Cognitive Theories Of Motivation Research Articles

Strategic Leadership and Motivation: Exploring Cognitive Theories and GRIT Traits

Summary During the 20th century, significant investments were made in the improvement of individuals who would manage change, plan and solve problems well. The development of corporate leaders is becoming one of the priorities, as well as creating individuals who will know how to create and convey the vision and strategy of the company. In this process, it is crucial to select individuals to whom motivational models can be applied and to locate GRIT personality traits. Numerous theorists throughout history have been researching the concept of motivation, defining it and discovering the factors that motivate individuals. The study of motivation encompasses a wide range of assumptions, hypotheses, theories, findings, and areas of application. Understanding them helps the company and managers to understand themselves and others in the workplace better, all with the aim of increasing the chances of success in an individual’s career as well as raising the level of success of the company. Different theories try to explain the overall motivation, theoretical questions or motivational problems, and tendencies that concern a certain group of people. We live in times when organisations are under great pressure to reduce costs, improve the quality of products and services, find new opportunities for growth, and increase work efficiency. In this paper, we will consider cognitive theories of motivation and the factors that could be positive and relevant to the success of companies and managers. At the same time, we discuss theories of motivation, such as Weiner’s Attribution Theory, Locke’s Goal Theory, and Vroom’s VIE Model. Before presenting these theories, the theoretical framework of research on motivational dimensions is considered. We also emphasise the GRIT model of traits that we believe are applicable in the development of an individual’s career and in raising success at the individual and corporate levels.

The use of MMPI-3 scales to assess personality-based vulnerabilities for alcohol use and problems.

Impulsivity and excitement seeking are distinctly associated with alcohol use and related problems in emerging adulthood. Specifically, impulsivity is associated with alcohol problems, while excitement seeking is associated with quantity and frequency of alcohol use (Finn, 2002; Gunn et al., 2013). Given how critical these traits are to alcohol use disorder, such that they play central roles in prominent theories such as Finn's (2002) cognitive motivational theory (CMT), we examined how impulsivity, excitement seeking, and related constructs were captured by an instrument used in clinical practice, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2020a, 2020b). In a sample of 401 college students, we investigated MMPI-3 scales representing the CMT constructs-impulsivity/novelty seeking, excitement seeking, and low harm avoidance-by examining correlations between MMPI-3 Specific Problem scales and theoretically relevant criterion measures. Then, we used these scales to predict alcohol-related outcomes. Impulsivity (IMP), Social Avoidance (SAV), and Anxiety-Related Experiences (ARX) scales captured the core CMT constructs that are said to reflect personality-based vulnerabilities to alcohol-related problems. Further, Impulsivity and Social Avoidance scales incremented the Substance Abuse (SUB) scale in predicting risky drinking outcomes (alcohol problems and quantity and frequency of use). Overall, results support the use of select MMPI-3 scales in providing a nuanced assessment of personality-based vulnerabilities in college-aged drinkers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

How effective is authoritarian environmentalism？ —evidence from China

Authoritarian environmentalism (AE) in China is embedded in the historical evolution of political centralization and has obvious path dependence; however, its effectiveness lacks empirical evidence. In the light of the cognitive motivation theory and the corpus linguistics, this study uses the multigrain Chinese word segmentation algorithm to construct the will index of provincial and central governments' environmental governance. With this will index and the provincial panel data in China from 2004 to 2017, this paper systematically examines the effectiveness and spatial heterogeneity of AE with the System GMM method. First, there is a negative correlation between the central government's will for environmental governance and environmental quality in provincial administrative regions, and top–down AE, characterized by political centralization, is less effective in China. However, the interaction term coefficients between the central and provincial governments are significantly positive for environmental governance. Second, from the perspective of sub-regions, effectiveness shows spatial heterogeneity across Eastern, Central, and Western China. Third, in Chinese-style AE, the public's environmental appeal has not received sufficient attention, and people's participation in environmental governance is limited. Finally, this study discusses ways to improve Chinese-style AE in China's institutional context and political system.

Cognitive Motivational Perspectives of Performance Measurement System and Organisational Commitment: Role Ambiguity as a Mediator

The use of Comprehensive Performance Measurement System (CPMS) in facilitating and influencing decisions has been predominant for such purposes. It is also a complex link of CPMS with individual performance which has been evidenced in the literature in recent years. Nonetheless, prior studies have shown inconsistent findings on CPMS informational characteristics and their behavioral implications. Therefore, by taking the cognitive motivational theory and role theory into account, the current study contends the usefulness of CPMS information in increasing role expectation and motivation. Accordingly, this study examines the influence of CPMS on the role ambiguity of managers and organizational commitment by collecting data from 120 business unit managers of manufacturing companies that are registered under the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM). To further examine the mediating effect, the study employed Partial Least Squares and the Sobel test and found that the informational characteristics of CPMS enhance organizational commitment by reducing role ambiguity. Overall, CPMS may provide useful information or feedback to better understand the roles of managers to essentially enhance motivation and improve commitment.

Self-knowledge and reflection in Schopenhauer’s view of agency

ABSTRACT This paper examines the roles that self-knowledge and reflection play in Schopenhauer’s view of agency. Focusing in particular on the discussion of the acquired character, his cognitive theory of motivation, and the idea of intellectual freedom, I argue that we find two conceptions of rational agency in Schopenhauer. The ‘minimal’ conception sees rational agency primarily as a kind of reflective motivation, whereas the ‘maximal’ or ‘robust’ conception sees rational agency as involving a kind of reflective self-organization. Furthermore, I argue that rational self-organization and acquired character go hand-in-hand: it is only in virtue of achieving the latter that one achieves the former. Although some worry that the discussion of acquired character does not sit well with Schopenhauer’s broader determinist theory of action, the reading offered here aims to demonstrate that the two are reconcilable.

Students’ Adaptability on Unexpected Transition to Online Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Self Regulation Learning and Self Efficacy

Students and lecturers are mostly accustomed to the physical learning environment in the classroom. The transition to online learning requires quick adaptation, and students often face challenges which cause hindrance in their learning. This paper aims at highlighting students’ adaptability in online learning which can help university students and management to respond effectively to the variable factors, namely, self-regulation and self-efficacy. Based on the social cognitive theory of motivation, this study examines the relationships between students’ self-regulation, self-efficacy and adaptability in online learning. Self-efficacy is examined as a mediator and moderator variable in the relationship between self-regulation and students’ adaptability. The samples comprised of 238 students from private universities in Malaysia through a survey questionnaire. Partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypotheses. The results showed a direct and positive relationship for all direct relationships between variables. In addition, self-regulation and students’ adaptability is significantly mediated by self-efficacy. However, in this study, the moderator analysis found no support. This study provides theoretical and practical implications to gain a better understanding of students’ adaptability in online learning and proposed intervention for higher education institution to address and promote self-regulation and self-efficacy among students. By implementing such interventions, it is hoped that students are better able to adapt, stay motivated and in getting the most out of online learning.

Cultural intelligence and the internationalisation of SMEs: a study of the manufacturing sector in Egypt

This study examines the effect of cultural intelligence, the internationalisation motivators and the entrepreneur's and the firm's characteristics on the SMEs internationalisation based on the resource-based, the market and the network views of internationalisation, combined with the social cognitive theory of motivation. It uses the survey method and analyses the information received from a stratified sample of Egyptian manufacturing SME managers. The data is analysed through hierarchal regression, binary logistic regression and dominance analysis. The findings suggest that the cultural intelligence of the SME managers affects the internationalisation of Egyptian SMEs in the internationalisation intention phase more than in the actual internationalisation stage. The internationalisation internal and external motivators, on the other hand, have a more important effect in the actual internationalisation phase. The empirical results contribute theoretically to the development of a unifying framework for SME internationalisation and have practical implications for the ecosystem of SMEs.

Odnos ličnosti i predrasuda

U posljednjih dvadesetak godina, uslijed teorijskoga i analitičkog napretka, obnovljen je interes za dispozicijska objašnjenja sklonosti predrasudama. Istraživačke su se tradicije ranoga dispozicijskoga i socijalnog pristupa kroz povijest istraživanja predrasuda izmjenjivale u popularnosti i suočavale s oštrom debatom o ulozi osobe nasuprot ulozi situacije u razvoju i održavanju predrasuda. Suvremena istraživačka praksa, međutim, inklinira k integraciji tih pristupa, a empirijski su utvrđene i određene komplementarnosti dispozicijskih i socijalnih perspektiva. Cilj je ovoga rada kontekstualizirati dispozicijski pristup istraživanju predrasuda, prikazati osnovne koncepte, teorijsko polazište i empirijske podatke o vezi ličnosti i predrasuda te skrenuti pažnju na otvorena pitanja i moguće pravce budućih istraživanja. Fokus je rada na vezi ličnosti i predrasuda prema različitim društvenim grupama koje se nerijetko prikazuju pod okriljem konstrukta generaliziranih predrasuda. Budući da je taj konstrukt od središnje važnosti za razumijevanje dispozicijskih doprinosa objašnjenju predrasuda, on se u radu pobliže predstavlja. Središnji dio rada sadrži prikaz Duckittove dvoprocesne kognitivno-motivacijske teorije ideologije i predrasuda koja je u podlozi odnosa ličnosti i predrasuda, pri čemu se poseban naglasak stavlja na pojašnjenje uloge ideoloških varijabli desne autoritarnosti i orijentacije na socijalnu dominaciju koje posreduju u tome odnosu. Slijedi prikaz empirijskih nalaza o povezanosti predrasuda i ličnosti prema petofaktorskoj konceptualizaciji te konceptualizaciji. Kao ključni antecedenti predrasuda izdvajaju se otvorenost prema iskustvu, ugodnost i poštenje – poniznost. U završnome se dijelu rada problematiziraju aktualni prijepori u području istraživanja povezanosti ličnosti i predrasuda: status ugodnosti kao prediktora predrasuda te konzistentnost dispozicijskih korelata generaliziranih predrasuda.

Differential Effects of Right–Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation on Dimensions of Generalized Prejudice in Brazil

Previous research within a dual–process cognitive–motivational theory of ideology and prejudice has indicated that dimensions of generalized prejudice are structured around attitudes towards dangerous, derogated and dissident groups, and that these prejudice dimensions are differentially predicted by the ideological attitudes of Right–Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO). However, to date, these findings have been restricted to New Zealand samples. We describe two studies examining whether the structure of prejudiced attitudes and the differential prediction by RWA and SDO replicate in the Brazilian context, incorporating context–relevant examples of each group—politicians, those from the northeast region of Brazil, and environmentalists. Results broadly supported the three–factor structure of dangerous, derogated, and dissident groups. Consistent with previous research, regression and structural equation analyses showed that RWA explained prejudice against dangerous groups, SDO explained prejudice against derogated groups, and both RWA and SDO explained prejudice against dissident groups. This research provides some evidence for the generalizability of the three–dimensional structure of generalized prejudice and differential prediction by RWA and SDO. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology

‘I Think I can’: Measuring Confidence in Goal Pursuit

Client-centred occupational therapy approaches aim to increase client motivation and confidence in working towards self-identified occupational performance goals. In this opinion piece we explore whether measurement of confidence in goal pursuit could complement existing tools, such as the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (Law et al 1998), in documenting clinical outcomes. Cognitive theories of motivation and behaviour change support links between confidence in problem solving around self-identified goals, effort, and motivation to persist and engage in therapy. We propose that evaluating goal-related confidence is an important but neglected area of practice. Providing feedback about confidence in relation to goal pursuit may increase the likelihood of occupational performance goals being attained.

Working memory as a moderator of impulsivity and alcohol involvement: Testing the cognitive-motivational theory of alcohol use with prospective and working memory updating data

Research consistently shows that individuals high in impulsivity are at increased risk for excessive alcohol use and alcohol-related problems including alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Recent theorizing posits that working memory (WM) ability might moderate this association, but extant studies have suffered from methodological shortcomings, particularly mischaracterizing WM as a single, unitary construct and using only cross-sectional designs. This paper reports two studies that attempted to replicate and extend previous investigations of the relationship between WM, impulsivity, and alcohol involvement using two independent samples. Study 1 used a large (N=489 at baseline), prospective cohort of college students at high and low risk for AUD to investigate interactions between WM capacity and impulsivity on cross-sectional and prospective alcohol involvement. Study 2 used a large (N=420), cross-sectional sample of participants in an alcohol challenge study to investigate similar interactions between WM updating and impulsivity on recent alcohol involvement. Whereas Study 1 found that WM capacity moderates the relationship between some measures of impulsivity and alcohol involvement, with effects prospectively predicting alcohol involvement for up to three years, Study 2 did not find similar moderation effects when using measures of WM updating. These findings highlight the multifaceted nature of WM, which is often overlooked in the alcohol and impulsivity literature.

Reward-related attentional biases and adolescent substance use: The TRAILS study.

Current cognitive-motivational theories of addiction propose that prioritizing appetitive, reward-related information (attentional bias) plays a vital role in the development and maintenance of substance abuse. This study focused on reward-related attentional processes that might be involved in young-adolescent substance use. Participants were young adolescents (N = 682, mean age = 16.14), who completed a motivated game in the format of a spatial orienting task as a behavioral index of appetitive-related attentional processes and a questionnaire to index substance (alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis) use. Correlational analysis showed a positive relationship between substance use and enhanced attentional engagement, with cues that predicted potential reward and nonpunishment. These results are consistent with the view that adolescents who show a generally enhanced appetitive bias might be at increased risk for developing heavier substance use.

Goal-setting in youth football. Are coaches missing an opportunity?

Background: Goal-setting is not always the simple motivational technique when used in an applied sport setting especially in relation to the meaning of achievement in competitive sport. Goal-setting needs to be examined in a broader context than goal-setting theory, such as provided by social cognitive theories of motivation. In football, the culture of the club and the role of the coach must be considered. Purpose: The aim of the study was to (1) use naturalistic inquiry and Roberts' suggested framework of social cognitive theories of motivation to identify and describe the motivational choices that elite youth football players make as they go through the goal-setting process, (2) examine the influence of the coach on this process in the elite football environment, and (3) gain an understanding of the goal-setting process. The paper considers the implications of the study for coaching practice. Participants and setting: Ten elite youth football players (five male, five female) at four British football clubs. Design: The study used naturalistic enquiry to examine the goal-setting practices of the players at their club. The key social-cognitive motivation concepts of personal agency beliefs, personal goals, and evaluative standards and affect were used to frame the instrumentation, including the production of the interview questions. Data collection: Each participant was asked to complete a weekly diary for four weeks to provide insights into the duration and frequency of goal-setting as well as the motivational processing by the players. At the end of the four weeks, a semi-structured interview was conducted with each player. Data analysis: Inductive analysis of the pooled data from the diaries and the transcribed interviews, using grounded theory, was used to identify the themes and categories from the data, using the research questions generated during the conceptual and design phase of the study as an initial framework. Findings: Real life goal-setting in elite youth football is more complex when compared to the goal-setting heuristic. The players' motivational choices as they set and evaluated their discrete goals could be examined in the context of the social cognitive motivational tenets of personal goals, personal agency beliefs and affective response. The coaches played a pivotal role and there was a mismatch between players' needs and coaches' responses throughout this process. Finally the process of goal-setting varied from the heuristic of goal-setting theory. Conclusion: Coaches should engage in a two-way, interactive and ongoing dialogue with players, taking into account the players' and their own motivational needs and the environment within which they operate, in order to improve the effectiveness of goal-setting as a technique, and hence their effectiveness as a coach.

Implicit Theories of Peer Relationships

This research investigated the role of children's implicit theories of peer relationships in their psychological, emotional, and behavioral adjustment. Participants included 206 children (110 girls; 96 boys; M age = 10.13 years, SD = 1.16) who reported on their implicit theories of peer relationships, social goal orientation, need for approval, depressive and aggressive symptoms, and exposure to peer victimization. Parents also provided reports on aggressive symptoms. Results confirmed that holding an entity theory of peer relationships was associated with a greater tendency to endorse performance-oriented social goals and to evaluate oneself negatively in the face of peer disapproval. Moreover, entity theorists were more likely than incremental theorists to demonstrate depressive and aggressive symptoms when victimized. These findings contribute to social-cognitive theories of motivation and personality, and have practical implications for children exposed to peer victimization and associated difficulties.

Characterizing the motivational orientation of students in higher education: A naturalistic study in three Hong Kong universities

Consideration of motivation in higher education has often been drawn upon theories and research that were based upon school or workplace studies. This paper reports an open naturalistic study to better characterize the motivational orientation of students in higher education. Open semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 36 students from three universities in Hong Kong. The analysis used an exploratory grounded theory approach. Motivation was characterized as a framework with six continua with positive and negative poles. On enrolment, students had positions on the six facets of motivation, which shifted as they progressed through their degree, according to perceptions of their teaching and learning environment. The positive poles of the six continua were given labels: compliance, individual goal setting, interest, career, sense of belonging and university lifestyle. The formulation of motivational orientation is consistent with contemporary social cognitive theories of motivation in that it has been characterized as a multifaceted phenomenon, with students expressing context-dependent multiple motives.

Cognitive-motivational determinants of fat food consumption in overweight and obese youngsters: The implicit association between fat food and arousal

Cognitive-motivational accounts of fat food intake propose an association between fat food and action dispositions, which are according to the biphasic emotion theory of Lang [(1995). The emotion probe. Studies of motivation and attention. American Psychologist, 50, 372–385; Lang, P.J., Bradley, M.M., & Cuthbert, M.M. (1997). Motivated attention: Affect, activation and action. In P.J. Lang, R.F. Simons & M.T. Balaban (Eds.). Attention and orienting: Sensory and motivational processes (pp. 97–134). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.] characterized by high levels of arousal. In two experiments, this association was investigated in lean and overweight youngsters. In the first experiment, 29 overweight and 29 lean youngsters conducted two Implicit Association Tasks (IAT; Greenwald, A.G., McGhee, D.E., & Schwartz, J.L. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The implicit association test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1464–1480.). In a positive arousal IAT, implicit associations between fat vs. lean food, and high and low arousal words with a positive valence were assessed. In a negative arousal IAT, high and low arousal words with a negative valence were used. A second experiment was conducted to replicate Experiment 1 in 29 youngsters with severe obesity and 29 lean peers. The results revealed strong implicit associations between fat food and arousal in both the overweight and the control group. No differences were found between the groups, nor between the positive and the negative arousal task. These results are related to cognitive-motivational theories of fat food intake.

What motivates health professionals? Opportunities to gain greater insight from theory

Health care policy-makers and researchers need to pay more attention to understanding the influence of motivation on professional behaviour. Goal setting theory, including two hypotheses - the business case and the pride case - dominates current attempts to motivate professionals. However, the predominance of goal setting theory stifles other approaches to conceptualizing professional motivation. These approaches include other cognitive theories of motivation, such as self-determination theory (concerned with how to use extrinsic rewards that enhance intrinsic motivation), as well as content, psychoanalytic and environmental theories. A valuable opportunity exists to develop and test such theories in addition to possible hybrids, for example, by elaborating goal setting theory in health care. The results can be expected to inform health policy and motivate individual professionals, groups, organizations and workforces to improve and deliver high quality care.

Perfectionism, Anger, and Situation Criticality in Competitive Youth Ice Hockey

This study examined the degree to which male youth ice hockey playersʼ (N = 229, M age = 14.15 years; SD = 1.03) perfectionist orientations were associated with anger vulnerability in competition. Perfectionism and trait anger were measured as domain-specific constructs. Athletes were also asked to speculate on the likely intensity of anger responses if they were to commit mistakes in high- and low-criticality situations in competition. Canonical correlation results indicated that heightened perfectionist orientations were associated with heightened competitive trait anger. Cluster analyses produced three clusters of athletes who possessed either low, moderate, or high levels of perfectionism. Significant between-cluster differences on anger responses to mistakes were obtained, with highly perfectionistic athletes anticipating significantly higher levels of anger following mistakes than low and moderately perfectionistic athletes. A significant situation-criticality main effect was also observed, with athletes anticipating higher levels of anger following personal mistakes in high- as opposed to low-criticality situations. Results are discussed within the context of cognitive motivational theories of emotion.

Ethical Internalism and Cognitive Theories of Motivation

Cognitive internalism is the view that moral judgments are both cognitive and motivating. Philosophers have found cognitive internalism to be attractive in part because it seems to offer support for the idea that moral reasons are categorical, that is, independent of agents’ desires. In this paper, I argue that it offers no such support.

Educational Psychology – Theory, Research, and Teaching: A 25‐year retrospective

This article presents a brief overview of developments in educational psychology over the last twenty‐five years. It firstly presents an historical context by reviewing four basic emphases in educational psychology; cognitive psychology, behavioural psychology, social cognitive theory and humanism. The article then reviews the growth in cognitive psychology research by briefly examining developments arising from Piagetian, Vygotskian and information processing theories. The article examines the development of constructivist approaches to learning and teaching, and the growth in cognitive theories of motivation. Cross‐cultural, methodological and other developments in educational psychology are also briefly examined. The article concludes with five paradoxes to stimulate the reader to consider some implications of this 25 year overview.