Re-examination of Motivation in Learning Contexts: Meta-analytically Investigating the Role Type of Motivation Plays in the Prediction of Key Training Outcomes

Abstract

The extant research has not been consistent in the way motivation is conceptualized and measured in learning contexts, with prior research utilizing five different types of motivation derived from three theoretical frameworks—self-determination theory, expectancy theory, and the expectancy-value model. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether type of motivation impacts the motivation–training outcome relationships. We conducted a meta-analysis investigating the impact of motivation type (i.e., intrinsic motivation, motivation to learn, motivation to transfer, expectancy motivation, and task value) on four training outcomes. The review of the literature yielded 136 independent samples and a total of 25,012 trainees. Relative weights analysis was also used. Results suggest that all types of motivation had stronger relationships with trainee reactions than with declarative knowledge, initial skill acquisition, or transfer. Yet, there was variability in the strength of the motivation–training outcome relationships across motivation type. We recommend that motivation to learn be used to predict trainee reactions, declarative knowledge, and initial skill acquisition; motivation to transfer should be measured when predicting distal post-training outcomes (i.e., transfer of training). Although this recommendation may seem intuitive, clearly prior research/practice has used other motivation types in the prediction of these training outcomes. Accordingly, we advise that measures of motivation to learn and motivation to transfer be used more uniformly. This is the first study to meta-analytically test whether the relationship between motivation and training outcomes varies based on the type of motivation utilized.