Cognitive Domains: Motivation

It’s that dreaded time again – you’re about to step on the scale. Well, it’s not always a dreaded activity. But for anyone who needs to lose weight, it can be a difficult moment if the numbers that appear aren’t what you were hoping for.

 

So here’s the good news. And you probably already know it. To change a situation like this you need to set an achievable goal. Then more motivation you have to change your lifestyle, the easier it will be to reach success. This is an example of how the cognitive domain of motivation can make a positive impact in your daily life.

 

In this example, your motivation could come from different sources. It might come from a health-related issue making it important to lose weight. Or, it could come from wanting to fit into a smaller size of clothes. Your motivation could even be just wanting to feel good about yourself and build your own confidence. Breaking routines in your life can be difficult. But in order to so, it's important for you to accept the challenge and believe that you can achieve your goal.

 

How Motivation is Defined

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Motivation is part of a larger concept called goal directed behavior. Goal directed behavior, under the wide concept of goal setting, is defined as follows by the APA Dictionary of Psychology:

 

"a process that establishes specific, time-based behavior targets that are measurable, achievable, and realistic. In work-related settings, for example, this practice usually provides employees with both (a) a basis for motivation, in terms of effort expended, and (b) guidelines or cues to behavior that will be required if the goal is to be met. Goal setting is effective only if individuals concerned are aware of what is to be accomplished and accept the goals for themselves, believing in their attainability."

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Goal directed behavior is part of a larger group called executive functions. You can read about executive functions here. 

 

How to Improve Your Motivation

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We’ve created tasks in the Cognishape app to help you break your previous routines, and help with your motivation to reach goals. Here’s an example of one of these tasks:

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“Appreciating new scenery is important. Choose a window you don't often look outside from. If you wish, you can take photos of any of the new or interesting things you see from it. How was the experience?”

 

This task works on improving attention and breaking routine (part of motivation).