Abstract
Concordant with classical theoretical guidelines (i.e., social facilitation, social constructivism theory, and the Pygmalion effect) we tested the need for competition and perception of being valued by teachers to be better motivated for learning in school. We extend knowledge by testing these associations mediated by the social economic status given by the well-being of the family (i.e., controlling for gender and socio-economic status). A total of 214 Romanian students (45.3% boys) with ages between 13 and 17 years were administered the PEER questionnaire (i.e., perception of being valued by teachers, school-children motivation, and the need for competition). Results show a positive relation between the need for competition and motivation for learning. We also found positive relations between the perception of being valued by the teacher and motivation for learning and the need for competition. We conclude that motivation is higher when the need for competition is higher and the perception of being valued by teachers is higher.
Highlights
The current research aims at testing and describing how motivation for learning is impacted by non-cognitive factors, like the need for competition and how children perceive being valued during educational activities
Social psychology studies draw up an image about this process (Karau & Williams, 2012; Triplett, 1898) and observed that children were enthusiastic when competing to others, leading them to be more motivated, to try harder, and exert more effort than when working alone
Regarding the effect of others, and how it affects performance and learning, we find similar explanation and accounting for the perception of others, and their actions, in the social constructivism theory where motivation for learning is shaped by individual factors and by social factors
Summary
The current research aims at testing and describing how motivation for learning is impacted by non-cognitive factors, like the need for competition and how children perceive being valued during educational activities. Our study improves literature by addressing the impact of non-cognitive factors over motivation for learning by measuring the perception of students regarding how they feel valued by teachers and how they interact and involve themselves with school tasks in the classroom. The paradigm of social facilitation proposed by Triplett explains how the presence of others and the feeling of being in a competition affect the motivation for performance of individuals, but is only limited to simple tasks, not complex ones (i.e., creative or those that imply a complex cognitive task). Still, he noted that there are individual differences even within this effect of the presence of others. The cognitive evaluation theory supports that competition is associated with motivation through both external factors and social contextual events (i.e., teachers evaluations, the interaction between schoolchildren, and teacher-child interaction; Deci & Ryan, 1995; Ryan & Deci, 2000; Song et al, 2013)
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