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Learning Theory and Concepts

Demotivation

Motivation and Affective Theories

Demotivation, in the study of motivation, is the weakening or loss of an existing motivation to act as a result of specific negative influences, a concept elaborated chiefly in educational research and applied linguistics. The applied linguists Zoltan Dornyei and Ema Ushioda define it as the effect of specific external forces that reduce or diminish the motivational basis of a behavioral intention or an ongoing action. The term also appears in business and management writing with looser definitions, and in clinical psychology, where it names more severe disorders of diminished motivation such as amotivational syndrome and avolition.

Facts
Core Claim
Demotivation is not the complete absence of motivation but a decrease in a learner's second-language learning motivation from a formerly higher level, caused by specific identifiable external or internal factors, distinguishing a demotivated learner from one who was never motivated. 1
Origin Year
2001 1
FAQs

Who first offered a working definition of demotivation in language learning?

A working definition was offered in 2001 by Dornyei.

A working definition of demotivation was offered in 2001 by Dornyei. A 2022 review of studies in Frontiers in Psychology used that 2001 definition as its starting point, limiting its literature searches to publications from 2001 to 2021.
Connections

In Approach

Source Demotivation (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Frontiers in Psychology: Revisiting students' foreign language learning demotivation
Frontiers in PsychologyBody text, methods section referencing Dornyei's 2001 definition
Quote, Body text, methods section referencing Dornyei's 2001 definition
Since a working definition of demotivation was offered in 2001 by Dornyei, we ran our searches and limited the publication date to the period 2001 to 2021.
View the Source
Demotivation (Wikipedia)
  • Lead paragraph, education-level
    In the study of motivation, demotivation is the weakening or loss of an existing motivation to act as a result of specific negative influences.
  • In Approach: Humanism, Lead paragraph, in-approach
    In the study of motivation, demotivation is the weakening or loss of an existing motivation to act as a result of specific negative influences.
  • In Group: Motivation and Goal Theories, Lead
    In the study of motivation, demotivation is the weakening or loss of an existing motivation to act as a result of specific negative influences.
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