Prior to high-stakes exams, teachers use persuasive messages that highlight to students the possible consequences of failure. Such messages are known as fear appeals. This study examined whether fear appeals relate to self-and non-self-determined motivation and academic performance. Data were collected in 3 waves. Self-report data pertaining to perceived fear appeals were collected in the first wave, self-report data pertaining to self-determined motivation were collected in the second wave, and exam scores were collected in the third wave. An increased frequency of fear appeals and the appraisal of fear appeals as threatening predicted lower self-determined motivation but were largely unrelated to non-self-determined motivation. An increased frequency of fear appeals and the appraisal of fear appeals as threatening predicted lower examination performance that was partly mediated by lower self-determined motivation. These findings support a position derived from self-worth theory that the negative consequences of fear appeals arise from their focus on avoiding failure rather than their focus on extrinsic consequences. We suggest that teachers and instructors need to be aware how seemingly motivational statements can unwittingly promote lower self-determined motivation.

The decline in students' motivation to master their subjects raises potentially important questions about whether pressures for grades undermine students' interest in their studies.

There has been considerable debate as to whether course evaluations are valid measures of teaching quality, or whether students instead reward tutors who give them high grades and assign low levels of work. To assess the factors that influence course evaluations, we measured university students' achievement goals and expectations at the beginning of the semester and also obtained information on grades and workload. Although grades and course difficulty did have a small influence on end‐of‐semester course ratings, structural modelling revealed that ratings were largely determined by how much students enjoyed or felt stimulated by the course content, which in turn depended on the perceived quality of teaching. Students with a mastery goal were more likely to look forward to the course, and this also contributed to positive course evaluations, but the effect was small. Overall, the results suggested that by far the largest determinant of student evaluation of courses is the quality of the teaching.

Putwain, DW, Remedios, R and Symes, WExperiencing fear appeals as a challenge or a threat influences attainment value and academic self-efficacy http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/3500/ Article LJMU has developed LJMU Research Online for users to access the research output of the University more effectively. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LJMU Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain.The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription. LJMU Research Online Running head: FEAR APPEALS, VALUE AND ACADEMIC SELF-EFFICACYThe appraisal of fear appeals as a challenge or a threat influences a subsequent decline or increase in attainment value and academic self-efficacy FEAR APPEALS, VALUE AND ACADEMIC SELF-EFFICACY 1 AbstractFear appeals are persuasive messages that highlight the negative consequences of a particular course of action. Studies have shown that attainment value and academic self-efficacy predict how fear appeals are appraised. In this study we examined how the appraisal of fear appeals might also influence subsequent attainment value and academic self-efficacy. Self-report data were collected from 1433 students in their final two years of secondary education over three waves. Findings revealed that when students saw fear appeals as a challenge attainment value and academic self-efficacy were higher. When students saw fear appeals as a threat, attainment value and academic self-efficacy were lower. These results highlight the functional importance of how fear appeals are appraised. Challenge and threat appraisals were not mere by products of attainment value or academic self-efficacy but impacted on attainment value and academic self-efficacy; variables that are likely to make a critical impact on educational progress and attainment. We conclude that initial teacher education and teacher professional development programs would benefit from enhanced interpersonal and relational-skills training to enable teachers to judge more effectively how fear appeals are appraised.Keywords: fear appeals, attainment value, academic self-efficacy, high-stakes testing FEAR APPEALS, VALUE AND ACADEMIC SELF-EFFICACY 2The appraisal of fear appeals as a challenge or a threat influences a subsequent decline or increase in attainment value and academic self-efficacy IntroductionThis study examines how academic self-efficacy and attainment value relate to the appraisal of fear appeals used by secondary school teachers prior to a high-stakes examination. Fear appeals are used by teachers as a motivational strategy; a 'scare tactic' to attem...

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