The role of motivation and its relationship with desired outcomes has been studied in a variety of contexts as evidenced in the literature. Motivation, its origin, type, and its effect, has been theorized to range from non-existent to the main driving force behind all behavior. Self-determination theory, a more recent motivational theory, posits that motivation is a driving force of behavior; however, the amount of control one has to perform freely a given task determines whether this motivation is internally (autonomously) generated or externally (controlled) generated. The idea of motivation affecting outcomes is clearly evidenced in research geared toward finding the role of motivation on satisfaction of a given job, task, or assignment. This research reviewed studies that focused on motivation and its role on job satisfaction. A theoretical thread was postulated that intrinsic motivation is as good as, if not better in most instances, than extrinsic motivation in determining job satisfaction. Also, job satisfaction leads to greater lengths of tenure in a given job. Both of these statements were affirmed from a review of the literature. However, one question remains: what type of intrinsic motivation factors best correlate to job satisfaction (and its potential effect of improving tenure)? Therefore, the overall objective of this study is to determine whether various forms of intrinsic motivation correlate with an employee’s satisfaction with their job or career. The study was conducted using a survey method that incorporated the participation of 172 participants from two very similar psychiatric hospitals in the southeastern United States. Multiple linear regression was used to determine if any relationship existed between three intrinsic motivation factors (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and job satisfaction. The results of this study suggest that positive relationships do exist between that of autonomy and relatedness intrinsic motivation factors and job satisfaction scores. The combined predictor factors (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) yielded an R2 = .145, indicating that almost 15% of the total job satisfaction scores can be explained by these three variables. Additional, exploratory regression analyses were conducted using experimental statements and selected demographic information. Conclusions and recommendations for future research are also given.

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Our thesis revolves around how intrinsically motivational incentives can be created by using gameplay elements and features instead of creating motivation with extrinsically mediated rewards. We find problems with achievement systems being too focused on rewarding players extrinsically instead of adding to the increase in motivation along with the gameplay experience. Using theories from the psychology field on motivation we created a foundation from which we started to design a game that creates motivation through its features and mechanics. From the feedback we received on our user testing and interviews, all within an iterative design process, we found that users responded more positively to our suggested improvements concerning the high score list feature in particular, followed by general gameplay features like visual feedback.From the summarized data we have collected we have noticed that one of the main features people wanted in games was feedback on what and how they were doing, whether it was an action or where their competition was.

Although the significance of curiosity in motivating and directing learning has received substantial scholarly support, little information exists about curiosity's importance in adult learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate curiosity's possible relevance in an adult learning context, the workplace. Specifically, this study was an examination of adult curiosity's relationship to socialization-related learning, and ultimately job performance. Four curiosity instruments (the Novelty Experiencing Scale; State-Trait Personality Inventory; Melbourne Curiosity Inventory; and the Sensation Seeking Scale), one socialization-related learning questionnaire (Workplace Adaptation Questionnaire), and one job performance instrument (developed to assess technical and interpersonal job performance) were administered in four service-industry organizations. Demographic data were also collected and the final sample included 233 employees. Two-, three-, and four-factor curiosity models were examined to clarify the nature of the curiosity construct. Curiosity factor scores were subsequently used as independent variables in multiple regression equations to assess their research utility. Three a priori determined, recursive path models suggesting a causal influence of curiosity on socialization-related learning and job performance were tested as well. Standardized partial regression coefficients were calculated from a combination of the correlational matrix containing the three main study variables (curiosity, socialization-related learning, and job performance), and their standard deviations, using the EQS for Windows 5.4 routine. Multiple loadings of several of the curiosity subscales on the curiosity factors indicate a conceptual overlap between the Sensation Seeking and Venturesomeness curiosity factors; thus, the nature of curiosity may be best represented by a Cognitive Curiosity and Sensation Seeking factor interpretation. The findings also suggest that the two-factor curiosity model may have had the best research utility for the purposes of this study. The three- and four-factor curiosity solutions did not explain a significant amount of additional variance in the multiple regression models predicting socialization-related learning and job performance. Results suggest, too, that curiosity has both a direct and an indirect causal influence on job performance. This research indicates that curiosity or the desire for information has a weak but significant direct effect on total job performance, and its effect on total job performance can also be mediated by the learning associated with the socialization process. When examining curiosity's effect on the two separate job performance dimensions, i.e., technical and interpersonal, curiosity's only significant effect on both job performance dimensions was mediated through the socialization-related learning variable. Overall, this study's findings suggest support for adult curiosity as being relevant in the socialization process and in job performance as well. / Ph. D.

Research suggests that residential learning communities (RLCs) provide benefits for members of those communities. Although much research has been done on benefits for students in RLCs, there has been little research done on the benefits for faculty and student affairs staff members involved in RLCs. An unexplored dimension in both these areas is a comparison of the intrinsic and extrinsic benefits for faculty and staff members involved in RLCs. The present study was designed to address this gap in the existing literature on RLCs. The purpose of this study was to identify the benefits faculty members and student affairs staff members gain from being involved in RLCs and explore any differences between the two groups. Data were collected by administering the Residential Learning Community Faculty and Staff Benefits Survey to faculty and staff members involved in RLCs at institutions listed in the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International Institutional Database as offering learning communities. Results revealed that faculty and staff members report gaining intrinsic benefits more often that extrinsic benefits from their involvement in residential learning communities. The results also indicated statistically significant difference between faculty members and student affairs staff members on 2 of the 30 benefits examined. Student affairs staff members were more likely to have received opportunities to participate in professional conference presentations than their faculty member counterparts, while faculty members were more likely to have shared research interests with students outside of the classroom than their student affairs staff member counterparts. / Master of Arts

Under studietiden genomgår universitetsstudenter olika erfarenheter och utmaningar som kan vara berikande eller påfrestande, vilket utvecklar deras kunskaper och self-efficacy. Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur antalet lästa terminer kan påverka studenters akademiska self-efficacy, samt att utforska hur stress påverkar studenters akademiska self-efficacy och olika motivationstyper. En enkätstudie genomfördes, där 85 studenter från termin 2 och 80 från termin 8 deltog. Data analyserades med regressionsanalyser och korrelationstester. Resultaten visade att akademisk stress har negativ effekt på akademisk self-efficacy, däremot visade antalet lästa terminer ingen effekt. Dessutom hade akademisk stress en positiv effekt på yttre motivation och a-motivation men ingen effekt på inre motivation. Slutsatsen är att akademisk stress har en påverkan på studenter men ytterligare forskning behövs för att kunna undersöka hur akademisk self-efficacy kan utvecklas och påverkas hos alla studenter på lång sikt, då detta anses vara en viktig faktor som kan främja motivation och minska stress hos studenter.

This dissertation presents the findings of a qualitative study on understanding the motivating factors underlying repeat attendance in market research studies and the ways in which repeat attendance participants are recruited to take part in such studies. The study was approached from an interpretivist paradigm, employing the self-determination theory and the theory of self-concept maintenance. Purposive sampling was applied. The data was collected by conducting eight semi-structured interviews with participants who had taken part in numerous market research studies. Through thematic analysis, sub themes were identified from the data, combined into second-level themes and grouped into the following three overarching themes: (1) participation motivation; (2) honesty/dishonesty; and (3) recruitment procedures. It was found that participants were not only motivated by extrinsic motivators such as incentives, but that intrinsic motivators were also present. Furthermore, a level of dishonesty was also evident, not only among the participants, but among the recruiters as well. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology with specialisation in Research Consultation)