Multiple action options in the context of time: When exams approach, students study more and experience fewer motivational conflicts

Abstract

University students’ study motivation in a particular moment is shaped by contextual factors such as upcoming exams and conflicts between different action tendencies. We investigated how these two contextual factors are related. Based on the theoretical assumption that students’ in-the-moment study motivation increases relative to their motivation for other activities as exams approach, we investigated how students’ study activities and their experience of motivational action conflicts develop when exams come closer in time. Using the experience sampling method, we tracked the in-situ activities and conflict experience of 134 first-semester university students over one week and a total of 4995 measurement points just before exams. Multilevel logistic regression revealed that the probability to study increased by 13.9% and the probability to experience a motivational conflict decreased by 17.5% each day the exam came closer in time. Multilevel regression showed that motivational conflicts were more intense the closer the exam was in time. Students were generally less likely to experience conflicts while studying and experienced more intense conflicts when the conflicting activity was study related. We discuss that both multiple goals and the temporal distance of relevant events should be considered as relevant contexts shaping the situated motivation of university students.

Autonomous and controlled motivation in students: An experience sampling study on multitasking, concentration, and affect from a self-determination theory perspective.

“…The data set is archived in the research data center “GESIS” and can be accessed and downloaded via the DOI in the reference section (Bachmann et al, 2024). Different variables from this data set were used for analyses on a different topic (see Capelle et al, 2022). Except demographical data and descriptive data concerning the main activity, all measures and results reported here were not reported elsewhere.…”

“…No studies have explored the situational link between motivation and cognitive outcomes like concentration or behavioral outcomes like multitasking in academic learning settings. This research gap is surprising given the dynamic nature of motivation, varying across circumstances and time (e.g., Ainslie, 2010; Capelle et al, 2022; Trope & Liberman, 2010). This situational exploration can provide valuable insights into the interplay between motivation and diverse academic outcomes (Ebner-Priemer & Trull, 2009; Koudela-Hamila et al, 2019) which is helpful to better understand students’ multitasking and to ultimately address it.…”

Deadlines make you productive, but what do they do to your motivation? Trajectories in quantity and quality of motivation and study activities among university students as exams approach

“…For example, temporal changes in achievement motivation are often assessed as more general expectancy and value beliefs toward a class or study course over longer time periods such as one or several semesters rather than study motivation for a specific study task related to an exam (e.g., Dresel and Grassinger, 2013 ; Kosovich et al, 2017 ; Dietrich et al, 2019 ). In contrast, study behavior before an exam is usually assessed over much shorter time periods such as days or weeks and with regard to a specific exam (e.g., Liborius et al, 2019 ; Capelle et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Similarly, in addition to assessing students’ total study time as measure focusing on how much they engage in studying (i.e., the quantity of their study activities), we consider their use of cognitive learning strategies as a measure focusing on how they study (i.e., the quality of their study activities). Finally, we consider motivational want- and should conflicts as measures of latent motivation combining both its quantitative and qualitative aspects ( Riediger and Freund, 2008 ; Grund et al, 2015a ; Capelle et al, 2022 ). Motivational conflicts occur when students feel like they would prefer to or feel like they ought to perform a different activity than the one they are currently pursuing.…”

“…However, we are not aware of research investigating whether changes in motivational beliefs regarding a specific task covary with actual study activities relating to that task, although such a covariation seems central to expectancy and task value (e.g., Wigfield and Cambria, 2010 ; Hulleman et al, 2016 ). Conceptually, one should expect that systematic changes in expectancy and value over time covary systematically and positively with changes in study behavior: If students’ expectancy and value beliefs increase, so should their study efforts, and vice versa ( Dietrich et al, 2017 ; Eccles and Wigfield, 2020 ; Capelle et al, 2022 ; Parrisius et al, 2022 ). Moreover, to our knowledge, temporal landmarks such as deadlines or exams have rarely been considered as situational factors that might explain systematic changes in situative motivation and study behavior, although there are both theoretical and empirical reasons to assume that they are highly relevant for students’ study activities, and by extension, their study motivation.…”