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Psychological Strategies for Improving Motivation and Learning — Strategy 5: Self-Imposed Contingency
Learning Self-Regulation
Various researchers (Cruz & Cullinan, 2001; Maslow, 1987; Pintrich & Schrunk, 2002) have demonstrated a strong positive correlation between motivation and achievement. Motivated learners approach tasks eagerly, exert high levels of effort, and persist in the face of difficulty. When students lack adequate motivation, they often become restless and disruptive in the classroom as well. Borrowing from the behaviorist and social learning theory perspectives, teachers can employ various strategies to encourage positive classroom behavior, increase motivation and facilitate student achievement.
Self-Imposed Contingency
Self-imposed contingencies refer to techniques of self-regulation whereby students impose upon themselves reinforcements (and/or punishments) contingent upon the accomplishment or maintenance of identified appropriate (or inappropriate) behaviors. These self-reinforcers or self-punishers can manifest in various forms from internal self-talk to more tangible rewards. As such, this strategy can represent one of the final steps in the series of a self-management program that includes learner participation in determining target behaviors, setting criteria for success…
