1

Psychology 1010 Signature Assignment

Bonnie C. Castillo

NUAMES North High School

Psychology 1010

Alan Baggaley

November 28, 2022

 2

Massed vs. Distributed Practice

Massed practice is when you cram as much information into one study session, which

usually spans for a short period of time. Distributed practice is when you spread out your study

sessions with short ones over a long period of time, thus calling it the spacing effect

(Baggely et al., 2022). I have learned that in order to be a good student and pass my tests, and

exams, I have to take the time to study the materials a week or more before the test. In an article,

studies have stated that students that excel well in school, are constantly trying to search for the

fundamentals of the material they are learning about, and their connections

(Chi, Bassockm, Lewis, and Glaser et al., 1989). Studies have also shown that it is important for

students to be able to get a deep, detailed clarification of the processes of elite knowledge

composition (Reif et al., 1987 ; Schmeck and Grove et al., 1979). Although distributed practice is

highly superior to massed practice in terms of containing information, studies have shown that

psychomotor skills were learned exceptionally well through both massed and distributed

practice, and the total practice times were around the same (Kleinman et al., 1980).

Researching this information, it really opened my eyes to how much distributed practice

is beneficial when it comes to studying concepts and information. When I was in middle school,

I learned to cram as much information as I could when a test was coming up, and it followed me

into my years of high school. Once it hit the last couple months of my junior year, and now into

my senior year, I started to develop an appreciation for distributed practice because of the fact

that it allows you to understand more of what you are learning, because many of the things we

learn in school aren’t meant to be crammed into the brain all at once, because it is hard for your

brain to develop an understanding for what you are learning, thus making the distributed practice

a much better approach because it allows you to fully understand what you are learning.
 3

Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation is when it is one’s ambition to execute an action for their own benefit, as

opposed to extrinsic motivation, which is one’s devotion to accomplish an action because of the

rewards they earn, and it can also mean to avoid punishment (Baggely et al., 2022). Although

Extrinsic motivation was originally believed to focus only on external wants, like rewards, but

others have stated that there are many ways extrinsic motivation can be used within the duration

of self-determination, some including extrinsic motivation for external regulation, other for

introjection, and it is also used for identification (Deci and Ryan et al., 1985). Many people who

may do extrinsic motivation because of introjection have experienced internal pressure, which

causes them to have self-guilt, which differs their performance and causes them to experience

anxiety. A lot of athletes experience extrinsic motivation through introjection because many of

them feel like they are obligated to succeed, but once they feel that they are not fulfilling those

expectations, they feel ashamed (Pelletier et al., 1995). A study done by Fortier has shown by the

399 Canadian athletes, that many athletes that are men show higher levels of extrinsic

motivation, compared to women, who showed higher levels of intrinsic motivation. In women’s

sports it has been shown that many of the athletes show interests in joy, fun, and fulfillment,

which are all central attributes of intrinsic motivation (Chantal et al., 1996; Fortier et al., 1995;

Pelletier et al., 1995).

Throughout my life, there have been many occasions where I feel the need to do things because

of the fact that it will satisfy my family. An example of this would be when I would work with

my mom, I felt like it made my mom and many other happy, because I was doing something that

could get me far in the future, but I truly didn’t like the job, I only did it to pass time during the

summer, and because it would satisfy everyone else in my family. But as I grew up, I started to
 4

take ownership of the things I would do for my future. I started to spark an interest in physical

therapy and athletic training, even though I know they don’t make as much money as tax

preparers do, it was what I was interested in. Throughout that time I took ownership of my

future, I have heard countless lectures from my family about my dream job, and how it won’t

get me far in the future, but I chose to stay strong with my decision and kept working hard in

school, and even worked hard enough to get an internship at a facility that will give me the

experience I need to be what I want to be in the future.

Authoritative Parenting

Authoritative parenting is when a parent is nurturing to their child, and provides them with care,

while still setting limits for their children. Authoritative parenting is most often seen in many

educated, middle class families,and those that have a better outcome with children

(Dewar et al., 2010-2017). Dewar also stated that those who are raised off of authoritative

parents, are most likely independent, self-sufficient, they flourished academically, and are

usually well-behaved. (Dewar et al., 2010-2017). Many children that are raised by parents that

are constantly using the authoritative parenting style, are often responsible, they maintain their

anger, have high levels of self-esteem, and are vastly confident within themselves. It is also said

that they are very fulfilled in terms of happiness, capability within themselves, and are successful

from the authoritative parenting style. (Traunter et al., 2017).

Coming from a Hispanic household and from a mother who experienced overprotective and

authoritarian parenting, while also having experience from my older siblings, she chose to use

the authoritative parenting style with me because of her past experiences. While she chose this

parenting style, my sister, who is twelve years older than me also chose this parenting style and
 5

applied it each time she took care of me. There were times I wouldn’t take into consideration the

attention my mom gives me, which caused my sister to get angry with me because when she was

my age, my mom was alway busy with work, which meant she never got the amount of attention

that I have with my mom. Although my sister didn’t get the attention from my mom that I got,

she was able to get that from my grandma, which was something I missed out on. But as I got

older, I have developed an appreciation from my mother because she was and is still giving me

attention that many people need, while still setting limits. I also have a deep appreciation for my

mother because although she set limits with me, she didn’t ever say no to things I wanted to do

with my friends, because she has a certain trust with me that not many others have, which allows

me to have much trust in her when I talk to her about important things, and it also makes me

want to be honest with her about everything.

 6

Reference Page

Google. (n.d.). Unit 9 memory.pptx. Google Drive. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16yFPw74axsOiK0UiRtcONInFQu9yQAs3/view

ProQuest | Better Research, Better Learning, better insights. (n.d.). Retrieved December

2, 2022, from https://www.proquest.com/

Google. (n.d.). Unit 11 motivation.pptx. Google Drive. Retrieved December 2, 2022,

from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KdP1glXGhYw5Ihhhjdpa9pSI4mIts4Ug/view

EZProxy login. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2022, from

https://www-sciencedirect-com.hal.weber.edu/science/article/pii/S0959475217302268?

via%3Dihub

Tracy Trautner, M. S. U. E. (2021, March 17). Authoritative parenting style. MSU

Extension. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/authoritative_parenting_style

Dewar, G. (2022, March 11). The authoritative parenting style: An evidence-based

guide. PARENTING SCIENCE. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from

https://parentingscience.com/authoritative-parenting-style/