What motivates you to work or study harder? Is it the thought of success and all the amazing things that you can achieve, or is it the fear of failure and worry about all the things that can go wrong for you? But is one better than the other?
A recent study looked at the effect of fear-based strategies on British secondary school students. It found that if a test is seen as important, and students are optimistic that they can succeed, then the fear of failure can be used successfully by teachers to motivate these learners. In that case, it will in turn lead them to do worse on the test than they would have done otherwise. The study also found that if students are indifferent and don't care about the test in the first place, then, unsurprisingly, the fear of failure is not likely to motivate them.
Entrepreneurs often run the risk of failure. It's a fact that many new companies will fail. But does this motivate or hold back business people? The personal consequences of failure can be significant, and so founders may be motivated to work harder to avoid them. A study carried out on British and Canadian entrepreneurs found that fear of failure can improve problem solving, as people are motivated to anticipate and resolve potential issues. However, the study also showed that it can lead to increased delay of work, as people focus too much on what they personally fear, rather than what would be best, for the business. If someone is less confident about their business ideas, then they may find their decision-making negatively affected by their fears.
Fear can drive confident people to do better, but it can also expand our doubts and turn them into barriers.
A. Again, it's not straightforward.
B. The answer, undoubtedly, is "yes".
C. Taken together, fear-based motivation is complicated.
D. Generally speaking, good outcomes can be expected by teachers.
E. They may also be inspired to innovate and activate their business.
F. However, if students lack confidence, fear-based approaches could cause anxiety.
G. Leaders, managers and teachers often use one of these ideas to inspire people to achieve more.
