Physical activity is critical to healthy development of children. It is well documented that helping children develop and sustain a physically active lifestyle requires children to become motivated. Many studies have been conducted in the past 2.5 decades on determinants and correlates for children and adolescents' physical activity…

This study of 200 college students examined differences in goal structures between high and low creative individuals, across creative and routine situations, and in 4 categories (person, process, situation, and product). Most subjects described their motivation as involving all four categories, though high creatives put more emphasis on person and…

Effects of goal setting and feedback on creative productivity (as measured by both creativity emphasis and quantity emphasis) of 54 subjects found that feedback improved creativity performance of subjects with creativity goals, creativity feedback was more valued than feedback relating to quantity goals, goal commitment was increased by feedback,…

Although studies have suggested that moods may affect motivation, the nature of these effects remains obscure. To clarify the relationship between mood and motivation, manipulated mood and self-reports of mood were related to paper-and-pencil ratings of motivational orientation. College students (N=70) in Happiness Induction and Sadness Induction…

Examines motivational processes within different goal/reward structures, i.e., competitive, cooperative, and individualistic. Reviews the results of several studies of teacher and student perceptions of personal ability and success and failure. Discusses educational implications of the authors' conclusion that alternative goal structures lead to…

Two high school general mathematics classrooms were differentially taught a unit on percents, one with a cooperative and the other with an individualistic goal structure. A pre-post-test design with a three-way ANOVA analysis of treatment by time within subjects was used. Neither group was found to be significantly different from the other on the…

Presents a longitudinal analysis that examines relationships among Australian family environments, adolescents' aspirations, and young adults' status attainment. Findings suggest that early family-environment type may be considered to act as a critical underlying context for the formation of adolescents' perceptions and aspirations, and of their…

Reports on a study of competition, motivation, and performance among 60 adolescents in India. Finds that direct competition with another person led to higher levels of immediate performance. Also finds that indirect competition against a pre-set standard resulted in greater intrinsic motivation. (CFR)

Reports on a study that examined determinants of intrinsic motivation in a British physical education teacher education course. Finds that both perceived autonomy and competence had effects on intrinsic motivation. Discusses the importance of creating perceptions of autonomy among student teachers. (CFR)

Assesses the role of autonomous self-regulation as a predictor of academic procrastination. Maintains that academic procrastination is often a motivational problem related to fear of failure. Reveals that students with intrinsic reasons for studying procrastinate less than those with less autonomous reasons (for example, external regulation). (MJP)