Senioritis: Drive To Success

Senioritis has taken the lives of many high school seniors, especially when there is one month until graduation. The drive to keep up grades and reach the goal of graduating has dwindled, but still remains predominant because of the various forms of motivation. It is described as the force that compels us to action, drives us to work hard, and push to success. There are six different types of motivators, which include: incentive, fear, achievement, growth, power, and social; all of which have a common goal of influencing personal behavior and ability to carry out goals. To succeed, every person follows at least one form to boost up their confidence and personal reputation. Fear as a motivator is essential when needing to survive a flight or

They all have their own time and place where they are used but it is important to know what each word means when wanting to reach goals. Known as bonuses or promotions, incentive involves reward and knowledge that there will be a reward for achieving a certain goal. On the flip side, fear involves punishment or negative consequences when incentive motivations fail. Particularly in a school setting, growth and achievement focus on the need for self-improvement and tackle new challenges. These often result in external recognition that uplifts an individual 's confidence. Meanwhile, power takes the form of a want for autonomy or other wish to control others around us. Finally, social is the desire to belong and be accepted by a specific peer group and wanting to make a difference in people’s lives (Scuderi). Both power and social are clearly seen in a work or professional environment, as it is a part of an everyday lifestyle. While these motivators seem like they are important in every situation, not all of them play the role of the best way to inspire student in context of a school environment. There is always a question that goes through a student 's head, “Do I have to do my homework?” and seems like the obvious answer is yes because that is what is enforced. What is not totally being enforced is stating the benefits

In a school environment, fear is not the best motivator because of the punishment and negative consequences that would lead students to gain anxiety and contribute to poor performances in class. Meanwhile, achievement and growth would allow students to continue to have the drive for self-improvement in skills. “Co-founders Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. and Lisa Sorich Blackwell, Ph.D. discovered that developing a growth mindset (the core belief that abilities are malleable and not fixed) is critical to adopting learning-oriented behavior. A growth mindset results in increased motivation, grades and achievement test scores.” The fact that grades and test scores are measurable that are easily developed allows students to build their determination to meet personal goals. Also in Drs. Dweck and Blackwell’s research, there was a strong impact on junior high school student’s achievement based off of their beliefs and attitudes. Specifically, they found that, “students who believed that their intelligence was something that they could develop and increase”, which was known as growth mindset, “also held many other positive attitudes”. Although hard work and multiple errors were a part of reaching desired goals, the students knew that their ability can be improved over time. With the growth mindset, the students were also able to check their errors with more complex