BEd Bachelor of Education Educational Psychology and Motivation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which stage of Erikson's psychosocial development corresponds most closely to the elementary school years (ages 6–12)?
- Initiative vs. Guilt
- Industry vs. Inferiority (Correct answer)
- Identity vs. Role Confusion
- Trust vs. Mistrust
Correct answer: Industry vs. Inferiority
During the Industry vs. Inferiority stage, children focus on mastering academic and social skills, building competence or feelings of inadequacy.
Question 2: Self-efficacy, as defined by Albert Bandura, refers to:
- A student's actual academic achievement score
- A student's belief in their ability to succeed at a specific task (Correct answer)
- The reinforcement schedule used by a teacher
- A student's general self-esteem level
Correct answer: A student's belief in their ability to succeed at a specific task
Bandura defined self-efficacy as one's belief in their capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific outcomes.
Question 3: Attribution theory in education is primarily concerned with how students explain:
- Their physical growth and development
- The causes of their academic successes and failures (Correct answer)
- Their relationships with peers
- The role of the curriculum in learning
Correct answer: The causes of their academic successes and failures
Attribution theory examines whether students attribute outcomes to internal factors like effort or external factors like luck or task difficulty.
Question 4: A student who studies hard because they genuinely want to become a great teacher is primarily exhibiting:
- Extrinsic regulation
- Introjected regulation
- Identified regulation
- Intrinsic motivation (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation is evident when a student engages in learning because the activity itself aligns with their values and identity.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes 'scaffolding' in educational psychology?
- Providing permanent support structures for all student learning
- Temporary support given to students to help them reach a goal, then gradually removed (Correct answer)
- Grouping students by ability level
- Using rigid lesson scripts to maintain consistency
Correct answer: Temporary support given to students to help them reach a goal, then gradually removed
Scaffolding is temporary instructional support adjusted to the learner's needs and gradually withdrawn as competence increases.
Question 6: Which concept describes a student's tendency to attribute success to luck and failure to lack of ability, often leading to reduced motivation?
- Learned helplessness (Correct answer)
- Cognitive dissonance
- Self-actualization
- Metacognition
Correct answer: Learned helplessness
Learned helplessness occurs when students believe they have no control over outcomes, causing them to stop trying even when success is possible.
BEd Bachelor of Education Educational Psychology and Motivation 2
Which stage of Erikson's psychosocial development corresponds most closely to the elementary school years (ages 6–12)?