published_or_final_version / abstract / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Both causal attributions and self-efficacy have been theorized as mediating performance on achievement tasks. However, few studies have explored the relationship between these constructs or in what way they may be affected by peer modeling. The purpose of this study was to explore developmental differences between two grade levels in the effect of modeling on persistence, self-efficacy judgments, and choice of attributions for predicted and actual outcomes on a figure-matching puzzle, and the relationship between self-efficacy and causal attributions. Seventy-three eighth graders and 73 third graders were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions or to a control condition. Four videotapes for each grade level, showing a male peer modeling either high or low persistence and success or failure on a figure-matching puzzle, constituted the experimental conditions. Subjects' attributions for various outcomes in achievement settings were recorded one week prior to the experimental session and at its conclusion, on the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility scale. Attributions for predicted and actual outcomes on a figure-matching puzzle were also recorded. Students' persistence on the nearly-impossible puzzle was measured by time in seconds, while an efficacy scale assessed their belief regarding their ability to solve the puzzle at three times during the experimental session. Significant differences were found between the grade levels for self-efficacy ratings, with third graders reporting greater efficacy beliefs than eighth graders. A significant change in self-efficacy ratings was also found, but it was not possible to determine which aspect of the experimental session was responsible for the change. Distribution of the attributions was severely skewed on both sets of attribution measures, in favor of an internal stable cause (effort), precluding meaningful analyses of the relationship between self-efficacy and attributions. It was also found that attributions changed significantly over time and the experimental experience as measured by the questionnaires. No significant effect of modeling on persistence time was found. The research findings were discussed in terms of the research methodology used, the psychometric properties of the instruments, and implications for the theoretical models.

It is commonly assumed that the more an object facilitates attainment of important goals, the more it is liked. Dissonance theory yields an opposite prediction. A two process conception of the relation between reward and attitude which reconciles these views is presented. A V-curve relation between reward magnitude and liking for activity instrumental to reward attainment is hypothesized. At the point where the relative number of dissonant cognitions is psychologically insignificant or zero, a direct satisfaction process supplants the dissonance process. The slope of the reward-attitude curve shifts from negative to positive at this transition point. In an experiment designed to test this hypothesis students were offered 2, 4, or 3 experimental credit points for committing themselves to three hours of work at a highly repetitious task. Experimental credit points contribute to students' final course grades and are therefore highly valued by subjects. The instructions were varied such that both the task and the subject’s part in the experiment were placed in either a neutral or a negative light (Neutral or Negative Instructions conditions). Regardless of the Instructions used, 8 Credit groups expressed greater liking for the activity and more pleasure with participating than 4 Credit groups. Contrary to expectation. Affect scores for 2 Credit Neutral subjects were similar to those of 4 Credit Neutral subjects and significantly lower than those of 8 Credit Neutral subjects. Several possible explanations of the lack of difference between 2 and 4 Credit Neutral groups are discussed. It is suggested that the reward-attitude function is U-shaped rather than V-shaped and that these two groups both He in a relatively flat region of the curve in which dissonance and direct satisfaction effects operate simultaneously to increase attitudinal positivity. Though Negative Instructions (administered to one 4 Credit and one 8 Credit group) were expected to produce an inverse relation between reward and liking, they simply resulted in a uniform drop in Affect Scale scores. The Instructions variable had no impact on Desired Frequency of Rest Period, a less direct index of attitude. For the reward manipulation an opposite trend occurred. Varying the number of credit points had a relatively stronger effect on Desired Frequency of Rest scores and a relatively weaker (though still significant) effect on the Affect Scales. This result suggests that the Instructions variable actually failed to alter activity attractiveness. The effects of Negative Instructions on Affect Scale ratings could have been produced either by subjects* tendency to conform to the experimenter's apparent expectations or by the decrease of inter-personal situational restraints against public expression of dislike for the experiment in the experimenter's presence. Neither acceptance nor rejection of the general two-process hypothesis of attitude formation is warranted by these data. Nevertheless, the experiment clearly demonstrates that reward magnitude and attitudes toward activities instrumental in securing the regard are positively related under certain conditions, a finding which suggests an important restriction on the generality of Festinger’s dissonance theory. / This thesis was digitized as part of a project begun in 2014 to increase the number of Duke psychology theses available online. The digitization project was spearheaded by Ciara Healy.

The Nature of Things is a collection of stories and a preface that examine character motivation. The author is concerned with unexpected reactions and surprising outcomes. The stories are independent of each other and involve a wide range of characters.

Incentives are fundamental and often powerful motivators of human behavior. Considerable research has focused on financial rewards as a tool to encourage “good” decisions. This dissertation examines the psychology and efficacy of monetary incentives—compared to multiple nonmonetary incentives—with respect to individuals’ choices, performance, and habits. I document and explore a variety of interrelated effects that cash, relative to noncash, incentives can incur in four major areas of behavior: habit formation, choice (specifically, tradeoffs involving risk and delay), goal setting, and integrity. In three longitudinal field experiments, I devise and empirically test a novel incentive program based on self-reward, where individuals defined and administered their own rewards for reaching a goal. I find that this system outperforms cash on several consequential metrics, including task engagement and longer-term persistence. I further place these behaviors in the context of a greater focus on compensation when incentivized with cash: People become fixated on attaining the reward over the process of expending effort. Although this mentality fuels efficient goal attainment, it can also lead to—as I show using a series of online studies—distortionary effects on other aspects of goal pursuit, such as the tendency to choose easier effort streams and the willingness to forgo a reward’s magnitude for its certainty or immediacy. Combined, these findings suggest that practitioners seeking to motivate their constituents may do well to reconsider the use of cash incentives.

What's the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning, before you even brush your teeth? Most of us reach for our smartphone that spent the night recharging by our side while we tried to do the same. In a leap that would have seemed astonishing just over a decade ago, many of us are now constantly connected to our digital world through our mobile device; we see this play out across many facets of daily life. There are those of us whose first instinct at the start of the day is to grab that little device and see what occurred during our non-waking hours. Perhaps we check the email that's flooded into our inbox overnight. Next we check Facebook, Twitter, or a favorite news app to catch up on the latest global occurrence. It seems that for many, this desire to check is increasingly irresistible. Regulatory Focus Theory (Higgins, 1997) and Regulatory Mode Theory (Kruglanski et al, 2000) suggest that the reasons behind this drive to check and stay connected may differ based upon our motivational tendencies. Our motivational orientation--promotion or prevention, assessment or locomotion impacts our lives in countless ways. We know that the effects of motivational orientation play out across career paths, management styles, parenting, negotiations, animal behavior, health and wellness, romantic relationships and the list goes on. Regulatory focus and mode have not yet, however, been applied to our relatively new obsession with mobile technology, which is a space that is rapidly evolving and shaping much of our physical, social, and emotional world. This research aims to understand two key questions: 1. What motivates the constant checking behavior that has become an inherent part of our daily life? 2. How does our subjective experience with such behavior impact our general well-being? Using a within subjects, longitudinal design of 740 demographically representative Americans, we extracted two separate, yet complimentary stories that encompass objective smartphone checking behavior (captured through native application passive meter technology) and the subjective smartphone experience (assessed via 18 self-report questions surrounding smartphone engagement). Our results suggest that it is in fact our motivational approach to life that fuels our need to stay connected. However, it means something different depending upon what motivations are involved. In addition, the data reveals that our subjective experience surrounding smartphone engagement impacts our general levels of well being.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, June, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-88)

Intrinsic motivation has been shown to contribute to participation and adherence in sport (Biddle & Mutrie, 2001). The importance of social and task cohesion within teams has also been studied in an attempt to create and maintain a bonded group (Loughead & Hardy, 2006). However, these two factors have yet to be looked at in relation to one another, especially when exploring gender as a contributing variable. The purpose of this study was to determine if gender and motivation type are related to perceptions of team cohesion. It was hypothesized that athletes’ who are more internally motivated would view the group as more cohesive. It was also hypothesized that female athletes would perceive high levels of team social cohesion regardless of motivation type where male athletes would perceive higher levels of team social cohesion when they are more intrinsically motivated. In order to answer these questions, 253 male and female collegiate athletes were asked to complete a demographics questionnaire, the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS; Pelletier, Fortier, Vallerand, Tuson, Briere, & Blais, 1995) assessing individual motivation type, as well as the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ; Carron, Widmeyer, & Brawley, 1985) that examined group social and task cohesion issues within sport. The results revealed that there are significant positive correlations between intrinsic motivation types and perceptions of task and social cohesion. However, gender was not a significant predictor of perceived cohesion when moderated with motivation type. These outcomes indicate that promoting intrinsic motivation, despite gender, in sport teams contributes to more positive social and task cohesion in the group. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-149). Also available on the Internet.