Thesis (M.S.)--Villanova University, 2007. / Psychology Dept. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references (ℓ. 61-68)

Motivation is important for learners. As the provision of education moves increasingly towards online delivery, keeping motivation high is a key challenge. The lack of personalized approaches traditionally delivered by human tutors increases drop out rates. This thesis investigates how a conversational agent, taking the role of a virtual tutor, could deliver personalised feedback on performance to learners. It also investigates the most effective emotional support to incorporate in this feedback in order to maintain learner motivation. How learners respond to feedback depends on many factors. We focus on learner personality as our adaptation criterion, in particular Generalized Self Efficacy (GSE) and the Five Factor model (FFM). First, based on the literature, the thesis establishes how the core concepts of motivation, affective state, feedback and personality relate to one another, and discusses other research into learner motivation and feedback. Our main methodology is the User-as-Wizard method where we model how people adapt to personality in the real world when giving feedback to learners. An algorithm is then developed to encapsulate these adaptations, and is then evaluated. To achieve this, we required a way to express different learner personalities in a controlled way. Personality can be described by many models, but one of the most popular and reliably validated is the Five-Factor Model. In this model, the personality of an individual is described by a score for each of the five dimensions or 'traits'. There are numerous self-report questionnaires for these traits, indicated by a measure of agreement with certain adjectives on a scale. To express the traits at polarized levels, we produced and validated ten stories, two for each of the traits, expressing only that trait at high and low level. These stories were based on the adjectives used in the IPIP-NEO questionnaire. We also created two polarized stories for Generalized Self Efficacy. Subsequently, we investigated how people use different slants (or bias) in performance feedback, depending on learner personality. We designed two experiments, in which participants took the role of a teacher. Participants were shown the learner's personality (through the personality story) and a set of test scores on a range of topics. We provided different ways of describing the learner's performance which could result in positive, neutral or negative slants (e.g. “you are slightly below my expectations” on a score of 10% is positive, and “you are substantially below my expectations” is neutral). The type of slant was established by a focus group of experts prior to the experiments. We found some evidence that slanting was used for very low test scores for students with low GSE, and positive slanting for conscientious students who had only just failed a test. Next, we investigated supplementing slant with emotional support. A set of emotional support statements was generated and categorized. A series of five experiments was run where participants gave feedback to students with differing personality traits (using the FFM stories) and test scores. Participants could provide the same performance feedback (with associated slant) from the previous experiments, and could choose to supplement this with the validated emotional support statements. The type of emotional support given did indeed vary between different personalities (e.g. neurotic individuals with poor grades received more emotional reflection), and an algorithm was created to describe these adaptations. Finally, we ran a qualitative study with teachers and students to investigate the algorithm's effectiveness. During the course of the thesis we also developed a methodology for generating, validating and investigating the use of Emotional Support for other domains. This has already been applied in research to persuade older adults to participate in social interactions and to support Community First Responders and carers when experiencing various stressors.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-63). Also available in print.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Current research on sport motivation has focused primarily on goal perspective approaches in an attempt to understand behavior in achievement situations (Ames, 1984; Nicholls, 1984). According to Nicholls' (1984) theory, the achievement goal orientation an individual develops may be influenced by both individual differences and situational factors. Relative to situational factors, the team motivational climate may promote either a task-involved or an ego-involved orientation dependent upon which goal orientation is emphasized by the coach. In addition, Ames (1992a) argued that environmental structures influence the motivational climate which ultimately impact the athlete's achievement orientation. Educational research (Epstein, 1988) has identified specific environmental structures (TARGET structures) as being salient to the development of a mastery climate. Little research has been conducted on athletes' perceptions of their coaches' behavior, in regard to specific environmental structures, and how this may ultimately influence athletes' achievement goal orientation. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among TARGET structures, team motivational climate, and achievement goal orientation. The subjects consisted of 186 high school softball players and 171 high school baseball players, ranging in age from 14 to 18 years. The TEOSQ, PMCSQ, and TARGET questionnaires were administered to subjects at the beginning of a sport practice. LISREL8, a structural equation modeling program, was the statistical analysis employed. Results indicated that a positive linear relationship existed, linking task and reward/evaluation components of the TARGET structures to mastery climate to task orientation. These two structures may be the most salient structures within a sport setting. This finding suggests there is a positive association between coaches' promotion and employment of task-involved goals in their practices and athletes' perception of a mastery-oriented team motivational climate. Direct relationships linking three TARGET structures to performance climate to ego orientation were also reported. Grouping and authority components of the TARGET structures were found to have a significant inverse relationship with performance climate, while task structure and performance climate were positively related. Additionally, the results confirmed that there was a significant positive relationship between mastery climate and task orientation and between performance climate and ego orientation. / Graduation date: 1995

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 124-135).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2007. / "Graduate Program in Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-103).

Thesis (Ph.D)--Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. / Committee Chair: Jack Feldman; Committee Member: Lawrence R. James; Committee Member: Nathan Bennett; Committee Member: Richard Catrambone; Committee Member: Susan E. Embretson. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.