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Understanding what
you need to
accomplish the
smaller goals. An
example would be
“study for an exam.”

2.2 • The Motivated Learner

What to Do with UGT
On the surface, UGT may seem overly complex, but this is due to its attempt to capture everything that
influences how and why we take in information. At this point in your understanding, the main thing to focus
on is the bigger idea that our motivations, our end goals, and our expectations are what drive us to learn. If we
are aware of these motivations, we can use them to make influential decisions about what we learn and how
we learn.
One of the things that will become apparent as you continue reading this chapter and doing the included
activities is that all of it fits within the UGT model. Everything about learning styles, your own attitude about
learning, how you prefer to learn, and what you get out of it are covered in UGT. Being familiar with it gives
you a way to identify and apply everything else you will learn about learning. As you continue in this chapter,
rather than looking at each topic as a stand-alone idea, think about where each fits in the Uses and
Gratification model. Does it influence your motivations, or does it help you make decisions about the way you
learn? This way UGT can provide a way for you to see the value and how to apply everything you learn from
this point forward and for every learning experience along the way.
If you were going to define how UGT applies to learning with a few quick statements, it would look something
like this:
UGT asks:
•
•
•
•
•

What is it that motivates you to learn something?
What need does it fulfill?
What do you expect to have happen with certain learning activities?
How can you choose the right learning activities to better ensure you meet your needs and expectations?
What other things might result from your choices?

ANALYSIS QUESTION
Take a moment to think about your own choices when it comes to consuming media. Are there certain
sources you prefer? Why? What needs or gratifications do those particular sources fulfill in a way that
others do not? Now, use the same process to analyze your current college experience. Are there certain
classes or activities you like more than others? Why? Do any of your reasons have to do with the needs or
gratifications the classes or learning activities fulfill?
After you have answered those questions, you can always step beyond mere analysis and determine what
you could change to make the classes or activities you enjoy less better fulfill your needs.

Combating Negative Bias
In addition to being a motivated learner through the use of grit and UGT, there is a third natural psychological
tendency you should be aware of. It is a tendency that you should guard against. Ignoring the fact that it exists
can not only adversely affect learning, but it can set up roadblocks that may prevent you from achieving many
goals. This tendency is called negative bias.
Negative bias is the psychological trait of focusing on the negative aspects of a situation rather than the
positive. An example of this in a learning environment would be earning a 95 percent score on an assignment
but obsessing over the 5 percent of the points that were missed. Another example would be worrying and
thinking negative thoughts about yourself over a handful of courses where you did not do as well as in
others—so much so that you begin to doubt your abilities altogether.

43

44

2 • The Truth About Learning Styles

Figure 2.6 Some level of worry and concern is natural, but an overwhelming amount of negative thoughts about yourself, including
doubt in your abilities and place in school, can impede your learning and stifle your success. You can develop strategies to recognize
and overcome these feelings. (Credit: Inzmam Kahn / Pexels)

Unfortunately, this is a human tendency that can often overwhelm a student. As a pure survival mechanism it
does have its usefulness in that it reminds us to be wary of behaviors that can result in undesirable outcomes.
Imagine that as a child playing outside, you have seen dozens if not hundreds of bees over the years. But
once, out of all those other times, you were stung by a single bee. Now, every time you see a bee you recall the
sting, and you now have a negative bias toward bees in general. Whenever possible you avoid bees altogether.
It is easy to see how this psychological system could be beneficial in those types of situations, but it can be a
hindrance in learning since a large part of the learning process often involves failure on early attempts.
Recognizing this is a key to overcoming negative bias. Another way to combat negative bias is to purposefully
focus on successes and to acknowledge earlier attempts that fail as just a part of the learning.
What follows are a few methods for overcoming negative bias and negative self-talk. Each focuses on being
aware of any negative attitude or emphasizing the positive aspects in a situation.
• Be aware of any negative bias. Keep an eye out for any time you find yourself focusing on some negative
aspect, whether toward your own abilities or on some specific situation. Whenever you recognize that you
are exhibiting a negative bias toward something, stop and look for the positive parts of the experience.
Think back to what you have learned about grit, how any lack of success is only temporary, and what you
have learned that gets you closer to your goal.
• Focus on the positive before you begin. While reversing the impact of negative bias on your learning is
helpful, it can be even more useful to prevent it in the first place. One way to do this is to look for the
positives before you begin a task. An example of this would be receiving early feedback for an assignment
you are working on. To accomplish this, you can often ask your instructor or one of your classmates to
look over your work and provide some informal comments. If the feedback is positive then you know you
are on the right track. That is useful information. If the feedback seems to indicate that you need to make
a number of corrections and adjustments, then that is even more valuable information, and you can use it
to greatly improve the assignment for a much better final grade. In either case, accurate feedback is what
you really want most, and both outcomes are positive for you.
• Keep a gratitude and accomplishment journal. Again, the tendency to recall and overemphasize the
negative instances while ignoring or forgetting about the positive outcomes is the nature of negative bias.
Sometimes we need a little help remembering the positives, and we can prompt our memories by keeping
a journal. Just as in a diary, the idea is to keep a flowing record of the positive things that happen, the
lessons you learned from instances that were “less than successful,” and all accomplishments you make
toward learning. In your journal you can write or paste anything that you appreciated or that has positive

Understanding what

you need to

accomplish the

smaller goals. An

example would be

“study for an exam.”

2.2 • The Motivated Learner

What to Do with UGT

On the surface, UGT may seem overly complex, but this is due to its attempt to capture everything that

influences how and why we take in information. At this point in your understanding, the main thing to focus

on is the bigger idea that our motivations, our end goals, and our expectations are what drive us to learn. If we

are aware of these motivations, we can use them to make influential decisions about what we learn and how

we learn.

One of the things that will become apparent as you continue reading this chapter and doing the included

activities is that all of it fits within the UGT model. Everything about learning styles, your own attitude about

learning, how you prefer to learn, and what you get out of it are covered in UGT. Being familiar with it gives

you a way to identify and apply everything else you will learn about learning. As you continue in this chapter,

rather than looking at each topic as a stand-alone idea, think about where each fits in the Uses and

Gratification model. Does it influence your motivations, or does it help you make decisions about the way you

learn? This way UGT can provide a way for you to see the value and how to apply everything you learn from

this point forward and for every learning experience along the way.

If you were going to define how UGT applies to learning with a few quick statements, it would look something

like this:

UGT asks:

•

What is it that motivates you to learn something?

What need does it fulfill?

What do you expect to have happen with certain learning activities?

How can you choose the right learning activities to better ensure you meet your needs and expectations?

What other things might result from your choices?

ANALYSIS QUESTION

Take a moment to think about your own choices when it comes to consuming media. Are there certain

sources you prefer? Why? What needs or gratifications do those particular sources fulfill in a way that

others do not? Now, use the same process to analyze your current college experience. Are there certain

classes or activities you like more than others? Why? Do any of your reasons have to do with the needs or

gratifications the classes or learning activities fulfill?

After you have answered those questions, you can always step beyond mere analysis and determine what

you could change to make the classes or activities you enjoy less better fulfill your needs.

Combating Negative Bias

In addition to being a motivated learner through the use of grit and UGT, there is a third natural psychological

tendency you should be aware of. It is a tendency that you should guard against. Ignoring the fact that it exists

can not only adversely affect learning, but it can set up roadblocks that may prevent you from achieving many

goals. This tendency is called negative bias.

Negative bias is the psychological trait of focusing on the negative aspects of a situation rather than the

positive. An example of this in a learning environment would be earning a 95 percent score on an assignment

but obsessing over the 5 percent of the points that were missed. Another example would be worrying and

thinking negative thoughts about yourself over a handful of courses where you did not do as well as in

others—so much so that you begin to doubt your abilities altogether.

43

44

2 • The Truth About Learning Styles

Figure 2.6 Some level of worry and concern is natural, but an overwhelming amount of negative thoughts about yourself, including

doubt in your abilities and place in school, can impede your learning and stifle your success. You can develop strategies to recognize

and overcome these feelings. (Credit: Inzmam Kahn / Pexels)

Unfortunately, this is a human tendency that can often overwhelm a student. As a pure survival mechanism it

does have its usefulness in that it reminds us to be wary of behaviors that can result in undesirable outcomes.

Imagine that as a child playing outside, you have seen dozens if not hundreds of bees over the years. But

once, out of all those other times, you were stung by a single bee. Now, every time you see a bee you recall the

sting, and you now have a negative bias toward bees in general. Whenever possible you avoid bees altogether.

It is easy to see how this psychological system could be beneficial in those types of situations, but it can be a

hindrance in learning since a large part of the learning process often involves failure on early attempts.

Recognizing this is a key to overcoming negative bias. Another way to combat negative bias is to purposefully

focus on successes and to acknowledge earlier attempts that fail as just a part of the learning.

What follows are a few methods for overcoming negative bias and negative self-talk. Each focuses on being

aware of any negative attitude or emphasizing the positive aspects in a situation.

• Be aware of any negative bias. Keep an eye out for any time you find yourself focusing on some negative

aspect, whether toward your own abilities or on some specific situation. Whenever you recognize that you

are exhibiting a negative bias toward something, stop and look for the positive parts of the experience.

Think back to what you have learned about grit, how any lack of success is only temporary, and what you

have learned that gets you closer to your goal.

• Focus on the positive before you begin. While reversing the impact of negative bias on your learning is

helpful, it can be even more useful to prevent it in the first place. One way to do this is to look for the

positives before you begin a task. An example of this would be receiving early feedback for an assignment

you are working on. To accomplish this, you can often ask your instructor or one of your classmates to

look over your work and provide some informal comments. If the feedback is positive then you know you

are on the right track. That is useful information. If the feedback seems to indicate that you need to make

a number of corrections and adjustments, then that is even more valuable information, and you can use it

to greatly improve the assignment for a much better final grade. In either case, accurate feedback is what

you really want most, and both outcomes are positive for you.

• Keep a gratitude and accomplishment journal. Again, the tendency to recall and overemphasize the

negative instances while ignoring or forgetting about the positive outcomes is the nature of negative bias.

Sometimes we need a little help remembering the positives, and we can prompt our memories by keeping

a journal. Just as in a diary, the idea is to keep a flowing record of the positive things that happen, the

lessons you learned from instances that were “less than successful,” and all accomplishments you make

toward learning. In your journal you can write or paste anything that you appreciated or that has positive