Abstract
Although many previous studies have emphasized the role of environmental factors, such as parental home and school environment, on achievement motivation, classical twin studies suggest that both additive genetic influences and non-shared environmental influences explain interindividual differences in achievement motivation. By applying a Nuclear Twin Family Design on the data of the German nationally representative of TwinLife study, we analyzed genetic and environmental influences on achievement motivation in adolescents and young adults. As expected, the results provided evidence for the impact of additive genetic variation, non-additive genetic influences, as well as twin specific shared environmental influences. The largest amount of variance was attributed to non-shared environmental influences, showing the importance of individual experiences in forming differences in achievement motivation. Overall, we suggest a revision of models and theories that explain variation in achievement motivation by differences in familial socialization only.
Highlights
Motivation gives to the people’s behavior direction, intensity and persistence (Spinath, Toussaint, Spengler, & Spinath, 2008)
The correlation of the MZ twins was substantially higher than in all the other family dyads. This indicated that both additive and non-additive genetic influences might play a role in explaining individual differences in achievement motivation
Note. cs - environmental effects shared by siblings, m - environmental transmission from a mother to offspring, f - environmental transmission from a father to offspring, ct - environmental effects shared by twins, p - two-sided significance, comparative fit index (CFI) - Comparative Fit Index, root mean square of approximation (RMSEA) - Root Mean Square of Approximation, Akaike information criterion (AIC)
Summary
Motivation gives to the people’s behavior direction, intensity and persistence (Spinath, Toussaint, Spengler, & Spinath, 2008). Achievement motivation is an important key qualification in a modern society due to its central role for learning and career success, as well as for lifelong learning in general (Looser, 2011; Röhr-Sendlmeier, & Kröger, 2014). It has been defined as the striving to increase or to keep, as high as possible, one’s own capabilities in all activities in which a standard of excellence is thought to apply, and where the execution of such activities can either succeed or fail (Heckhausen, 1967). Most theories and models that attempt to explain differences in the motivation to perform focus on education and socialization, emphasizing the role of school and parental home for the development of individual differences in achievement motivation (Deci & Ryan, 2004; Heckhausen & Heckhausen, 2010; Wigfield & Eccles, 2000)
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