ABSTRACT
Personality traits appear to affect how individual students learn in specific situations. A trait is a habitual pattern of thought, behaviour and emotion that remains relatively stable over time. This suggests that the behaviour seen in a toddler will be equally visible in later life, although research is beginning to find that certain traits can change with growing age and maturity. Motivation is comprised of three basic characteristics: activation, persistence and intensity. Intrinsic motivation is more effective than extrinsic motivation, but, if used carefully, extrinsic motivators can enhance learning. Extrinsic reward systems can produce short-term benefits, but are rarely effective long term. If discontinued, extrinsic reward systems can negatively affect behaviour and learning. Creating the feeling of autonomy in students can help to nurture intrinsic motivation and improve learning outcomes. Autonomous teachers are better equipped to nurture autonomous classrooms. This chapter discusses several psychological theories for explaining motivation, such as instinct theory, drive theory and incentive theory.
