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. 2015 Aug 6;10(8):e0134660.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134660. eCollection 2015.

Are Autonomous and Controlled Motivations School-Subjects-Specific?

Julien Chanal  1 , Frédéric Guay  2
Affiliations

Are Autonomous and Controlled Motivations School-Subjects-Specific?

Julien Chanal et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

This research sought to test whether autonomous and controlled motivations are specific to school subjects or more general to the school context. In two cross-sectional studies, 252 elementary school children (43.7% male; mean age = 10.7 years, SD = 1.3 years) and 334 junior high school children (49.7% male, mean age = 14.07 years, SD = 1.01 years) were administered a questionnaire assessing their motivation for various school subjects. Results based on structural equation modeling using the correlated trait-correlated method minus one model (CTCM-1) showed that autonomous and controlled motivations assessed at the school subject level are not equally school-subject-specific. We found larger specificity effects for autonomous (intrinsic and identified) than for controlled (introjected and external) motivation. In both studies, results of factor loadings and the correlations with self-concept and achievement demonstrated that more evidence of specificity was obtained for autonomous regulations than for controlled ones. These findings suggest a new understanding of the hierarchical and multidimensional academic structure of autonomous and controlled motivations and of the mechanisms involved in the development of types of regulations for school subjects.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Vallerand’s (1997) hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Correlated trait-correlated method minus one model for intrinsic motivation.
M1-M3 = items for Mathematics, S1-S3 = items for Science, A1-A3 = items for Academic, W1-W3 = items for Writing, R1-R3 = items for Reading.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Correlated item-specific trait-correlated method minus one model for intrinsic motivation.
M1-M3 = items for Mathematics, S1-S3 = items for Science, A1-A3 = items for Academic, W1-W3 = items for Writing, R1-R3 = items for Reading.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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