Latent Motivational Change in an Academic Setting: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study.

This research examined changes in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation during the transition from junior to senior high school as well as the impact of motivational changes on various educational consequences (i.e., dropout intentions, absenteeism, homework frequency, and educational aspirations). A total of 646 participants completed a questionnaire in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade. Using the true intraindividual change modeling technique (R. Steyer, I. Partchev, & M. J. Shanahan, 2000), the authors reached results revealing that students' intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation decreased gradually from 8th to 10th grade. Furthermore, less educational adjustment was observed for students experiencing a decline in external regulation during the transitional year and students experiencing a decline in intrinsic motivation and identified regulation during the year after the transition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Joseph McVicker Hunt (1906–1991): Obituary.

Discusses in memoriam the contributions of J. M. Hunt in the area of experimental psychology. His main interests were in assessing the psychological effects and treatment in psychopathology and studying the long-term effects of early experience. Hunt used rats to pursue the latter interest and demonstrate a conditioned emotionality through food deprivation. Hunt also influenced the domains of modifying intelligent behavior, cognitive development and developmental assessment, intrinsic motivation, neurobehavioral organizations, and social and educational policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children and computers: Approaching the twenty-first century.

The "effects" that various forms of "computer" use are likely to have on different children's learning, motivation, and social behavior have been a source of heated debate and continuing controversy. In this article, various aspects of this controversy are characterized, and sources of disagreement concerning educational computing are examined. Difficulties in the current state of empirical research in this area are then considered, and recommendations regarding directions for future research are proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of reward on intrinsic motivation—Negative, neutral, and positive: Comment on Deci, Koestner, and Ryan (1999).

Comments on the meta-analytic review by E. L. Deci et al (see record 1999-01567-001) concerning the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Meta-analyses indicated that rewards increase perceived self-determination and that rewards' effects on intrinsic motivation depend on the performance requirement. Reward for meeting vague performance standards reduced the subsequent choice to carry out the task and did not affect self-reported interest. Reward for meeting absolute performance standards did not affect free choice but increased self-reported interest. Reward for exceeding others increased both free choice and self-reported interest. Applied studies commonly found positive or null relationships between reward and intrinsic motivation. The findings suggest that reward procedures requiring ill-defined or minimal performance convey task triviality, thereby decreasing intrinsic motivation. Reward procedures requiring specific high task performance convey a task's personal or social significance, increasing intrinsic motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relations of children's motivation for reading to the amount and breadth or their reading.

The authors explored different aspects of children's reading motivation and how children's motivation related to the amount and breadth of their reading. The reading motives assessed included self-efficacy, intrinsic–extrinsic motivation and goals, and social aspects. Fourth- and 5th-grade children (N?=?105) completed a new reading motivation questionnaire twice during a school year. Children's reading amount and breadth were measured using diaries and questionnaires. Children's reading motivation was found to be multidimensional. Their motivation predicted children's reading amount and breadth even when previous amount and breadth were controlled. An intrinsic motivation composite predicted amount and breadth of reading more strongly than did an extrinsic motivation composite. Some aspects of girls' reading motivation were more positive than boys'. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intrinsic motivation and the process of learning: Beneficial effects of contextualization, personalization, and choice.

This experiment examined the effects on the learning process of 3 complementary strategies—contextualization, personalization, and provision of choices—for enhancing students' intrinsic motivation. Elementary school children in 1 control and 4 experimental conditions worked with educational computer activities designed to teach arithmetical order of operations rules. In the control condition, this material was presented abstractly. In the experimental conditions, identical material was presented in meaningful and appealing learning contexts, in either generic or individually personalized form. Half of the students in each group were also offered choices concerning instructionally incidental aspects of the learning contexts; the remainder were not. Contextualization, personalization, and choice all produced dramatic increases, not only in students' motivation but also in their depth of engagement in learning, the amount they learned in a fixed time period, and their perceived competence and levels of aspiration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for smoking cessation.

An intrinsic–extrinsic model of motivation for smoking cessation was evaluated with 2 samples (ns?=?1,217 and 151) of smokers who requested self-help materials for smoking cessation. Exploratory and confirmatory principal components analysis on a 36-item Reasons for Quitting (RFQ) scale supported the intrinsic–extrinsic motivation distinction. A 4-factor model, with 2 intrinsic dimensions (concerns about health and desire for self-control) and 2 extrinsic dimensions (immediate reinforcement and social influence), was defined by 20 of the 36 RFQ items. The 20-item measure demonstrated moderate to high levels of internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity. Logistic regression analyses indicated that smokers with higher levels of intrinsic relative to extrinsic motivation were more likely to achieve abstinence from smoking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Continuity of academic intrinsic motivation from childhood through late adolescence: A longitudinal study.

Two aspects of continuity, stability of individual differences and means, were examined in a longitudinal study from the middle elementary through the high school years. Two hypotheses regarding individual difference stability were supported with structural equation modeling in both the general-verbal and math domains: (a) Academic intrinsic motivation is a stable construct throughout these years, and (b) with advancement in age, academic intrinsic motivation becomes increasingly stable. A third hypothesis, that the mean level of academic intrinsic motivation declines over these ages, also was supported, and significant linear trends were obtained, but it was also found to be modified by particular subject areas, with math showing the greatest decline and social studies showing no significant change. The combination of these 2 aspects of continuity places those with low motivation early in their schooling particularly at risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supervisors' beliefs and subordinates' intrinsic motivation: A behavioral confirmation analysis.

Numerous studies have documented that when supervisors are more supportive of autonomy and less controlling, subordinates demonstrate higher levels of intrinsic motivation. The present research examined the role of supervisors' beliefs about a subordinate's intrinsic or extrinsic motivation in explaining this relation. A teaching paradigm was used in which participants were assigned the role of supervisors or subordinates. Supervisors were given no information regarding the subordinate, told that the subordinate was extrinsically motivated, or told that the subordinate was intrinsically motivated. Results revealed that subordinates who were believed to be intrinsically motivated perceived their supervisor as being significantly more supportive of autonomy, reported significantly more intrinsic interest, and spent significantly more time on the task during the free-choice period than subordinates whose supervisors believed them to be extrinsically motivated. Theoretical implications of the behavioral confirmation process for social perception and intrinsic motivation research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Need for cognition and desire for control as moderators of extrinsic reward effects: A person?×?situation approach to the study of intrinsic motivation.

74 Ss in extrinsic-reward or no-reward conditions completed a brainstorming task and then were left alone with the option to engage in additional versions of this task. If the Need for Cognition (NFC) Scale taps intrinsic motivation for effortful cognition (J. T. Cacioppo and R. E. Petty, 1982), the optional task engagement of high-NFC Ss, but not low-NFC Ss, should be undermined by extrinsic reward. Results confirmed this hypothesis, but regression analyses showed that NFC scores' moderation of reward effects was due to their covariation with scores on the Desire for Control Scale (J. M. Burger and H. M. Cooper, 1979). The data suggest that (1) NFC involves intrinsic motivation for effortful cognitive processing, (2) NFC may predict such processing mainly in contexts with minimal extrinsic incentives for processing, and (3) control motivation may be related causally both to extrinsic undermining effects and to individual differences in NFC. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance evaluation and intrinsic motivation: The effects of evaluative focus, rewards, and achievement orientation.

Most studies of intrinsic motivation under reward and evaluative contingencies have used social comparison criteria to evaluate subjects' performance. In those studies evaluation tended to reduce intrinsic interest. This study contrasted normative evaluation against a more task-focused evaluation of subjects' performance on an interesting word game and examined the role of achievement motivation in moderating reactions to performance evaluation. Focus differences were implemented under conditions of performance-contingent reward, anticipated evaluation, and control conditions in which subjects received performance feedback at task conclusion. We predicted that evaluation would reduce interest relative to reward and feedback control groups under a normative focus but not under a task focus and also that a process of competence valuation (Harackiewicz & Manderlink, 1984) would mediate the effects of reward and achievement on interest, especially in normative conditions. The data conformed to these expectations with one exception: Evaluation under a task focus increased intrinsic interest. These results were interpreted in the context of a general model that considers the separate effects of situational contingencies, personality factors, performance and motivational processes, and evaluative outcomes on intrinsic motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of cooperative and individualistic reward on intrinsic motivation

The effects of cooperative versus individualistic reward on students' intrinsic motivation were investigated. The controlling aspects of extrinsic reward may be heightened or produce greater ego threat in the individualistic situation when compared with a group situation. We predicted that students in the cooperative social situation would show higher levels of intrinsic motivation. Fifth-grade students from existing cooperative groups were assigned randomly to receive a tangible reward based on either cooperative or individualistic achievement for completing pattern block designs. Cooperation affected intrinsic motivation positively. Students in the cooperative dyad solved the block designs more quickly, interacted positively, and viewed the task as easier than did those in the individualistic situation, and they reported that their peers were helpful. There was little evidence that the controlling functions of reward or ego-threat were factors in producing the outcome. Some evidence supporting the importance of the social nature of cooperation was provided.     

Equity and intrinsic motivation: The role of choice.

Research on the effects of pay on productivity and intrinsic motivation has yielded seemingly contradictory results. The "equity" literature has repeatedly found that increasing pay increases productivity (and presumably, intrinsic motivation), whereas the "insufficient/oversufficient justification" literature has found that increasing pay decreases intrinsic motivation (hence, presumably, productivity). It was hypothesized that the choice variable mediates these results. Specifically, under low choice, high pay should lead to reduced productivity or intrinsic motivation, whereas under high choice, high pay should lead to reduced productivity or intrinsic motivation. A pilot study and a subsequent experiment, both using female undergraduates, examined the effect of pay and choice on productivity or intrinsic motivation. Both studies supported these predictions. The results are discussed with regard to problems in determining the level of reward to be offered for task performance, since providing inadequate rewards may sometimes decrease, and other times increase, intrinsic motivation. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Goal setting, achievement orientation, and intrinsic motivation: A mediational analysis.

Investigated the interactive effects of achievement orientation and evaluative focus of assigned, task-specific goals on intrinsic motivation for an enjoyable pinball game. Regression analyses revealed that the effect of performance or mastery-focused goals on intrinsic motivation varied as a function of achievement orientation. Specifically, the provision of task-specific standards with a performance focus enhanced intrinsic motivation for achievement-oriented individuals, whereas the assignment of such goals proved deleterious to the intrinsic motivation of those low in achievement orientation. Individuals low in achievement orientation displayed the highest levels of intrinsic motivation when provided with mastery-focused goals. A similar pattern of effects was obtained on competence valuation and task involvement, both of which were additionally validated as mediators of the direct effects on intrinsic motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job attitude and motivation differences between volunteers and employees from comparable organizations.

Data were collected from members of 8 organizations: volunteer- and employee-staffed newspapers, poverty relief agencies, family planning clinics, and fire departments. It was expected that volunteers would report greater intrinsic, social, and service motivation; greater job satisfaction; less intent to leave; it was also expected that their activities would be more praiseworthy than that of employees. ANOVAs confirmed the expectation for all variables except intrinsic motivation. Results are consistent with "sufficiency-of-justification" effects. Limitations of the present study and implications of the intrinsic-motivation exception for generalizations of laboratory findings to the workplace are discussed. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic intrinsic motivation in young elementary school children.

Two studies, 1 longitudinal and 1 cross-sectional, demonstrate that for young elementary school children, academic intrinsic motivation is a reliable, valid, and significant construct. It was positively related to achievement, IQ, and perception of competence, and inversely related to anxiety. Academic intrinsic motivation at age 9 was significantly predicted by motivation measured 1 and 2 years earlier, above and beyond the contribution of IQ and achievement. Children with higher academic intrinsic motivation at ages 7 and 8 were more likely to show higher motivation at age 9. Whereas young children could reliably distinguish between subject areas of academic intrinsic motivation, only math motivation showed consistently specific relations to other math criteria. Findings are discussed with regard to developmental theories of intrinsic motivation and the significance of academic intrinsic motivation for children's education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher control strategies and choice of educational objectives among college students.

Studied effects of high vs low teacher control strategies on student educational objectives in a quasi-simulation university career game. 60 undergraduates, divided into 2 groups on the basis of scores on A. Mehrabian's measure of achievement motivation, were randomly assigned to high or low teacher control conditions. High-control Ss heard a 20-min lecture on choices available in a university career. Low-control Ss were invited to begin the simulation game immediately and explore alternatives as they proceeded. Results show that high-control Ss made significantly more goal choices for educational efficiency, while low-control Ss made significantly more choices favoring personal and social growth. Individual level of achievement motivation modified these overall results in predicted directions. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation for smoking cessation among pregnant women.

The authors evaluated an expanded measure of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for smoking cessation in a population-based sample of 897 pregnant smokers (500 current smokers and 397 recent quitters). The measure assessed motivation related to pregnancy and parenthood in addition to general intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions. Current smokers at baseline who quit smoking by 28 weeks of pregnancy (n?=?102) had significantly higher baseline levels of pregnancy-related motivation than continuing smokers. Extrinsic and pregnancy motivation dropped between baseline and 28 weeks of pregnancy among continuing smokers. Higher levels of intrinsic relative to extrinsic motivation at baseline were associated with sustained abstinence during the first 2 months postpartum. Results suggest that both general and pregnancy-specific motivation are important for smoking cessation and relapse prevention during pregnancy. Interventions to enhance the salience of health benefits over and above those related to pregnancy and other intrinsic benefits of a greater sense of self-control could protect against postpartum relapse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the relative effects of positive and negative verbal feedback on males' and females' intrinsic motivation.

Assessed the relative effects of positive and negative feedback on males' and females' intrinsic motivation and attempted to replicate findings by the present authors (see record 1984-30609-001) regarding the mediating effects of feelings of competence on the verbal feedback/intrinsic motivation relation. 30 male and 30 female undergraduates performed an interesting task and received either positive or negative feedback relative to their performance. Ss then filled out intrinsic motivation and feelings of competence scales. Results show that, relative to negative feedback, positive feedback led to higher levels of intrinsic motivation and competence feelings for both males and females. Results of the path analysis involving verbal feedback, competence feelings, and intrinsic motivation revealed a picture clearly in line with a mediating model. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intrinsic motivation in schizophrenia: Relationships to cognitive function, depression, anxiety, and personality.

The goal of the current project was to assess subjective reports of intrinsic motivation and their relationship to cognitive function, mood, and personality in schizophrenia. The authors used the Motivational Trait Questionnaire to examine 3 components of intrinsic motivation (personal mastery, competitive excellence, motivation related to anxiety). They also examined fluid intelligence, context processing, and working memory, as well as self-reports of mood and personal traits related to motivation. Participants were 66 individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 44 healthy controls. Self-reports of personal mastery and competitive excellence did not differ between controls and individuals with schizophrenia, though patients did report significantly higher motivation related to anxiety. Among controls, but not patients, self-reports of intrinsic motivation were strongly related to cognitive performance. In contrast, both controls and patients showed similar strong relationships between self-reports of intrinsic motivation and related measures of mood and personality. These results are not consistent with the hypothesis that motivational deficits in schizophrenia reflect impairments in intrinsic motivation. However, they do suggest that the normal relationship between self-reports of intrinsic motivation and cognitive function is disrupted in schizophrenia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)