Question

Discuss the importance of achievement motivation during afolescence and its relation to the fear of failure and Explain self-handicapping and stereotype threat using an example for each.

Answer 1

Motivation is the driving force in human to achieve his/her goals in life.

Adolescene is a period of growth in an individual where he/she grows mentally and physically, learns subjects and lessons in life,involves himself in adventures, scoring and dreaming.

Achievement motivation is a major driving force among adolescents. Adolescents who thought and perceived being valued and respected by their peers or classmates were more likely to go through adaptive achievement motivation.

Adolescence is a period where individuals faced tremendous pressure, stress and greater demands from various agents. Adolescents perception activates the self-system providing information regarding past experiences, thoughts, behavior and environments. The self system then forms conceptualizations of the adolescent's abilities.

Past experience of failures is self handicapping. The fear of failing again puts the adolescents in extreme mentally debilitating condition and less receptive to postive training. They face a stereotype , self handicapping, mentally debilitating state of imminent failure. In contrast the persons who have succeeded also face peer pressure and an achievement motivation to succeed in order to retain respect of peers and classmates.

As an example, studies were conducted on a 10 adolescents with extreme achievement motivation debilitating scales. Parent - child interactions were observed at home while performing a few tasks. It was observed that students of high achievement and low mentally debilitating students took much less help from their parents than students with past failures or fear of failures or more debilitating achievement motivation. The students with high achievement motivation also showed more proactiveness, responsibility, learning and successful completion of thier tasks than with students with a debilitating mental condition with a stereotype threat of self handicapping and an imminent failure.