What were the motivational and environmental factors that contributed to the weight gain?
Being a mother of three with my children being 3 or fewer years apart, I completely understand what Tasha was going through. What led to Tasha’s weight gain, motivationally as well as environmentally, was her focus, time, and energy on her children. One child can fill one’s schedule to where they feel that they have nothing left to give, and the fact that she had to, forced her to create more time and energy that was not there. She felt that she had nothing else to give for herself, and as a result, she deprived herself of personal focus. According to Bandura:
[The effects of reinforcement] depend largely on our awareness of the relationship between our behavior and its outcomes. What is fundamentally important is our ability to figure out cause-and-effect relationships and to anticipate the outcomes of our behaviors. (LeFrancois, 2011, para. 14)
Tasha was placed in an environment where she felt that diet and exercise were not possible. Again, as a mother, I understand what she was going through. One can psych their self out into believing that something is not possible, especially when it comes to hard work, and putting in the effort to get the results that are necessary.
Briefly describe which approaches to motivation you feel best help us to understand the change in Tasha’s behavior.
I feel that Tasha’s motivation can be related to psychological hedonism, because she is searching for a mentally and physically healthier person (pleasure), by joining support groups and exercising regularly. Tasha is also trying to prevent possible depression and a loveless marriage (pain).
In what ways was emotion tied to the weight gain and loss?
I believe that emotion is the main cause to Tasha’s weight gain and weight loss. Without emotion, we feel nothing. There is no pleasure,