KKJanuary is exam time, and for many, this means a challenging phase while they struggle to find tiny sparks of motivation as they sit at their books and laptops. In recent years, Irina Andreitz, Senior Scientist at the Department of Instructional and School Development, has offered courses on motivation, primarily aimed at student teachers. This much is evident from motivational psychology, one of her main areas of research: in the long term, it is pointless to battle against a presumed inner enemy that prevents you from sitting at your desk and studying or finally getting your tax return done. In our interview, the psychologist shares insights on approaches that can yield rewards in terms of long-term motivation.

Are we destined to either have or lack motivation?
This is certainly one way to discuss motivation – regardless of the type of desired action, be it studying or washing dishes. You can have an abundance or a lack of motivation, enough or too little. In motivational psychology, however, we are also interested in the quality of motivation. If we strive to feel more motivated, we need to ask ourselves what kind of motivation will inspire us to take the desired action in the long term.
What are the qualities of motivation?
People often report that they only get work done and are only able to complete long-postponed tasks while under pressure. At this point we have to ask ourselves: where does the pressure come from? Is there a deadline that is forcing me to write a seminar paper or complete a tax return? Or is this pressure coming from within myself? Of course, some drivers have positive connotations and are not associated with feelings of pressure: am I doing something because I enjoy it? Or am I doing it because I know it’s crucial to achieving goals I care about?
Why is it important to consider the quality of one’s personal motivation?
The type of motivation often affects whether we are able to initiate action and ultimately succeed in the way we intended. Research has shown, for example, that people who fear a negative grade or who promise themselves a vacation as a reward after passing an exam may be more motivated in the short term, but are unable to maintain this behaviour in the long term. In other words, if fear of punishment or the prospect of reward is the only motivating factor, motivation will wane when fear or joyful anticipation disappear.
So, “duty before pleasure” is not a helpful motto, is it?
Some people find this motto works well for them. But it does nothing for those individuals who put off important tasks even though they actually have the time and opportunity to complete them. A student described this as follows in her reflection during one of my courses: “I tried to give myself some sort of reward for completing a task early (it doesn’t help, the reward is never attractive enough and I’m sufficiently unscrupulous to reward myself even if I don’t complete it)”. And this is where things get really interesting, both theoretically and practically: how can we motivate ourselves if the prospect of a reward is not enough?
Let’s go back to the pressure that many people need in order, for instance, to prepare for an exam or hand in their term paper by a certain date. Can this pressure actually be useful?
This requires asking very individual questions: how stressed am I by the pressure of an exam deadline or a submission deadline? Am I occasionally unable to sleep or eat, does tunnel vision set in? Is the quality of my work suffering because I have so little time left? Some people consciously accept having to work under stressful conditions. But, throughout their lives, others will regularly find themselves in such situations against their will. In this case, it may be worth doing something about it.
Is it not simply a case of better time management and using a few tricks to ensure success?
It’s true that motivation is not the only factor that determines whether you achieve your goals. Other types of capacity for self-control are also crucial. Let’s take the example of a term paper you have been meaning to write for some time. When faced with this, a person may feel emotionally overwhelmed and despondent and as a result may turn away instead of working on it. Part of self-regulation is being able to deal with these kinds of feelings. Then there are also thoughts that either block or empower. “I’m no good at anything anyway.”, “I have always been bad at writing these kinds of papers.”, “My mother always used to say that.” or “I don’t have the knack for it.” are of little help. People who tend to procrastinate often have so-called permission-granting thoughts: “I’m not going to finish this task today, so I’ll get up at 4 a.m. tomorrow and do twice as much.” That often doesn’t happen either.
So, it seems that there is no panacea to boost motivation.
No, it largely depends on which challenges the person is facing. The problem is often narrowed down to time management or working methods. But for many, this is not a problem at all. Then it is worth finding out exactly where the problem lies. What causes me to put off tasks? Am I struggling with negative thoughts? Do I have the feeling that I simply can’t stand the boredom of certain tasks? Am I afraid of failing? It is also important to consider the question: what motivates me?
What is the story behind the enemy within that we are commonly told to overcome?
There’s no such thing as the enemy within. And we certainly don’t have to fight or defeat it. I think it’s very important to emphasize this point. The issue is not that there is something inside us that we have to battle so that we finally conform to an idea of what we define as successful. This approach may work in the short term, but in the long term it doesn’t help us achieve our goals and it certainly doesn’t help our mental well-being. Instead, it’s about figuring out what constitutes the part of me that can’t get going, that keeps putting things off, that is anxious, that triggers discouraging thoughts. If we attempt to fight or outwit the presumed enemy within, it gains even more prominence in our consciousness. A more interesting and purposeful approach is to ask ourselves which needs this part within us represents.
Do people who are obviously motivated really have an easier life?
We experienced something interesting in my course on procrastination in this regard. Contrary to my expectations, the participants in this course were not only procrastinators, but also non-procrastinators and people who do everything immediately. We decided to try a change of perspective. The people who do everything immediately were asked to define and describe their work processes as a group. When these students subsequently presented their findings to the procrastinators, they described feeling intense pressure. They experience their own inner drivers, which motivate them, as a source of stress. For those procrastinators listening, this was interesting to hear. This is because many of them previously believed that there was something like a holy grail which, once found, would manoeuvre them into a motivational kingdom of heaven. If only they could develop to that point, everything would be effortless for them. As it turned out, this was a misconception. Ultimately, everyone benefited from the change in perspective.
What about finding meaning in what we do? Can this help?
Meaning is a hot lead. After all, when it comes to activities that are fun and enjoyable per se or that are very important to us personally, there are no motivational issues. Things get interesting when we’re confronted with tasks that don’t immediately make sense to us. We all have to do things that we don’t enjoy, whether it’s the term paper, the tax return or the washing up. Here we face the question: how can I still get this work done? And: how can I cope with those inner parts that resist in such a way that I acknowledge them but they don’t constantly get in my way?
 

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About the person

Irina Andreitz is a Senior Scientist at the Department of Instructional and School Development. Her research focuses on motivational psychology, educational research and counselling. In the upcoming summer semester, she will once again be offering the seminar mentioned in the interview “Say goodbye to procrastination: strategies against procrastination in teacher training”.
Der Beitrag “There’s no such thing as the enemy within.” erschien zuerst auf University of Klagenfurt.