VideosVideosVideosVideosImprovement Pill
5 mins 48 secs
Ages 11 - 17
This video explores a study on motivation conducted with 5th graders, highlighting the impact of internal versus external locus of control on motivation levels. It emphasizes the importance of believing in one's ability to control outcomes through effort and hard work to maintain motivation.
A study was conducted in 1998 at Columbia University by Professor Claudia M. Mueller. She took a large group of 5th graders and had them work on numerous puzzles by themselves. These were very challenging puzzles, but regardless of how well each child did, they were told that they scored very well and did better than most of the other kids. Afterwards, half of these students were told that they scored high because they worked hard, while the other half were told that it was all because they were smart and gifted. Then, they presented each student with three more types of puzzles to work on: easy ones, medium difficulty ones, and extremely challenging ones. What they found was very interesting. The students who were told that they did well because they were smart spent the majority of their time on the easy puzzles. They spent almost no time on the extremely challenging puzzles and spent much less time overall trying to solve any of the puzzles, which was a sign of lower levels of motivation. To top it all off, when asked whether or not they enjoyed the experiment, they said that it wasn't that fun for them. On the other hand, the students who were told that they did well because they worked hard spent the majority of their time focused on the harder puzzles. They also spent a lot more time overall attempting to solve any of the puzzles, which was a sign of increased levels of motivation. To top it all off, after the experiment, they said that they actually enjoyed the entire experience. So, what can we learn from this study? Well, there's a concept called the locus of control, which is essentially the degree to which you believe you have control over your life. The kids who were told that they did well because they were smart and gifted were led to believe in what's called an external locus of control. They were led to believe that factors outside of what they could control were the reason they did well. You can't control whether or not you're born smart. On the other hand, the kids who were told they did well because they worked hard started to believe in what's called an internal locus of control. They believed that it was factors they controlled that led to their outcomes. It was their hard work and extra effort that allowed them to do well on the puzzles. How much work you put into something is something that you have complete control over. Studies on the locus of control, like this one, have found time and time again that having an internal locus of control is the key to staying motivated. You must feel like you have control over your life and that you are responsible for the things that happen to you if you want to feel motivated all the time. I saw this happen with my own eyes back in the day when I was in charge of a sales team. This wasn't retail sales or car sales; this was old-school door-to-door sales, which has one of the highest turnover rates. Most people only last a week before quitting. You need to be an extremely motivated individual to be able to face hundreds and hundreds of rejections every single day before someone even considers buying something from you. Over time, I was able to develop a keen eye for who would actually last.