· Grab two identical pieces of paper (or some material) and crumple them into paper balls.
· Stand in front of a trash can or receptacle of some kind.... Reflect on your confidence level.
I’m not sure how far we were supposed to stand to the trash can at this point, but I just stood a little bit away like 2-3 feet. I thought this was easy, the trash can is right in front of me, and even though I have very little aim I can easily do this.
· (try to) Toss the ball into the trash can. ....Did you make it? WHY didn't you make it?
Yes I did make both paper balls into the trash can, possibly because I told myself that even though I have little to no athletic ability or aiming ability, that I could do it at this little of distance.
· Move back 5 (or more) feet. Reflect on your confidence level THIS time. Try again.
I didn’t think I could do it this time because I was so far away, and have zero confidence in my athletic/aiming abilities.
· Did you make it?
I actually did make one of the balls, the first one, and missed the second one, landing by the trash can.
Did you do all of the above? Ok, now you can write:
· Use what you have read about factors of intrinsic motivation to explain what happened.
The first time I believed I could do it, I showed competency belief and therefore I set my mind that I could do it, so I did make both balls into the trash can. However, the second time, my attitude changed that I could no longer do it, and this is because of my learned helplessness with my athletic abilities. I am just not athletic, I did not inherited any athletic genes, and therefore I have hardly ever done anything well athletically, and so I think that my failures are beyond my control, and are because of my genes and heredity.
· Do you think your original goal (distance from the trash can) was reasonable? (If you set reasonable goals and complete them, intrinsic motivation increases!)
Yes I think the original goal was reasonable, even with my lack of athletic ability.
· How did you confidence level change from the first try to the second? If it increased, did you make your first shot? If it decreased, did you miss your first shot? (Success completing reasonable goals increases intrinsic motivation and confidence for next time)
My confidence level went down a lot from the first time (short distance) and second time (5 feet distance), and I was like literally like “haha I cannot make this” and thought of it as a joke. My confidence level was the same between the two shots for the short distance, it was just easy in my mind. However, my confidence between the two shots the second time, standing 5 feet away, did change. I had little confidence to being with, made my first shot, and was very surprised and then I thought I could make the second shot, but I did not.
· When you asked yourself WHY you didn't make the shot/s, what did you blame? Where these factors controllable or uncontrollable? What could you do next time to change those factors and improve your changes? (If failure/success is blamed on factors that are not controllable, such as luck, there's nothing you can do to improve, which makes a person feel helpless, and lowers intrinsic motivation. If it is attributed to factors that ARE controllable, and the person identifies those factors, they can feel empowered and will work to change those factors).
I blamed my lack of athletic ability for not making the last shot. I believe that this factor is uncontrollable for me because I have tried to become better at athletic abilities my entire life, and it has never happened, I believe it is just in my heredity to not be athletic since my dad and his family do not have a lot of athletic ability, and I am generally awkward with things, just like my dad is. I don’t think I could do a lot next time to change this factor, but I guess I could practice sports, athletic activities or just run on the treadmill, just something with exercise. I have developed learned helplessness when it comes to my athletic abilities and I don’t think there is much I can do to change that considering it has been that way my entire life.
You have learned helplessness about learned helplessness! Oh no! :)
ReplyDeleteYou showed that you CAN make it from the further distance.... I believe that your second shot may be attributed to your own lack of confidence, and disbelief in your athletic ability (you can disagree if you want). It's generally true that believing you can do something causes you do succeed more often. Also, even now, you believe you cannot change your ability.... It's more about changing your BELIEF. If I could tell you there's no such thing as an 'athletic gene', and you'd believe me, I think you'd suddenly become more athletic.