be in form of thoughts. For instance, when a student has the thought of “I want to get a degree,” he will be motivated to work hard towards obtaining the degree, and this will force him or her to invest so much time, money, and effort over several years to go to college and obtain the degree. Moreover, incentives can be in form of recognition by other individuals or media, rewards from sponsors, or huge salaries in the job market. We should not get worried when we see students invest and sacrifice a lot in obtaining a college degree because their motivation can be owed to incentives: money, recognition, huge salaries, and rewards from sponsors.
Apart from the social cognitive theory, other theories that explain the reasons for motivation include the psychodynamic theory, the humanistic theory and the trait theory. Among the theories, the social cognitive theory is the most favored. The reason for this is that the social cognitive theory grew out of a strong research. Besides, in explaining and understanding personality development, the social cognitive theory emphasizes more rigorous experimental approach in the development and test of concepts.
Big Five Personality Test
From the results of the test, it is clear that I typically do not seek new ideas. I am well organized, and reliable. Besides, I am relatively social and as a result, I enjoy the company of other people. I am also good-nurtured, courteous, and supportive to other people. Additionally, I tend to become anxious or nervous at times. Normally, I view myself as a reliable and well-organized person and this was confirmed by the big five personality test. I also view myself as a social person who enjoys being in the company of others and this was confirmed by the test. However, there are a number of traits that surprised me. I have never viewed myself as a good-nurtured person, who is courteous and supportive to other people. I was also surprised by the fact that I tend to become nervous or anxious at times. From the results of the tests, the traits that can be considered as strengths are that I am well organized and reliable, I am relatively social and I enjoy the company of others, and that I am good-nurtured, courteous, and supportive to other people. The fact that I tend to become anxious or nervous is a weakness. If there is a trait I would want to change then it is the tendency to become anxious or nervous. Changing this trait is realistic because other people may take advantage of my anxiety or nervousness and cause complications. In changing this trait, getting used to harsh and friendly conditions will be vital. This will enable me remain the same person in either harsh or friendly conditions. If there is a trait that I like about myself then it is that I am well organized and reliable. My parents like the fact that I am social and that I love the company of other people though I do not consider this trait as important. Apparently, self-exploration in the inventory approach enables an individual; know personal traits and this enhances the understanding of oneself. When one understands the self, then communication with others is also enhanced.