Social context, students’ motivation, and academic achievement : toward a process model.

The purpose of the present research was to propose and test a motivational process model of academic achievement. The model posits that parental, teachers, and school administration support for students' autonomy positively influences students' perceived school competence and autonomy. In turn, perceived school competence and autonomy affect positively self-determined school motivation which in turn influences academic achievement. Two studies using a prospective design tested the adequacy of the model. In Study I, participants were 1,623 ninth-grade students. Results from structural equation modeling supported the motivational model. Participants in Study 2 were 1,098 tenth-grade students. Results from this study corroborated those of Study 1 controlling for students' prior achievement in the ninth grade. The role of self-determinod school motivation in academic achievement is discussed and avenues for future research are considered

On the assessment of situational intrinsic and extrinsic motivation : the Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS).

The purpose of the present research was to develop and validate a situational (or state) measure of motivation, the Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS). The SIMS is designed to assess the constructs of intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, external regulation, and amotivation (E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 1985, 1991) in field and laboratory settings. Five studies were conducted to develop and validate the SIMS. Overall, results show that the SIMS is composed of 4 internally consistent factors. The construct validity of the scale is also supported by correlations with other constructs as postulated by current theories. Moreover, the SIMS is responsive to experimental induction as evidenced by data gathered through a laboratory study. In sum, the SIMS represents a brief and versatile self-report measure of situational intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, external regulation, and amotivation

On the hierarchical structure of self-determined motivation : a test of top-down, bottom-up, reciprocal, and horizontal effects

This article aimed to test some hypotheses about the hierarchical structure of self-determined motivation in two longitudinal studies. First, the authors verified the stability of global self-determined motivation and school self-determined motivation over time. Second, they tested top-down, bottom-up, reciprocal, and horizontal effects between global self-determined motivation and school self-determined motivation. In Study 1, 122 college students were evaluated on two occasions with a 5-year interval on their global and school self-determined motivation. In Study 2, 294 college students were evaluated on the same variables with a 1-year interval. Results from both studies revealed that (a) global self-determined motivation was not more stable than self-determined school motivation over time and (b) a cross-lag model including reciprocal effects between self-determined global and self-determined school motivation offered the best fit indices comparatively to a model involving only horizontal (or stability) effects. Discussion emphasizes the theoretical implications of the results

Autonomy support, intrinsic motivation, and perceived competence : conceptual and empirical linkages

The purpose of this study was to test three models with regard to the linkages among autonomy support, intrinsic motivation, and perceived competence. The first model is based on Cognitive Evaluation Theory and postulates that teachers’ autonomy support influences changes in intrinsic motivation via changes in perceived academic competence. However, the second and the third model are based on the Diathesis Stress Model of Achievement Processes and posit, respectively, that intrinsic motivation could play a mediating and a moderating role in the relation between teachers’ autonomy support and changes in perceived competence. A total of 215 fifth-grade children participated in a longitudinal study over a 1-year period. Results from regression analyses provided some support for the first model but stronger support for the second and third model

On Passion and Sports Fans:A Look at Football

The purpose of the present research was to test the applicability of the Dualistic Model of Passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) to being a sport (football) fan. The model posits that passion is a strong inclination toward an activity that individuals like (or even love), that they value, and in which they invest time and energy. Furthermore, two types of passion are proposed: harmonious and obsessive passion. While obsessive passion entails an uncontrollable urge to engage in the passionate activity, harmonious passion entails a sense of volition while engaging in the activity. Finally, the model posits that harmonious passion leads to more adaptive outcomes than obsessive passion. Three studies provided support for this dualistic conceptualization of passion. Study 1 showed that harmonious passion was positively associated with adaptive behaviours (e.g., celebrate the team’s victory), while obsessive passion was rather positively associated with maladaptive behaviours (e.g., to risk losing one’s employment to go to the team’s game). Study 2 used a short Passion Scale and showed that harmonious passion was positively related to the positive affective life of fans during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, psychological health (self-esteem and life satisfaction), and public displays of adaptive behaviours (e.g., celebrating one’s team victory in the streets), while obsessive passion was predictive of maladaptive affective life (e.g., hating opposing team’s fans) and behaviours (e.g., mocking the opposing team’s fans). Finally, Study 3 examined the role of obsessive passion as a predictor of partner’s conflict that in turn undermined partner’s relationship satisfaction. Overall, the present results provided support for the Dualistic Model of Passion. The conceptual and applied implications of the findings are discussed

On passion and moral behavior in achievement settings: The mediating role of pride

The Dualistic Model of Passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) distinguishes two types of passion: harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion (OP) that predict adaptive and less adaptive outcomes, respectively. In the present research, we were interested in understanding the role of passion in the adoption of moral behavior in achievement settings. It was predicted that the two facets of pride (authentic and hubristic; Tracy & Robins, 2007) would mediate the passion-moral behavior relationship. Specifically, because people who are passionate about a given activity are highly involved in it, it was postulated that they should typically do well and thus experience high levels of pride when engaged in the activity. However, it was also hypothesized that while both types of passion should be conducive to authentic pride, only OP should lead to hubristic pride. Finally, in line with past research on pride (Carver, Sinclair, & Johnson, 2010; Tracy et al., 2009), only hubristic pride was expected to negatively predict moral behavior, while authentic pride was expected to positively predict moral behavior. Results of two studies conducted with paintball players (N=163, Study 1) and athletes (N=296, Study 2) supported the proposed model. Future research directions are discussed in light of the Dualistic Model of Passion

Passion, music, and psychological well-being

Passionate music engagement is a defining feature of music fans worldwide. Although benefits to psychosocial well-being are often experienced by fans of music, some fans experience maladaptive outcomes from their music engagement. The Dualistic Model of Passion proposes that two types of passion—harmonious and obsessive—are associated with positive and negative outcomes of passionate engagement, respectively. This model has been employed in research on passion for a wide range of pursuits including music performers, but not for passionate listeners. The present study employed this model to investigate whether (1) harmonious passion for music is associated with positive music listening experiences and/or psychological well-being and (2) obsessive passion for music is associated with negative music listening experiences and/or psychological ill-being. Passionate fans (n = 197) of 40 different musical genres were surveyed about their experiences when listening to their favorite music. Measures included the passion scale, affective experiences with music, and psychological well-being and ill-being. Results supported the Dualistic Model of Passion. Structural equation modeling revealed that harmonious passion for music predicted positive affective experiences which, in turn, predicted psychological well-being. Conversely, obsessive passion for music predicted negative affective experiences which, in turn, predicted psychological ill-being. The findings suggest that the nature of passionate engagement with music has an integral role in the psychological impact of music engagement and implications for the well-being of music fans.</p

Self-determined motivation and sportsmanship orientations: An assessment of their temporal relationship.

The motives underlying involvement in sport appear to influence how a person will play the game. However, how athletes play the game may also have an impact on their motives for participating in sports. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self-determined motivation and sportsmanship orientations by using a longitudinal design, as well as recent theoretical approaches to sportsmanship (Vallerand, 199 1, 1994) and motivation Key words: ice hockey, motivation, sportsmanship, self-determination Chris is a speedskater. Although she enjoys the game somewhat, she plays mostly for the trophies, the medals, and the recognition she gets from winning. Because her main goal is to win, she uses all the tricks in the book to find an edge and to beat her opponents. It does not really matter if she has to hit or trip them. As long as she wins, that is all that matters. On the other hand, Jody, another speedskater, plays mostly because of the fun and pleasure she derives from participation and from personal excellence. Trophies and medals are fine but do not represent the main reason for her involvement in speedskating. Because her goal is to outdo herself, lack of respect for the rules, the game, or other skaters would not help in getting closer to her objective. The above examples illustrate that the reason athletes play the game (the motivational component) may have some bearing on how they behave in it (the 230 / Vallerand and Losier sportsmanship component). For instance, playing to win at all costs (an extrinsic motivational orientation, because the focus is not on the activity itself) may lead an athlete to cheat (and thus to display poor sportsmanship) in order to reach his or her goal. However, the potential impact of sportsmanship on motivation is just as likely. Cheating and behaving in an unsportsmanlike manner may lead individuals to focus on the extrinsic elements for their involvement, such as beating opponents rather than outdoing oneself (an intrinsic element), thereby fostering an extrinsic orientation toward sport participation. Some research (e.g., A Social-Psychological View of Sportsmanship Sportsmanship research has been mostly influenced by two broad theoretical perspectives of morality; the social-learning Research so far has focused mainly on assessing athletes&apos; levels of moral reasoning maturity using a sport application of Haan&apos;s scoring approach and then (a) comparing the scores to those of other athletes or nonathletes (e.g., Bredemeier &amp; Shields, 1986), and (b) relating the scores to perceptions of legitimacy of aggressive behavior More recently, In addition to distinguishing the three aspects of sportsmanship, the socialpsychological approach to sportsmanship proposes that it is crucial to identify the content of the sportsmanship behaviors and orientations. To this end, in line with several moral developmentalists (Backman, 1985; One implication of this proposition is that athletes should be in a prime position to help researchers define the core sportsmanship dimensions. In line with this assumption, Vallerand, Deshaies, Cuerrier, Brikre, and Pelletier (1994) recently conducted a study that attempted to identify athletes&apos; definition of sportsmanship. Over 1,000 athletes, ages 10 to 18 years, were asked to rate 21 items describing various sport situations in terms of the extent to which the athletes felt each item depicted the concept of sportsmanship. Athletes&apos; responses were subjected to confirmatory factor analyses (with LISREL) and revealed the presence of five dimensions: (a) concern and respect for the rules and officials (e.g., &quot;I respect the official, even if he or she is not good&quot;), (b) concern and respect for the opponent (e.g., &quot;When the opponent injures him-or herself, I do not take advantage of the situation&quot;), (c) concern and respect for one&apos;s full commitment toward sport participation (e.g., &quot;I do not give up even after doing several mistakes&quot;), (d) concern and respect for social conventions (e.g., &quot;After competing, I congratulate the opponent for his or her good performance&quot;), and (e) a negative approach toward one&apos;s participation in sport (e.g., &quot;If I make a mistake during an important part of the game, I really get upset&quot;). Much research in the literature supports these dimensions (see One contribution of this multidimensional definition is that it points to the behaviors of interest for the study of sportsmanship. Thus, by focusing on behaviors related to the above five dimensions, it then becomes possible to study 232 / Vallerand and Losier sportsmanship behavior independently from aggression. This process allows the disentanglement of the two concepts. A further contribution of this multidimensional definition is that it underscores the types of sportsmanship orientations that need to be assessed. Based on the above definition, Vallerand, Bribre, and Provencher (1994) developed a scale to assess sportsmanship orientations: the Multidimensional Sportsmanship Orientations Scale (MSOS). The MSOS was developed and validated using a full psychometric approach (see the Method section for more information on the psychometric properties of the scale). The MSOS has led to several interesting findings. For instance, athletes who endorse a &quot;win (at all costs) orientation&quot; competitive approach A second major proposition of the social-psychological approach is that to provide better prediction of sportsmanship behavior, social determinants should be used (see Finally, a third proposition of the social-psychological approach germane to the present study is that the motivational style of the individual should be considered an important personal determinant of sportsmanship behavior and orientations. Because it is an integral part of the present study, motivation, and more specifically the self-determination perspective, is considered below. Self-Determination Theory and Sportsmanship The concept of motivation refers to the forces that initiate, direct, and sustain behavior However, self-determination theory The concept of needs is not intended to refer to instinctual drives and similar impulses inherent in individuals (e.g., Freud, 192311962; With respect to the issue of direction of behavior, most current theories of motivation focus on goals and similar processes that direct behavior in a given direction. By focusing mostly on the competence concept, theorists Self-determination theory, however, considers that this dichotomy is insufficient to adequately depict human behavior. It views motivation in terms of varying degrees of self-determination, thereby leading to a continuum of different types of motivation On the other hand, extrinsic motivation refers to doing an activity for reasons other than the activity itself. These reasons, according to The above taxonomy proposed by self-determination theory is useful in several ways. First, it allows for distinguishing several types of motivation that refine the intrinsic-extrinsic (or task-ego) dichotomy. Second, by using the taxonomy, it becomes possible to develop scales that assess motivational styles or rather stable motivational orientations of individuals (e.g., intrinsic motivation). Finally, because the different types of motivation are located on a continuum from high to low selfdetermination, and because self-determination is associated with enhanced psychological functioning Research conducted in several life domains such as education Of particular relevance to the present study, is the fact that self-determination theory One outcome that should ensue from a self-determined motivational profile is a positive sportsmanship orientation. Indeed, it seems plausible that athletes who display a self-determined motivational profile (i.e., who play for fun and for the activity itself) should be more likely to show respect for others and less likely to cheat than athletes who want to win trophies and medals at all costs (a non-self-determined motivational profile). Some evidence from the education domain supports such an interpretation. For instance, Research suggests that a similar relationship may exist in sports. For example, Webb&apos;s (1969) results suggest that individuals adopting a &quot;play&quot; orientation display positive attitudes toward sport involvement relative to those who favor a &quot;professional&quot; (or win at all cost) orientation. Others (e.g., A recent study by Duda, Olson, and Templin (1991) gave more weight to the arguments that motivation may influence sportsmanship orientations and that an emphasis on winning may lead to unsportsmanlike conduct. These authors used Nicholls&apos;s (1984) perspective on achievement motivation to examine the relationship between attitudes toward sportsmanship and two motivational orientations, namely, task and ego orientations. Results from the Duda et al. (1991) study were correlational in nature and were obtained at a single point in time. They thus provide only suggestive support for the hypothesis that motivation influences sportsmanship orientations. Furthermore, it is possible that, over time, sportsmanship orientations could influence motivation as well. Indeed, by cheating and behaving in an unsportsmanlike manner, individuals may come to focus on the extrinsic elements of their involvement in sport, such as outdoing opponents rather than surpassing oneself (an intrinsic element), thereby fostering an extrinsic motivational orientation. In sum, while evidence seems to suggest that motivational orientations can influence sportsmanship orientations, the influence of sportsmanship on motivation is also possible. In light of the above, the purpose of the present study was to assess the relationship between motivational and sportsmanship orientations from a longitudinal perspective using self-determination theory and the social-psychological approach to sportsmanship as underlying theoretical frameworks. We believed that such a strategy would allow a better understanding of the interplay between the two constructs. Given the empirical findings and the theoretical assumptions 236 / Vallerand and Losier reviewed, we anticipated that over time a positive bidirectional relationship would emerge between the two constructs. That is, we predicted that early self-determined motivation would be positively related to later sportsmanship orientations, and that early sportsmanship orientations would be positively associated to later self-determined motivation as well. Method Subjects and Procedure Questionnaires in French were completed by 77 French-speaking Canadian male adolescents (mean age = 15.8 years) playing in an elite hockey league (midget AAA), involving seven different teams from the central region of Quebec. These players had between 4 and 13 years of competitive hockey experience, the majority (over 85%) of whom were in their first year at the midget elite level; the rest were in their second or third year at this level. We elected to examine sportsmanship in the context of ice hockey because this sport is often perceived as involving much unsportsmanlike conduct. The midget AAA level is a fairly competitive level, and thus &quot;win at all cost&quot; situations would be more likely to occur. Finally, we felt that adolescent players with several years of similar competitive experience in a specific activity (e.g., hockey) should have developed relatively homogeneous sportsmanship orientations, which yet may be changing because of their young age. The players were asked to complete a first questionnaire 2 weeks into the hockey season (TI) and a second one at the end of the regular season (T2), 5 months later. Both questionnaires were completed in the team&apos;s locker room after a practice. The players were told that we were interested in knowing more about athletes&apos; personal attitudes concerning their sport and that we would appreciate their collaboration with this project. They were also told that participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous and that their responses would remain confidential and would be used for research purposes only. Measures The Multidimensional Sportsmanship Orientations Scale (MSOS; Vallerand, Bribre &amp; Provencher, 1994) was used to measure sportsmanship orientations. This instrument is based on The development of the MSOS has gone through several phases. First, 20 items were developed for each of the five dimensions. Two sport psychologists then assessed the content validity of each item by placing them in the appropriate Self-Determined Motivation / 237 sportsmanship dimension. Second, the best 12 items for each of the five dimensions were presented to 15 athletes to assess the clarity and ecological appropriateness of the items. Some changes were then made. Third, this preliminary version of the scale was presented to 150 athletes. Results from a factor analysis led to the selection of the best five items for each dimension. Finally, this 25-item version of the MSOS was used in a validation study (Vallerand, Brigre, &amp; Provencher, 1994), which provided satisfactory results concerning the psychometric properties of the scale. For instance, results from a confirmatory factor analysis (with LISREL) involving more than 600 athletes confirmed the five-factor structure of the MSOS. An overall mean Cronbach alpha value of .73 was also obtained. In addition, correlations among the MSOS subscales varied from -.I7 to .36, indicating that although related, the subscales are relatively distinct. Significant correlations (ranging from .20 to .44) between behavioral intentions pertinent to each subscale provided preliminary support for the discriminant validity of the MSOS. Finally, the temporal stability of the MSOS was also assessed with a different sample of athletes. All correlations were high and a significant mean test-retest correlation of .67 (p &lt; .01) over 5 weeks was obtained. Thus, overall, the MSOS represents a reliable and valid measure of sportsmanship. In the present study, for reasons of parsimony, we considered this 25-item scale as a global index of sportsmanship orientations by averaging the scores on all items (after having recoded the scores of the negative dimension). This global measure had adequate internal consistency with alphas of .76 and .8 1, respectively, at T I and T2, as well as good temporal stability with a significant correlation (r = .65, p &lt; .01) between T1 and T2 assessments. The French form of the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS; Bribre et al., in press) was used to measure self-determined motivation in hockey. The French version of the scale has been recently validated in English . The SMS assesses seven types of motivation toward sport: three types of intrinsic motivation (intrinsic motivation toward accomplishment, toward knowledge, and toward stimulation), three types of extrinsic motivation (identified, introjected, and external regulation), and motivation. Four items are used to measure each of the seven motivational orientations. Each item represents an answer to the question, &quot;Why do you play hockey?&quot; and is assessed on a 5-point Likert scale with 1 (does not correspond at all to me) and 5 (corresponds exactly to me) as extreme points, and 3 (partially corresponds to me) as midpoint. The development of the French SMS (Brikre et al., in press) involved several steps. In a first step, 40 athletes were interviewed to identify the reasons why they participate in sport. From these interviews, we retained the motives that exemplify the seven types of motivational orientations to be measured by the SMS. In the second step, we formulated 10 items for each scale (70 items in a l l ) . In a third step, these items were shown to athletes to assess the clarity and pertinence of these items. In a fourth step, the 70-item scale was given to 195 athletes, and a factor analysis was conducted. A seven-factor solution was obtained, and the best 4 items for each of the seven subscales were retained. This refined version of the SMS was then completed by 455 athletes. Results from this study supported (a) the sevenfactor structure of the instrument (with confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL), (b) the internal consistency of the various subscales in three studies (a mean alpha value of .82 was obtained for the seven subscales), and (c) the construct validity of this SMS with correlational analyses among the seven subscales, as well as between 238 / Vallerand and Losier these subscales and other relevant sport constructs such as positive emotions, sport satisfaction, and interest. Finally, a mean test-retest correlation of .69 was also obtained for the subscales over a 4-week period with a different sample of athletes. Thus, overall, the SMS appears to be a valid and reliable measure of motivational styles in sport. Again for reasons of parsimony, a motivation index was used to examine the relationship between sportsmanship orientations and self-determined motivation. In line with past research (e.g., The results of the four multiplications just described were summed to provide a sport motivation index. High positive scores on this index reflect high levels of self-determined motivation, whereas high negative scores represent high levels of non-self-determined motivation (for more information on these scoring procedures see Results We first conducted a preliminary analysis to compare the scores obtained 2 weeks into the hockey season (TI) with those observed at the end of the regular season (T2), both for self-determined motivation and sportsmanship orientations. For both constructs, we noted a significant decline in the mean scores from T1 to T2 assessments. That is, the decline in self-determined motivation from T1 (mean = 23.81) to T2 (mean = 20.05) assessments was significant (t = 3.05, p &lt; .005). Similarly, the mean score for sportsmanship orientations declined from 3.22 at T1 to 3.10 at T2, and this drop was also significant (t = 3.04, p &lt; .005). Results from Pearson correlations indicated that the number of years in competitive hockey was not significantly related to self-determined motivation at T1 (r = .16, n.s.) and at T2 (r = -.07, as.) nor to sportsmanship orientations at T1 (r = -.14, n.s.) and T2 (r = .03, n.s.). Next, we used a correlational design to examine the relationships between self-determined motivation in hockey and sportsmanship orientations. We anticipated that the two constructs would positively influence each other over time. Two types of correlational results are of interest and are presented in Self-Determined Motivation The second type of results deals with the longitudinal relationship between sportsmanship orientations and self-determined motivation by using a cross-lag correlational design. These results suggested that the two constructs positively influenced each other over time and that self-determined motivation has greater influence on sportsmanship orientations than sportsmanship has on self-determined motivation. Indeed, the correlation between early self-determined motiva

Motivation and coping with the stress of assessment: Gender differences in outcomes for university students

The main objectives of the present research were to test a conceptual model linking motivational processes involved in coping with the stress of university assessment, and to examine gender differences in these processes. Self-determined motivation was hypothesized to predict coping strategies and the response to assessment-related stress, and coping was hypothesized to play a considerable role in short- and long-term outcomes of assessment. We examined this model using multiple group path analysis. In Study 1 (N = 265), music students’ use of engagement-coping strategies led to stronger musical career intentions, while disengagement-coping strategies led to weaker intentions. In Study 2 (N = 340), students’ increased use of engagement coping, and decreased use of disengagement coping strategies led to higher grades, higher positive affect and lower negative affect. In both studies, engagement and disengagement-coping were predicted by autonomous and controlled motivation, respectively. Motivation also indirectly predicted academic outcomes through stress appraisal and coping. While women experienced higher levels of stress, men were more negatively affected by the use of disengagement-oriented coping. Gender differences were also found on the links between engagement-oriented coping and outcomes. These results fill an important gap in the literature regarding gender differences in the outcomes coping in education, as well as contributing to a better understanding of the processes linking motivation, coping and academic outcomes