The document discusses 3 core motivators - knowledge, relationship, and action - that drive student behavior and how understanding a student's primary motivator can help when they are under stress. It provides descriptions of typical behaviors and effective strategies for each of the 3 types when students are stressed, such as encouraging knowledge-driven students to stay open to new experiences, helping relationship-driven students connect to guidance, and giving action-driven students concrete plans. The document aims to help career counselors understand student motivations to better assist them during difficult times.

1. Core Work:
{ Using motivation to understand our students
Lynn Chang, Ph.D.
Career Counselor
Sanger Learning & Career Center

2. Motivators:
Knowledge Relationship Action
 Explains drive and reason behind actions
 Understand strengths, weaknesses
 Identify common stress behaviors
 Apply effective strategies

3. If I could, I would stay in school forever. I love learning.
My research advisor says I should consider grad school.
Maybe it’s because I spend hours in her lab!
 “Knowledge is power”
 Seek to discover and create knowledge
 Detail oriented, exacting
 Want to know a lot about everything
 All knowledge is potentially useful
 Analyze and formulate new concepts
Knowledge driven

4. My friends and I love hanging out together,
volunteering at the animal shelter, and giving each other advice.
Since I enjoy helping people, I’ve been thinking about becoming
a nurse or social worker.
 “It’s all in who you know”
 Strive to create and deepen relationships
 Nurturing, patient
 Interpret world through people and relationships
 Understand others intuitively and effortlessly
 Mental rolodex of people based on commonalities
Relationship driven

5. I have big goals in life. I want to run a successful business,
eventually go to law school, and maybe even run for office one day.
I should probably spend more time studying but being president
of my org takes up a lot of time!
 “Money is power”
 Energize others to take action
 Multitaskers, big picture oriented
 Persuasive, engaging communicators
 Inspire others to transform beliefs into tangible action
 Natural-born leaders
Action driven

6. The 3 core types can be
found everywhere…

7. TV shows

8. Cities

9. Cars?

10. Which is your core?
 Knowledge
 Relationship
 Action
Which is your secondary?

11. TASK:
Get in groups based on your type.
Create a Facebook page for a typical student of your
type
Possible categories
o Arts & Entertainment
o Activities & Interests
o Favorite quotes
o Number of friends
Activity

12. Helping our students

13.  May have anxiety because “not knowing” is uncomfortable
 Might isolate self from others, not take action
 Encourage staying open to new experiences
 Provide online resources
 Approach with an analytical strategy
During stressful times,
Knowledge driven…

14.  May feel frustrated or lost
 May stay in adverse situations out of loyalty or
emotion-based reasons
 Help connect them to
professionals, professors, and mentors for
guidance
 Validate challenges and encourage next steps
 Share inspiring stories
During stressful times,
Relationship driven…

15.  May prioritize socializing before academics
 May feel stuck or ineffective because lack of goals
 May engage in risk-taking behaviors
 Teach that not everything is solved by taking action.
 May need to engage emotionally or reflect on past events.
 Help create a concrete plan with experiential components
During stressful times,
Action driven…

16. May the 3 motivators
inform the way
we help students!
Lynn Chang, Ph.D.
Sanger Learning & Career Center
For more information:
The Human Fabric- Unleashing the power of core
energy in everyone (2004) Goswami & Wolpert