Research on motivation and gifted students is classified into two broad categories. The first focuses on motivation as a relatively stable characteristic useful for making decisions on identification, counseling, and some programming issues. The second defines motivation as a transitory outcome measure that may be affected by the educational…

The performance of 25 children with Down syndrome (DS) on delay of gratification tasks was compared with that of mental age-matched typically developing children. DS children were significantly less able to delay gratification on two of the three tasks. Results raise questions about using mental age as the method for matching children with DS and…

Examines the role of motivation in substance abusers' acceptance of treatment and its relation to treatment outcomes. Better motivation was consistently associated with severity of substance use. Motivation was not related to alcohol and drug use severity six months later. Severity associated with motivation at entry was not related to clients'…

Staff at a Louisville, Kentucky, school have created a caring community of learners whose members feel valued, personally interconnected, and committed to everyone's growth and learning. Child Development Project schools emphasize warm, supportive, and stable relationships; constructive learning; intrinsic motivation; a challenging curriculum; and…

Established the psychometric properties of the Self-Motivation Inventory for Children (SMI-C) using tests of factorial validity, factorial invariance, latent mean structure, and predictive validity. Two cohorts of black and white adolescent girls completed the SMI-C and various physical activity measures. The single-factor, positively worded,…

Tested on preschoolers a goal-confidence model for older children that predicts achievement behavior during failure. Found that individual differences in achievement goals emerge very early. Children appeared to have developed a mechanism for selecting learning opportunities prior to formal school experience. (AA)

Four artistic people of various ages were interviewed concerning their conscious and unconscious thought during creative activity, emotions which precipitated creative activity and intermingled with cognition, and intrinsic motivators and rewards. The interviews supported research regarding the internal forces of creativity. (Author/JDD)

Examined the role of three sympathy-related responses--cognitive, affective, and motivational--in adolescents' self-reports of prosocial response to distress in friends and acquaintances. Findings suggest that, in adolescents, affective and motivational responses can be differentiated along a dimension of other- versus self-orientation and that…

The concept of student motivation is discussed, with applications for facilitating competence development in special and remedial education. Consideration is given to 4 prerequisites to competence development, historical obstacles to motivational interventions, motivational systems theory (MST), and 17 MST principles for motivating students. (SW)

Study examined self-motivation and selected physiological characteristics as predictors of whether employees would complete a structured corporate exercise/fitness program. Researchers surveyed employees regarding physiological health, self-motivation, and adherence. They found no significant positive relationship between self-motivation scores…

The development of reflective processes and the role of self-reflection in learning are examined. It is suggested that analysis of levels of conceptions or psychological processes through the phenomenographic method may clarify the development of metacognitive beliefs. Learning to use metacognitive knowledge and training reflective skills are…

A case study of an Australian gifted youth with a learning disability is reported. Aspects of his schooling, his family support and encouragement, and his own task commitment are discussed as factors related to his being able to transcend his disability to a large extent. (Author/JDD)

A series of studies examined one to five year olds' developmental changes in reaction to achievement-related outcomes. Results were used to formulate a three-stage model for the development of achievement-related self-evaluation. Concludes that a distinction between achievement standards and prescriptions for behavior is not meaningful with young…

Examined familial factors in relation to 93 fifth-graders' motivational orientation and academic performance. High parental surveillance of homework; parental reactions to grades that included negative control, uninvolvement, or extrinsic reward; and over- and undercontrolling family styles were found to be related to children's extrinsic…

Correlates of help-seeking by college students were examined in 3 studies involving a total of 1,539 students. Evidence from all three studies supports the view that help-seeking in college is an achievement-related, rather than a dependent, behavior. Active learners were more likely to seek help when needed. (SLD)