Christine's Final Project Post

General Overview:

                Motivational psychology was one of the more interesting psychology courses that I have ever taken, and at this point in my education career I feel like I have taken a million psychology courses. I enjoyed learning about topics in motivation such as what pushes and pulls us towards something, addictions, personality and how it has an effect on one’s decisions, temperament, how one chooses a mate, and different theories from philosophers such as Freud, Charles Darwin, and Thorndike. I also enjoyed learning the little influence that Positive Psychology is gaining in the education world. I am now interested in learning about that topic as well. Overall, the topics that we covered in this course I found to intrigue me. A lot of it was very relatable to my own personal life, and how I find motivation to play out. It was nice to be able to put an explanation for my procrastination, or loss of motivation.

Favorite Part:

I have always been interested in people’s personality traits, what makes people different/why, and how someone’s personality dictates their actions. I was excited that personalities played a part in motivational psychology as well. It is general knowledge that there are numerous different types of personalities such as Type A, standoffish, avoidant, risk-taker, and so on, what is interesting is that people with personality traits such as those who have type A personalities are more like to be motivated and drive. In this course we discussed traits and temperament. What I learned is that temperament is more imbedded in our genes; it is inherited characteristics that we have that effect our emotions. On the other hand, our personality comes from our interactions between our temperament and social interactions. I was particularly intrigued by the big five model. I recall learning about this previously in a personality psychology course and finding it to be somewhat subjective. I had to do research on the sincerity of it, and it proved to be right on target, and a broad enough scale to cover all personalities. We also talked about sensation seekers, and the four components: 1. Thrill and adventure, 2. Experience, 3. Disinhibiting, 4. Boredom and susceptibility. I enjoyed this example of sensation seeker, or people who have sensation seeking personalities, because I am not one to seek out insane sensations such as cliff diving, bunji jumping, or sky-diving. I like to keep my feet planted on the ground, and so I liked to know what would motivate someone to seek out such risky sensations.

Creative:

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This video is based on four personality types, and ways motivate each personality type differently. I thought it was very relevant to what we learned in the course, and would be interesting for others to see as well.

Extension:

I am thinking about motivation all the times. Every time I do anything, eat, sleep, drink, exercise, make a decision, and so on… it can all relate to motivational psychology. I thought it was very fascinating to learn what pulls us towards something, and what pushes us away. I also liked how I could make the relation to procrastination. I could totally relate to the example we went over in class about getting up early to exercise and how important it was to be when the time was farther away. I can’t tell you how many times sleep has outweighed exercise. I thought that was very funny when we discussed that as an example of losing motivation as the time came closer to doing it, but I enjoyed that I was able to make the relationship to real life concepts to concepts learned in this course.

 

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Final Project Post

Motivation was a very interesting course for me. It went in depth about why people do what they do, and it also explained what drives them to do it. We also talked about the emotions and arousal involved in behaviors from motivation. Emotion motivates behavior. For example, if you're scared of bears and just so happen to see one in your backyard, your emotion is fear. You automatically run in the opposite direction. There are several different types of motives, incentives, need, etc. that motivate us. Push and pull motivation is one that can explain many of them. It explains how people reach an end state and whether they are attracted or repelled to it or if it's internally disposed. Mate selection and what drives us to a person is also something important. We like people who match our "number", as seen in the video in class. Aother important thing from the class was goal motivation. Goal motivation is something we do everyday. Goals are incentives to be achieved. We are motivated to achieve goals of our own such as eating healthy, winning the championship game of a sport, and even passing classes.

My favorite part of the course were addictions. The most common addiction is cigarette smoking in my opinion. I grew up with parents that both smoke. Between both of them, they smoke about a pack every other day, which is not as bad as some people. They feel the need to have to smoke and it's a difficult thing for them to quit. My dad recently was diagnosed with diabetes at the young age of 41! The doctors believe smoking contributed to it as well; they said it worsens it that he smokes. If this never happened, my dad would be smoking the way he used to. Now, my parents smoke maybe two packs a week or even longer. It's sad to say that even after being diagnosed with diabetes, it's hard to quit even for his health.

The thing with addictions is, yes people get addicted to drugs, but that's not the only thing! People can get addicted to anything (at least, psychologically). The video I posted involves two completely different types of addictions from the show, My Strange Addiction: one is addicted to laxatives and the other is addicted to pottery and cigarette ashes. It's a bit of a long video, but this is just beyond things that can be addictive.

An addiction is something that should be taken seriously. I don't understand how a body can crave pottery or cigarette ashes even. This video shows how drugs are addictive but it also really does show how drugs aren't the only addictive things.

Final Post: Procrastination

In the course Motivation, we learned about what moves people into action or what causes them to decide to act. We are pushed by internal motives, internal dispositions, and pulled by incentives, anticipated rewards or avoidance of an adverse event in the environment. There are personal motives, but there are also universal motives, which have become common among all humans through evolution. Some internal motives we learned about are addictions, temperature regulation, thirst and hunger, physiological and psychological arousal, coping with stress, and psychological needs. Some external incentives are improvement of economic status, educational success, and pride. Finally, we learned about the various neurological and psychological functions acted out in the brain to allow us to feel motivated, for example the role of neurotransmitters.

            My favorite topic was temporal motivation theory because it explained why people procrastinate. Being an avid procrastinator myself, I was intrigued to understand what motivates people to put things off, even if we know that we will be stressed later and our work may suffer. Temporal motivation theory integrates how incentive utility changes temporally (page 248). The utility of an incentive depends on the value of the expected incentive and when it becomes available in the future.

Utility = Expected incentive value

                  (1 + Delay interval)

In the above formula, utility refers to the ability of a positive incentive to motivate approach behavior and a negative incentive to motivate avoidance behavior. When applying this formula to procrastination, the utility of completing the assignment is weighed against other activity-related utilities. The further away the due date, the less incentive to complete the assignment and the higher utilities of the other activities win our attention. However, as the due date approaches, the assignment quickly overtakes other activities in utility and we decide to do the assignment. Another factor that comes into play is incentive value. If completing the task has a low incentive value, we are more likely to procrastinate because other activities have higher incentive values.

The video below describes seven categories of procrastinators and explains how each type can overcome the urge to procrastinate.

Ellen DeGeneres relates:

 

            Through researching procrastination a little bit more as well as watching videos like the first one posted here, I feel that I have learned a lot about my own procrastination habits. I now understand exactly what my struggles are and how to overcome them. Hopefully, this knowledge will allow me to procrastinate less in the future.

Part 5

After over a year at sea, setting foot on land. The obstacles and their motivation still continues, however. They set up camp and finally get sleep and food after many sleepless nights and little, if any food. Although they were able to sleep, eat and hunt, Elephant Island didn't seem fit for the seamen. Shackleton and a few of the men decide to take the best ship to search for South Georgia. For the rest of the men, survival and waiting would drag on for many weeks, even months. This took a lot of motivation to wait for the return if Shackleton. The men on the island don't know when or even if they will return. I'm not sure how I would feel if I had to wait for the return of someone at sea unknowing if they will actually return. The seamen must be strong minded. The only thing about waiting on the island that may be somewhat beneficial is the ability to sleep, hunt, eat, and pay attention to any medical problems the men experienced while at sea like frostbite. The amputation part of the section was sickening. I couldn't fathom to think of that happening to me. I'm very disgusted and grossed by blood and needles, especially with the cleanliness of the items used. These men have nothing like this on the island. It's just amazing the amount of strength they have to deal with on the island, let alone the entire expedition.

post #5

After arriving on lad the men are soon to find out it is not as glorious as they seemed. Although they are not on freezing cold water any more they are still suffering from frostbite and a couple of the men are forced to cut off their toes. When the men had originally made landfull their egos' were boosted and they felt a wave of relief. But unfortunately after a while they begin to loose hope and begin to think no one is coming. A few of the men left to try and find a better area to make camp but unfortunately never came back. Now Shackleton and four other men are looking for them. Just when you thought conditions could not get any worse they begin to plummit even farther. I hope to see the men get saved and live after battling the hardest fight they have ever probably been faced with.

post #4

Section four of the book was very intense for me. The men have been stuck out in the freezing cold water for well over a year now and have finally just made landfall. Shackleton's men have not had much hope left in their heroic journey but now since they have struck land in Elephant Island. I thought it was really awesome they let the guy whose loosing his feet get to walk on dry land first. It really gives him something to look forward to in his terrible condition. I highly admired Worsley in this section in his ability to take charge. Sometimes being the person to take charge and do the right thing can be very difficult but never the less, I was impressed.

part V

Part V of Endurance documents the men's stay on Elephant Island until the time when Shackleton takes a crew of five men with him on the Caird to find help. This part of the story is full of ups and downs, relief and distress. When the men reach Elephant Island, they are so relieved to be on steady ground. This is most evident in the description of their appreciation of the place. Nature began to take new meaning for them. "It was a joy, for example, to watch the birds simply as birds and not for the significance they might have--whether they were a sign of good or evil, an opening of the pack or a gathering storm" (page 181). This statement was very significant to me because it shows just how dire their situation had been. I hadn't realized the constant stress the men must have been under emotionally until I read about the changes they felt when they reached land. However, this was short lived, as their landing point was deemed unlivable. The men for forced to take to the boats again to find a more suitable campsite. Once there, a new wave of relief, followed by another realization of what was to come. Some of the men would have to leave in order to find help. To be in a situation such as this seems to be the most challenging psychologically thus far. To feel extreme relief followed by another disappointment must have been so difficult. It's a wonder to me that some of these men did not lose their heads. I have such great respect for their struggles.

Endurance # 5

At this point in the book, they have finally reached land! The crew is still facing some troubles such as exhaustion and frost bite, but the good news is that the island provides new sources of food for them (ex. penguins) and other foods (seal) in vast amounts. The men enjoy these happy outcomes until bad weather hits land. They lose the tents from the harsh winds (men had to convert to sleeping on the ground) and frost bite continues to be an issue. Shackleton makes the big decision in sending himself and 4 other men to South Georgia. The rest of the men stayed behind and worked together to find shelter and to survive while waiting for Shackleton's return. During his leave, Macklin has to have his toe cut off, and other crew members face physical pains as well. Although Shackleton's absence has taken much time ( 99 days), Macklin continues to believe he will come back. Other men begin to have their doubts. If I had a leader like Shackleton, I would believe and have faith in his return like Macklin does because he has proven to be an great leader and care taker so far in the novel. I am very excited to continue to read on and hope that the crew gets relief soon!

Endurance # 4

In Section 4, the crew takes 3 boats (the Caird, Docker, and Wills) and leave Patience Camp in order to reach Elephant Island. We learn a lot about the boats, the harsh conditions in which the crew has to live with, and the motivation shown. Even though Orde- Lees wasn't a good explorer to begin with, I was still shocked by how cowardly and self centered he was during this section. However, I continue to be very impressed with Shackleton's leadership qualities and his motivation within himself and what he displays for the crew. Worsley also did a great job in this section as navigator and proved to have some leadership qualities. I was very excited for the crew when they first saw land! It was a sign of hope and must have been such a great feeling for the men, who have not seen land in almost a year. At the end of section 4, the men finally reach land! Their hard work and strive for survival has paid off and I'm curious to see where the rest of the journey goes.

Post 4

     I cannot believe how much these men are continuously tested and it is even more amazing to see how strong these men are in being able to endure such harsh conditions. If I had to undergo a journey that consisted of limited food, cold weather, deteriorating health, and not stepping foot on land for over a year, I probably would have died after the first month. It makes you rethink life and your mindset on it. When the men see Elephant island, they are thrilled and just can’t wait to step foot on land. Here I am everyday complaining about such little things and expecting so much. These men are truly inspiring. Also, the fact that they told the man who was losing his feet to gangrene that he could step foot on the island first was very considerate and noble.

Part III

     Part III of Endurance is very up and down. There are times when the morale of the men is pretty high, they have positive feelings towards Shackleton, and the food is just enough. However, there are other instances where it seems the men are at their breaking point. Between the cold weather and snow, the sometimes low rations of food, and the moodiness of the men- times get hard. The men seem to start losing faith in their leader.

     When Shackleton suggests that the men eat the dogs, it causes emotional havoc among the men. Imagine having to kill your dog and then eat it nonetheless. I could never! And if I did, I doubt I would be able to keep it down- if you know what I mean.

      When the wind picks up, the men are ecstatic. They are ready to get moving and continue their journey. Eventually, however, they realize they are being blown in the wrong direction. Again, their emotions feel as if they are on a roller coaster. Morale is low at the end of Part III.

Post #5

In the beginning of Section 5 the men have finally made it to land. There is excitement and relief but not for long. The men realize that the area on which they set up camp is only sufficient in good weather. Once the tide and storms come in their camp would have no chance in surviving. Shackleton sends a team out to find a better spot and after many hours the team returns with good news of another area for landfall. The following morning the men load the boats and are back out on the water. One of the boats is almost lost during the short journey but all three do end up making it to the second spot. Unfortunately for the men, this new spot was probably just as bad as the first. There was no shelter or rocks to block the wind so the men were perpetually in a wind tunnel. Their tents were barely able to stay up and any time someone put something down there was a good chance it would fly away. Despite the high winds and lack of dry clothing the men were pretty content with their situation. The men were finally able to sleep on solid land without the fear of falling into the water.
 Motivation did not cease to exist even though many of the men suffered from frost bite and Blackboro had to have his toes snipped off. Things begin to become a little dreary in chapters 2 and 3. Shackleton and a team of 5 men prepared for a journey to South Georgia for a chance of rescue. The men in the camp worked to have the Caird ready for such an adventure. I think the saddest apart about these chapters are the letters that Shackleton writes about what is to happen if he doesn't return. The men are obviously aware that this may happen but none openly speak about it. I think it is amazing that the men manage to keep their morale and faith in Shackleton high despite everything that has happened to them. From this point on the men are anxiously playing the waiting game. They try to keep themselves occupied while they wait for the rest of their team to return. They build a shelter out of the remaining two boats and swap ideas about the food they would eat if they could have anything that they wanted. Their endurance level is high but their motivation seems to slip. As the time passes without sight of a rescue ship the men begin to think the worst. The last sentence of chapter 6 is an entry from Orde-Lees' diary. It reads "There is no good in deceiving ourselves any longer." (pg. 215) The men are slowly hope so the next section should be interesting. Hopefully the men will be able to keep themselves together and hold on a little longer.

#4

        In Part IV of Endurance, the men finally take to the boats and leave Patience Camp. This is a critical moment in their journey. They are forced to leave countless stores and supplies behind with the hope that safe land will be found soon. The men struggle with frostbite, saltwater boils, and dehydration all while trying to maneuver the pitching Antarctic seas. Some men behave admirably, always willing to do their part for the greater good. However, I was struck by the cowardice and selfishness of Orde-Lees in this part. Throughout the book, Orde-Lees has not been the greatest of explorers. He hasn't been a fair teammate, and the men disliked him for it. However, I was still shocked to see that in the most trying time, he still cared more about himself than the good of the group. For example, on page 162, the author talks about how Orde-Lees found the only oilskins and refused to share. He also made himself comfortable at the expense of the other men, especially Marston. Although the men cursed him continuously, nothing could be said that would move him from his spot. He also refused to row with the other men. Luckily, they were happy to volunteer for his turn in order to keep warm. Later in Part IV, however, Orde-Lees finally showed his compassionate side. When Greenstreet took off his boots to find his feet severely frostbitten, Orde-Lees offered to massage them. Shockingly, he also allowed Greenstreet to put his feet against his bare chest for warmth, allowing the veins in his feet to thaw and the blood to begin circulating. I was happy to see that Orde-Lees wasn't all bad. Perhaps the direness of the situation finally got through to him. I hope that in the rest of the book, he continues to display this compassionate side.

Chapter 7 continued

As I stated in last post that was published, I started thinking of what made Shackleton successful as well as being a motivated force...
His Passion was unstoppable.  He was passionate about the journey, the men, and the adventure.   He was very focused .  He made it his priority to keep up the mental and physical morale.  He inspired loyalty.  His showing the crew that he cared, on all levels, made it reciprocal.
Shackleton was always available to his men.  Being a hands on leader shows striking motivation and kept the crew on board with all decisions.  He kept the environment drama free,  if I can use that term, to keep up the spirits of the crew , and not to add any added stressors.  He was also an effective communicator and could delegate responsibly and effectively .  Above all, he remained optimistic and emails tic the entire journey.

Chapter 7. Post and Thoughts

Journey complete... They did it... Shackleton and his men achieved what no one thought was possible.  When you thought they were going to give up, they kept going.  When food and water were scarce, somehow a creative idea was thought and they ate.
While finishing this chapter I started to think about why Shackleton was a true leader.  Of course

Please see next post.......

Post 4

By section 4 it is an absolute miracle that the men have survived thus far with all the hardships that they have endured.  Their environment is wet and cold, overall miserable conditions.  The construction of the three boats gives the men hope and new motivation to continue.  The most dramatic point in this section is when some one goes missing, which was thankfully quickly resolved.  Aside from this, the men are all suffering from various injuries and ailments that come with such a treacherous voyage.  A subdued sigh of relief is felt by the men when they finally reach land, Elephant Island.  After so many moments of hope that lead to disappointment the delayed feeling of relief.

post 5

Shackleton has finally succeeded and they are all on the land. Even though the physical conditions seemed unbearable they all got to land safe and sound with lots of joy still left inside of them. I know I say this for every chapter, but honestly I don't know how they survived this journey. I try to think about being in their positions and I just can't seem to wrap my mind around it. These men were truly an inspiration; I think anyone who reads this book will agree with me. The fact that  these men have been through rough times and are willing to still continue, show a great deal of strength, not only physically but mentally as well. I would assume that they are drained from this, but from reading this it seems like they are still motivated to continue on. Shackleton has not let these men down yet, and I don't believe he ever will; He is truly an amazing, motivated leader! I am very glad I got a chance to read this story, it was definitely worth it!!!!

Post # 4

At the beginning of this section, it seemed as if the crew was making progress and there was a new sense of hope. However, by chapter 2, they were not making any headway and conditions of the sea began to worsen. The berg the men stuck on was beginning to split and there was the danger of the men being plunged into the icy cold water. The men had to endure a lot throughout this whole section. Thus far, this was the most motivational sections of the book. Despite the horrible conditions and sleepless nights, the men did not give up. There remained a sense of determination even though they were suffering. “But the conviction that they had to land by nightfall gave rise to a strength born of desperation” (p. 166). This struck me as awe-inspiring because the men did everything they possibly could in order to survive. They pushed until they were finally able to reach Elephant Island. In addition, in this section, Worsley’s role was also admirable. Before, he was characterized as being irresponsible. However, in this section, he proved himself to be a phenomenal navigator as well as a skilled leader who was able to handle one of the boats, Docker.  It was a relief that the men were finally on “solid, unsinkable, immovable, blessed land” at the end of this section (p. 175). 

Endurance Post #4

As I read further, the more unbelievable it is that these events actually happened due to the extremeness of it all. I have these beliefs because if I were in their shoes, I would not have the courage or motivation to continue on. Their motivation is almost unquestionable, especially in this section. Furthermore, the men’s survival skills were tested severely in this section. Even with their circumstances, the men were happy. They were starving, sick and tired, but they were happy. That kind of attitude helps motivate me in my own life. Sometime in life an opportunity or task may seem impossible, but if you put your mind to it and have the absolutely high motivation, anything is possible. I am happy to be reading their journey and expedition and I look up to them as examples on how to lead my own life.

Post #6

16 months have passed and Shackleton's self confidence is starting to wither away....16 months and just starting to wither...talk about tunnel vision or having blinders on...This man has brought motivation to a new level.
What struck me throughout this chapter is how not only the crew survived but how this boat , frail in size, compared to enormous ,inmense waves and rolling waters, made in through to South Georgia.  Wind s were upwards to 120 miles per hour and the waves rolled over the vessel more than once.

what i have surmised is that giving up was not an option...there was no where to go....no way to give up....giving up would have been a more tortorous ordeal, i think, then moving ahead. 

even through frostbite , dead white bodies, and matted beards, the most striking feature of the men was there attitude..."relaxed...even faintly jovial"(236).