VE 209 – PSYCHO-SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

UNIT 10. LEARNING MOTIVATIONS

Blessed day to everyone! Welcome to the 10th unit of our subject. Let us begin this learning
material with a prayer.

PRAYER OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS BEFORE STUDY

Creator of all things,

true Source of light and wisdom,
lofty origin of all being, graciously let a ray of Your brilliance
penetrate into the darkness of my understanding and take from me the double darkness
in which I have been born, an obscurity of both sin and ignorance.
Give me a sharp sense of understanding, a retentive memory, and the ability to grasp things
correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations,
and the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning, direct the progress, and help in completion;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Let us now begin the lesson. I suggest that you should read comprehensively all the
lessons. Almost all of the activities and discussions are taken from the book of Cencini A. &
Manenti A. (2000). Psychology and Formation.

Meaning of Learning
- It is a process, which mainly following an experience, produces a relatively
stable change in the various functioning capacities of the subject.

Concept of Motivation
- It covers a series of common expressions: intention, desire, end interest, motive,
choice, preference, etc. these show that the behavior follows a direction that
was impressed on a person before it is manifested.
- It is capable of moving the subject for it means all the motives and expectations
that urge towards the action.
- It has two aspects:
o An activating one (readiness to action)
o A directional one (directs towards a particular end)
- Motivation can be actual or habitual
o The actual motives come from an evaluation made here and now
o The habitual motives come from an evaluation made in the past but
which still remains efficacious and not withdrawn and continues its
influence even if it is forgotten.

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3 Ways of being Motivated (Kelman):

a. Compliance
- Through this process, the person adopts an attitude with the purpose of getting
reward or avoiding a punishment from one’s group or from another person,
without any conviction of the content of the behavior itself.
o It corresponds to the utilitarian function of attitude as rewards and
punishments are in play.
b. Identification
- Through this process, the person adopts a behavior because it serves him to
maintain a gratifying relationship with a person or a group. Such relationship is
gratifying for it helps him to preserve his positive image.
o Three Forms:
 Classic
 Assuming partly or totally the identity of the model
 Reciprocity of role
 One acts according to the expectations of the other and vice
versa
 With a group
 Can either be classic or reciprocal in role
c. Internalization
- Through this process, the person accepts a social influence, making the
suggested values and attitudes his own, because he sees their intrinsic validity
and discovers them to be coherent with his own system of values.
o It means the introduction of something within one’s own being, making it
his own, and discovering his personal identity there.
- 3 components of this process:
o Realistic style
 Requires deep perception of true values which make a person
true, honest and objective in imagining and programming his life
o Ability to tolerate tension
 Requires an endurable sensation of suffering, determined by the
renunciation of the gratification of need
o Efficacious exercise of roles
 Requires an ability to give a harmonious and unifying direction to
the various activities and roles that make up our way of acting

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Activities

Provide a coupon bond and copy the template provided if you are not able to print this paper.

Psycho-spiritual’s Activity # 8
1. Explain the meaning of learning and concept of motivation.

When we say the “meaning of learning” of course the first thing that comes to our mind is
learning through experience wherein any activity can be called learning so far as it develops
the individual and makes him alter behavior and experiences different from what they would
otherwise have been. Thus, I can say that learning is an acquiring competence, exercise and
effort, practice, modification in behavior to meet the environmental changes and relatively
permanent change.

The concept of motivation is the reason for people’s actions, desires and needs. Motivation
is one’s direction to behavior or what causes a person to repeat a behavior. An individual is
not motivated by another individual. Motivation comes from within the individual either
actual (motives comes an evaluation made here and now or habitual (motives come from an
evaluation made in the past but which still remains efficacious and not withdrawn and
continues its influence even if it is forgotten. Through the 3 ways of being motivated which
are the compliance ( it is when people appear to agree with others but actually keeping their
opinions private), identification ( it is when people are influenced by someone who is liked
and respected), and internalization ( it is when people accept suggested values and attitudes
his own . Through the processes the person adopts an attitude, behavior and accepts a social
influence.

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