Ashley and David are in their second year at the University of Melbourne. David likes to hang out with his classmates outside of class and organises different social activities for their cohort. Ashley is studious, keeps up with the subject readings and often asks clarifying questions during the lectures. Based on this description, which motivational principles are directing Ashley and David’s behaviour?

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First, let's restate what the question is asking: we need to identify which motivational principles are directing Ashley and David’s behaviour based on their described behaviours in a university setting.
Option A: 'A. Ashley and David are both motivated by the strive for connectedness.' This suggests both are primarily driven by social connection. While David enjoys organizing social activities, Ashley’s described behaviour—being studious, keeping up with readings, and asking clarifying questions—does not clearly indicate a motivation for connectedness; her actions align more with achieving understanding and mastery, rather than seeking social bonding alone. Therefore, this option seems mismatched for Ashley.
Option B: 'B. Ashley is motivated by the strive for mastery, while David is motivated by the strive for connectedness.' Here, Ashley’s diligence with readings and clarifying questions aligns with mastery—the desire to develop competence and understanding. David organizing social activities for the cohort aligns with connectedness—the need to belong and maintain social bonds. This pairing fits well with commonly taught motivational frameworks that distinguish mastery-oriented and social-connectedness orientations.
Option C: 'C. Ashley is motivated by the strive for mastery, while David is motivated by the strive for valuing me and mine.' The term 'valuing me and mine' typically refers to personal ownership or valuing one’s own resources or status, which doesn’t clearly map onto David’s described social activities organizing for the cohort. While some interpretations might stretch to self-focused valuation, the concrete evidence provided aligns David more with social connection than with self-centered valuation. This makes this option less plausible.
Option D: 'D. Ashley is motivated by the strive for valuing me and mine, while David is motivated by the strive for mastery.' This flips the observed behaviours: Ashley’s study-focused actions do not inherently reflect valuing me and mine (self-centered ownership), and David’s social organization does not reflect mastery (developing competence) in the sense typically used in motivation theories. Hence this option misattributes the drives for both individuals.
To differentiate, focus on the core constructs: mastery (or striving for mastery) relates to learning, understanding, and competence; connectedness relates to belonging and social integration. Ashley’s approach to course content and seeking clarity aligns with mastery, whereas David’s cohort activities align with connectedness. The other options either overgeneralize Ashley’s or David’s motives, or swap the explanations in a way that contradicts the behaviours described. Maintaining the distinctions between mastery and connectedness helps ensure the interpretation matches the observed behaviours.
In summary, the reasoning for evaluating each option centers on mapping Ashley’s actions to mastery-oriented motivation and David’s social organization to connectedness-oriented motivation, while scrutinizing alternatives that either misattribute Ashley’s drive or mischaracterize David’s drive or both. The cognitive cues here are the explicit academic engagement versus the social coordination demonstrated by each person.

PSYC20009_2025_SM2 Exam: Personality and Social Psychology (PSYC20009_2025_SM2)- Requires Respondus LockDown Browser

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