Intrinsic, Extrinsic, and Amotivational Styles as Predictors of Behavior: A Prospective Study

Abstract

This research ascertained the role of intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivational styles as predictors of behavioral persistence in a real-life setting. At the beginning of the academic year, 1,042 first-tertn junior-college students enrolled in a compulsory college course completed a scale assessing intrinsic motivation, four styles of extrinsic motivation (namely, external regulation, introjection, identification, and integration), and amotivation toward academic activities. At the end of the semester, individuals who had dropped out of the course and those who had persisted were identified. Results showed that individuals who persisted in the course had reported at the beginning of the semester being more intrinsically motivated, more identified and integrated, and less amotivated toward academic activities than students who dropped out of the course. Gender differences also emerged. These revealed that females This article was prepared while the first author was supported by research grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Quebec Council on Social Research, Quebec Funds for Research Aid and Researchers' Training, and the University of Quebec at Montreal. The second author was supported by a grant from the Fonds FCAR. We would like to thank Patrick Colavecchio for conducting some of the statistical analyses reported in this article. Reprint requests as well as correspondence related to the scale used in this study should be addressed to Robert J. Vallerand, Research Laboratory on Social Behavior, University of Quebec at Montreal, C. P. 8888, Station "A." Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3C 3P8. Vallerand and Bissonnette were more intrinsically motivated, integrated, and identified and less externally regulated and amotivated than male students. Females also displayed higher levels of behavioral persistence than males. Results are discussed in light of Deci and Ryan's (1985a) self-determination theory, and suggestions for future research are proposed. Journal of PersonalityThe concept of motivation has been studied from several perspectives (e.g., Freud, 1923Freud, /1962Hull, 1943;Skinner, 1953). One perspective which has proven useful over the past 20 years suggests that behavior can be seen as intrinsically or extrinsically motivated (e.g., de Charms, 1968;Deci, 1971Deci, , 1975. Intrinsically motivated behaviors are those that are engaged in for their own sake, in other words, for the pleasure and satisfaction derived from performing them (Deci, 1971). They are activities that people voluntarily perform in the absence of material rewards or constraints (see Deci & Ryan, 1985a. To read a book for the sheer pleasure of leaming something interesting is an example of intrinsic motivation.On the other hand, extrinsic motivation pertains to a wide variety of behaviors where the goals of action extend beyond those inherent in the activity itself. They are behaviors that are engaged in as a means to an end and not for their own sakes (Deci, 1975;Kruglanski, 1978). Originally, i...

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