The authors examined how 2 types of goal setting (process vs. outcome), self-evaluation (presence vs. absence), and organizational signals (presence vs. absence) affected student ability to perform a set of procedural skills, namely animating slides created via presentation software. They also examined how these variables influenced a variety of…

Addresses the issue of master music teachers' motivation. Describes motivation as a learned habit reflecting these characteristics: clarity of purpose, delayed gratification, consistent persistence, continual self-evaluation, open-mindedness, emotional maturity, no fear of failure, and self-discipline. Attributes master music teachers' success to…

This study examined the role of motivational factors on the academic achievement of children in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. Four motivational factors were assessed: the child's motivational attributions, motivational goal orientation, self-perception, and mastery-oriented behaviors in the classroom. Mastery-oriented behaviors include being…

Two studies investigated how goals and self-evaluation affect motivation and achievement outcomes. In both studies, fourth-grade students received instruction and practice on fractions over sessions. Students worked under conditions involving either a goal of learning how to solve problems (learning goal) or a goal of merely solving them…

Children's ideas strongly shape classroom life in Japanese elementary schools. Japanese children identify goals for self-improvement, work hard to achieve them, and then choose new goals. Events like the Yotsubashi Festival are not diversions from the curriculum, but designed to help children develop socially, emotionally, ethically, and…

This study examined the relationship between ego-oriented or task-oriented motivation on one hand and subjective well-being and perceived ability on the other. Undergraduate (N=124) and graduate (N=212) students at Purdue University responded to a questionnaire by listing up to 10 personal projects and rating the 2 most important ones with respect…

This study explored how some aspects of achievement goals theory can be integrated into the education of gifted and/or academically talented students. Specifically, the study addressed whether teachers of gifted students utilized task-focused instructional practices more often than performance-focused instructional practices, whether teachers of…

Relates findings from a review of the literature on six academic motivational constructs studied in traditional environments to online education concepts. Examines self-efficacy, locus of control, attributions, goal orientation, intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation, and self-regulation to identify methods for ensuring student success in online…

This study examined the links between Australian adolescents' achievement goal orientation and the information sources they used when making decisions about returning to school and selecting courses for the elective final 2 years of high school. A total of 230 year-11 students from 2 coeducational comprehensive schools in a large city…

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)

Discusses the use of correspondence training in the classroom to improve learning outcomes. Defines the training as an experimental behavioral strategy that takes into account the degree to which people achieve what they are aiming to do. Concludes from research involving middle school students that the subjects achieved a better work output in…

Fear of success in a group of high school students (N=127) was studied, with research findings supporting the following generalizations: (1) high school students with an intermediate level of self-esteem have greater fear of success than those with high and low levels of self-esteem; (2) high school students with BSRI (Bem Sex Role Inventory)…

This chapter furthers the discussion of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation by contending that learning and studying are multidetermined and that intrinsic motivation is typically accompanied by extrinsic motivation. The chapter begins with a discussion of the concept of future time perspective as a cognitive-motivational personality…

A total of 371 adults between 19 and 64 years of age wrote down their goals, concerns, and notions of when their goals would be realized. Goals and concerns reflected the developmental tasks of the adult's particular age. (LB)

Four studies examined preschoolers' use of the cue of action initiation to infer another's desired goal. Found that differences in action initiation play an increasingly important role in 3-year-olds' mentalistic explanations of action, and that this development may be related to other critical changes occurring in their developing theory of mind.…