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44 - Intelligence and Motivation

from Part VIII - Intelligence and Allied Constructs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2019

By
Priyanka B. Carr  and
Carol S. Dweck
Edited by
Robert J. Sternberg
Robert J. Sternberg
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
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Summary

In this chapter, we argue that to understand intelligence one must understand motivation. In the past, intelligence was often cast as an entity unto itself, relatively unaffected by motivation. In our chapter, we spell out how motivational factors determine (1) whether individuals initiate goals relating to the acquisition and display of intellectual skills, (2) how persistently they pursue those goals, and (3) how effectively they pursue those goals, that is, how effectively they learn and perform in the intellectual arena. As will be seen, motivational factors can have systematic and meaningful effects on intellectual ability, performance, and accomplishment over time. Our discussion emphasizes that heritability is not incompatible with the malleability of intelligence and that motivation is the vehicle through which intellectual skills are successfully acquired, expressed, and built upon.

Keywords

intelligenceAlfred Binetmotivationimplicit theoriesmindsetsstereotypesgiftednessintrinsic motivationbelongingself-regulation
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence , pp. 1061 - 1086
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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