Group Differences In Motivation Research Articles

Chinese chemistry motivation questionnaire II: adaptation and validation of the science motivation questionnaire II in high school students

This study aimed to adapt a new version of the Science Motivation Questionnaire II, the Chinese Chemistry Motivation Questionnaire II, for high school students in China, focusing specifically on chemistry. The sample consisted of 1635 students from four high schools, by stratified random sampling. Data was collected online. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the original five-component motivation (intrinsic motivation, career motivation, self-determination, self-efficacy and grade motivation) structure after dropping four problematical items, and the factorial invariance was also confirmed across gender, region of residence, and choice of chemistry. Five components were strongly correlated in the Chinese context. Among the five components, students scored the highest in grade motivation. Generally, students who would continue chemistry scored much higher in all five components than those who would discontinue, with boys scoring slightly higher than girls and urban students scoring slightly higher than rural students. Specifically, for students who would continue chemistry, there were medium gender differences in self-efficacy, small gender differences in intrinsic motivation, career motivation, and self-determination, no significant gender differences in grade motivation, and small regional differences in all five components. For students who would discontinue chemistry, there were no significant differences in all five components across gender and region of residence. The internal structure of the questionnaire, correlations among the five components, and group differences in motivation were discussed. Some implications for researchers and practitioners were presented.

Diversity matters: highlighting the differences in sport consumption motives of marginalized college students

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore the differences in motivation for sport consumption within a diverse sample of college students with underrepresented identities.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 2,833 students at universities in a mid-major Division I FBS athletic conference through a survey. Two MANOVAs were conducted to examine group differences. While the first MANOVA compared a dominant group (White and non-LGBTQ+) to an underrepresented group (non-white race and/or LGBTQ+), the second MANOVA explored differences in five specific marginalized groups (Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, LGBTQ+, intersectional marginalized identities).FindingsThe results indicated that the dominant group scored significantly higher than the combined underrepresented group in four of the eight sport consumption motives examined. However, the comparison of individual underrepresented groups showed significant differences for all eight consumption motives between at least two underrepresented groups.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt to compare group differences in motivation for sport consumption between specific racially marginalized groups, LGBTQ + community members, and intersectional racial and LGBTQ + identities within college athletics.

Fairness and Comparability in Achievement Motivation Items: A Differential Item Functioning Analysis

Achievement motivation is a well-documented predictor of a variety of positive student outcomes. However, given observed group differences in motivation and related outcomes, motivation instruments should be checked for comparable item and scale functioning. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate measurement scale comparability and differential item functioning (DIF) in PISA 2015 achievement motivation items across gender and ethnicity using pairwise and multiple-group comparisons. In addition, DIF was investigated in relation to a common base group that reflected the sample average. Results indicated DIF between gender groups and between the base group and female students. For ethnicity, DIF was consistently flagged in pairwise comparisons with Black/African American students and Asian students as well as in base group comparisons. However, the identified DIF had little practical implications. Implications from these findings are discussed, and recommendations for future research are made.

Which Boys and Which Girls Are Falling Behind? Linking Adolescents\u2019 Gender Role Profiles to Motivation, Engagement, and Achievement

Research on gender gaps in school tends to focus on average gender differences in academic outcomes, such as motivation, engagement, and achievement. The current study moved beyond a binary perspective to unpack the variations within gender. It identified distinct groups of adolescents based on their patterns of conformity to different gender norms and compared group differences in motivation, engagement, and achievement. Data were collected from 597 English students (aged 14–16 years, 49% girls) on their conformity to traditional masculine and feminine norms, growth mindset, perseverance, self-handicapping, and their English and mathematics performance at the end of secondary school. Latent profile analysis identified seven groups of adolescents (resister boys, cool guys, tough guys, relational girls, modern girls, tomboys, wild girls) and revealed the prevalence of each profile. Within-gender variations show that two thirds of the boys were motivated, engaged, and performed well in school. In contrast, half of the girls showed maladaptive patterns of motivation, engagement, and achievement, and could be considered academically at risk. By shifting the focus from “boys versus girls” to “which boys and which girls”, this study reveals the invisibility of well-performing boys and underachieving girls in educational gender gap research.

Enhanced visual attention in university hockey players

Elite athletes exhibit enhanced cognitive abilities related to sport, and athletes' perceptual-cognitive expertise may also transfer to computer-based cognitive tasks in the laboratory (see Voss et al., 2010 for a meta-analysis). The research in this area, however, is notoriously underpowered, often relying upon small sample sizes and producing results that fail to meet statistical significance. One recent study attempted to overcome these limitations by testing a large number of volleyball players on a range of cognitive tasks (Alves et al., 2013), but only small effects were observed, and the tasks employed did not sample the full range of visual-attentional skills. Because athletic training protocols can potentially enhance some aspects of attention but not others (e.g., Appelbaum et al., 2011), we aimed to assess whether superior performance among athletes would be observed when tested on a wider range of perceptual and attention skills. We conducted a comprehensive battery of computer-based visual tasks and compared performance between Cardiff University hockey players and non-athlete student controls. Our measures allowed for a broad assessment of a range of attentional and perceptual skills, including selective attention (flanker compatibility task), sustained dynamic attention (multiple-object tracking task), and spatial distribution of attention (useful field of view task). We found that hockey players demonstrated enhanced performance in measures of selective attention and in identifying transient stimuli at central fixation. Importantly, these perceptual enhancements are apparent after controlling for potential group differences in motivation and strategy. Our results provide novel insight into the potential transferability of athletic training to perceptual skills and have implications for generalised enhancements in cognitive performance.

I Will Use Declarative Self-Talk . . . or Will I? Replication, Extension, and Meta-Analyses

A series of studies was conducted by Senay et al. in 2010 to replicate and extend research indicating that self-posed questions have performance benefits. Studies 1–3 compared the effects of the self-posed interrogative question (“Will I?”) to declarative (“I will”) and control self-talk, and found no significant group differences in motivation, perceived exertion, or performance. In Studies 4–5, interrogative, declarative, and control self-talk primes were compared, and no outcome differences were found. In Study 6, the effects of self-talk on motivation, perceived exertion, and physical performance were assessed. The self-talk groups performed better and were more motivated than the control group, but declarative and interrogative groups did not differ from each other. Finally, meta-analyses of the six studies indicated no significant differences among conditions. These results highlight the value of replication and suggest that factors other than grammatical form of self-posed questions may drive the demonstrated relationships between self-talk and performance.

Perspectives on an interactive satellite‐based Japanese language course

Abstract Learning outcomes for an interactive television‐based distance learning course in introductory high school Japanese were evaluated in three successive years by comparing student achievement in the distance learning course to that in traditional classes. Year‐end achievement tests of listening and written language competency were administered to students in both the distance and face‐to‐face courses. Results in the first two years showed that test scores of students in the distance learning course were higher than those of students in the face‐to‐face classes; however, possible group differences in motivation, general ability, and experience as language learners could not be ruled out as explanations for the difference. Therefore, achievement measures were supplemented in the third year with data on students’ perceived efficacy as Japanese language users, their grades, and their previous foreign language learning experience. The achievement data again showed differences favoring the distance learn...

Performance differences between addicts and non-addicts

Methadone addicts and non-addict controls were tested before and after receiving up to 10 mg of methadone on simple visual reaction time tests and on a vigilance type visual attention test. Addicts were faster than controls on pre-drug testing, although there were no pre-drug differences between groups on the attention task. Addicts maintained faster reaction times than controls even when money was offered as an incentive for speed. Additional methadone did not affect addict performance on any of the tasks. Methadone slowed control reaction times in a dose-related fashion. No significant attention decrements were seen after methadone in controls. Visual reaction time differences between addicts and controls cannot be attributed to group differences in motivation or ability to attend. Slowing of reaction time with acute dose of methadone in controls cannot be attributed to the effect of the drug on attention. An hypothesized drug-induced decrease in visual sensitivity with acute dose in controls and a drug-induced increase in visual sensitivity with chronic dose in addicts can account for the presented data.