An assignment on

Nature and Definition of Motivation and Learning

Submitted to Assistant Professor: Yashodha. Y.A Department of social work Urumu Dhanalakshmi College.Kattur

Date: 22/12/2012 Place: kattur

Submitted by Jayakrishnan.u P11W5008 Urumu Dhanalakshmi college. kattur.

Introduction to motivation
Motivation is a term that refers to a process that elicits, controls, and sustains certain behaviors. For instance: An individual has not eaten, he or she feels hungry, as a response he or she eats and diminishes feelings of hunger. According to various theories, motivation may be rooted in a basic need to minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure, or it may include specific needs such as eating and resting, or a desired object, goal, state of being, ideal, or it may be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism, selfishness, morality, or avoiding mortality. Conceptually, motivation should not be confused with either volition or optimism. Motivation is related to, but distinct from, emotion.

The Nature of Motivation

Motivation refers to the aspects of behavior that deals with understanding why human beings behave the way they do. It is concerned with the identification and direction of goals. The word motive comes from the Latin verb movere which means to move. We are moved into actions toward a certain goal or direction.

1. Motivation is a complex phenomenon.

Motivation is a complex phenomenon which includes all the behavioral abilities of human beings for any specified or unspecified needs. So the nature of motivation is depends upon the individual and his behavioral capacities. Thus its a complex phenomenon to understand and to give aid accordingly.

2. Motives cant be observed, only inferred from behavior of others.

Motives cant be observed from the actions or reflections of the individual it can only be inferred by the behavior of the others. The inferences can be taken as a point of measurement at the times of want and exposure. Human tends to behave according to the situations they are in so it is the experience of the measurer counts the level of motivation and the reasons motives.

3. Some motives remain active even when original goal is attained.

There are no comprehensive attainments of goals in any cases. Some sub goals may remain unattained so that motives will remain active even when the original goal is attained.

DEFINITION OF MOTIVATION
According to Ross. "Motivation, in psychology, the intention of achieving a goal, leading to goal-directed behavior. Some human activity seems to be best explained by postulating an inner directing drive. While a drive is often considered to be an innate biological mechanism that determines the organism's activity (see instinct), a motive is defined as an innate mechanism modified by learning."

Nature of Learning
Psychologists define learning as the process by which changes in behaviour result from experience or practice. But not all changes in behaviour are the result of learning (Jayagopa1,1984). Thus, learning is defined as a permanent change in the individual behaviour as a result of new perceptions, practice or other experience. Learning is a process, which brings about change in one's way of responding as a result of practice or other experiences. Conceptually, learning in the scholastic sense - is the process resulting from the interaction between the teacher and the taught. Learning is a process of acquiring new behaviour (attitude, knowledge, skills) through experience. Learning is the modification of behaviour through experiences and training (Dhahama & bBhatnagar, 1980).

Nature of Adult Learning

Adult learning is the acquisition of new ideas, skills, attitudes, experiences and understanding by people whose primary occupation in life is other than learning or studentship. The adults' need for learning is current, for practical information, and not for delayed gratification. The nonschooled adult is not always unlearned or uneducated. Large amount of knowledge relating to social and economic life have been learned through word-of-mouth transmission and through modeling. Social roles, agricultural and construction skills, crafts, history, language, and so forth, are passed on from generation to generation through informal but often highly refined system of informal learning. Whether the learning takes place through informal tutoring, supervised on-thejob training, and apprenticeship or by listening to stories and legends recounted by elders, the informally learned individual is primarily discovery-oriented and is usually operating at a concrete level of mental operations. In other words, the informal learner is exposed to and searches out answers to concrete problems such as those confronted in agriculture, irrigation, hunting, etc. Success, and the consequent reinforcement and retention of learning, is perceived not by abstract rewards such as grades or credentials, but by very real and immediate rewards such as physical health and survival and social well-being. The skills and concepts being learned

relate directly and intimately to the concrete reality of the learner's world. Thus, the informally learned person would seem to be more discoveries -oriented, more an organic, holistic learner operating at a concrete level of cognitive process. Nature of learning according to S.K Mangal in his book General Psychology 1. Learning is a process and not the product. 2. It involves all those experiences and trainings of an individual which helps him to produce change in his behavior. 3. Learning leads to bring changes in the behavior but it does not necessarily mean that these changes always bring improvements or development in the positive direction 4. Learning prepares an individual for the necessary adjustment and adaptation. 5. all learning is propose full and goal oriented. In case there is no purpose, there would definitely be hardly any learning. 6. The scope of learning is too wide to explain in words. It is a very comprehensive process which covers nearly all the domains- conative, cognitive and effective of human behavior. 7. 7. Learning is universal and continuous. Every creatures that lives learns. In human beings it is not limited to any age, sex, race or culture. It is a continuous never ending process that goes from womb to tomb.

8. 8. Learning does not include the changes in behavior on account of maturation, fatigue,
illness or drugs, etc.

Definition of Learning
Learning is a relatively permanent (lasting) change in an organisms behavior that results from experience Some changes in behavior are excluded: illness, drug effects, maturational changes, effects of injuries (these tend to be temporary changes) Changes might not be observed in behavior immediately Changes might not be permanent (forgetting might occur) According to Gardner Murphy: The term learning covers every modification in behavior to meet environmental requirements

According to Woodworth: any activity can be called learning so far as it develops the individual-(in any respect, good or bad) and makes him alter behavior and experiences different from what that would otherwise have been

Bibiliography 1. General psychology by S.K. Mangal 2. Issues in the Psychology of Motivation by Paula R. Zelick.