How Achievement Motivation is affected by Socioeconomic Background, Race, and Family Structure
Motivation is defined as the driving force behind an individual's actions, which can facilitate achievement of goals. People tend to take risk and perform dangerous activities to meet their needs and fulfill their interests. One expects negative and positive feedbacks, therefore, need to be motivated to ensure achievement of the objectives or self-satisfaction. Achievement motivation is the desire to perform better and acquire unique accomplishment, compete with the set standards of excellence, and involve with achievement goals that are long-term (Kavita " Malipatil, 2016). Achievement motivation constitutes the behaviors towards development and demonstration of higher capabilities by people. An individual is aware that he/she has the responsibility of a particular outcome and has to work hand to produce desired results. The goal is always to succeed and record good performance against the standards of excellence or in comparison to other competitors. People differ in strength and motive to achieve while challenges vary in the risk they pose as well as the opportunities they offer. The motivation for success in something is affected by personality and environmental factors. Achievement motivation is influenced by various factors such as social, economic status, race, as well as family structure.
Social, economic status and Achievement motivation
Social, economic status of an individual is the measure of work experience and the family's economic and social state about other people about income, occupation, and education. The household income is an important determiner of one's socioeconomic status since it determines several aspects such as quality of education and the career of an individual. For instance, in families with higher income, education is of great importance but in more impoverished areas food is of concern that is more significant. Kavita and Malipatil (2016) argue that social, economic status is essential in determining the behavior of an individual. The social conditions, which a person interacts with, provide a framework for the acquisition of values, practices, as well as procedures of some activities. The environment helps in developing unique personality traits that constitute the driving force to achieve some set goals. For instance, in sport, the social-economic background of players affects characteristics such as achievement motivation extensively. If one comes from a society that is renowned for sporting activities or produced great sports personalities, there is a higher possibility of such an individual having great interest in sports. Kavita and Malipatil (2016) found out that sportswomen from low socio-economic status possess high achievement motivation compared to those from high SES. The family can have a significant impact on members’ motivation by providing feelings of security, affection, as well as economic sufficiency.
Race and Achievement motivation
The race is another determiner of achievement motivation, and any discrimination has a negative impact on the individual. People from minority races face several challenges in life due to harmful stereotypes they suffer from their colleagues belonging to the majority races. Racial prejudice may occur in schools, communities, and among peers affecting their mental health outcomes (Wood " Graham, 2010). This, in turn, affects achievement of the motivation of various individuals in activities they undertake. The stress from racial discrimination can explain for the existence of persistent gaps in performance in various fields such as academics, athletics, and sports. This may be due to reduced achievement motivation by discriminated individuals who feel prejudiced. Individuals from the black minority race are likely to be less motivated in achieving specific goals if they feel that their white counterparts are exposed to better privileges. The perception that one may be treated differently or in an unfair way due to race leads to the stress of experiencing negative expectations about the ethnic group (Wood " Graham, 2010). Although some people may develop strategies to deal with the pain of racial discrimination, self-motivation and desire to achieve their goals may be affected negatively.
Family Structure and Achievement motivation
The family structure can be of significant influence to children's achievement motivation depending on the parenting style. Modern parenting styles can affect children achievement motivation in various fields including academic and co-curricular activities. Some parents are highly controlling while others are quite relaxed during parenting. For instance, some children are forced to go through music lessons and regimented academics in which children are shamed in case of underperformance. Achievement motivation in such families is meant to please parents as well as ensure satisfaction of cultural norms rather than benefit a child (Chakraborty, 2017). Some parents connect with their children very well by getting involved in their kids’ experiences and issues. However, being overprotective to children can make them hesitate to overcome challenges and less motivated. Whenever kids feel that their parents are always there, they can become less motivated to do something by themselves thus may not set their targets. Parents have a significant role in fostering independence and achievement motivation to their children. The family set up can be of considerable influence to growing children thus a right environment will be of more benefits (Chakraborty, 2017). Being open and discussing issues affecting family members is a right way of encouraging kids to venture out on their own and discover their strengths and weaknesses.
Implications
Motivation is the driving force in achieving targets as it provides a critical foundation for planning, organization, as well as decision-making in individuals. Achievement is a task-oriented behavior as individual performance is accessed against some set standards to determine the level of accomplishment. Achievement motivation combines two personality variables that include the tendency to approach success and to avoid failure (Wood " Graham, 2010). It allows people to steer towards targets and dominate challenging tasks that will enable them to get quality results. Achievement motivation makes it possible for people to pursue jobs that they feel that they are valuable in their lives. It is an essential aspect of schools, sports, and careers since it facilitates positive results by individuals. Individuals that fail to achieve their targets record poor performance as well as failure to enjoy their everyday life. Besides, some may experience stress and withdrawal, which can affect their emotional well-being.
Conclusion
Motivation achievement involves personal strive for particular goals and a profound driving force to engage in some tasks for personal accomplishment. Several factors affect motivation desire to achieve, which include socio-economic and social factors, family structure, and race. Each of them can have the different effect on an individual depending on the perception. For instance, a strict family upbringing may make a child more focused to achieve goals while others can rebel against parental control. Achievement motivation is associated with hard work in various fields such as education, sports, and careers since it can influence individuals' performance.
References
Chakraborty, J. (2017). A Study of Family Relation Structure Stress and Achievement Motivation of Higher Secondary Students.
Kavita, S. H., " Malipatil, R. P. (2016). Influence of Socio-Economic Status on Achievement Motivation of Sports Women. International Journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health 2016; 3(6): 440-442.
Wood, D., " Graham, S. (2010). Why Race Matters: Social Context and Achievement Motivation in African American Youth. In The Decade Ahead: Applications and Contexts of Motivation and Achievement (pp. 175-209). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
