The type of motivation does matter for university preparation

Abstract

Using Self-Determination Theory, the relationship between motivation (autonomous and controlled), academic self-efficacy, test anxiety, life satisfaction and academic achievement was studied in a group of pre-university students from Lima-Peru. A total of 252 students of both sexes with ages between 16 and 30 years (Mage = 17.69) were assessed. Correlational analyses showed the expected relationships among the studied variables. The path analysis performed gave evidence of the fulfillment of the hypotheses proposed for this study since academic self-efficacy mediated the relationship between autonomous motivation and academic achievement and life satisfaction; also test anxiety mediated the relationship between controlled motivation and academic achievement and life satisfaction. The implications of these empirical findings are discussed in relation to pre-university education in Peru.

A longitudinal study investigating the role of basic psychological needs and autonomous motivation in explaining students’ achievement and dropout from teacher education

“…Controlled motivation is regulated by either external control such as compliance, rewards, or avoiding punishment, or internal control such as self-control, ego-involvement, or attaining self-esteem (Ryan & Deci, 2020). Previous studies show that controlled motivation is negatively correlated with optimal learning indicators such as time management, concentration, and attitude (Vansteenkiste et al, 2005), and positively correlated with dropout intentions (Jeno et al, 2018), surface approaches to learning (Kusurkar et al, 2013), and testanxiety (Iraola-Real et al, 2022). Conversely, while some studies have linked it to negative learning outcomes, others have suggested that controlled motivation may have some energizing effects, which in turn predicts greater achievement (e.g., Botnaru et al, 2021;Jeno et al, 2021).…”