What Motivates Novices to Persist After Failure on the Path to Expertise? A Cognitive-Motivational Study

• In Event: Attention and Strategy Use in Context

Abstract

Experts become experts in part because of their willingness to engage in thousands of hours of deliberate practice. What motivates them to persist in the face of constant failure? We addressed this question in a study of experts in the mathematics and English literature domains.
During think-aloud problem solving sessions, we compared expert motivational tool use and persistence on in- and out-domain tasks, and analyzed verbal protocols to determine expert persistence and task progress. If these motivational behaviors of experts help experts persist, further research can determine if interventions supporting the use of an ego-protective buffer and acceptance of responsibility show the same benefit for novice motivation to persist in the face of repeated failure on the path to expertise.

Authors

• Gina Ristani, University of Minnesota

• Sashank Varma, Georgia Institute of Technology

• Keisha Varma, University of Minnesota