My selected behavior is exercising. In carrying out this activity, goals, mindsets, and personal beliefs affect motivation to engage or disengage in exercising. To begin with there are four different types of mindsets that determine engagement in any behavior. The first mindset is the Deliberative-Implemental mindset. In the deliberative side, the individual displays an unbiased method of considering the desirability and feasibility of possible goals that the person may or may not follow (Reeve, 2015). On the implemental side, the mindset is a post-decisional closed-minded way of thinking that considers only information related to goal attainment and shields against non-goal-related consideration. Deliberative-Implemental mindset is a two sequential way of thinking to differentiate the patterns of thought that occurs during goal-setting versus that which occurs during goal striving.
The second mindset is Promotion-Prevention. Promotion is a focus on advancing the self toward ideals by adopting an eager locomotion behavioral strategy; prevention is a focus on preventing the self from not maintaining one’s duties and responsibilities by adopting a vigilant behavioral strategy. The Promotion-Prevention mindset is what two different people adopt during goal striving to distinguish an eager improvement based regulatory style from vigilant behavioral strategy. The third mind set is Growth-Fixed. Growth is the belief that one’s personal qualities are malleable, changeable, and can be developed through efforts; fixed is the belief that one’s personal qualities are fixed, set, and not open to change. This mindset contrasts the ways of thinking about the nature of one’s personal qualities. The fourth mindset is Consistency-Dissonance. Consistency is the information and behavioral actions that confirms that, yes, one is a competent, moral, and reasonable person; dissonance is the information and behavioral actions that suggest that, no, one is actually not a competent, moral, and reasonable person. The consistency-dissonance is the near-universal self-view that one is a competent, moral, and reasonable person (Reeve, 2015).
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In engaging in physical exercise, it is important for the individual to be in a Growth-Fixed mindset. Having a growth mindset will convince the individual of their capability to engage in exercises and put more effort in realizing their set goals. The reason is that there is always something new to learn and new challenges to overcome with putting more effort (Braver et al., 2014). The individual with a growth mindset will try all manner of exercises enthusiastically before settling on the best for their objectives. After settling on the chosen exercise, they will continue to explore new ways of doing the exercise thus ensuring the best outcome will remaining motivated. Although being an expert in exercising activities is crucial, a growth mindset holds the key to new grounds and keeping up the motivation in the given activity.
Other than mindset, human cognitions influence motivation in exercising. In fact, cognition helps in drawing a conclusion from the behavior and in determining its continuity. Different types of people have been show to draw different conclusions from the same behavior or activity. The interpretation is based on the perception of whether the behavior is helpful or hurtful and whether it needs to be sought or avoided (Botvinick, 2015). Similarly, the effect of the behavior on the individual in influencing their mood greatly determines their motivation towards the given behavior. Notably, exercising impacts a good mood and positive feelings about self that motivates the individual to continue exercising. However, in other times, an individual may perceive different situations as unfavorable for exercising thus curtailing their behavior.
In ensuring continuity of the behavior of exercising, other factors related to self greatly influence motivation. These include; self-concept, self-esteem, and self-regulation that play a significant role on the individual’s engagement in the selected behavior. To begin with, self-esteem greatly influences the motivation behind engagement in exercise. It has all to do with perceived capability of maintain the behavior depending on the perception of self-capabilities. In this case, engaging in exercise requires an individual to have a high self-esteem as it motivates a person to continue engaging in the activity. It goes to the extent of keeping an individual well motivated despite difficulties coming in the way (Botvinick, 2015). For instance, in exercising, there could be limitations on the time given but an individual with high self-esteem will go out of their way and create time for exercising.
On the other hand, if an individual considers him or herself as inadequate or has a low opinion of self, the motivation will drastically decline thus guaranteeing the continuity of exercising to be short-lived. Similarly, self-regulation is a key factor that comes to play in determining how well motivated an individual is in exercising. In this regard, self-regulation is an essential component of ensuring adherence to exercise. It is all about discipline in carrying out the exercises, keeping in mind the long-term effects of the behavior (Braver et al., 2014). For instance, an individual may set a given program that he or she will adhere to in keeping the behavior more fun and interesting. Various routines can also be integrated such as warm-up and cool down times to ensure that fitness is maintained. Just as well, the individual needs to remember how much time is good for them in carrying out a given exercise to prevent over exercising or under exercising. Setting these goals will keep the individual motivated as they know how much effort is needed and what needs to be done as outlined in the Locke theory of motivation.
Self-concept is another crucial element that determines how well an individual is motivated in carrying out exercise. It is all about how difficult or easy it is for the individual to take up exercise and maintain it (Botvinick, 2015). The extent of perceived confidence in overcoming the problems that could be encountered in exercising also needs consideration. The individual also considers how well empowered they are at initiating and maintain an exercise routine as well as the perceived comfort in engaging in the exercises. Self-concept also determines the motivation in how much the individual is willing to take up in exercising and how far is the individual willing to uphold the behavior. This therefore means that an individual with a high self-concept is more likely to remain motivated in exercising unlike an individual with a low self-concept.
Similarly, self-efficacy, mastery beliefs, and learned helplessness theories directly relate to motivation in exercising. An individual who feels high self-efficacy will have the belief that they are capable of being successful in the behavior (Braver et al., 2014). On the other hand, a low self-efficacy will render the individual less motivated and unlikely to engage exercise. Similarly, masterly beliefs on task difficulty and the preconceived capability in exercising work hand in hand in determining individual belief on whether they have got what it takes to succeed. On the other hand, learned helplessness comes in determining motivation as per how much external aid an individual can get in carrying out the given activity. Also, circumstances in which the exercises are carried out and patterns of failure or success motivate or de-motivate an individual in engaging in exercises.
In conclusion, goals, mindsets, and personal beliefs affect motivation to engage or disengage in any given behavior. From the above discussion, various theories on goal setting, mindset, personal control, and the self-theories have been outlined with their varied effects on motivation. Generally, it is important for an individual to be in an explorer mindset that is similar to the growth mindset since there is always something new to learn and new challenges to overcome in embracing new behaviors which keeps an individual well motivated.
References
Botvinick, M., & Braver, T. (2015). Motivation and cognitive control: from behavior to neural mechanism. Annual Review of Psychology , 66, 83-113.
Braver, T. S., Krug, M. K., Chiew, K. S., Kool, W., Westbrook, J. A., Clement, N. J., ... & Cools, R. (2014). Mechanisms of motivation–cognition interaction: challenges and opportunities. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience , 14(2), 443-472.
Reeve, J. (2016). A grand theory of motivation: Why not?. Motivation and Emotion , 40(1), 31-35.
