PSY 355 Week 5 Applying Motivation Research to Change Example

From "I Can't" to "If It's Tuesday": A Research-Based Motivation Plan for a Returning Student

[Student Name]

University of Phoenix

PSY/355: Motivational Processes in Human Psychology

Week 5 Assignment

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The student and the plan are composites written for a model paper; research findings come from the sources listed.

Understanding motivation is only half of the course's purpose; the other half is using that understanding to help people change. This paper builds a plan for Malik, the composite returning student followed through the course, drawing on intervention research to address the specific problems earlier weeks identified.

Diagnosing the Problem

Earlier analyses revealed three linked problems. First, Malik holds a self-schema of himself as "not a math person," which frames ability as fixed and filters out evidence of progress. Second, he tends to explain math failures by low ability, an internal, stable and uncontrollable cause that produces shame and low expectations. Third, he has strong intentions, since he values the degree highly, but his study behavior is irregular, especially during busy weeks at work. Each problem calls for a different intervention.

Intervention One: Reframing Early Setbacks

Wilson and Linville (1982) worked with first-year college students worried about their academic performance. Students in the intervention group saw statistics and videotaped interviews with older students showing that grades commonly improve after the first year, suggesting that early difficulties reflect temporary, changeable causes. Compared with a control group, these students improved their grades the following year and were less likely to drop out.

For Malik, a version of this approach means gathering information that frames early struggles in statistics as common and temporary. His instructor can share data showing that many students who score poorly on the first quiz finish with a B or better, and two classmates who struggled early can describe what changed for them.

Intervention Two: Teaching That Ability Grows

Yeager et al. (2019) tested a brief online program, under an hour in total, teaching ninth graders that intelligence is not fixed and can grow when they work hard, change their approach and ask for help. In a nationally representative sample of more than 12,000 students in the United States, the program modestly improved grades among lower-achieving students and increased enrollment in advanced math. Effects were larger in schools where peer norms supported challenge-seeking, showing that the setting matters.

Malik is an adult, not a ninth grader, so the program would need adaptation. He could read a short article on how math skill develops with practice, write a brief letter to a future student describing how his own skill grew, and join a study group where asking questions is normal. The research suggests modest benefits, especially combined with a supportive setting.

Intervention Three: If-Then Plans

Gollwitzer and Sheeran (2006) pooled 94 studies of implementation intentions, which tie a named cue to a named action in advance, such as "If it is Tuesday at 7 p.m., then I will open the practice problems." Adding such plans to a goal raised the odds of reaching it by a meaningful margin compared with holding the goal alone, with benefits for starting tasks, staying on track despite distractions and recovering from setbacks.

For Malik, whose problem is not wanting but doing, this intervention fits best. His plans are: "If it is Tuesday or Thursday at 7 p.m., then I will do practice problems at the kitchen table for one hour." "If I get stuck for more than fifteen minutes, then I will post a question in the forum." "If I work overtime on a study day, then I will do thirty minutes on my lunch break the next day."

Malik never lacked the wish to pass statistics; he lacked a plan for what to do on a tired Tuesday night.

The Six-Week Plan

Week one: read the article on math skill development, hear from two classmates who struggled early and write his letter to a future student. Set his three if-then plans. Weeks two through six: follow the plans, attend one live review session each week and keep a simple log. After each quiz, write a one-sentence explanation of his score and label it with its locus, stability and controllability.

Measuring Progress

The plan tracks four indicators each week: hours of practice, quiz scores, the number of forum questions posted and the type of attribution he writes after each quiz. Success at six weeks would mean at least two hours of practice per week on average, quiz scores of 75 or higher and attributions that are mostly controllable. If practice hours stay low despite the plans, the plans need revising; if practice is high but scores stay low, he needs tutoring to address gaps in preparation rather than more motivation.

Why Not Change Everything at Once

It would be tempting to add more: a new study app, a reward system, a change of course section. Stacking on extra pieces would hide which one actually helped and raises the risk that Malik abandons the whole plan when one part fails. Three interventions, each tied to one diagnosed problem and each with research behind it, keep the plan manageable. If the indicators show progress, the plan stays; if not, the weekly log shows which piece to adjust first.

Anticipating Obstacles

The heaviest risk is a crisis week at work. The overtime plan addresses this, and he has told his supervisor about his study nights. Another risk is a poor score early in the plan reviving the old schema; reviewing his log of past improvements and his letter to a future student is his planned response.

What the Course Has Shown

Across the course, motivation appeared not as a single drive but as a system: needs for autonomy, competence and connection; beliefs about the self; impressions of others; explanations for outcomes; and the plans that link intention to action. Malik's story showed that each part can work for or against a person and that research-based changes to any part can shift behavior.

Conclusion

Malik's plan targets three problems with three interventions: reframing early setbacks as temporary, teaching that ability grows and turning intentions into if-then plans. Each has research support, though effects are typically modest and depend on context. Measuring behavior, scores and attributions weekly will show whether the plan is working and what to change if it is not.

References

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69-119. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38002-1

Wilson, T. D., & Linville, P. W. (1982). Improving the academic performance of college freshmen: Attribution therapy revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42(2), 367-376. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.42.2.367

Yeager, D. S., Hanselman, P., Walton, G. M., Murray, J. S., Crosnoe, R., Muller, C., Tipton, E., Schneider, B., Hulleman, C. S., Hinojosa, C. P., Paunesku, D., Romero, C., Flint, K., Roberts, A., Trott, J., Iachan, R., Buontempo, J., Yang, S. M., Carvalho, C. M., . . . Dweck, C. S. (2019). A national experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement. Nature, 573(7774), 364-369. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1466-y