How can motivation be measured
How can motivation be measured? When we think about the human brain, we tend to focus on its cognitive and intellectual functions, but ours is also a motivated and emotional brain. It generates wants, appetites, urges, needs, reward, cravings, desires, pleasure, feelings, mood, fear, anxiety, anger, and the full range of emotions in the very much the same way as it is capable of thinking, learning, and problem-solving.
Motivation science is a behavioral science where answers require objective, data-based, empirical evidence gained from well-conducted and peer-reviewed research findings. It uses empirical methods, emphasizes testable hypotheses, operational definitions of its constructs, observational methods, and objective statistical analyses to evaluate the scientific merit of its hypotheses.
Motivation or determination are two words that come to mind when describing a desire to succeed. However, it’s still worth considering from the standpoint of attitude. Positive thinking believes that creativity is innate and that we cannot develop our abilities through hard work and dedication alone. On the other hand, a development mindset believes that hard work and dedication are good enough to instill in us the desired abilities.
According to research, people who think they can succeed are much more likely to succeed in the field they choose. Before one can have the drive (or actual ‘motivation’) to achieve, he or she must have a strong belief. This belief to achieve can be seen as a way to measure motivation.
Commitment is described as a desire to participate in a specific association, cause, or belief. Individuals who are loyal to a goal and really believe in it, they turn up, push through, and keep going — no matter how demoralizing things get. Commitment indicates behavioral measures of motivation. It entails committing yourself towards something, whether it’s an individual or a mission. For instance, when you accept a job offer, you commit to showing up and doing a good job, and your boss commits to paying you at the end of the month.
The bigger the motivation an employer can create to have the task done, the more people will be loyal to his/her company. Assessing employee motivation helps employers identify and reward employees who understand the goals of the organization and are doing their part to help the organization achieve critical performance outcomes. Productivity increases when workers at all levels of the organization feel motivated and engaged in meaningful work that adds value.
Performance evaluations offer a potentially powerful tool for supervisors to gauge motivation, reinforce high performers and coach those who lack motivation. However, a study reported by HR Technologist in 2019 showed that two-thirds of organizations don’t think they’re doing a good job assessing employees based on actual performance outputs. Fair and accurate measurement of motivation in the workplace is important in tapping employee potential and increasing organizational strength in a competitive global economy.
Human resource metrics are objective measurements of employee performance. Quantitative approaches focus on behaviors and use evidence-based criteria to inform decisions about employment actions such as demotion and promotion. Motivation can be a squishy concept if not properly defined in an organizational context. Failing to define motivation can promote favoritism and lead to invalid measurements of employee motivation.
For example, a supervisor who defines motivation as an aggressive approach to selling may view men as more motivated even if the women have stronger sales records. Objective criteria reduces unfair, unsupported and subjective assessments that perpetuate stereotypes.
Human resource metrics help reduce implicit bias that is often seen in supervisors’ assessment of their employees’ traits such as motivation and drive. Forbes states that performance evaluations are far more likely to promote men based on their perceived potential while holding back women and people of color who are judged not ready.
In the school situation, extrinsic motivation can arise in numerous ways. For example, praise, teacher rewards, and the expectation of good grades can all act as extrinsic motivators and are not necessarily bad. Indeed, Herter and Jackson (1992) note that extrinsic motivation is often used not only in our educational institutions but also in our society in the form of prizes, awards, and honors.
However, over-emphasis on extrinsic motivation and reinforcement can be criticized in that learners are not really interested in the activity of learning for its own sake. Deci and Ryan (1985) see intrinsic motivation as the inbuilt tendency to connect the interests of individuals to the development and use of the capacities of individuals. Thus, when learning is satisfying and meaningful, when what is learned is perceived to be of value by the learner and when there is confidence and purpose, then motivation will be intrinsic, bringing considerable benefits.
Indeed, intrinsic motivation may well allow learners to see their learning as meaningful, and of value and benefit, whether the learning tasks are attractive or not. Teachers are mandated to teach what the curriculum demands and to enable their learners to pass requisite examinations. Teachers often have little freedom in what they teach and, indeed, in how they teach it, for overcrowded curricula make time precious.
However, Woolfolk (2004) emphasizes the need to present the material in thoughtful and exciting ways, to develop and stimulate interest. He admits that this will take considerable mental effort on the part of the teacher and this then depends on teacher motivation. Thus, learner motivation may well be influenced by teacher motivation.
