Motivation is a rich and evolving field that has seen much progress in its relatively short history. In more than six decades following an overview of Hull, there were major upheavals in the area (the transition from behaviorism to cognition), and new theories and concepts have been introduced, and novel research directions have been conducted ( such as the finding that rewards can decrease motivation). Principles of motivation have been described that could become the basis for intervention. A little is known, for example, on the positive motivation to attribute failure to lack of effort rather than low-capacity, selection of tasks of intermediate difficulty, and emphasis on control rather that surpass others.
All these principles are good theoretical and empirical. The future challenge will be to study motivation in context. Consider the expected yield, values and objectives and how they are expressed in the broader context of social and cultural influences could provide important clues for understanding the challenges faced by many young scholars from ethnic minorities. Addressing these problems will be a useful step toward promoting the field of motivation research in education and ensuring its continued vitality.
