Intrinsic Motivation and Behavior Effectiveness in Retarded Persons

Psychoeducational Assessment from a Transactional Perspective

“…Such misclassification is the joint product of test error, of overreliance on test data in the assessment process, and of the fact that variables other than intelligence itself may influence the learning and school performance of children; i.e., intelligence as a predictor of school performance is only one of several relevant predictors, albeit a major one. Even if the effects of individual differences in intelligence were distributed uniformly, the other predictors (e.g., individual differences in intrinsic motivation; Haywood & Switzky, 1986a) may exert differential influence depending upon the subcultural experiences of the children.…”

“…Assuming an average lag of 20 years in the transition from theory/knowledge gains to their applications in practice, as Gallagher (1983) and Glaser (1976) have suggested, the earliest advances in this knowledge explosion are just now being reflected in the newest tests. Current concepts of the nature and development of ability (e.g., Gardner, 1983;Haywood & Switzky, in press;Horn, 1972;Sternberg, 1985) and of the relation between intellectual aptitude and other variables, must be taken into account in the construction of assessment procedures and instruments (Haywood & Switzky, 1986a).…”

“…The essence of the distinction is that, however many (or few) IQ points one has, it is still necessary to develop durable and generalizable modes of thinking (the "cognitive structures" that Piaget explored) in order to apply effectively the intelligence that one has. According to Haywood and Switzky (1986a), good environments do not create intelligence, but they have the potential to support the acquisition of essential cognitive processes. Further, "bad" environments do not destroy intelligence (unless they destroy a large number of brain cells), but they may function so as to block access to one's intelligence and render it "unavailable" for application to learning and problem-solving situations.…”

The Implications for Effective Education of Understanding Pupil Motivation in Schools as a Multi-Dimensional Model

“…We all have a personal need for a sense of competence and challenge (Deci and Chandler, 1986). A cognitive theory of motivational orientation includes behavior for its own sake and as its own reward, but also motivation as a learned personality trait (Haywood and Switzky, 1986). In considering intrinsic motivation, can we differentiate between people who mainly seek creative challenge or mainly take the easy way to avoid failure, given that we all do both at times?…”

“…Internal motivational factors can operate in both directions, either to compensate for inadequacies and boost performance or intensify their deficits and lower performance (Haywood and Switzky, 1986). An effective learner is characterized as curious, with a desire to achieve understanding or mastery and reaches satisfaction through classroom learning (Deci and Ryan, 1980).…”