The effects of extrinsic reinforcement on intrinsic motivation

In this paper, the role of extrinsic reinforcement in intrinsic motivation is discussed in terms of Deci's cognitive attribution theory. The competing response hypothesis and the frustration hypothesis are presented as alternative modes of analysis. “Undermining” is the phenomenon proposed by the cognitive attribution theorists that accounts for reported decrements in intrinsically motivated behaviors following external rewards. The literature regarding undermining in token economy research is critically evaluated. The author concludes that: (a) Cognitive attribution theory lacks parsimony, in that extant reinforcement analysis can account for undermining with equal facility. (b) Undermining is of little significance as a concept, due to its elusive and transient impact on operant behavior.     

Teacher interests,mastery goals,and self-efficacy as predictors of instructional practices and student motivation

This study addressed the role of elementary school teachers' motivation as predictors of instructional practices and student motivation. The sample comprised 110 teacher–class pairs (1731 students). The results showed that teachers' didactic interest and self-efficacy predicted teacher reports of instructional practices. In contrast, student reports of instruction were significantly associated with teachers' educational interest and mastery goals. Moreover, student motivation was only related with student reports but not teacher reports of instructional practices. In particular, mastery-oriented practices contributed strongly to student motivation. Teacher educational interest predicted mastery-oriented practices and also showed a significant direct relation to student motivation.     

Intrinsic motivation,perceived competence and classroom engagement as longitudinal predictors of adolescent reading achievement

This study investigated the effects of intrinsic motivation, perceived competence, classroom engagement and extrinsic motivation on reading development among youth. Using a nationally representative sample of students in the US, the researchers followed students longitudinally from fifth to eighth grade. Reading achievement was measured using composite tests of vocabulary, reading comprehension and sight-word identification. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine the effect of students’ perceived intrinsic motivation and competence, as well as teacher rated classroom engagement in the 5th grade, on reading achievement in the 8th grade. Important control variables were utilised such as gender, family SES, race/ethnicity and prior reading achievement. The results showed that intrinsic motivation to read, perceived competence and engagement in 5th grade significantly predict reading achievement in 8th grade. The importance students placed upon grades also predicted reading development. Implications for promoting intrinsic motivation and strong engagement in schools are discussed.     

The importance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for measuring IQ

This research provides an economic model of the way people behave during an IQ test. We distinguish a technology that describes how time investment improves performance from preferences that determine how much time people invest in each question. We disentangle these two elements empirically using data from a laboratory experiment. The main findings is that both intrinsic (questions that people like to work on) and extrinsic motivation (incentive payments) increase time investments and as a result performance. The presence of incentive payments seems to be more important than the size of the reward. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation turn out to be complements.     

An investigation of hope, academics, environment, and motivation as predictors of persistence in higher education online programs

Predictors of persistence previously found useful in distinguishing successful from unsuccessful distance learners were assembled in a 60-item survey. The survey was completed by 259 learners enrolled in associate's, bachelor's, or master's level distance learning courses in accounting, business administration, information services, criminal justice, nursing, management, and education. The survey measured variables related to academics, environment, motivation, and hope as predictors of persistence, where persistence was defined as continuing beyond the first three classes in one of the three degree-granting programs. Persisters (N = 209) tended to score higher on environmental measures of Emotional Support, Self-efficacy, and Time and Study Management than non-persisters (N = 50). Surprisingly, high scores on a measure of Learner Autonomy (independent learning) were associated with non-persistence in the online programs. The findings were interpreted in the context of the cohort model used in the online programs attended by the students surveyed in the study.     

Promoting performance and motivation through a combination of intrinsic motivation stimulation and an extrinsic incentive

Learning Environments Research - During the early stages of secondary education students’ motivation and performance levels decline. This study employed a case study approach to evaluate a...     

Task motivation: Learner selection of intrinsic versus extrinsic orientations

The choice behavior of 24 college-age subjects within a computer problem-solving task was investigated as they controlled and selected problem difficulty levels which either maximized intrinsic interest or extrinsic reward. While playing a computerized version of the game Mastermind, subjects selected and attempted problems from a variety of difficulty levels during 18 15-minute sessions. Within selected periods of extrinsic reward availability, subjects were shown to select problems which were most efficiently solved, thus maximizing extrinsic reward; however, repeated task exposure produced selections that increased the task's challenge levels and its subsequent intrinsic interest. Following the removal of the extrinsic rewards, subjects immediately returned to their pre-reward intervention levels of difficulty.     

The role of cognitive engagement in classroom learning and motivation

The article analyzes the concept of student cognitive engagement, and the manner in which classroom instruction may develop self‐regulated learners. Since theory and research on academic motivation, to date only vaguely define the role of learning processes, and since studies of learning strategies rarely assess motivational outcomes, our analysis integrates these two streams of literature. We also identify specific features of instruction and discuss how they might influence the complex of student interpretive processes focal to classroom learning and motivation. Measurement issues and research strategies peculiar to the investigation of cognitive engagement are addressed.     

Transforming engagement: a case study of building intrinsic motivation in a child with autism

This longitudinal case study of a 10‐year‐old girl with autism and severe communication impairment measures the impact of the MORE (Means, Opportunities, Reasons and Expectations) approach to enhancing engagement and communication. Through detailed observation of video data over a period of 28 months, engagement behaviours including interaction with adults and following adult directions increased, while resistant behaviours such as kicking, hitting and pushing adults away decreased. Fluctuation between different ‘states’ demonstrated that the frequency and duration of engagement was influenced by the MORE approach and an emphasis on developing intrinsic motivation. In order to enable further efficacy research, core features of the intervention and the changes in engagement over time are described.     

Academic underachievement: Relationship with cognitive motivation,achievement motivation,and conscientiousness

In this study, the role of need for cognition, achievement motivation, and conscientiousness on academic underachievement was investigated. Forty‐seven male and 46 female students in Grades 7 to 10 participated in the study. Student attributes were assessed by self‐report measures, school performance by academic grades, and intellectual abilities by a standardized structure of intelligence test. A regression analytic model (prediction of grade point average by general intelligence) was used to operationally define underachievement. A categorical cutoff definition as well as a continuous definition was investigated. All relationships between underachievement scores and need for cognition, achievement motivation scales, and conscientiousness showed linearity. This warranted the use of a continuous definition of underachievement. Results revealed that need for cognition as well as facilitating anxiety contributed the most to the explanation of underachievement. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 401–411, 2006.     

Testing interest and self-efficacy as predictors of academic self-regulation and achievement

We examined whether individual interest, as an affective motivational variable, could predict academic self-regulation and achievement, above and beyond what academic self-efficacy predicted. We tested the relationships between academic self-efficacy, individual interest, grade goals, self-regulation, and achievement of Korean middle school students (N = 500) in four different subject areas. Consistent with previous findings, self-efficacy predicted achievement both directly and indirectly via grade goals. Self-efficacy also predicted self-regulation, but only when grade goals mediated the relationship. Supporting our hypothesis, individual interest functioned as a correlated yet independent and direct predictor of self-regulation. It also predicted achievement, but only when self-regulation mediated the relationship. We thus suggest that academic self-regulation could be encouraged through the promotion of two distinct motivational sources, academic self-efficacy and individual interest. We further suggest that the pathways linking individual interest to academic self-regulation and achievement may differ from those linking academic self-efficacy to the same variables.     

Predicting high school students' cognitive engagement and achievement: Contributions of classroom perceptions and motivation

Path analysis was used to test predictions of a model explaining the impact of students' perceptions of classroom structures (tasks, autonomy support and mastery and evaluation) on their self-efficacy, perceptions of the instrumentality of class work, and their achievement goals in a particular classroom setting. Additionally, the impact of self-efficacy, instrumentality, and goals on students' cognitive engagement and achievement was tested. There were 220 high school students who completed a series of questionnaires over a three-month period in their English classes. Data strongly supported the model demonstrating that student perceptions of classroom structures are important for their motivation. Also supported was the importance of perceiving the current class work as being instrumental for future success. Implications were discussed.     

Within-year changes in children’s intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations: Contextual predictors and academic outcomes

The present study was designed to investigate the nature, timing, and correlates of motivational change among a large sample (N = 1051) of third- through eighth-grade students. Analyses of within-year changes in students’ motivational orientations revealed that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations decreased from fall to spring, with declines in intrinsic motivation especially pronounced for the adolescents and declines in extrinsic motivation especially pronounced for the elementary students. These changes in motivation were explained, in part, by shifts in students’ perceptions of the school goal context. Findings suggested that typical age-related declines in intrinsic motivation may be minimized by a school-wide focus on mastery goals. Finally, the potential academic consequences of students’ motivational orientations were examined with a series of hierarchical multiple regressions. Intrinsic motivation and classroom achievement appeared to influence one another in a positive and reciprocal fashion. Poor classroom performance minimally predicted higher levels of extrinsic motivation, but extrinsic motivation was not a source of low classroom grades.     

Experiences,activities, and personal characteristics as predictors of engagement in STEM-focused summer programs

Out-of-school-time programs for youth that are focused on STEM content are often seen as affording opportunities to increase youth engagement, interest, and knowledge in STEM domains, yet we know relatively little about how youth actually experience such programs. In this article, we explore how experiences and activities employed in the delivery of summer STEM programs are associated with youth engagement during programming, and whether youth characteristics moderate these relationships. Data were collected from 203 youth (ages 10–16) in nine summer programs using multiple methods including video, experience sampling, and surveys. Through the use of cross-classified, multi-level models, we found that youth reported higher engagement in program activities they perceived to be more challenging and relevant, and in activities, they perceived to have more affordances for learning or developing skills. Gender moderated these relationships such that the positive relationships observed among males were muted or nonexistent for girls. We further identify that program activities are differently associated with fostering challenge, relevance, and learning. Findings have implications for out-of-school STEM programming for youth.     

Autonomous and controlling reasons underlying achievement goals during task engagement: their relation to intrinsic motivation and cheating

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation of autonomous and controlling reasons underlying an endorsed achievement goal to intrinsic motivation and cheating. The endorsement of the achievement goal was ensured by involving 212 (M_age = 19.24, SD = .97) freshman students in a spatial task and asking them to report their most important achievement goal, as well as the reasons for adopting the goal, during the task. Results from a hierarchical regression analysis revealed that independent of the achievement goal the students adopted, the autonomous reasons for the endorsed goal were positively related to the indices of intrinsic motivation. Furthermore, the autonomous reasons underlying either performance or mastery-avoidance goals were negatively related to cheating. Alternatively, the controlling reasons for the endorsed goal were positively related to pressure and tension. The importance of considering both the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ aspect of achievement motivation are discussed.     

Understanding children's reading activities: Reading motivation,skill and child characteristics as predictors

This study examined the extent to which a range of child characteristics (sex, age, socioeconomic status, reading skill and intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation) predicted engagement (i.e., time spent) in different reading activities (fiction books, factual books, school textbooks, comics, magazines and digital texts). In total, 791 children (aged 8–11 years) participated. There was considerable variation in the factors predicting engagement in different reading activities. Although intrinsic reading motivation was a good predictor of recreational book reading, age was a stronger predictor of engagement with digital texts. Furthermore, specific dimensions of motivation predicted engagement in different reading activities; being motivated to read challenging texts predicted recreational book reading, whereas being motivated to achieve good grades predicted schoolbook reading. On the other hand, social reasons predicted engagement with magazines and comics. Implications for education and the relationship between child characteristics and choice of reading activities are discussed.     

Patterns of motivation among adolescents with biased and accurate self-efficacy beliefs

The motivational pattern of adolescents with biased and accurate self-efficacy beliefs in language and/or in math was examined in the current study. A sample of 6119 adolescents completed self-report questionnaires measuring self-efficacy beliefs for language and math, their interest in each subject, persistence, achievement goal orientations, and social goals. Data analyses indicated that (a) underestimation of one's performance, even in regard to a single school subject, was associated to costs and no benefits, (b) accurate or realistic self-appraisals were associated to benefits and no costs, and (c) overestimation of one's performance was more likely to be associated with more costs but not necessarily fewer benefits than realistic self-beliefs. Gender differences were also found.     

Patterns and predictors of father-infant engagement across race/ethnic groups

This study examines whether levels of father engagement (e.g., verbal stimulation, caregiving, and physical play) vary by race/ethnicity using a model that controls for fathers' human capital, mental health, and family relationships. It also tests whether the models work similarly across race/ethnic groups. Its sample of N=5,089 infants and their families is drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). We found that, after including controls, African American and Latino fathers had higher levels of engagement in caregiving and physical play activities than White fathers. There were no differences in verbal stimulation activities across race/ethnicity. Fathers' education (college level) predicted more verbally stimulating activities whereas fathers' report of couple conflict predicted less caregiving and physical play. Although levels of engagement differed across the groups, the overall models did not differ by race/ethnicity, except for physical play. African American mothers who reported high levels of depressive symptoms had partners who engaged in more physical play than White mothers with high levels of depressive symptoms.