Motivating by measuring motivation? Examining reactivity in a diary study on student motivation

Abstract

Intensive longitudinal methodologies continue to gain traction in educational psychology due to their numerous affordances; however, educational researchers have yet to fully consider how these methodologies may actually impact the phenomena under study. In the current study, we used a quasi-experimental design to examine how participating in a diary study on motivation predicted students’ end-of-semester motivation. We also examined how dosage, or how many surveys students responded to, predicted their motivation at the end of the semester. Participating in the diary study predicted end-of-semester task effort and emotional cost, whereas responding to a higher number of surveys predicted end-of-semester value, expectancies, outside effort cost, and emotional cost. These findings suggest that researchers using intensive longitudinal methodologies should consider using a control group in order to check for unintended outcomes. Implications and future directions are discussed.