The educational system today often relies on incentives in order to motivate students. However, it might also encourage students to engage in deceptive behaviour (e.g. malingering) in order to reach certain benefits. Hereby, we investigated whether students would intentionally fabricate symptoms (i.e. malinger) when confronted with a…

The aim of this work is to examine the effects of a growth mindset intervention amongst first-year university students during a longitudinal study spanning over 1 month and to develop a model linking well-being and achievement variables. Growth mindset interventions, by teaching malleable instead of fixed self-conceptions, would allow students to…

Providing constructive feedback is complex due to the interplay of emotional and motivational processes students experience when receiving such feedback. In the present study, we investigated constitutive elements of what would make feedback perceived to be constructive, and whether students' mastery approach goal orientation and writing…

An increasing amount of research has indicated that the effectiveness of growth mindset (GM) intervention is sensitive to population characteristics. However, few studies have investigated whether GM interventions can be leveraged to promote academic performance among non-westerners such as Chinese students. Attuning to the Chinese background, we…

The present research sought to integrate self-determination theory and the achievement goal approach to achievement motivation by examining achievement goals as mediators of the link between psychological need support and both intrinsic and external motivation. We found support for our proposed integration, as mastery-approach and…

This study examined the development in motivation for school in students in senior secondary vocational education and factors related to this development. There have been many concerns about a decline in motivation after school transitions. Little about this subject is known in relation to the transition to senior secondary vocational education.…

Previous research has shown that utility value and expectancy for success, as well as the reasons for academic striving, could partly explain academic engagement. Yet, their joint role in predicting learning strategies and test anxiety has not been thoroughly understood, especially in contexts where pressure for success is high. We examined this…

Online education has grown exponentially over the past two decades, in large part due to its promise of flexibility and connectivity for students. However, this approach to pedagogy has remained relatively unexamined in regard to issues of motivation and intellectual thriving. Using self-determination theory as a foundation, we assessed the degree…

The present study investigated whether self-estimation bias in maths competence was associated with motivational costs or benefits, concurrently and prospectively, and whether these associations depended on students' achievement levels. Participants were 2,807 seventh grade students who were reassessed after 2 years to examine the longitudinal…

This study examined the cross-lagged relationships between students' autonomous motivations (intrinsic motivation and identified regulations) and approach goals (mastery and performance) in school. The sample included 449 students (52% girls) in Grades 7 and 8 (secondary 1 and 2). Results showed that intrinsic motivation (IM) positively predicted…

Gender stereotypes associate mathematics and sciences with boys, whereas reading and writing are typically associated with girls. This study investigated sex differences in primary school children's motivation (confidence and value) across four academic subjects (maths, science, reading and writing) and examined how their identification with…

Applying a structural equations modelling methodology, the study analyses the relationships and effects of self-regulated learning (social interaction learning strategies and motivation) and first-year university experiences on permanence in the sophomore year. The participants are 239 first-year students in different Engineering degrees at a…

Using growth modeling, this study examined trajectories of 'switching on' (aspirations) and 'switching off' (disengagement) in mathematics across middle school and high school. In addition, guided by principles under expectancy-value theory, the study sought to determine the extent to which patterns of growth differed by motivation (self-efficacy…

Student engagement, consisting of behavioural, cognitive, and emotional components, has been proven to influence both academic success and psychological well-being. To examine the linkages among the three aspects of academic engagement, a sample of 789 Chinese primary school students (47% girls; 39% 3rd graders, 31% 4th graders, 30% 5th graders)…

The purpose of this study is to examine the motivation type preferences of students in kindergartens and second, fourth, sixth, and eighth grades and the underlying reasons thereof after successfully completing a mathematics task. The students in the study solved an easy mathematics question. After they solved the problem, they were presented with…