References

Myers, D.G., DeWall, C.N., & Gruber, J. (2024). Psychology (14th ed.). MacMillan Publishers.

Assignment 4

Lab #2Personality and Motivation

Introduction

Locus of control is discussed in Chapter 12. People with an internal locus of control believe reward depends on their own behaviour while those with an external locus of control see reward as dependent on chance or fate.

Achievement motivation is discussed in Chapter 11. Research suggests that the motive to achieve success and the motive to avoid failure are different but related aspects of what motivates us to undertake tasks.

Your job is to write a paragraph providing some background information about these variables that lead to the hypotheses. There is much more information on these topics than what is in your text.

Hypotheses

Your first task is to determine a reasonable hypothesis (prediction) for the relationship you expect between locus of control and achievement motivation. You need to make two predictions: one for each aspect of motivation. You may develop a further hypothesis if you wish.

Method

Subjects:

Again we are going to analyse the data for 10 subjects but your job is to give the psychological tests to one subject. You must then submit your findings to the teaching assistant who will post them on D2L. Send your name and the scores for each variable: external locus of control, motive to achieve success and motive to avoid failure. Also include the age, and gender of your subject. If you submit these two weeks ahead of the due date, you will earn two points; one week ahead, you can earn one point.

Materials: Locus of Control Scale

Motivation Scale

Procedure:Each subject should complete both scales. Half the subjects should be given the Locus of Control Scale first; the other half should begin with the Motivation Scale.

Results

1. Score the Locus of Control Scale. The internal alternative is on the left. The external is on the right. Give one point for every external choice. The higher the score, the more external the locus of control. Scores can range between 0 and 10.
2. Score the Motivation Scale. Add the scores for the odd questions (1, 3, 5, 7, 9). This is the score for motive to achieve success. Now add the even items (2, 4, 6, 8, 10). This is the motive to avoid failure score. For each scale, scores can range between 5 and 35.
3. In a table, report the data for the 10 subjects for Locus of Control, motive to achieve success, and motive to avoid failure. Also provide the mean scores for the three variables.
4. Plot scattergrams for the Locus of Control score and each of the achievement scores. (You should have 10 points of data in each plot.) Scatterplots are discussed in Chapter 1. Interpret the relationships shown in the scattergrams in terms of strength and direction.

Discussion

1. We scored our scale to reflect external locus of control. What does that tell us about the internal locus of control? Could we have scored our scale to reflect internal locus of control instead?
2. Discuss the relationship between Locus of Control and achievement motivation. Did your scatterplots confirm your predictions?
3. Should peoples scores on the two motives differ? Did they? Why?
4. You might design further experiments or include other research you have read.
5. If you made further predictions, be sure to discuss them.