What Motivates People?

Sometime ago I did rather badly for a Chemistry test. I felt horrible after that, because it was the only test I ever did really badly in, excluding a chinese test in primary school, and anyway that was because I only found out about the test on the day itself. Okay, I'll admit that this wasn't my first time doing Chemistry, I even had some introduction to it in Secondary 1. I can't say I didn't revise either, I started mugging days before the test, and especially hard on the day before the actual thing. Still, that didn't stop me from getting a miserable C6. As said earlier, I really felt like crap after the results were released. While I was dissapointed in myself for not getting a high mark, I was honestly more worried about the reaction opf my parents towards my bad result.

This led me to wonder: do people fear failing a task simply because they truly care about it and do not want to do badly, or is the main reason fear of the repercusions that will inevitably occur when one fails at that task?

The most obvious way to demonstrate this is by using an example based on a test. Lets call our characters 'Tom' and'Henry'.Tom is neglected by his parents, while Henry comes from a family where his parents are very protective and concerned about him. Lets say Tom and Henry both fail a test. If he truly cared about the result and not the consequences that getting the bad grade, he would punish himself and become all gloomy and depressed, and resolve to work extra hard to correct this mistake and do better in the next test. The scenario would be the same for Henry as well, provided that his character fits the description of the former. However if their persanalities are of the latter, which is to fear failing for the possible repercusions, then the two scenarios will be vastly differnt. Tom will be unaffected by the result and life will go on as usual, since his parents neglect him so much that they do not even bother about his results. Henry on the other hand will be scared of the dissapointment his parents will feel towards him, or the punishments they will mete out.

That said, I believe that no one can possibly be happy after doing badly at a test or examination. While some may put on a facade of nonchalance and act as if they do not care, in their hearts they will be at least a tiny bit dissapointed in themselves. Even if the person in question does not care in the least towards the subject, for whatever reason (say, me toward a malay test, since I don't give a fig about the subject itself, and also because it is not a graded subject), he will feel a little...disapointed? Sad? I repeat: No one can possibly feel good about doing badly in anything, even if it does not affect him and he does not care about it at all.

Anyway, back to the original topic at hand. My personal opinion is that most people are motivated by a combination of both extremes manifested above in the cases of Tom and Henry.