Motivation and learning: Maslow, rewards and mindset

Two children read the same storybook. One reads because the teacher promised a star for every book finished. The other reads because they want to know what happens next. Stop giving stars, and the first child will probably stop reading. The second will go looking for another book. CTET asks you, again and again, which kind of motivation a teacher should build, and how.

Motivation appears in the CTET syllabus under "cognition and emotions" and "motivation and learning", and it runs through scenario questions on rewards, praise, marks, competition and punishment. The pattern of correct answers is consistent: build interest from within, meet basic needs, praise effort, and avoid fear.

What motivation is

Motivation is what starts, directs and sustains behaviour towards a goal. Psychologists often describe a motivation cycle: a need (such as hunger) creates a drive (restlessness to act), which pushes the person towards an incentive or goal (food); reaching it satisfies the need.

In class, motivation shows as attention, effort, persistence after difficulty and choosing to learn more.

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation is not always bad. A sticker chart can help a young child start a habit, and some tasks are not interesting in themselves. The aim is to use outside rewards as a bridge, not a permanent crutch.

The hidden cost of rewards

In a well-known 1973 study, Mark Lepper, David Greene and Richard Nisbett let preschool children draw with markers, an activity they already liked. Children who had been promised a reward for drawing later spent less free time drawing than children who had not. The reward turned play into work. This is called the overjustification effect.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Abraham Maslow set out his theory in 1943. Needs are arranged in a hierarchy; lower needs must be reasonably met before higher ones drive behaviour.

The first four are deficiency needs; self-actualisation is a growth need. The practical message for a teacher: a hungry, frightened or excluded child cannot concentrate on fractions. Later versions of the model add more levels, but CTET uses the five-level version.

Self-determination theory

Edward Deci and Richard Ryan argued that intrinsic motivation grows when three basic psychological needs are met:

• Autonomy: some choice and control over what and how one learns.
• Competence: feeling able to succeed with effort.
• Relatedness: feeling connected to and cared for by others.

Each translates into classroom practice: give choices, set tasks at the right level of challenge, and build warm relationships.

Why children succeed or fail: attributions and mindset

Weiner's attribution theory

Bernard Weiner showed that what children believe caused their success or failure shapes whether they try again. Causes differ on three dimensions:

A child who blames failure on low ability gives up; a child who blames lack of effort or the wrong strategy tries again. The teacher should help children attribute results to effort and strategy.

Repeated failure that feels uncontrollable can lead to learned helplessness, a term from Martin Seligman: the child stops trying even when success is possible.

Dweck's mindsets

Carol Dweck described a fixed mindset (ability is fixed) and a growth mindset (ability develops with effort, good strategies and help). Praising intelligence ("You're so clever") can push children towards a fixed mindset and make them avoid hard tasks. Praising process ("You tried three methods before this one worked") supports a growth mindset.

Achievement motivation

David McClelland described the need for achievement, the drive to do well against a standard of excellence, alongside the needs for affiliation and power. Children high in it prefer tasks of moderate difficulty, where success is possible but not certain.

How much pressure? The Yerkes–Dodson law

Robert Yerkes and John Dodson (1908) found that performance improves with arousal up to a point, then falls. A little pressure helps; too much, such as fear of punishment or high-stakes tests, harms performance, especially on complex tasks. Read the guide on emotions and learning for more on anxiety.

Building motivation in the classroom

• Connect lessons to children's lives, local examples and questions.
• Arouse curiosity with a puzzle, a surprising fact or a question before the lesson.
• Offer choice: in topics, books, ways to present work.
• Set the right challenge: hard enough to stretch, possible with effort.
• Give specific feedback on effort, strategy and improvement.
• Use cooperation more than competition, so that success does not require someone else's failure.
• Make the classroom safe: no ridicule, no physical punishment, mistakes welcomed.
• Let children see their progress, for example through portfolios.

Worked classroom questions

Scenario 1

A teacher notices that children only complete homework when marks are given for it. To build lasting motivation, the teacher should:

(a) give marks for every task
(b) stop giving homework
(c) punish incomplete homework
(d) design tasks connected to children's interests and lives, and give feedback on them

Best answer: (d). It shifts children towards intrinsic motivation.

Scenario 2

A child who does badly in a test says, "I'm just not a maths person." The teacher's best response is:

(a) "Maybe maths isn't for you."
(b) "You should be like the toppers."
(c) "Let's look at which steps went wrong and try a different method."
(d) "Don't worry, marks don't matter."

Best answer: (c). It moves the attribution from fixed ability to strategy and effort.

Scenario 3

A child comes to school hungry and cannot concentrate. According to Maslow, the teacher should recognise that:

(a) the child lacks self-actualisation
(b) physiological needs must be met before learning can take priority
(c) the child needs more esteem
(d) the child is unmotivated by nature

Best answer: (b).

Practice MCQs

Q1. A child collects leaves because they enjoy identifying trees. This is:

(a) intrinsic motivation (b) extrinsic motivation (c) negative reinforcement (d) punishment

Q2. In Maslow's hierarchy, the need just above safety is:

(a) esteem (b) physiological (c) love and belonging (d) self-actualisation

Q3. Self-determination theory names three basic needs:

(a) food, safety, esteem
(b) readiness, exercise, effect
(c) achievement, affiliation, power
(d) autonomy, competence, relatedness

Q4. According to Weiner, which attribution is most likely to keep a child trying after failure?

(a) low ability (b) bad luck (c) lack of effort (d) a hard test

Q5. Rewarding children for an activity they already enjoy may reduce their interest. This is called the:

(a) halo effect (b) overjustification effect (c) Pygmalion effect (d) law of exercise

Q6. Which praise best supports a growth mindset?

(a) "You are a genius."
(b) "You are the best in the class."
(c) "Good."
(d) "Your practice with the number line really paid off."

Q7. Very high anxiety before an exam lowers performance. This is explained by:

(a) the Yerkes–Dodson law (b) Thorndike's law of readiness (c) Gardner's theory (d) the law of effect

Q8. Which practice best sustains motivation?

(a) ranking children publicly after every test
(b) meaningful tasks, choice and specific feedback
(c) frequent punishment for mistakes
(d) rewards for every correct answer

Answers

1. (a).
2. (c).
3. (d). (c) is McClelland; (b) is Thorndike.
4. (c). Effort is internal and controllable.
5. (b).
6. (d). It praises process.
7. (a).
8. (b).

What to do next

• Draw Maslow's pyramid with a school example at each level.
• Learn Weiner's four causes and which one teachers should encourage.
• Rewrite five "clever" praises as process praise.
• Read factors affecting learning and how children learn to complete this block.