An evaluative message fosters mathematics performance in male students but decreases intrinsic motivation in female students

This study contrasted the effects of two task messages, evaluative or non-evaluative, on mathematics performance, affect, and intrinsic task motivation. One hundred-twenty secondary-school students aged 17–21 years were delivered one of the two messages, or assigned to a control condition, before completing a mathematics task, measures of message appraisals (challenge and threat), affect (pleasantness, arousal, dominance), and a behavioural indication of intrinsic task motivation. The evaluative message raised performance only in males, while for females both messages decreased intrinsic motivation for the task, probably due to stereotype threat. Implications for future research and educational practices are discussed.HIGHLIGHTS In a low-value context, an evaluative message favoured male mathematics performance Males increased arousal after an evaluative message A challenge appraisal was linked with male performance Females decreased intrinsic motivation after evaluative and non-evaluative messages

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Vengono presentate modalità operative per affrontare frequenti problemi motivazionali a scuol

Emotion Regulation and Need Satisfaction Favour a Motivating Teaching Style

Teachers whose basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness are satisfied tend to use a motivating teaching style characterized by the provision of autonomy and structure, whereas teachers whose needs are frustrated tend to use controlling or chaotic styles which are considered de-motivating. Given the importance of a supportive and motivating teaching style, it is crucial to better understand how it can be fostered and maintained. Since emotion regulation has been shown to affect both teachers' and students' well-being, this research tested the hypothesis that emotion regulation shapes the association between teachers’ need satisfaction or frustration and the adoption of (de)motivating styles. Two hundred and ninety teachers filled in questionnaires to assess need satisfaction and frustration, the emotion regulation strategies of reappraisal and suppression, and their teaching styles. The results confirmed the mediating role of reappraisal and the moderation of emotional suppression. Teachers' need satisfaction was linked with reappraisal, which in turn was related to the autonomy supportive and structuring motivating styles. High emotional suppression related with the adoption of a controlling style independently of need frustration levels. Only low levels of emotional suppression and need frustration lessened the adoption of a controlling style

Malleability beliefs shape mathematics-related achievement emotions: The mediating role of emotion regulation in primary school children

Along the primary school children show a decrease in enjoyment, while anxiety and boredom increase, leading to detrimental effects on performance and wellbeing. This suggests the need to deepen the knowledge of the factors linked with regulation of positive and negative affect. We hypothesized that the more children believe emotions are malleable, the higher is their tendency to regulate them and their enjoyment rather than anxiety or boredom in mathematics. Then, we expected emotions to be related to mathematics-related achievement. We involved 715 second and fourth-graders using self-report questionnaires and a standardized test to assess achievement. The beliefs in the malleability related to emotion regulation, which mediated the associations with achievement emotions; achievement emotions were linked to achievement and mediated the relation between emotion regulation and achievement. We highlight the importance to foster emotion regulation since the primary school, also though shaping the beliefs in the malleability of emotions

Gender Stereotypes and Incremental Beliefs in STEM and non-STEM Students in Three Countries: Relationships with Performance in Cognitive Tasks

Women’s underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has been linked, among others, to gender stereotypes and ability-related beliefs as well as gender differences in specific cognitive abilities. However, the bulk of studies focused on gender stereotypes related to mathematics. The present study therefore aimed to map gender stereotypes and incremental beliefs (i.e., the conviction about modifiability) with respect to a wide range of stereotypical male-favouring and female-favouring abilities. Gender stereotypes and incremental beliefs were assessed with self-report questionnaires in 132 STEM students (65 women) and 124 non-STEM students (73 women) in three European countries ranked in the top, middle, and bottom of the Global Gender Gap Report. Moreover, a mental rotation and a verbal fluency test were completed. Men endorsed male-favouring stereotypes more than women, and women endorsed female-favouring stereotypes more than men, an effect that was most pronounced in the country with the larger gender gap. Male STEM students endorsed male-favouring stereotypes more strongly than male non-STEM and female STEM students. Male non-STEM students endorsed female-favouring stereotypes less than female and male STEM students. Female STEM students reported higher incremental beliefs than female nonSTEM students, especially in the country with the lowest gender gap. Men outperformed women, and STEM students outperformed non-STEM in mental rotation, while women outperformed men in verbal fluency. Male STEM students’ stronger endorsement of male-favouring stereotypes might reflect genuine group differences, at least in mental rotation. While potentially such gender stereotypes can help creating a “chilly climate” where women in academic STEM degrees are expected to perform poorly, those women believed more in the possibility to change and improve in male-favouring abilities which could help them to overcome the potential negative effect of stereotyping