This test focuses on motivation in depth: its main theories, the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and how teachers apply rewards, praise, competition and goal-setting in real classrooms, including work with under-motivated pupils.
Theories of Motivation
Q1. In motivation theory, a motive is best defined as:
- (A) An inner state that energises, directs and sustains behaviour toward a goal
- (B) A mark awarded after a test
- (C) A habit formed by repetition alone
- (D) A punishment that stops behaviour
Show Answer
Answer: A – Motivation is an inner process that arouses, directs and maintains behaviour toward goals.
Q2. Drive theory explains motivation mainly as an attempt to:
- (A) Seek novelty for its own sake
- (B) Gain social approval only
- (C) Reduce an internal state of tension caused by an unmet need
- (D) Follow a model without thinking
Show Answer
Answer: C – Drive theory holds that a need creates tension (a drive), and behaviour aims to reduce that tension and restore balance.
Q3. A thirsty pupil keeps thinking about water during a lesson and cannot focus on the teacher. Drive theory would describe thirst here as a:
- (A) Secondary reinforcer
- (B) Cognitive schema
- (C) Learned motive
- (D) Primary drive arising from a biological need
Show Answer
Answer: D – Primary drives arise from basic biological needs such as hunger and thirst, and push behaviour toward satisfying them.
Q4. According to Herzberg, a rise in salary mainly affects:
- (A) Motivators
- (B) Hygiene factors
- (C) Self-actualisation
- (D) Expectancy
Show Answer
Answer: B – Pay is a hygiene factor: fair pay prevents dissatisfaction, but by itself it does not motivate.
Q5. A pupil works hard because she expects that revision will raise her marks, and she values high marks. Her belief that revision will actually improve performance is called:
- (A) Valence
- (B) Instrumentality
- (C) Attribution
- (D) Expectancy
Show Answer
Answer: D – Expectancy is the belief that effort will lead to successful performance.
Q6. In expectancy theory, valence refers to:
- (A) How hard a task feels
- (B) How much the learner values the expected outcome
- (C) How often a reward is given
- (D) How similar a model is to the learner
Show Answer
Answer: B – Valence is the value or attractiveness a person places on a particular outcome.
Q7. Goal-setting theory proposes that performance is strongest when goals are:
- (A) Specific, challenging and accepted by the learner
- (B) Vague and easy for everyone
- (C) Set without any feedback
- (D) Imposed without explanation
Show Answer
Answer: A – Goal-setting research finds specific, difficult but attainable goals, accepted by the learner and supported by feedback, raise performance.
Q8. A teacher tells a pupil, “Improve your spelling,” with no target or deadline. According to goal-setting theory, the main weakness of this goal is that it is:
- (A) Too challenging
- (B) Too specific
- (C) Vague, with no clear standard for success
- (D) Too short-term
Show Answer
Answer: C – Vague goals like “improve” give no clear target, so learners cannot judge progress or direct effort effectively.
Q9. Attribution theory in education is mainly concerned with:
- (A) How teachers mark papers
- (B) The causes learners believe explain their success or failure
- (C) How schools rank classes
- (D) The order of topics in a syllabus
Show Answer
Answer: B – Attribution theory studies the perceived causes (such as effort, ability, task difficulty or luck) that learners assign to outcomes.
Q10. A pupil who passes a test says, “I worked hard and used the right method.” This attribution is best classified as:
- (A) Internal, unstable and controllable
- (B) External, stable and uncontrollable
- (C) Internal, stable and uncontrollable
- (D) External, unstable and controllable
Show Answer
Answer: A – Effort and strategy are internal to the pupil, can change over time (unstable), and are within the pupil’s control.
Q11. A pupil attributes every failure to low ability, which he believes cannot change. The most likely motivational consequence is:
- (A) Greater persistence after failure
- (B) Stronger interest in challenge
- (C) Reduced effort, because trying seems pointless
- (D) More accurate self-assessment automatically
Show Answer
Answer: C – Attributing failure to stable, uncontrollable low ability lowers expectancy of future success and undermines persistence.
Q12. A pupil says, “I failed because the test was unusually hard this time.” This attribution is:
- (A) Internal and controllable
- (B) Internal and stable
- (C) External and controllable by the pupil
- (D) External and unstable
Show Answer
Answer: D – Task difficulty is external to the pupil, and “unusually hard this time” makes it unstable, since it may differ next time.
Q13. Which attribution pattern is most adaptive for a pupil after failure, according to attribution theory?
- (A) Blaming bad luck that cannot be changed
- (B) Blaming fixed low ability
- (C) Attributing failure to insufficient effort or a poor strategy that can be changed
- (D) Blaming classmates for distraction
Show Answer
Answer: C – Effort and strategy attributions are controllable and changeable, so they preserve expectancy and encourage a new attempt.
Q14. Which statement best describes the scope of drive theory?
- (A) It explains all motivation through social approval alone
- (B) It denies that biological needs create tension
- (C) It explains learning only through observation of models
- (D) It explains behaviour mainly as reducing tension from unmet needs, so it fits hunger and thirst better than curiosity-driven exploration
Show Answer
Answer: D – Drive theory centres on need-based tension reduction, which fits biological drives well but accounts poorly for curiosity that is not tied to such a need.
Q15. A pupil believes, “If I score well, my parents will praise me, and that praise matters a lot to me.” In expectancy terms, the link between good performance and praise is:
- (A) Expectancy
- (B) Instrumentality
- (C) Drive
- (D) Attribution
Show Answer
Answer: B – Instrumentality is the belief that successful performance will lead to a particular outcome, here praise.
Q16. Goal-setting theory stresses feedback because feedback allows learners to:
- (A) Compare current performance with the goal and adjust effort
- (B) Avoid setting any further goals
- (C) Compete with classmates automatically
- (D) Forget the original goal
Show Answer
Answer: A – Feedback shows the gap between present performance and the goal, guiding adjustment of effort and strategy.
Q17. A teacher sets a class goal of “mastering 20 new words this week, checked in two short quizzes.” This goal is strongest because it is:
- (A) Specific, measurable and time-bound
- (B) Vague and open-ended
- (C) Focused on punishment
- (D) Set for the whole term without checks
Show Answer
Answer: A – A clear number, a defined task and a weekly check make the goal specific, measurable and time-bound.
Q18. A pupil who has learned helplessness after repeated failure is most likely to:
- (A) Try harder after each setback
- (B) Give up quickly, believing effort will not change the outcome
- (C) Seek more challenging work
- (D) Attribute success to effort
Show Answer
Answer: B – Learned helplessness is the belief, formed after repeated uncontrollable failure, that one’s actions cannot change outcomes, leading to early withdrawal.
Q19. Which teacher response best counters learned helplessness?
- (A) Giving only very easy work forever
- (B) Telling the pupil that ability is fixed
- (C) Removing all feedback
- (D) Breaking work into achievable steps and attributing success to effort and strategy
Show Answer
Answer: D – Graded mastery experiences plus effort attributions rebuild the belief that actions affect outcomes.
Q20. A pupil who sees no connection between effort and outcome and has given up trying best illustrates:
- (A) Intrinsic motivation
- (B) Extrinsic motivation
- (C) Amotivation
- (D) Achievement motivation
Show Answer
Answer: C – Amotivation is the absence of motivation when a person sees no link between effort and outcome.
Q21. A pupil works on a project because the topic fascinates him, he can choose his approach, and he feels capable of finishing it. Self-determination theory would predict that his motivation is likely to be:
- (A) Purely extrinsic
- (B) Based on fear
- (C) Short-lived and fragile
- (D) Intrinsic and sustained
Show Answer
Answer: D – Interest, choice (autonomy) and competence together support intrinsic, sustained engagement.
Q22. Which scenario best illustrates expectancy theory breaking down?
- (A) A pupil values a prize and believes effort will earn it
- (B) A pupil receives clear feedback on progress
- (C) A pupil believes that no matter how hard he tries, the marking will remain unfair, so he stops trying
- (D) A pupil sets a specific weekly goal
Show Answer
Answer: C – When the effort-to-performance or performance-to-outcome link is seen as broken, expectancy falls and motivation drops.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
Q23. A pupil practises calligraphy daily because she enjoys the beauty of the script itself. This is an example of:
- (A) Intrinsic motivation
- (B) Extrinsic motivation
- (C) Drive reduction
- (D) Negative reinforcement
Show Answer
Answer: A – The activity is pursued for its own enjoyment, which defines intrinsic motivation.
Q24. A pupil memorises dates only to avoid a scolding at home. His motivation is mainly:
- (A) Intrinsic
- (B) Extrinsic, based on avoiding an unpleasant consequence
- (C) Based on curiosity
- (D) Based on self-actualization
Show Answer
Answer: B – Working to avoid scolding is driven by an external consequence, not by interest in the task itself.
Q25. Research on the overjustification effect warns that offering a large expected reward for an already enjoyable activity can:
- (A) Always increase enjoyment permanently
- (B) Reduce later interest when the reward is removed, as the activity becomes linked to the reward
- (C) Improve memory automatically
- (D) Remove the need for feedback
Show Answer
Answer: B – The overjustification effect occurs when an extrinsic reason overshadows intrinsic interest, so interest drops once the reward ends.
Q26. A teacher wants to reward a pupil who already loves reading without harming that love. The safest reward approach is to:
- (A) Pay the pupil for every page read
- (B) Promise a prize before every reading session
- (C) Make reading conditional on winning a contest
- (D) Give unexpected praise about the books chosen and the ideas discussed
Show Answer
Answer: D – Unexpected, informational praise is less controlling than expected payment per page, so it is less likely to undermine intrinsic interest.
Q27. Which pair best contrasts intrinsic and extrinsic motivation?
- (A) Marks versus grades
- (B) Praise versus prizes
- (C) Interest in the task itself versus an outcome separate from the task
- (D) Homework versus classwork
Show Answer
Answer: C – Intrinsic motivation is for the task itself; extrinsic motivation is for a separate outcome such as marks, prizes or approval.
Q28. A pupil says, “I enjoy solving puzzles because figuring them out feels satisfying.” The satisfying feeling described here is a sign of:
- (A) Intrinsic reward
- (B) External prize
- (C) Social pressure
- (D) Drive tension
Show Answer
Answer: A – Satisfaction from the activity itself is an intrinsic reward, distinct from external prizes or pressure.
Q29. Extrinsic motivation is not always harmful. It is most useful in the classroom when it:
- (A) Replaces all interest permanently
- (B) Is the only reason pupils attend school
- (C) Helps start engagement with a dull but necessary task while interest is built
- (D) Makes pupils depend on prizes for every action
Show Answer
Answer: C – Extrinsic motivators can usefully initiate work on necessary but initially uninteresting tasks, provided teachers also build interest and competence.
Q30. Which pupil best illustrates intrinsic motivation?
- (A) A pupil who reads extra stories because she enjoys the stories themselves
- (B) A pupil who reads only to earn a certificate
- (C) A pupil who reads only to avoid a scolding
- (D) A pupil who reads only to beat a classmate in a contest
Show Answer
Answer: A – Reading for enjoyment of the stories themselves is motivated by the activity, not by a separate external outcome.
Q31. A pupil who once loved drawing now draws only when a sticker is promised, and stops when stickers end. This pattern best illustrates:
- (A) Increased intrinsic motivation
- (B) The overjustification effect
- (C) Improved self-efficacy
- (D) Vicarious learning
Show Answer
Answer: B – When an expected extrinsic reward becomes the perceived reason for an enjoyable activity, interest often falls once the reward is withdrawn.
Q32. Which statement about extrinsic rewards is most balanced for teachers?
- (A) Rewards always destroy learning
- (B) Rewards should never be used in school
- (C) Rewards work best when they are large and frequent
- (D) Rewards can support learning when informational and tied to effort, but can harm interest when controlling and expected for every task
Show Answer
Answer: D – Rewards are not uniformly good or bad: informational rewards tied to effort support competence, while controlling expected rewards can undermine intrinsic interest.
Q33. A teacher praises a pupil by saying, “Your summary was clear because you picked the main idea in each paragraph.” This praise is effective mainly because it is:
- (A) Specific and informative about the strategy used
- (B) Given loudly in front of the class
- (C) Repeated after every sentence
- (D) Focused on the pupil’s fixed ability
Show Answer
Answer: A – Specific praise names the strategy, so the pupil knows what to repeat and feels competent.
Q34. Which praise practice is most likely to damage motivation over time?
- (A) Praising effort and strategy after genuine progress
- (B) Praising improvement in a struggling pupil
- (C) Giving sincere, occasional recognition
- (D) Praising every pupil identically for every trivial action, regardless of effort
Show Answer
Answer: D – Indiscriminate praise loses meaning, teaches pupils that effort does not matter, and can be seen as insincere.
Q35. A teacher who praises ability (“You are so clever”) rather than effort may unintentionally encourage pupils to:
- (A) Seek harder challenges confidently
- (B) Avoid difficult work for fear of looking less clever
- (C) Attribute success to strategy
- (D) Persist longer after failure
Show Answer
Answer: B – Ability praise links worth to being clever, so pupils may avoid challenge where failure could threaten that image.
Q36. In a class, competition is used as a short team quiz where every team can earn points for improvement, not only for winning. This form of competition is better motivated because it emphasises:
- (A) Public ranking of individuals
- (B) Elimination of weaker teams
- (C) Personal and team progress rather than only beating others
- (D) A single large prize for one winner
Show Answer
Answer: C – Competition based on improvement gives all learners a reachable goal and protects self-efficacy, unlike winner-takes-all ranking.
Q37. A teacher sets a long-term goal for the term, then breaks it into weekly targets with short feedback sessions. According to goal-setting theory, the weekly targets help mainly by:
- (A) Making the goal vaguer
- (B) Removing the need for effort
- (C) Replacing the long-term goal entirely
- (D) Providing proximal goals that show progress and sustain effort toward the distant goal
Show Answer
Answer: D – Proximal (short-term) goals give frequent feedback and a sense of progress, sustaining effort toward distal goals.
Q38. Which goal is most likely to motivate a pupil who is far behind in mathematics?
- (A) A clear, reachable next step, such as mastering one type of problem this week, with feedback
- (B) A demand to top the class by next week
- (C) A vague instruction to work harder
- (D) No goal, to avoid pressure
Show Answer
Answer: A – A reachable proximal goal builds mastery and expectancy, whereas an impossible goal or no goal undermines effort.
Q39. A teacher allows pupils to choose between two essay topics and to decide the order of their revision tasks. This choice supports motivation mainly through:
- (A) Increased competition
- (B) Increased external control
- (C) Autonomy
- (D) Increased punishment
Show Answer
Answer: C – Choice increases autonomy, a core support for intrinsic motivation in self-determination theory.
Q40. A pupil is motivated by a desire to understand the topic deeply rather than to outperform classmates. This orientation is called:
- (A) Performance-avoidance orientation
- (B) Mastery (learning) orientation
- (C) Helpless orientation
- (D) Extrinsic orientation only
Show Answer
Answer: B – A mastery orientation focuses on learning, understanding and improvement, rather than on outperforming others.
Classroom Application: Rewards, Goals and Under-Motivation
Q41. A pupil who works mainly to avoid looking stupid in front of classmates shows a:
- (A) Mastery orientation
- (B) Performance-avoidance orientation
- (C) Intrinsic orientation
- (D) Curiosity orientation
Show Answer
Answer: B – Performance-avoidance orientation is driven by avoiding negative judgements about ability, rather than by learning itself.
Q42. A teacher finds an under-motivated pupil is bored because the work is far too easy. The best first response is to:
- (A) Give more of the same easy work
- (B) Punish the pupil for boredom
- (C) Increase challenge to a level that matches the pupil’s ability and offers choice
- (D) Remove the pupil from the class
Show Answer
Answer: C – Boredom from too-easy work is a task mismatch; raising challenge appropriately and offering choice restores engagement.
Q43. An under-motivated pupil says, “I am just bad at science.” The teacher’s most helpful first step is to:
- (A) Help the pupil see past results as linked to effort and strategy, and set a small achievable science goal
- (B) Agree that ability is fixed
- (C) Move the pupil to an easier subject permanently
- (D) Increase homework without support
Show Answer
Answer: A – Re-attributing failure to changeable effort and strategy, plus a reachable goal, rebuilds expectancy and persistence.
Q44. Which classroom routine best sustains motivation across a term?
- (A) One large prize at the end with no feedback in between
- (B) Surprise tests with no warning
- (C) Public ranking after every lesson
- (D) Regular specific feedback, small goals, and recognition of progress
Show Answer
Answer: D – Regular feedback, proximal goals and progress recognition sustain expectancy, competence and effort over time.
Q45. A teacher uses a token system where pupils earn tokens for completed work and exchange them for a class privilege. For this system to support rather than harm motivation, the teacher should also:
- (A) Make tokens the only reason to learn
- (B) Give tokens randomly without explanation
- (C) Pair tokens with feedback about learning and gradually build interest and competence
- (D) Withdraw all teaching once tokens start
Show Answer
Answer: C – Token systems work best when paired with informative feedback and a gradual build-up of interest and mastery, not as the sole reason to learn.
Q46. A pupil who is anxious about failing avoids answering in class. A motivationally sound teacher response is to:
- (A) Force the pupil to answer first every day
- (B) Create low-risk chances to answer, praise effort, and normalise mistakes as part of learning
- (C) Ignore the pupil completely
- (D) Tell the class the pupil is weak
Show Answer
Answer: B – Low-risk participation, effort praise and normalising mistakes reduce performance-avoidance anxiety and build confidence.
Q47. Which teacher action best applies expectancy theory in a lesson?
- (A) Setting a task with no link between effort and success
- (B) Promising an outcome pupils do not value
- (C) Hiding how marks are awarded
- (D) Showing clearly how effort and strategy lead to success, and making the outcome valued and attainable
Show Answer
Answer: D – Expectancy theory requires clear effort-to-performance and performance-to-outcome links, with a valued outcome.
Q48. A school replaces a single end-of-term prize with weekly recognition of effort, improvement and helpfulness. This change is most likely to:
- (A) Broaden motivation, since more pupils can experience success and progress
- (B) Reduce motivation for all pupils
- (C) Make competition the only motive
- (D) Remove the need for teaching
Show Answer
Answer: A – Recognising effort and improvement gives many pupils attainable success, supporting expectancy and self-efficacy.
Q49. A pupil sets a goal to “read one chapter and write five questions about it by Friday.” This goal is good because it is:
- (A) Specific and time-bound, with a clear product to check
- (B) Vague and easy to avoid
- (C) Focused only on beating others
- (D) Set without any deadline
Show Answer
Answer: A – The goal names the task, the product and the deadline, so progress can be checked and feedback given.
Q50. When a pupil fails, a teacher says, “You used the wrong method this time; let us try a different approach together.” This feedback encourages an attribution to:
- (A) Fixed ability
- (B) Bad luck
- (C) Strategy, which is changeable and controllable
- (D) Task difficulty alone
Show Answer
Answer: C – Pointing to method attributes failure to strategy, a controllable and unstable cause that supports a fresh attempt.
Q51. A teacher wants to check whether under-motivation in her class comes from low expectancy, low value, or task mismatch. The most useful step is to:
- (A) Increase punishment for the whole class
- (B) Ask pupils about difficulty, interest and confidence, and observe where effort drops
- (C) Assume all pupils are lazy
- (D) Remove all choice from lessons
Show Answer
Answer: B – Diagnosis through pupil views and observation separates expectancy, value and mismatch problems, so the intervention fits the cause.
Q52. Which combination best supports a mastery orientation in a classroom?
- (A) Ranking pupils and praising only top marks
- (B) Comparing every pupil with the class topper
- (C) Punishing all mistakes
- (D) Valuing effort, improvement and understanding, with feedback on how to improve
Show Answer
Answer: D – Mastery orientation grows when effort, improvement and understanding are valued and feedback shows how to progress.
Q53. A pupil is highly motivated by a topic but loses interest when the teacher controls every step and gives no choice. Self-determination theory explains this mainly as a loss of:
- (A) Competition
- (B) Punishment
- (C) External rewards
- (D) Autonomy
Show Answer
Answer: D – Removing choice undermines autonomy, one of the three needs that sustain intrinsic motivation.
Q54. A teacher gives a struggling pupil a task slightly above his current level, with support to succeed. This is motivating because it balances:
- (A) Boredom and fear
- (B) Challenge and competence, creating a sense of achievable progress
- (C) Punishment and reward equally
- (D) Competition and isolation
Show Answer
Answer: B – Optimal challenge, slightly above current skill with support, builds competence without overwhelming the learner.
Q55. Which reward is most likely to be experienced as informational rather than controlling?
- (A) A prize promised only if the pupil beats everyone else
- (B) A star given to stop misbehaviour
- (C) Feedback that explains what was done well and how to build on it, with recognition of progress
- (D) A reward withdrawn if the pupil asks questions
Show Answer
Answer: C – Informational rewards convey competence information; controlling rewards pressure behaviour and can undermine autonomy.
Q56. A teacher reviews her class and finds motivation rises when pupils understand the purpose of the work. This finding best supports the idea that motivation depends on:
- (A) Perceived value and relevance of the task
- (B) The size of the classroom
- (C) The length of the lesson alone
- (D) The number of tests given
Show Answer
Answer: A – When pupils see value and relevance (valence in expectancy terms), they are more willing to invest effort.
Q57. An under-motivated pupil completes work when the teacher sits beside him but stops when alone. The teacher’s best next step is to:
- (A) Sit beside him permanently
- (B) Gradually build independence with clear goals, check-ins and success experiences
- (C) Remove all support at once
- (D) Give the pupil easier work with no goals
Show Answer
Answer: B – Fading support while building goals, check-ins and mastery experiences develops self-regulation and independent motivation.
Q58. Which statement best summarises the classroom use of motivation theories together?
- (A) Set clear goals, make effort lead to valued success, attribute outcomes to effort and strategy, and protect autonomy and interest
- (B) Rely on prizes alone for every task
- (C) Use competition alone for every pupil
- (D) Avoid feedback to keep pupils guessing
Show Answer
Answer: A – Together, goal-setting, expectancy, attribution and self-determination theories point to clear goals, valued outcomes, changeable attributions, autonomy and interest.
Q59. A pupil who previously gave up now persists after a teacher breaks tasks into steps, praises strategy, and lets him choose the order of work. The change best reflects combined gains in:
- (A) Fear and dependence
- (B) Competition alone
- (C) Memorisation speed alone
- (D) Self-efficacy, autonomy and expectancy of success
Show Answer
Answer: D – Graded steps build self-efficacy, choice builds autonomy, and strategy praise raises expectancy that effort will succeed.
Q60. A teacher wants a lasting motivational climate, not just a short burst of effort. The most defensible long-term approach is to:
- (A) Offer larger prizes each week
- (B) Rank pupils publicly every day
- (C) Build competence through achievable goals, value through relevance, autonomy through choice, and belonging through respect
- (D) Threaten punishment for low effort
Show Answer
Answer: C – Lasting motivation rests on competence, value, autonomy and relatedness, the needs stressed across motivation and humanistic theories.
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