Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Motivated vs non-motivated

I would guess intrinsic motivation, curiosity and the individual's perception of the importance of the activity or knowledge, locus of control, societal values influence a person's motivation.

I think intrinsic motivation and curiosity are important and probably have strong environmental influences, and these are things that can be modulated by families and teachers.

I think societal values will also influence motivation. If no one around you thinks that soccer is fun, you will be less likely to like soccer. In cases where you have interests that no one around you seems to share, it must be rewarding for a reason and that reason may be that it provides intrinsically rewarding stimulation that you don't receive elsewhere. Similarly, if you think that learning is important, you will be more motivated to learn. If you have books in your house, you will be more likely to think the information in the books is important to know, or if you go to a museum with parents and siblings who stop to discuss the exhibits you will be more likely to learn that the topics are important.

I think the expectations of authority figures probably have some influence (if they think you are capable versus not capable ) and I assume this relates to locus of control. If you don't think you can, you won't be as likely to try. Similarly, if too much of your self-esteem is tied into an activity, I think that can be a negative factor in terms of performance because the consequences of failure are amplified.