science

Motivational poster

Motivational poster is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Motivational poster rather than just read about it. In short: A motivational poster, or inspirational poster, is a type of poster commonly designed for use in schools and offices. Intent The intent of motivational posters is to make people achieve more, or to think differently about the things that they may be learning or doing.

Key takeaways

Motivational poster belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Motivational poster to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Motivational poster from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A motivational poster, or inspirational poster, is a type of poster commonly designed for use in schools and offices.

Intent The intent of motivational posters is to make people achieve more, or to think differently about the things that they may be learning or doing. This is not how everyone views such posters, however. Art Petty, for example, in discussing innovation writes that it "cannot be mandated or legislated, and it definitely is not inspired by the corporate motivational poster". CBS News concludes that modern motivational posters "are geared more toward things that need to be done than things that are good to believe".

Effects Motivational posters can have behavioral effects. For example, Mutrie and Blamey, of the University of Glasgow and the Greater Glasgow Health Board, found in one study that their placement of a motivational poster that promotes stair use in front of an escalator and a parallel staircase, in an underground station, doubled the amount of stair use. These studies all support the finding that such motivational posters, placed at the point of decision, can have a behavioral effect, with this effect decreasing back to zero gradually over a period of weeks after the removal of the poster.

Parodies and demotivational posters

Parodies of motivational posters, generally known as demotivational posters or demotivators have become an Internet meme. One famous motivational poster features a kitten hanging from a tree branch along with the phrase "Hang in There, Baby!" This has been the target of various reproductions and parodies, such as an appearance on The Simpsons episode "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson" where Marge Simpson notices the copyright date (1968) and comments, "...determined or not, that cat must be long dead. That's kind of a downer." Another reference to the poster is The Onion's 1999 "In the News" photograph titled "Inspirational Poster Kitten Falls To Death After 17 Years".

References

Further reading Alyson Ward (2005-04-02). "Posters like this are designed to inspire you to do your very, very best in the workplace. But do they really just inspire you to strangle the well-intentioned manager who put them on the wall?". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Texas: The McClatchy Company. pp. 1F. A. L. Marshall; A. E. Bauman; C. Patch; J. Wilson & J. Chen (2002-12-01). "Can motivational signs prompt increases in incidental physical activity in an Australian health-care facility?". Health Education Research. 17 (6): 743–749. doi:10.1093/her/17.6.743. PMID 12507349. M. S. Dolan; L. A. Weiss; R. A. Lewis; A. Pietrobelli; M. Heo & M. S. Faith (2006). "'Take the stairs instead of the escalator': effect of environmental prompts on community stair use and implications for a national 'Small Steps' campaign". Obesity Reviews. 7 (1): 25–32. doi:10.1111/j.1467-789X.2006.00219.x. PMID 16436100. S2CID 34047095. Ross E. Andersen; Shawn C. Franckowiak; Kim B. Zuzak; Elise S. Cummings; Susan J. Bartlett; Carlos J. Crespo (November 2006). "Effects of a culturally sensitive sign on the use of stairs in African American commuters". Sozial- und Präventivmedizin. 51 (6). Birkhäuser Basel: 373–380. doi:10.1007/s00038-006-5095-5. PMID 17658143. S2CID 27301272. Jacob A. Hyman (2003-08-22). Computer Vision Based People Tracking for Motivating Behavior in Public Spaces (PDF) (M.Eng. thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-15. Retrieved 2008-10-09. Stuart Biddle & Nanette Mutrie (2001). Psychology of Physical Activity. Routledge. pp. 305–306. ISBN 9780415235266. – a summary of two more studies, in 1980 and 1985, of the impacts of motivational signs at the point of decision on stair use

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Motivational poster

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Motivational poster claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Motivational poster before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Motivational poster ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Motivational poster

In research: Motivational poster appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Motivational poster in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Motivational poster is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Internet memes, Motivation, Posters, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Motivational poster outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Motivational poster in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Motivational poster means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Motivational poster out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Motivational poster in simple terms?

A motivational poster, or inspirational poster, is a type of poster commonly designed for use in schools and offices. Intent The intent of motivational posters is to make people achieve more, or to think differently about the things that they may be learning or doing.

Why does Motivational poster matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Motivational poster?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Motivational poster.