Motivation & Anxiety

Motivation and Anxiety
According to Hebb's classic formulation (1955), optimal "hedonic tone" or sense of well-being, and hence performance in learning, is achieved at a moderate level of arousal. Too little arousal leads to boredom, and too much to anxiety, both of which inhibit effective performance.
This model serves quite well for present purposes, but has been effectively criticized and modified by Apter (1989). He distinguishes two modes of experience—one is oriented towards excitement (with boredom as its opposite pole), and the other towards relaxation, with anxiety as its opposite pole.	There are parallels in this with my Skeleton and Shell model.

The so-called "accelerated learning" movement, on the other hand, argues that learning is best achieved in a state of minimal anxiety and relaxation. However, in the words of one of their sites: "Accelerated Learning is a proven method of increasing the absorption of knowledge." That is a rather limited conception of learning, so even if Lozanov's (its founder's) theories are correct their applicability may be limited. A fuller discussion of motivation should also cover Deep and Surface learning. `Original content updated and hosted at www.learningandteaching.info/learning/`	http://www.excel-ability.com/ Models/AcceleratedL.html There is a lot of hype about Accelerated Learning on the web—much of it with a business slant, but little evaluation. See Innovations

Motivation and Anxiety