Cognitive Motivation - From Curiosity to Identity, Purpose and Meaning

A new general theory of cognitive motivation, combining affective and cognitive principles, is applied to a range of purposive behaviour.

List of contents

Introduction: the incomplete gestalt; Part I. Forms of Cognitive Motivation: 1. Towards a general theory of cognitive motivation; 2. Curiosity; 3. Intrinsic motivation; 4. Cognitive dissonance; 5. Achievement motivation; 6. Agency, efficacy and attribution; Part II. Basic Processes and Applications: 7. Working memory, consciousness, and attention; 8. The function of emotion in cognitive motivation; 9. Goals; 10. Intentions; 11. Identity; 12. Purpose and meaning.

About the author

David Beswick is Professor Emeritus and Principal Fellow at the Centre for Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne. He is a Life Member of the Australian Psychological Society, a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators and a minister in the Uniting Church in Australia. He was formerly director of the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education, before which he researched and taught in psychology and educational research at the Australian National University. He held visiting appointments at Berkeley, London and Uppsala University, Sweden, and has published more than one hundred articles and monographs.

Summary

Beswick presents a new general theory of cognitive motivation, synthesizing decades of existing research in social, cognitive and personality psychology, in which basic concepts are applied to a wide range of purposive behaviour. Combining affective and cognitive principles, the new theory is applicable to fields such as business and education.

Product details

• Authors: David Beswick, David (University of Melbourne) Beswick
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 10.08.2017
• EAN: 9781107177666
• ISBN: 978-1-107-17766-6
• No. of pages: 396
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Psychology > Theoretical psychology; Non-fiction book > Psychology, esoterics, spirituality, anthroposophy > Psychology: general, reference works; PSYCHOLOGY / Social Psychology, The self, ego, identity, personality, Psychology: the self, ego, identity, personality, Cognition & cognitive psychology, Social, group or collective psychology, Cognition and cognitive psychology