Are Autonomous and Controlled Motivations School-Subjects-Specific?

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Motivation Science

Background:

• Understanding student motivation is crucial for academic success.
• Previous research has explored general motivation but less about subject-specific differences.
• Autonomous and controlled motivation types influence learning behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if autonomous and controlled motivations are specific to individual school subjects or general to the school context.
• To examine the specificity of different motivation types (intrinsic, identified, introjected, external) across subjects.
• To explore the hierarchical structure of academic motivation.

Main Methods:

• Two cross-sectional studies involving elementary and junior high school students.
• Administration of questionnaires assessing motivation for various school subjects.
• Structural equation modeling using the correlated trait-correlated method minus one (CTCM-1) model.

Main Results:

• Autonomous (intrinsic, identified) and controlled (introjected, external) motivations are not equally specific to school subjects.
• Greater specificity was observed for autonomous motivation compared to controlled motivation across both age groups.
• Factor loadings and correlations with self-concept and achievement supported higher specificity for autonomous regulations.

Conclusions:

• Academic motivation exhibits a multidimensional and hierarchical structure, with autonomous regulations showing greater subject specificity.
• Findings suggest a nuanced understanding of how different types of motivation develop and operate within specific academic domains.
• Implications for educational interventions aimed at fostering subject-specific motivation.