This paper analyses what the effects would be of using gamification as a method of teaching English literature in Swedish schools. The essay explores different theories of motivation as a theoretical framework for analyzing gamification and teaching literature. After an in depth analysis of gamification the essay links the method to the motivational theories and to teaching literature. An example is also provided of what it might look like if gamification was applied to teaching English literature. In the end, conclusions can be drawn about what the effects of gamification would be as a method of teaching. The essay will show that gamification can be a viable method of teaching promoting student motivation but cannot be claimed to necessarily be a superior method of teaching compared to other methods and even comes with certain risks.

Ledarskapet har förändrats över tid, samtidigt har också samhället förändrats. Behoven och de egenskaper som stämde överens tidigare för ledarskap har förändrats och kommer att förändras i framtiden. Förr i tiden har ledarskapet visat auktoritära drag där lite hänsyn tagits för de anställdas behov men även mindre förståelse om de anställdas betydelse. Idag är ledarskapet mer situations anpassat där ledaren har insikt om de anställdas behov men där det även ställs högre krav på flexibilitet samt social kompetens hos ledaren. Denna studie syftar till att belysa vilka egenskaper en ledare bör ha för att motivera och engagera medarbetarna och denna studie är baserad på kvalitativa intervjuer. Uppstådda situationer kan kräva att ledaren anpassar sin ledarstil och det tycks finnas ett samband mellan ledares ledarstilar och hur det påverkar medarbetarnas arbetsmiljö och engagemang.  Egenskaperna hos ledaren har betydelse för hur motiverade medarbetarna och arbetsgruppen blir. Ökad motivation hos medarbetarna på arbetsplatsen kan leda till ökad arbetsprestation och arbetstillfredsställelse men kan även gynna de psykosociala aspekterna som i sin tur leder till god arbetsmiljö och glädje i arbetet. En ledare bör ha förståelse och insikt om vad som motiverar medarbetarna då det påverkar engagemanget, prestationen och arbetstillfredsställelsen men även trivseln och effektiviteten. Det framkommer i studien att ledaren bör vara närvarande på arbetsplatsen för att medarbetarna skall känna tillit och förtroende samt för att bli uppmärksammade i sin yrkesroll. Att vara en närvarande ledare och vilja lära känna varje individ på arbetsplatsen och i dess yrkesroll, kan vara en viktig motivationsfaktor för medarbetarna.

Ur ett chefsperspektiv har studien haft för syfte att undersöka attityden gentemot motivation i ett arbete med medarbetarna, och det som har avsetts att undersöka är den attityd gentemot upplevelsen av behovet som existerar hos chefer. Utifrån ett definierat chefs- kontra ledarskap har teorier rörande Maslows och Hertzbergs motivations- respektive hygienfaktorer rörande tillfredställelse och otillfredställelse på arbetet, människosyn, och hänsyn till olika personligheter hos medarbetarna som noteras hos dessa chefer undersökts. Dessa teorier har legat till grund för studiens syfte, som varit att söka se likheter/olikheter i chefers attityd via en enkätundersökning med varierat slutna, öppna och skalfrågor. Resultat har visat på minimala skillnader olika chefsgrupper i mellan, och visar istället på att attityden till motivation snarare ligger i personlig upplevelse än i chefsrollen och dess funktion. Detta resultat har bringat en större kunskap och insikt inom detta område gällande chefskap och ger på så sätt en ny utgångspunkt och ett gott underlag för fortsatta studier i ämnet.

This report is conceptualized as a research proposal that aims to investigate culturally differentiated consumers' motivations to engage in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication through one of the newest and most popular social networking sites: micro-blogging service in the U.S and China. Instead of actually collecting data, the report uses a social cognitive approach and tries to explain eWOM motives in outcome expectations by applying Bandura’s six outcome expectations and three additional dimensions to eWOM communication, some of which will be influenced by apparent cultural differences that exist between U.S and China. / text

Although the most prominent view in psychological theory has been that negative feedback should generally have a detrimental impact on motivation, competing perspectives and caveats on this prominent view have suggested that negative feedback may sometimes have neutral or even positive effects on motivation. A meta-analysis of 79 studies examined the effect of negative feedback on motivation and related outcomes with both child and adult samples. Results indicated that negative feedback compared to positive feedback decreased intrinsic motivation and perceived competence. This effect is much smaller when compared to neutral or no feedback. Moderator tests revealed that the effect of negative feedback seems to be less demotivating when a) the feedback statement includes instructional details to improve, b) compared to objective versus normative standards, and c) the task is interesting. Implications for future research and applications to real-world settings are discussed. / text

Viewing oneself positively has long been regarded as motivating. Past studies (e.g., Bandura, 1982; Feather, 1966; Felson, 1984; Taylor & Brown, 1988) have shown that maintaining positive self-view has positive impacts on motivation. However, the importance of positive self-evaluation has been challenged by some recent studies (e.g., Kim, Chiu, & Zou, 2010; Marx & Roman, 2002). The motivational benefits of positive self-evaluation are inconclusive. The present research addressed this issue by investigating the conditions that may facilitate or undermine the motivational effects of positive or negative self-evaluations. Specifically, two experiments were conducted to investigate the moderating role of culture and regulatory focus on the motivational effects of self-evaluations. Study One investigated the moderating role of culture on the motivational effects of self-evaluation. A 2 (self-evaluation: positive vs. negative) x 2 (cultural groups: Caucasian vs. Chinese) experimental design was adopted. One hundred and eleven participants were recruited, in which 56 were local Chinese college students and 55 were Caucasian students from universities in North America but studied in Hong Kong through exchange programs. The participants were asked to engage in two visual search tests. After the first test, the participants were randomly assigned to the positive or negative self-evaluation condition. Half of the participants were told that they did better than 70% of their fellow students. The other half were told that they did worse than 60% of their fellow students. They were then asked to write down three personal merits or limitations that accounted for their good or bad performances before the second test. Afterwards, the participants were asked to do the second test. Their persistence and performance in this test were measured. The findings showed a consistent interaction effect between culture and self-evaluation on the two outcome measures. The positive self-evaluation was motivating to the Caucasian participants whereas the negative self-evaluation was motivating to the Chinese participants. Study Two investigated if regulatory focus, a personality variable, moderates the motivational effect of self-evaluation. It adopted a 2 (self-evaluation: positive vs. negative) x 2 (regulatory focus: promotion focus vs. prevention focus) experimental design. The participants (93 Hong Kong college students) were asked to engage in three visual search tests. The experimental procedures were the same as those in Study One except that three instead of two visual search tests were included. The first and third tests were those used in Study One. The second test was primed for regulatory focus and was presented with a journal article that advocated either a promotion or prevention focus. Persistence and performance of the participants in the third test was measured. They were also asked to indicate whether they were willing to join a training workshop to improve their visual search ability. The findings showed a pattern parallel to those in Study One. The positive self-evaluation was motivating to participants with promotion focus, whereas the negative self-evaluation was motivating to participants with prevention focus. The two studies showed both within and between cultural differences in the motivational effects of positive and negative self-evaluations. The findings were discussed with reference to the literature on cultural and individual differences in motivation. / published_or_final_version / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The present study investigated the effects of different goal orientations on motivation after failure. A 2 goals (mastery vs. performance) x 2 regulatory focuses (approach vs. avoidance) experimental design was adopted. Junior secondary students (N = 173) voluntarily attended a prefix learning class. They were randomly assigned one of the four conditions and finished some computerized tasks. The result indicated performance-approach participants had lower persistence than mastery-approach, mastery-avoidant and performance-avoidant participants after failure feedback, regardless of self-efficacy level. Mastery-oriented participants displayed higher interest and higher willingness to seek challenge than performance-oriented participants after failure. Avoidance focus participants revised more materials than approach focus participants after failure. / published_or_final_version / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

This experiment investigated the motivational effect of task instrumentality in a group of 8th grade students (N = 92). It investigated whether telling students that memory skills were instrumental could produce motivational effect. With reference to the self-determination theory, it was hypothesized that the original level of motivation would serve as the moderator of the effect of instrumentality on the change in motivation. It was believed that instrumentality would have more impact on students with low level of motivation at the first place; while the impact of instrumentality would be less on students with high level of motivation at the first place. The experiment was successful in the manipulation of instrumentality of memory skill. There was an increase in students’ introjection after the intervention. The main effects showed that the teaching session was effective in reducing students’ external regulation. Marginal significant main effect was found in the experimental group, where they had higher identification to the mnemonic session compared to the control group. Regarding the moderation effect, there was no significant moderation effect of original motivation level on the relation between task instrumentality and the change in motivation level. Implications of these findings on education were discussed. / published_or_final_version / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

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Syftet med studien är att undersöka om relationen mellan motivation- och hygienfaktorerna Herzberg talar om är så beroende av varandra som han beskriver i sin tvåfaktormodell, eller om de är möjliga att separera och ses som distinkta. Studien tyder på hur Herzbergs beskrivning av motivationsfaktorer stämmer överens med respondenternas syn på motivation men vid Herzbergs syn på hygienfaktorer uppstår olikheter mellan Herzberg och respondenterna. Hygien- och motivationsfaktorerna är relativt beroende av varandra, med undantag från faktorn lön.