Predictive effects of temperament on motivation

Although temperament and motivation both reflect individual differences in what is perceived as rewarding or threatening, and what is to be approached and what avoided, respectively, we know rather little about how they are connected in educational settings. In this study, we examined how different aspects of temperament (reward and punishment sensitivities) predict the goals students seek to achieve in relation to learning and performance. In Study 1, four dimensions describing students’ temperament (sensitivity to punishment, intraindividual reward sensitivity, interindividual reward sensitivity, and positive expressiveness) were uncovered, and in Study 2, these were used to predict students’ achievement goal orientations (mastery-intrinsic, mastery-extrinsic, performance-approach, performance-avoidance, and avoidance). The results of exploratory structural equation modeling revealed significant predictions on all achievement goal orientations. In line with theoretical assumptions, sensitivity to punishment was predictive of performance orientations, intraindividual reward sensitivity of mastery orientations, and interindividual reward sensitivity of performance- and avoidance orientations. Positive expressiveness only had weak negative effects on performance orientations. The findings suggest that the goals and outcomes students seek to attain in an educational context are partly dictated by their sensitivity to different environmental cues and the kinds of affective and behavioral responses these typically incite.Peer reviewe

Motivaatio oppimiskontekstissa : Oppilaan ja tilanteen dynamiikkaa

The purpose of this thesis was to increase understanding about the dynamics of student motivation, focusing on the relations between individual characteristics, the learning context and motivational states. Particular emphasis was placed on the role of students individual motivational tendencies (i.e., achievement goal orientations) in interpreting and approaching learning situations and tasks. The evolving nature of motivational states was also acknowledged. Accordingly, Study I examined how sixth-grade students (N = 208) with different achievement goal orientation profiles differed in their perceptions of and preferences for the classroom environment. In Study II, the focus was on the changes in and interaction between ninth-grade students (N = 100) situational interest and self-efficacy during a problem-solving task. An experimental design was used in Studies III and IV to examine the changes in situational interest among fourth to sixth grade students as a function of student and task characteristics. Study III tested the predictive relationships between achievement goal orientations, individual interest, prior knowledge, the task condition and situational interest (N = 57), whereas Study IV focused on the interaction effect of the students goal orientation group and the task characteristics (N = 140). Studies II, III and IV also examined the predictors of task-related learning outcomes. Variable- and person-centred methodological approaches resulted in the following findings. First, students with different motivational profiles varied in their perceptions of and preferences for certain features of their classroom environment (Study I). Second, the students goal orientations and individual interest influenced the arousal of and changes in situational interest during a learning task (Studies III & IV). Third, the evolvement of situational interest and self-efficacy turned out to be interrelated (Study II), and the changes in these constructs during the task to be dependent on both the students individual characteristics and the task features (Studies II, III & IV). Fourth, students with different motivational profiles investigated in Study IV showed different patterns of change in their situational interest depending on the task condition. In terms of learning outcomes, in addition to prior knowledge or competence, motivational factors also had independent effects on performance. For example, self-efficacy predicted learning outcomes (Study II), and there were indications that an increase in situational interest had a beneficial effect on learning (Studies II & III). ------ To conclude, the results indicated that characteristic motivational tendencies influence the way students perceive and interpret environmental cues and approach learning tasks. The evolvement of their motivational states turned out to be dependent on different types of student and task characteristics, and their interaction. Consequently, it is argued that both individual and situational factors, and their possible interactions, should be taken into account when examining students motivational states and task engagement. The findings also emphasize the importance of recognizing individual differences in students motivational resources, or lack of them, in everyday learning situations.Tässä väitöstutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin koululaisten motivaatiota ilmiönä, joka syntyy oppilaan ja tilanteen välisessä vuorovaikutuksessa. Tutkimuksen erityisenä kiinnostuksen kohteena oli se, miten oppilaan yksilölliset motivationaaliset taipumukset (esim. tavoiteorientaatiot) ohjaavat tilannetulkintoja ja oppimistehtävään motivoitumista. Lisäksi tutkimuksissa huomioitiin tilannekohtaisen motivaation muutosherkkyys toistomittausten avulla. Ensimmäisessä osatutkimuksessa (N = 208) tarkasteltiin oppimiseen eri tavoin orientoituneiden oppilaiden kokemuksia heidän oppimisympäristöstään kuudennella luokalla. Toisen osatutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää yhdeksännen luokan oppilaiden (N = 100) tilannekohtaisen kiinnostuksen ja minäpystyvyyden muutoksia ja vuorovaikutusta ongelmanratkaisutehtävän aikana. Kolmannessa ja neljännessä osatutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin sitä, miten oppilaiden yksilölliset ja oppimistehtävän ominaisuudet vaikuttivat tilannekohtaisen kiinnostuksen tasoon ja sen muutoksiin tehtävän kuluessa. Kolmanteen osatutkimukseen osallistui viidennen ja kuudennen luokan oppilaita (N = 57) ja neljäs osatutkimus koski neljäs-, viides- ja kuudesluokkalaisia oppilaita (N = 140). Molemmissa osatutkimuksissa hyödynnettiin kokeellista tutkimusotetta tehtävän ominaisuuksien vaikutusten selvittämiseksi. Osatutkimuksissa II, III ja IV tarkasteltiin myös oppilaiden tehtäväkohtaista suoriutumista selittäviä tekijöitä. Tutkimuksissa hyödynnettiin sekä muuttuja- että henkilösuuntautunutta metodologista lähestymistapaa. Toisin sanoen, tulokset antoivat tietoa sekä ilmiöiden välisistä yleisistä suhteista että yksilöllisistä eroista niissä oppilaiden välillä. Tulosten mukaan oppimiseen eri tavoin suuntautuneet oppilaat kokivat oppimisympäristön eri tavoin ja myös pitivät erilaisia oppimisympäristön ominaisuuksia tärkeinä (osatutkimus I). Oppilaiden tavoiteorientaatioiden ja yksilöllisen kiinnostuksen havaittiin vaikuttavan tilannekohtaisen kiinnostuksen viriämiseen ja sen muutoksiin tehtävän aikana (osatutkimukset III & IV). Tilannekohtaisen kiinnostuksen ja minäpystyvyyden muutokset olivat yhteydessä toisiinsa (osatutkimus II), ja molempien muuttujien kohdalla tilannekohtainen vaihtelu oli riippuvaista sekä oppilaan yksilöllisistä että tehtävän ominaisuuksista (osatutkimukset II, III & IV). Neljännessä osatutkimuksessa saatiin myös näyttöä oppilaan yksilöllisten ja tehtävän ominaisuuksien välisen interaktion vaikutuksesta tilannekohtaisen kiinnostuksen muutoksiin; eri tavoin oppimiseen orientoituneiden oppilaiden tilannekohtainen kiinnostus kehittyi eri tavalla tehtäväkontekstista riippuen. Oppilaiden oppimistulosten osalta havaittiin, että olemassa olevan taito- ja tietopohjan lisäksi oppilaiden minäpystyvyys ennusti tehtäväsuoritusta. Tulokset antoivat myös viitettä siitä, että tilannekohtaisen kiinnostuksen nousu tehtävän aikana oli yhteydessä oppimistuloksiin. Tutkimusten tulosten pohjalta voidaan todeta, että oppilaiden yksilöllinen motivaatio ohjaa tilanteessa syntyviä tulkintoja sekä siinä virittyvän motivaation kehittymistä. Tulokset korostavat oppilaiden yksilöllisten motivationaalisten erojen tunnistamisen tärkeyttä myönteisten oppimiskokemusten tukemisessa

Predictive effects of temperament on motivation

Although temperament and motivation both reflect individual differences in what is perceived as rewarding or threatening, and what is to be approached and what avoided, respectively, we know rather little about how they are connected in educational settings. In this study, we examined how different aspects of temperament (reward and punishment sensitivities) predict the goals students seek to achieve in relation to learning and performance. In Study 1, four dimensions describing students’ temperament (sensitivity to punishment, intraindividual reward sensitivity, interindividual reward sensitivity, and positive expressiveness) were uncovered, and in Study 2, these were used to predict students’ achievement goal orientations (mastery-intrinsic, mastery-extrinsic, performance-approach, performance-avoidance, and avoidance). The results of exploratory structural equation modeling revealed significant predictions on all achievement goal orientations. In line with theoretical assumptions, sensitivity to punishment was predictive of performance orientations, intraindividual reward sensitivity of mastery orientations, and interindividual reward sensitivity of performance- and avoidance orientations. Positive expressiveness only had weak negative effects on performance orientations. The findings suggest that the goals and outcomes students seek to attain in an educational context are partly dictated by their sensitivity to different environmental cues and the kinds of affective and behavioral responses these typically incite

Gendered pathways from academic performance, motivational beliefs, and school burnout to adolescents’ educational and occupational aspirations

This study examined Finnish 9th-graders’ (N = 966) pathways to educational and occupational aspirations considering two academic domains: mathematics and reading. Multi-group structural equation models were conducted to investigate how domain-specific performance and motivational beliefs (self-concept and interest), and more general school burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy) relate to boys' and girls' aspirations. Performance in both domains was related to girls' educational aspirations, but only mathematics was linked to boys' aspirations. Positive within-domain relations from girls' motivational beliefs were also found, but their reading self-concept was negatively linked to their math-related occupational aspirations. For boys, only math-related motivational beliefs were associated with their aspirations. Lastly, school burnout was both directly and indirectly linked to students' aspirations. Overall, the study demonstrated the importance of including several factors when investigating students’ aspired educational degrees and occupational plans and, also, the added value of examining educational and occupational aspirations across academic domains.Peer reviewe

Developmental relations between mathematics anxiety, symbolic numerical magnitude processing and arithmetic skills from first to second grade

We investigated the levels of and changes in mathematics anxiety (MA), symbolic numerical magnitude processing (SNMP) and arithmetic skills, and how those changes are linked to each other. Children's (n = 264) MA, SNMP and arithmetic skills were measured in Grade 1, and again in Grade 2, also including a mathematics performance test. All three constructs correlated significantly within each time point, and the rank-order stability over time was high, particularly in SNMP and arithmetic skills. By means of latent change score modelling, we found overall increases in SNMP and arithmetic skills over time, but not in MA. Most interestingly, changes in arithmetic skills and MA were correlated (i.e. steeper increase in arithmetic skills was linked with less steep increase in MA), as were changes in SNMP and arithmetic skills (i.e. improvement in SNMP was associated with improvement in arithmetic skills). Only the initial level of arithmetic skills and change in it predicted mathematics performance. The only gender difference, in favour of boys, was found in SNMP skills. The differential effects associated with MA (developmentally only linked with arithmetic skills) and gender (predicting only changes in SNMP) call for further longitudinal research on the different domains of mathematical skills.Peer reviewe

Mutual relationships between the levels of and changes in interest, self-efficacy, and perceived difficulty during task engagement

This study examined how students' interest, self-efficacy, and perceived difficulty change during a task, how those changes relate to each other, and how they predict performance. Sixth-graders (N = 1024) rated their interest, self-efficacy, and perceived difficulty repeatedly during a dynamic problem-solving task. Results from the estimated non-linear and piecewise latent growth curve models showed interest and self-efficacy to decrease, and perceived difficulty first to increase, and then to decrease, over time. The levels of and changes in interest and self-efficacy correlated positively with each other, but negatively with perceived difficulty. Task performance was positively predicted by initial interest and less negative change in self-efficacy, and negatively by initial perceived difficulty and steeper increase in it. The results suggest perceived difficulty to have a distinctive role in the dynamics of task-specific motivation, and on-task changes to be relatively independent of more general motivation and competence.</p

Consistency, Longitudinal Stability, and Predictions of Elementary School Students’ Task Interest, Success Expectancy, and Performance in Mathematics

This study examined cross-task consistency and longitudinal stability in elementary school students' task interest, success expectancy, and performance from fourth to sixth grade, and their predictive effects on sixth-grade intrinsic value, self-concept, and achievement in mathematics. The results demonstrated consistency in interest, success expectancy, and performance across tasks and stability over time, and these to predict domain-specific motivation and achievement. Virtually no evidence for reciprocal effects was found for task-specific measures, as only previous task performance predicted change in later success expectancy. Cross-lagged effects were observed, however, for predictions of task motivation and performance on domain-specific motivation and achievement, so that success expectancy predicted intrinsic value, interest predicted self-concept, and task performance predicted both self-concept and achievement. Based on the findings, it would seem that students' task-related motivational experiences are associated with their domain-specific beliefs, and that those, in turn, are to some extent manifested in students' task motivation.Peer reviewe

Gendered pathways from academic performance, motivational beliefs, and school burnout to adolescents’ educational and occupational aspirations

This study examined Finnish 9th-graders’ (N = 966) pathways to educational and occupational aspirations considering two academic domains: mathematics and reading. Multi-group structural equation models were conducted to investigate how domain-specific performance and motivational beliefs (self-concept and interest), and more general school burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy) relate to boys' and girls' aspirations. Performance in both domains was related to girls' educational aspirations, but only mathematics was linked to boys' aspirations. Positive within-domain relations from girls' motivational beliefs were also found, but their reading self-concept was negatively linked to their math-related occupational aspirations. For boys, only math-related motivational beliefs were associated with their aspirations. Lastly, school burnout was both directly and indirectly linked to students' aspirations. Overall, the study demonstrated the importance of including several factors when investigating students’ aspired educational degrees and occupational plans and, also, the added value of examining educational and occupational aspirations across academic domains.</p

Täydellisyyteen pyrkimistä ja huolta omista suorituksista? Lukiolaisten perfektionismi ja opiskeluhyvinvointi

Tässä tutkimuksessa selvitettiin 1) minkälaisia perfektionismiprofiileja voidaan tunnistaa lukiolaisilla (N = 434) ja 2) miten ne ennustavat opiskeluintoa ja -uupumusta. Tutkimuksen keskeinen oletus oli, että perfektionismin ulottuvuudet – perfektionistiset pyrkimykset ja huolet – painottuvat lukiolaisilla eri tavoin, ja että nämä painotukset eli profiilit ovat eri tavoin yhteydessä opiskelijoiden hyvinvointiin. Latentin profiilianalyysin avulla tunnistettiin neljä erilaista perfektionismiprofiilia: huolestuneet (suhteellisen matalat pyrkimykset ja paljon huolia; 37%), kunnianhimoiset (korkeat pyrkimykset ja vähän huolia; 28%), ei-perfektionistit (matalat pyrkimykset ja vähän huolia; 24%) ja perfektionistit (korkeat pyrkimykset ja paljon huolia; 12%). Sekä perfektionistit että kunnianhimoiset olivat innostuneita opiskelusta, mutta perfektionistit kokivat enemmän väsymystä ja riittämättömyyden tunteita opiskelijana, kun taas kunnianhimoisten opiskelu-uupumus oli vähäistä huolimatta heidän korkeasta tavoitetasostaan. Huolestuneet asennoituivat opintoihinsa kyynisemmin kuin muut opiskelijat ja kokivat yhtä paljon väsymystä ja riittämättömyyttä kuin perfektionistit. Tuloksemme osoittavat, että huoli omista suorituksista ja tyytymättömyys niihin linkittyy opiskelu-uupumukseen – silloinkin, kun huolet yhdistyvät sinänsä suotuisaan korkeiden tavoitteiden asettamiseen.This study investigated 1) what kinds of perfectionistic profiles can be identified among general upper secondary school students (N = 434), and 2) how such profiles predict academic well-being (school engagement and burnout). Employing a person-oriented (group-based) approach and latent profile analysis, the students were classified based on their patterns of perfectionistic strivings and concerns. Four distinct profiles were identified: concerned (relatively low strivings and high concerns; 37%), ambitious (high strivings and low concerns; 28%), non-perfectionists (low strivings and concerns; 24%), and perfectionists (high strivings and concerns; 12%). Perfectionists and ambitious were most engaged in their studies, but they differed in their level of burnout: perfectionists displayed higher exhaustion and inadequacy, while ambitious reported low burnout despite their high standards. Concerned exhibited relatively high levels of all burnout symptoms. Our findings indicate that perfectionistic concerns are linked with burnout – even when coupled with high strivings.Peer reviewe