Effort Beliefs Research Articles

Mindset profiles of secondary school students: Associations with academic achievement, motivation and school burnout symptoms.

According to Dweck's mindset theory, implicit beliefs (a.k.a. mindset) have an organizing function, bringing together mindset, achievement goals and effort beliefs in a broader meaning system. Two commonly described meaning systems are a growth-mindset meaning system with mastery goals and positive effort beliefs, and a fixed-mindset meaning system with performance goals and negative effort beliefs. Because of assumed heterogeneity within these two meaning systems, we aim to (1) examine multiple-mindset profiles based on mindset, achievement goals and effort beliefs, by using a data-driven person-oriented approach, and (2) relate these different profiles to several outcome measures (academic achievement, motivation and school burnout symptoms). Self-report questionnaire data were collected from 724 students (11.0-14.7 y.o.; 46.7% girl; 53.3% boy; Mage = 12.8 y.o.). Latent profile analysis was conducted using mindset, achievement goals and effort beliefs. Four profiles were revealed: one fixed-mindset profile and three growth-mindset profiles, which differed in their performance goal levels (low, moderate and high). Growth-mindset students with low- or moderate-performance goals had more advantageous outcomes, for example, higher math grades and lower school burnout symptoms, compared to growth-mindset students with high-performance goals. Fixed-mindset students had the least advantageous outcomes, for example, lower grades, less intrinsic motivation and more school burnout symptoms. Our study emphasizes the importance of taking a holistic approach when examining mindset meaning systems, revealing the importance of the level of performance goals and including multiple academic outcomes.

Intergenerational transmission of luck versus effort beliefs

Beliefs about whether luck or effort determines individuals’ economic outcomes in life (luck vs effort beliefs) are central for individuals’ opinions on inequality and political preferences. Those who think that luck is relatively more important than effort generally accept less inequality, want more economic redistribution and support a larger welfare state. We study the transmission of luck vs effort beliefs from parents to children. By means of an original, representative survey of Swedish parents, matched to administrative data, we document that the vast majority teach their children not only that effort is crucial for economic success, but that effort is more important than what they themselves actually believe it to be.

Joint effects of offset effort beliefs and biomedical causal attributions on pre-service teachers’ stigma of children with ADHD-related symptoms

Joint effects of offset effort beliefs and biomedical causal attributions on pre-service teachers’ stigma of children with ADHD-related symptoms

Work with me or work for me: The effect of brand roles depends on implicit theories of self‐change

AbstractConsumer‐brand relationships are important predictors of consumption, but the psychology surrounding the different roles brands occupy within these relationships is not fully understood. Three experiments and one field study investigate how preferences for two of these brand roles, partner and servant, depend on consumers' implicit theories of self‐change. Counter to what prior literature might suggest, findings show that consumers who believe that self‐traits are relatively malleable (incremental theorists) and fixed (entity theorists) prefer partner and servant brands, respectively. Results demonstrate that a partner brand signals an equal effort by both the consumer and the brand, whereas a servant brand signals less effort by the consumer and more effort by the brand. The relatively greater consumer effort signals by partner (vs. servant) brands align with the effort beliefs associated with consumers' implicit theories, thereby mediating preferences. Findings are demonstrated across different product categories and samples (Taiwan and US). The focus on dyadic effort signals of brand roles in consumer‐brand relationships, and the resulting interactive effect with implicit theories, provide novel contributions to theory and practice.

The growth trajectory of college students' academic amotivation and its association with cardiorespiratory fitness and meaning in life

Academic amotivation stems from different classes of reasons in school. Using the amotivation taxonomy that comprises four types of motivational deficits (i.e., deficient ability beliefs, effort beliefs, academic values, and unappealing task characteristics), we designed this study to examine developmental patterns in academic amotivation among early-stage college students and how cardiorespiratory fitness and meaning in life related to the growth trajectories. 488 students reported amotivation at the beginning, middle, and end of a semester while their cardiorespiratory fitness and meaning in life were evaluated at the semester start. Multi-indicator latent growth models revealed that all types of motivational deficits increased over time. Insufficient academic values appeared to increase steeper than other amotivation dimensions while cardiorespiratory fitness buffered the enhancement of motivational deficits in ability and effort. Integration of a broad ecological framework including health may potentially enrich our theoretical understanding of academic amotivation. Educational relevance statementUnderstanding amotivation during early stage of college is important for academic and personal development. We find evidence of average increases in students' amotivation due to deficient ability beliefs, effort beliefs, academic values, and unappealing task characteristics. Associations of amotivation with gender, cardiorespiratory fitness, and meaning in life provide insights with the design of cohesive learning environments to minimize amotivation and support personal development. Integration of a broad ecological framework including health may potentially enrich our theoretical understanding of academic amotivation/motivation.

Learning motivations and effort beliefs in Confucian cultural context: A dual-mode theoretical framework of achievement goal.

For decades, results of international academic assessments have shown that students in the Confucian cultural circle performed outstandingly well. However, many studies also showed that East Asian students often experienced high pressure and had low interest in academic learning. The "high achievement but low interest" phenomenon has aroused great interest in psychologists and educators. From the emic perspective of cultural psychology, this theoretical article aims to propose (1) a dual-mode framework of achievement goals to conceptualize the motivation for academic learning and (2) two kinds of effort beliefs (obligation-oriented and improvement-oriented belief about effort) students may develop when pursuing academic achievement in societies influenced by Confucian heritage culture. Moreover, a series of empirical studies based on the framework are presented in this article to show that (1) Chinese students' academic striving is motivated not only by their interest but also by role obligation or virtue of effort, (2) students' effort beliefs could predict their learning emotion and behavioral tendency, and (3) students' effort beliefs could be influenced by their parents' and teachers' effort beliefs. The theoretical and practical implications of the framework are discussed.

Which Types of Amotivation Affect School Absenteeism and Academic Performance of Middle School Students? A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

This study investigated the mediation role of school absenteeism in the relationships between different types of amotivation and academic performance. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the hypotheses of study. Participants were 311 eighth-grade middle school students who were absent from school for at least three days during the 2018–2019 spring semester. Data were collected from Academic Amotivation Inventory, which comprises four different types of amotivation. The significance of the indirect effects of amotivation types on academic performance was tested by using the bootstrapping method. Results demonstrated that each of four amotivation types were robust predictors of absenteeism. SEM analysis results showed that types of amotivation, including ability beliefs, effort beliefs, and value placed on task directly predicted students’ academic performance. Bootstrap analysis revealed that each of those types had an indirect effect on academic performance via the partial mediation of absenteeism. However, task characteristics did not directly predict academic performance, and this relationship was mediated fully through absenteeism. Absenteeism acted as a mediator between amotivation types and academic performance. Findings provided preliminary evidence of negative effects of different types of amotivation that, when combined with absenteeism rates, may lead to high risk for students’ academic performance.

Measuring and profiling Chinese secondary school English teachers’ language mindsets: an exploratory study of non-native teachers’ perceived L2 proficiency loss

AbstractNon-native second language (NNL2) teachers’ perceived L2 proficiency loss is a widespread, yet largely underrepresented phenomenon. This study used a sample of 969 Chinese secondary school non-native English teachers (91.6% female,Mage = 37.18, SD = 9.45) to examine their decremental beliefs toward English language proficiency within the framework of mindsets. Both variable-centered and person-centered approaches were adopted to perform data analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis provided validity evidence for the decremental mindset construct. Latent profile analysis categorized the participants into three groups: low decremental mindset, moderate decremental mindset, and moderate-high decremental mindset teachers. Multi-group structural equation modeling demonstrated that the direct effect of a decremental mindset on effort beliefs about English language ability loss was evident across the three groups, whereas only the decremental mindset of certain moderate-high decremental mindset teachers could lead to prevention-focused motivation. As an early attempt to examine people’s decremental beliefs toward language ability, this study extends existing research on language mindsets and provides a new perspective for the analysis of NNL2 teachers’ perceived L2 proficiency loss. Practical implications for NNL2 teacher educators and administrators are discussed on the basis of the findings.

“You Are so Smart!”: The Role of Giftedness, Parental Feedback, and Parents’ Mindsets in Predicting Students’ Mindsets

Although it has been hypothesized that gifted students are at risk for adopting a fixed mind-set, research revealed inconsistent results. We aimed to clarify this by differentiating between two operationalizations of giftedness (high cognitive ability and formal identification as gifted) and how these relate to students’ beliefs about intelligence and effort. Also, we examined the role of parental antecedents on students’ beliefs. Participants were 3,329 seventh-grade students and their parents. Only being labeled as gifted was related to adopting a fixed mind-set. Regarding parental antecedents, parents’ intelligence and effort beliefs were related to students’ corresponding beliefs. Furthermore, parental feedback was associated with students’ beliefs, which was most pronounced when student-reports of feedback were used. In particular, person-oriented feedback related positively to a fixed mind-set and negatively to students’ appreciation of the role of effort in academic performance, while process-oriented feedback showed the opposite pattern. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

How to Measure Quality of Delivery: Focus on Teaching Practices That Help Students to Develop Proximal Outcomes

Recent studies have suggested that quality of delivery matters to achieve better student outcomes in the context of school interventions. However, studies rarely measure quality of delivery and test its association with students’ outcomes, perhaps due to lack of clarity regarding how to measure it. Here, we offer recommendations on how to select or design measures of quality of delivery. These recommendations focus on identifying teaching practices that help students to develop proximal outcomes during the delivery of an intervention. Additionally, we illustrate an application of these recommendations to the study of quality of delivery in a cluster-randomized efficacy study of Brainology, a program that promotes students’ motivation and learning. We found that, although teachers fluctuated in their quality of delivery across lessons, students who received the intervention with higher quality of delivery on average increased more in targeted proximal outcomes (effort beliefs and learning goals) than students exposed to low quality. We discuss these results in terms of their implications for measuring quality of delivery, supporting teachers, and studying the conditions that make school interventions successful.

Influence factors on students motivation in introductory programming lectures of computer science non-majors

Programming is an essential part of the curriculum of computer science non-major students. The motivation for the various elements of interdisciplinary degrees is often very low in computer science, which faces a gender gap as well. Differences between study courses and gender in confidence, attitude, student numbers, and motivation in computer science are investigated. In addition, the influences of attitude, perception, and social background are considered. A questionnaire was designed based on an extensive research model for the purpose of this research. A survey was conducted with two cohorts of computer science non-major freshmen from two degrees in an introductory programming class at a university of applied sciences. The outcomes are compared against each other. First, an explorative factor analysis was performed. Afterwards, SmartPLS was used to test the developed model. The overall motivation of the participants is moderate and mostly influenced by their ability and effort beliefs. These constructs are different for men and women, but not for the degree programs, and have different impacts on motivation. In general, motivation is influenced by ability and effort beliefs, which in turn are mostly affected by perception and social background. While women show lower ability and higher effort beliefs, the males in the samples have opposite outcomes and thus a higher motivation in introductory programming classes.

Investigation of pre-service physical education teachers epistemological and pedagogical beliefs

The aim of this study was to examine pre-service physical education teachers’ epistemological and pedagogical beliefs and to reveal the relationship between those beliefs. The participants in the study were 333 pre-service teachers studying in physical education and sports teaching departments. The epistemological beliefs questionnaire, and teaching and learning conceptions questionnaire were used as the data collection tools. In the analysis of the data, descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, Pearson correlation analysis and path analysis were applied. It was determined that the pre-service physical education teachers’ mean scores for learning process-doubting authority/expert knowledge, learning effort and constructivist conception were high, while their scores for innate/fixed ability, certainty of knowledge and traditional conception were moderate. According to the path analysis results, it was revealed that their innate/fixed ability and certainty of knowledge beliefs positively predicted the traditional conception, while their learning process-doubting authority/expert knowledge and learning effort beliefs positively predicted the constructivist conception. As a result of the research, it was determined that generally, the pre-service physical education teachers believed in the importance of effort and process in learning, and that they adopted a constructivist conception. Furthermore, it was revealed that epistemological beliefs are an important variable in predicting pedagogical beliefs.

Continuity and change of achievement goals in advanced learning context

In this paper, we used a multi-method approach to investigate continuity and change in achievement goals of students who participated in summer classes designed for academically advanced students. Students in classes where their performances were graded showed larger increase in performance-avoidance goals compared to students in classes without grades. The mean-level change in mastery goal was not significant for the overall sample. Further analysis at the individual level suggested that, in fact, the majority of students (77%) experienced changes in mastery goals, with similar number of students having an increase (37.4%) and a decrease (39.4%) over time. Results established several individual and contextual factors as variables that influenced students' goal configurations. Students with fixed mindset displayed the greatest amount of change in their goal profiles. Students who were high in effort beliefs and those who thought that their ideas were valued in classes experienced stability in goal configurations.

Dispositional Learning Analytics for Supporting Individualized Learning Feedback

An important goal of learning analytics (LA) is to improve learning by providing students with meaningful feedback. Feedback is often generated by prediction models of student success using data about students and their learning processes based on digital traces of learning activities. However, early in the learning process, when feedback is most fruitful, trace-data-based prediction models often have limited information about the initial ability of students, making it difficult to produce accurate prediction and personalized feedback to individual students. Furthermore, feedback generated from trace data without appropriate consideration of learners’ dispositions might hamper effective interventions. By providing an example of the role of learning dispositions in an LA application directed at predictive modeling in an introductory mathematics and statistics module, we make a plea for applying dispositional learning analytics (DLA) to make LA precise and actionable. DLA combines learning data with learners’ disposition data measured through for example self-report surveys. The advantage of DLA is twofold: first, to improve the accuracy of early predictions; and second, to link LA predictions with meaningful learning interventions that focus on addressing less developed learning dispositions. Dispositions in our DLA example include students’ mindsets, operationalized as entity and incremental theories of intelligence, and corresponding effort beliefs. These dispositions were inputs for a cluster analysis generating different learning profiles. These profiles were compared for other dispositions and module performance. The finding of profile differences suggests that the inclusion of disposition data and mindset data, in particular, adds predictive power to LA applications.

The Beliefs About Breastfeeding Questionnaire (BAB-Q): A psychometric validation study.

ObjectivesQuestionnaires used to assess women’s beliefs as a predictor of breastfeeding behaviour are not theoretically informed or tested for psychometric validity and reliability. This study conducted a psychometric evaluation of the Beliefs About Breastfeeding Questionnaire (BAB‐Q).DesignA two‐phase evaluation in an online cross‐sectional questionnaire study (N = 278) and cohort study sample (N = 264). A ten‐item questionnaire was proposed to assess women’s beliefs about the benefits and efforts of breastfeeding.MethodsExploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) assessed construct validity and reliability. Multivariate regression analyses assessed validity in predicting breastfeeding behaviour and experiences.ResultsEFA found a shortened 8‐item, 2‐factor model had good fit (χ2 = 23.3, df = 13, p < .040; CFI = .99, TLI = .99, RMSEA = .05), with significant factor loadings. Factor 1 (benefit beliefs) and factor 2 (effort beliefs) accounted for 47 and 19.4% of the explained variance and correlated moderately (r = −.40). CFA confirmed the solution in the cohort sample (χ2 = 49.6 df = 19, p < .010; CFI = .97, TLI = .96, and RMSEA = .078). Adjusted regression analyses found beliefs did not reliably predict infant feeding practices. Women’s beliefs significantly predicted the likelihood that women experienced breastfeeding as ‘much more’ positive and negative than they expected.ConclusionsThe eight‐item questionnaire showed good model fit with acceptable loadings, and good reliability for all subscales. The utility of the BAB‐Q at predicting breastfeeding behaviour remains unclear and unsupported by empirical evidence. Further assessments of the predictive validity of the questionnaire in longitudinal studies with diverse beliefs and infant feeding practices are required.

Students' beliefs about the nature of intelligence (mindset).

Important adolescents' career-related decisions might be influenced by their beliefs about malleability of intelligence and learning (mindset). We combined quantitative and qualitative data to provide in-depth insights in the beliefs that 13-14-year-olds hold about learning and intelligence, the factors influencing these beliefs, and the consequences of these beliefs in relation to classroom behaviour and study choices. To establish students' mindsets quantitatively, we categorised theory of intelligence questionnaire (TOI; Dweck, 1999) averaged scores into three levels: entity, intermediate or incremental mindsets, to provide insight into the distribution of the different mindset types in our sample (N = 492). The results of this quantitative study show that more than half of the students believed intelligence is "fixed" (entity mindset), these data showed no effect of gender. To gain more in-depth insight in the views of these students, focus groups about mindset and its influences and consequences were held in a subsample (n = 176). The qualitative data provide more nuanced insights, for example they reveal subtle gender differences regarding effort beliefs and motivation. Integrated discussion of the quantitative and qualitative results demonstrates that this multi-method approach reflects the complexity of the concept mindset better than only the widely used TOI questionnaire.

Exploring the Relationship among the Brain Knowledge, Certainty of Knowledge, Learning pathway, and Growth Mindset in Korean Undergraduates

본 연구는 국내 대학생의 뇌과학 지식 수준과 지식에 대한 확신성을 조사하고, 특히 잘못된 뇌과학정보의 주된 학습 경로에 따라 지식의 정확도와 확신성이 어떻게 달라지는지 밝히고자 하였다. 또한, 성장신념과 뇌과학 지식 수준의 관계를 살펴보았다. 대학생 312명을 대상으로 설문을 시행하였고, 연구결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 많은 대학생이 잘못된 뇌과학 지식을 갖고 있었으며 이에 대해 높은 확신성을 보였다. 특히 뇌신경계신화 중 오답률이 가장 높았던 것은 VAK 학습유형 원리였다(91.3%). 둘째, 학생들은 뇌과학 정보를 주로 방송 및 인터넷을 통해 학습하였으며 잘못된 뇌과학지식의 주요 학습 경로는 방송 및 인터넷, 책, 주변 사람들 순으로 나타났다. 셋째, 뇌과학 지식 수준이 성장신념을 예측하지는 못했지만, 신경계신화 수준은 노력에 관한 믿음을 예측했다. 본 연구결과는 학습자가 정확한 뇌과학 지식을 얻을 수 있도록 학습자들에게 올바른 학습 경로를 제시하고 체계적인 교육을 제공해야 할 필요가 있음을 시사한다.With a sample of 312 undergraduate students, the present study aimed to identify the level of brain knowledge, the major learning pathway, the certainty of knowledge, and how the certainty of inaccurate knowledge varied as a function of students’ learning pathway. In addition, we examined the relationship between the level of brain knowledge and the growth mindset (i.e., the belief that intelligence is malleable). Results showed that, first, many students demonstrated inaccurate understanding about the brain and high level of certainty toward their false beliefs about the brain. Among the neuromyth items, the VAK learning style myth showed the highest rate of incorrect answers (i.e., 91.3%). Second, students reported they acquired brain knowledge mainly from TV and the internet, books, and the people around them. Inaccurate knowledge about the brain was also obtained mainly from TV and the internet, books, and the surrounding people. Third, the level of brain knowledge did not predict students’ growth mindset, but the level of neuromyths significantly predicted students’ effort beliefs. Our findings suggest that students should acquire their brain knowledge via credible learning pathways so that they can obtain accurate knowledge about the brain.

Effects of an inquiry-focused school improvement program on the development of pupils’ attitudes towards curiosity, their implicit ability and effort beliefs, and goal orientations

The present study describes the effects of a 2-year inquiry-focused school improvement intervention on pupils’ attitudes towards epistemic curiosity, their implicit beliefs about the malleability of their ability, their effort beliefs, and their goal orientation motivations were investigated. Six Dutch primary school teams participated in the study. Quantitative data were collected from the 4th, 5th and 6th grade pupils and examined based on a longitudinal pretest–posttest control group design. A Structural Equation Modeling approach was first used to examine the relationships among pupils’ attitude, belief, and motivation scores. In line with attitude and motivation theory, pupils’ attitudes towards epistemic curiosity and their implicit ability beliefs positively related to their effort beliefs and goal orientation motivations. In addition, the intervention affected positive changes in pupils’ attitude, belief and motivation scores over time. Findings may inform the further development of school development projects aimed at stimulating pupils’ inquiry in primary education, namely by fostering pupils’ attitudes towards epistemic curiosity and their implicit ability beliefs.

Same mindset, different goals and motivational frameworks: Profiles of mindset-based meaning systems

Growth and fixed mindsets have been linked to distinct effort beliefs, goals, and behaviours, creating a seemingly dichotomous pattern of motivation. Yet, students holding the same mindset are unlikely a homogenous group and may further differ in their motivational patterns. The current study employed a person-centred approach to investigate how mindsets and associated constructs naturally cohered and functioned together to influence student achievement. Data were collected from 535 English students (aged 14–16 years) on mindsets, effort beliefs, achievement goals, perseverance, and self-handicapping, along with their English and maths performance at the end of secondary school. Latent profile analyses revealed four distinct profiles. Across the profiles, students’ mindset co-varied with effort beliefs, mastery goals, perseverance, and self-handicapping, but the relationship between mindsets and performance goals was less straightforward. Two profiles supported the classic growth mindset–mastery goal (Growth-Focused) and fixed mindset–performance goal pairings (Ability-Focused). The other two profiles, however, displayed alternative combinations of mindsets and goals that had not been acknowledged in the past. Specifically, some growth mindset students embraced performance goals alongside mastery goals (Growth-Competitive), and some fixed mindset students did not endorse performance goals (Disengaged). The two growth-oriented profiles consistently performed well, and Growth-Competitive students even outperformed Growth-Focused students in maths. Compared to girls, boys were more often found in Ability-Focused and Disengaged profiles. The results indicate a nuanced set of relations between mindsets and achievement goals, highlighting the dynamic integration of motivational beliefs and goals within individuals.

A review of affective chemistry education research and its implications for future research

In the past twenty years there has been a surge of research on chemistry students’ attitudes, self-efficacy, self-concept, expectations, values, interest, motivation, effort beliefs and achievement emotions. This research has sought to understand how students feel when learning chemistry and how this may be influencing how they perform. However the wealth of this research has yet to be reviewed as a whole to identify its major themes and findings. This article reports on a review of 91 affective chemistry education research studies published since the year 2000. A focus of this review is to survey the methodological approaches used throughout research. The main finding of this review is that quantitative research regimes overwhelmingly dominant the landscape of affective chemistry education research. Of the studies reviewed, 85% (n = 77) are quantitative, 10% (n = 9) are mixed-methods while just 5% (n = 5) are qualitative research studies. Five overarching themes of affective chemistry education research are revealed. These themes manifest as the purposes behind these research studies which include; (i) to measure and compare affective states across various student demographics and contexts (32%, n = 29), (ii) to assess the influence of a learning intervention on student affect (30%, n = 28), (iii) to correlate measured affective states to performance in exams (24%, n = 22), (iv) to develop and validate scales for chemistry education research (10%, n = 9) and (v) to quantitatively model affective theoretical frameworks (3%, n = 3). The dominance of quantitative research regimes to investigate student affect may be challenged given the highly subjective and unstable nature of measured affective states. The findings of this review offer a series of implications for affective chemistry education which will be later discussed with a view to indicating potential directions for future affective chemistry education research.