4.1.3.

Factors Affecting Memory

 Memory as stated already, is a process which
includes learning, retention and remembering.
 As such all the three processes are important for
good memory.
 Factors that influence memory process in humans
are as follows:
1. Ability to retain:
 This depends upon good memory traces left in the
brain by past experiences.
2. Good health:
 A person with good health can retain the learnt
material better than a person with poor health.
3. Age of the learner:
 Youngsters can remember better than the aged.
4. Maturity:
 Very young children cannot retain and remember
complex material.
5. Will to remember:
 Willingness to remember helps for better
retention.
6. Intelligence:
 More intelligent person will have better memory
than a dull person.
 4.2.3. Improving memory
Pay Attention:
 It seems obvious, but often we fail to remember
because we never encoded the information in the
first place.
 When you do have something to remember, you
will do better if you encode it.
• The SQ3R Method
• SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite,
and Review.
• Survey the material by reading through it quickly.
• Question yourself about the main points of the
text.
• Read the text carefully for comprehension,
keeping in mind your questions from the second
step.
• Recite what you have just read, either to yourself
or to someone else.
• Review the text, as well as your notes, a day or
two later.
• Encode information in more than one way:
 The more elaborate the encoding of information,
the more memorable it will be
• Add meaning:
 The more meaningful the material, the more
likely it is to link up with information already in
long-term memory.
• Take your time:
 If possible, minimize interference by using study
breaks for rest or recreation.
 Sleep is the ultimate way to reduce interference.
• Over learn:
 Studying information even after you think you
already know it- is one of the best ways to ensure
that you’ll remember it.
• Monitor your learning:
 By testing yourself frequently, rehearsing
thoroughly, and reviewing periodically, you will
have a better idea of how you are doing
 5. MOTIVATION AND EMOTIONS

5.1.1. Definition and types of motivation

• Motivation is a factor by which activities are
started, directed and continued so that physical
or psychological needs or wants are met.
• Motivation is a key factor that answers the ‘why’
of human behavior.
Motivation has been mainly termed as a factor
that drives or pushes one in a certain direction or
to behave in a certain way.
• Motivation can be termed as a driving force or it
can be stated as a process that starts and drives
various activities, whether physical or
psychological.
• The term motivation has been derived from a
Latin word ‘movere’, which means ‘to move’.
• It can be described in terms of drive, force,
desires, needs and wishes that may lead to
individuals behaving in a certain manner.
• A desire to get praise from the teacher may
motivate a student to perform well in a class
activity.
• A wish to gain more knowledge about a certain
subject may motivate an individual to take up an
educational programme in that subject.
• A hunger drive may prompt an individual to buy
biscuits or snacks.
• A desire to spend time with his/ her parents, may
encourage a person to travel long distance.
• Thus any human behaviour can be said to be as a
result of some kind of motivation.
• The term motivation has been defined in various
ways:
• Motivation defined as the factors that direct and
energize the behaviour of humans and other
organisms.
• Motivation is the urge to move towards one’s
goals, to accomplish tasks.
• Motivation is an internal state, dynamic rather
than static in nature, that propels action, directs
behaviour and is oriented toward satisfying both
instincts and cultural needs and goals.
• Motivation is the process of arousing and
sustaining goal directed behaviour.
• Motivation described as a condition that energizes
behaviour and gives it direction.
• Motivation - the influences that account for the
initiation, direction, intensity, and persistence of
behavior.
• Sources of Motivation
1. Biological factors: food, water, sex, and
temperature regulation
2. Emotional factors: panic, fear, anger, love, and
hatred
3. Cognitive factors: perceptions, beliefs, and
expectations
4. Social factors: parents, teachers, siblings, friends,
and media
 Types of motivation

• There are different types of motivation.

• But, it is possible to categorize them into two:
o Intrinsic Motivation
o Extrinsic Motivation.
A. Intrinsic motivation is a type of
motivation in which a person acts because
the act itself is rewarding or satisfying in
some internal manner.
• Intrinsic motivation can be defined as motivation
that comes from within a person and includes the
elements of challenge, enjoyment, mastery and
autonomy.
• For example, there could be an activity that an
individual enjoys doing.
There are four components of intrinsic motivation
as given below:
A. Challenge: It relates to the extent to which an
individual enjoys the excitement that accompanies
a new challenge.
B. Enjoyment: It relates to the pleasure that an
individual may obtain from carrying out the task.
C. Mastery: It relates to the sense of pride and
accomplishment that an individual may experience
when he/ she carries out a difficult task.
D. Autonomy and self determination: It relates to
the autonomy that an individual enjoys while
carrying out the task, that is, the freedom with
which the individual can determine what is to be
done and how is it to be done.
 B. Extrinsic motivation
 It is a type of motivation in which individuals act
because the action leads to an outcome that is
external to a person.
 For example, giving a child money for every A‘ on
a report card, offering a bonus to an employee for
increased performance.
• Extrinsic motivation can be defined as motivation
that comes from outside the person and usually
involves rewards and praises.
• The examples of extrinsic motivation are reward,
praise, money, feedback and so on.
• Components of Motivation
Generally, psychologists consider motivation to
have three components:
1. Activation:
 It is the initiation of motivated behavior.
 It involves taking the first steps to achieve a goal
or complete a project.
• E.g. If you are motivated to study for exam.
2. Persistence:
 it is the faithful and continued effort put forth in order to
achieve a goal or finish the project.
 E.g. once you take the first step of opening your text or
book, do you stick with it easily will be distracted.
 3. Intensity:
 It refers to the focused energy and attention
applied in order to achieve a goal or complete
project.
 E.g. If you persist in studying, do you get caught
up in the subject matter, or is the possibility getting
a grade so enticing that it keeps you going?
• Model of motivation
– Need: Internal deficiency; causes drive
– Drive: Energized motivational state (e.g.,
hunger, thirst); activates a response
– Response: Action or series of actions designed
to attain a goal
– Goal: Target of motivated behavior
5.1.2. Approaches to motivation (Theories of motivation)

• The sources of motivation are different according

to the different theories of motivation.
• Some of these theories are:

Instinct, Incentive,
Drive-reduction, Cognitive, And
Arousal, Humanistic.
 A. Instinct approaches to motivation
• It is focused on the biologically determined and innate
patterns of both humans and animals behavior.
• Instinct theory proposes that organisms are motivated
to engage in certain behaviors because of their genetic
programming and behaviors lead to success in terms of
natural selection.
• For example, we pursue sex in order to reproduce to
propagate the human species.
• It is an innate biological need.
Instinctual Behaviors
• Reproduction and social dominance
• Some animals have instinctual behaviors
like mating dances and nest building
sequences.
B. Drive-reduction approaches to motivation
• Involved the concepts of needs and drives.
• A need is a requirement of some material (such as
food or water) that is essential for the survival of
the organism.
• When an organism has a need, it leads to a
psychological tension as well as physical arousal
to fulfill the need and reduce the tension.
• This tension is called drive.
• Drive-reduction theory proposes the connection
between internal psychological states and outward
behavior.
• In this theory, there are two kinds of drives; primary
and secondary.
 Primary drives involve survival needs of the body
such as hunger and thirst.
 Acquired (secondary) drives are learned through
experience or conditioning, such as the need for
money, social approval.
• Behavior is motivated by the desire to reduce
internal tension caused by unmet biological needs,
such as hunger and thirst.
• unmet biological needs “drive” us to behave in
certain ways to ensure survival.
• Drives such as hunger and thirst arise from tissue
deficits--when we are hungry, we are driven to eat.
• When we are thirsty, we are driven to drink.
• When a particular behavior reduces a drive, the
behavior becomes reinforced when the same need
state arises again.
• Our bodies biological systems are delicately
balanced to ensure survival.
• Homeostasis is a state of internal physiological
equilibrium that the body strives to maintain.
• For example,
• when you are hot, your body automatically tries to
cool itself by perspiring.
• when you are cold, your body generates warmth by
shivering.
• Physiological disruption
Physiological disruptions in homeostasis
produce drives states of internal tension that
motivate an organism to reduce this tension.
In Drive Reduction Theory behavior is
motivated by biological needs
o Needs: required for survival
o Drives: impulse to act in a way that satisfies a
need
o Body seeks homeostasis: a balanced state
where our needs are being met.
C. Arousal approaches: beyond drive reduction

• Arousal approaches seek to explain behavior that

the goal is to maintain or increase excitement.
• Each person tries to maintain a certain level of
stimulation and activity.
Arousal Theory when people seek an optimal level
of excitement or arousal.
• People with high arousal levels are drawn to
risky/exciting behaviors – sky diving, mountain
climbing, explorers, etc.
• Arousal theories are based on the observation that
people find both very high levels of arousal and
very low levels of arousal quite unpleasant.
• People are motivated to maintain an optimal level
of arousal one which is neither too high or too
low.
When arousal is too low, we become motivated to
increase arousal by seeking stimulating
experiences.
• When arousal is too high, we become motivated to
reduce arousal by seeking a less stimulating
environment.
• Incentive Theories
• Behavior is motivated by the “pull” of external
goals and rewards such as rewards, money or
recognition.
• This approach is based heavily on operant
learning theory (behavior is based on the
expectation of consequences such as
reinforcements or punishments).
Reinforcements ____________ behavior
• Punishments ____________ behavior
• If we think we will be reinforced for the behavior,
we are motivated to engage in that behavior.
• If we think we will be punished for the behavior,
we are motivated to avoid that behavior.

• Humanistic Theories
• Abraham Maslow, a humanistic theorist, proposed
a broad motivational model.
• He proposed that psychology’s other perspectives
ignored a key human motive the desire to strive
for personal growth.
• Maslow’s concept of self-actualization is hard to
define, test and give too little weight to incentives.

Types of Motives
1. Primary Motives
 are based on biological needs that must be met for
survival.
 They are innate like hunger, thirst , pain
avoidance, needs for air, sleep, elimination of
wastes, and regulation of body temperature.
 2. Secondary motives:
 They are based on learned needs, drives, and
goals.
 Helps explain many human activities like making
music, creating a web page, trying to win a
skateboarding contest or American Idol.
• They are related to learned needs for POWER,
AFFILIATION, approval, status, security, and
achievement.
 3. Stimulus motives:
 They are express our needs for stimulation and
information.
 For example, activity, curiosity, exploration,
throwing parties, surf the net, reading, hanging out
with friends, emailing each other.
4. Social Motives:
 They are complex motive states or needs that are
the sources of many human actions.
 They are culled social because they, unlike
primary motives, are learned in social groups,
especially in the family as children grow up and
because that usually involve other people.
 The human motives can be looked up on as
general states that lead to many particular
behaviors.
 Not only they help to determine much of what a
person does, they persist never fully satisfies over
the years.
 No sooner is one goal reached than the motives is
directed toward another one.
• They are general persisting characteristics of a
person.
• They are learned their strength differs greatly
from one individual to another.
• They are important components of personality.
• Social motives include needs for achievement,
affiliation, power, approval, status, security,
and aggression.
• Frustration and Conflict of motives
• Frustration refers to the blockage of any goal
directed behavior.
 • If motive are frustrated, or blocked, then
emotional feelings and behaviors often
result.
• People who cannot achieve their important goals
feel depressed, fearful, anxious, guilty, or anger.
• The source of frustration might be:
A. Environmental Forces:
 Environmental factor can frustrate the
satisfaction of motives by making it difficult or
impossible for a person to attain goal.
 B. Personal Inadequacies:
 Setting unattainable goal can be important sources
of frustration.
 People are frustrated because they aspire beyond
their capacity to perform.
C. Conflict of Motives:
 Conflict exists whenever a person has
incompatible or opposing goals.
 The frustration comes from being unable to satisfy
all the goals.
 Whatever the person decides to satisfy their will
be frustration, most likely proceeded by turmoil,
doubt, and vacillation.
• There are four basic types of motivational
conflicts.
1. Approach-approach conflicts: -
 Occurs when one is simultaneously (equally)
attracted to two or more durable goals or
outcomes but must choose one at that moment.
 It causes little distrusts and easily resolved.
 Example, going to a movie or a concert.
2. Avoidance-avoidance conflicts: -
 occurs when we are motivated to avoid two or
more unappealing motives at the same time, but
must choose one at that moment.
 It tends to one of the unattractive choices increases
our discomfort and leads us to retreat.
 It arises when we must select one of two
undesirable alternatives.
 Example: Someone forced either to sell the family
home or to declare bankruptcy.
3. Approach-avoidance conflicts: -
 occurs when a person is motivated to both
approach and avoid the same goal.
 The closer you are to something appealing the
stronger your desire to approach it; the closer you
are to something unpleasant, the stronger your
desire to flee.
 As with the avoidance - avoidance conflict,
vacillation is common in the conflicts.
 It happen when a particular event or activity has
both attractive and unattractive features.
 for example, if a student scored good grade to join
university but assigned to a university located at a
remote geographical setting.
4. Multiple approach-avoidance conflicts: -
 Exist when two or more alternatives each have
both positive and negative features.
 E.g. Suppose you must choose between two jobs.
 One offers a high salary with a well-known
company but requires long working hours and
relocation to a miserable climate.
 The other boasts advancement opportunities, fringe
benefits, and a better climate, but it doesn’t pay as
much and involves an unpredictable work
schedule.
 Involve several options exist, with each one
containing both positive and negative elements.
 Those are the hardest to resolve and the most
stressful.
• Thank you for your attention