What harms Motivation?

(Highlighted terms from psychology notes; passage by Ivina)

When a child performs badly in doing homework, revising tests and finishing exams, apart from his personal limits or academic laziness, parents, teachers and tutors may note the following:

1.      Hierarchy of needs

Of course, babies have many needs. Children also have their needs. However, since adults also have their needs, their children’s needs cannot be fulfilled. For instance, when a fat kid needs to lose weight in order to meet the health standard, while his parents do not have time to deal with the nutritious menus and dosages of medicine, the fat kid still receives money from his parents to buy sweets. Physiological need is not fulfilled and due to this fact, other kids still laugh at that fat kid about his physique.

Using the same story as example: Whenever the fat kid comes to the classroom, the unconcerned classmates run away and laugh. As time passes, hatred appears in the fat kid’s mind. He feels that surrounded by such classmates is really uncomfortable— all classmates are his enemies! Having one’s mind stuffed with unhappiness and concepts about fighting with the virtual wars, how could he pay attention to what the teachers are saying? In such circumstance, adults should be aware of his safety needs.

To the kids, the school maybe the largest form of society in their concepts. The fat kid, since not being accepted by his classmates, cannot root a sense of belonging to such society. Consequently, he hopes to have much love from his family—the only society he can belong to. If the fat kid comes from a single-parent family only with his mother’s presence, the kid further feels that his mother is his world. Unfortunately, his mother is always busy with her job. Sharing not much time with her kid, her kid cannot fulfil his love and belonging needs. It harms the kid’s emotion.

As mentioned before, the fat kid is unhappy because his physique gives him negative image among his classmates. The fat kid lacks of self-esteem. Unable to fulfil esteem needs, the kid may feel scared to cope with any problem.

Last by not least, fears in trying out things cannot lead the kid to success in any fields. Having no affiliation with his hated classmates and not getting any approval to do great things in the class, the need of self-actualisation is, certainly, not fulfilled.

2.      Stimulating motivation

How to motivate a person to have a try on something while is not interested in such kind of thing? There are 4 rules to stimulate people’s self-determination. Using the same story as example:

(a)    Instructions to his mother: Only with in-depth conversations in any kind of means with his mother, co-operation plans can be drawn-up to control the weight of the fat boy. It should be insisted that, the kid is a human being; his mother should never think that taking care of the kid is a burden to her career. She or her relatives should be more responsible to make sure the kid is living healthily if the financial situation allows.

(b)   Proper externally imposed constraints: Conduct frequent face-to-face meetings whenever possible with the mother and the kid. Repeatedly emphasis what food the kid should and should not eat.

(c)    Choices: Record the kid’s eating habit and evaluate whether the menus can satisfy the need of the kid from time to time. If the kid hates to eat certain kinds of food, let him choose other food if the aim can also be fulfilled by the new kind of food, e.g., watermelon instead of orange.

(d)   Non-controlling fashion of evaluation: The kid needs time to adjust his eating habit. The plan should not be rush. Delay is acceptable as long as the mother and the kid have sound reasons. If needed, professionals should report their cases to related departments for help, especially in finding suitable counselling services for the kid in certain aspects.

備註:

我在溫習心理學筆記 =口="

虛構了一個肥仔出來寫, ~~ 而這篇針對的問題是假設這個虛構的肥仔因為身型讓他出現各方面的問題~~

因此, 這篇集中於怎樣讓他減磅, 而有關輔導他的方法, 就只有一句請專業人士幫手 XD

(好似離左題既~~算la, 自己俾自己做既練習, 方便記憶之嘛)