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Asynchronous task 5

1. Briefly describe the role of affect in conation and what makes it close to intrinsic
motivation.

Conation refers to the connection of knowledge and affect to behavior and is

associated with the issue of “why.” It is the personal, intentional, planful, deliberate,
goal-oriented, or striving component of motivation, the proactive (as opposed to
reactive or habitual) aspect of behavior (Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Muraven & Tice,
1998; Emmons, 1986). Atman (1987) defined conation as “vectored energy: i.e.,
personal energy that has both direction and magnitude” (p. 15). It is closely associated
with the concepts of intrinsic motivation, volition, agency, self-direction, and self-
regulation (Kane, 1985; Mischel, 1996). Some of the conative issues one faces daily
are:
 What is my life’s purpose and are my actions congruent with that purpose?
 What are my aspirations, intentions, and goals?
 On what ideas, objects, events, etc. should I focus my attention?
 What am I going to do, what actions am I going to take, what investments am I
going to make?
 How well am I accomplishing what I set out to do?
Conation plays a role in human life. Someone with conation intelligence will strive to
make wise, self-directed, cognitive, and affective choices. They also nurture, support,
and energize their inner will to pursue personal and academic goals (Gholar & Riggs,
2004). Conative intelligence builds resilience. Resilient teachers and students
demonstrate
• flexibility,
• optimism,
• endurance, and
• an openness to learn.
Resiliency is a personal trait of every successful leader and learner. The resilient
individuals consider change more readily and heal quicker from difficult
circumstances, misfortune, and hardships. They live in the moment, but in looking to
the future, they find comfort. Conative intelligence improves our capacity through
belief, energy, courage, conviction, and change.
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The relationship between intrinsic motivation and conation plays an important

role in the educational life of a child. Conation and intrinsic motivation share part of
the same domain of learning - the conative domain. The intrinsic motivation to learn
is one's personal desire to learn without external rewards or undue pressure being
involved. The personal inspiration is intrinsic motivation (Ormrod, 2006). The reward
is conduct itself. Conation is a call for personal action. It's the actual work that moves
inspiration and desire into reality. It is the effort and the relentless will, drive and
determination to sustain goal-oriented action.
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2. What does conation really look like when applied to one's life in the real world?
Read the true stories of Ki and Angie (at the end of the document). Review the
elements in Figure 1.4 in each case.

Both stories convey the power of conation through the success of their lives. Through
Ki's story she shows that she has the belief to get out of her normal life and therefore
she has the courage to take risks. She is brave and always seeks opportunities to
change her life. Although her friends withdrew from continuing their studies, it did
not weaken Ki’s enthusiasm for furthering her studies. Despite the difficulties of
being away from his family no friends and even without the support of his parents she
continued her ambitions and dreams. Ki’s energy so high that she did not give up
easily and finally achieved the dream she had dreamed of. Ki also convict that after
her success she returns to her village to inspire the people. She wants to show that
they can also come out from native and achieve success. The knowledge gained she
applied to her native. She has made a change for herself and also the American’s
native.
In the story of Angie it is also proof of the power of conation. The death of
mother at a young age and have to take over the responsibility of caring for her twin
sister is not an obstacle to her success. Challenges in life where she has to pursue her
goals while managing her twin sister empower her to become a strong and powerful
human being. Her problems did not make her become weak and withdrew from her
studies. She believes education is important in life. So she dared to take on the
challenge of being confident of success in future. Her conviction made her reluctant
to give up despite having to send her twin sister to faraway places that led her come
late to school. Yet she pursued what she had missed from his friends because she was
so committed. Moreover, even without the encouragement of Angie's father, she still
continued her studies. Despite the challenges, Angie did not complain and instead
changed her mind where she knew what she wanted and knew what was happening to
achieve her goal. So she did what she had to do because her belief she can succed if
she want to.
As a conclusion these six attributes define the conation 's fundamental context,
and how the learning act takes place. When we apply these six attributes, the learning
opportunities and the difference is endless.
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