Shelbe Tamia Fowler IB Psychology I (SL), 2B 1

08/10/2013
Psychology Personal Statement
Being the person I am I have always set myself goals for the future. Whether it
was pushing myself to higher levels of learning or simply setting goals towards my
everyday life, setting goals has always been my personality. I know what youre
thinking, what motivates this high school student to push herself to higher levels? Well
it is simply the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation factors that cause me to do so.
Ryan & Deci (2000) define the terms intrinsic and extrinsic as a form of modern
psychology. Modern psychology is a general subject for different branches of
psychology which are each based upon, behavior and mental processing. For example,
this can include environmental psychology, which explains why people react to their
physical environment or social psychology which focusses on the effects social
environments have on a person. This can also include when psychology was brought
into America, all the way until genetic researchers map out human genes responsible
for different diseases.
Over the years, Ive acquired many intrinsic motivation factors in my life. My
motivation in Science and Math are completely intrinsic. Intrinsic means I simply enjoy
these things without being forced to, or having a reward if I do well. You see, I dont do
well or push myself to learn Math and Science for grades. I simply love these subjects
with no explanation needed. Another intrinsic factor in my life is being nice to people.
Im not nice simply because if I catch an attitude people wont like me. Im nice because
I believe that being nice makes other peoples day better and it makes me feel better
when everyones in a good mood.
Shelbe Tamia Fowler IB Psychology I (SL), 2B 2
08/10/2013
Some extrinsic forces in my life include, joining IBCC and taking IB psychology.
Joining IBCC was a bittersweet position for me. I originally wanted to drop out of PDP/IB
completely and just take college prep courses. I figured that if I could maintain an A/B
average in IB that I could get all As in college prep. But then, I realized that college
admissions would prefer to see some rigor in my courses, and these classes might
show them that Im ready for their school. Intrinsic motivation caused me to take IB
psychology, strictly because I believe that this class will help me in my goals to become
a pediatrician and understand people. This goal for me to be a Pediatrician is slightly
extrinsic as well, due to the fact that I want this job because my parents slightly
influence me to do so.
The self-determination theory relates to my success in this class, because since I
obtain an extrinsic toleration, as I might call it, Ill be able to understand people in my
future career. See, inside my future career, as a pediatrician, Ill be able to understand
how people think. I believe IB Psychology should help me in a major way, because Ill
be able to pick up on depression or other psychological illness. In Psychology, I believe
in order to fully understand someone; you must first understand the way they think.
Even though some may say, I will not be successful because I do not have a strong
intrinsic motivation for IB Psychology. I believe that attempting to complete something
for academic success or success in the future is just as important.
In conclusion, modern psychology can take place in our lives, unknowingly. Most
people simply do not know, or understand why they do the things they do. I, for one,
now understand that most of the achievements in my life come from intrinsic forces in
my life. When I am interested in the things I do, I am more likely to succeed. Extrinsic
Shelbe Tamia Fowler IB Psychology I (SL), 2B 3
08/10/2013
goals that I have reached in my life are also important. For example, I probably wouldnt
push myself as hard without my parents pushing me to do so. Other extrinsic forces are
simply because; I strive to be successful in life. Without good grades, I understand that I
would not be able to get into college, which would extremely affect my future. The self-
determination theory is a good way to distinguish between these two forces. Personally,
I believe that in order for a person to be successful they need a compilation of both
intrinsic and extrinsic forces in order to have a successful outcome in life. This is why I
will continue to incorporate both forces throughout my life.











Shelbe Tamia Fowler IB Psychology I (SL), 2B 4
08/10/2013
References
Deci, E., & Ryan, R. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Denitions and New
Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 5467. Retrieved from:
http://mmrg.pbworks.com/f/Ryan,+Deci+00.pdf
Cherry, K. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/psychology101/a/timeline.htm
Archuleta, E. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.unm.edu/~pre/law/archuleta.htm
Cherry, K. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/mindex/g/motivation-
definition.htm