Yurou Wang , Yadan Zhao , Jihong Zhang , Kaiwen Man , Junfei Lu
{"title":"Fostering autonomous motivation in first-year college students: A self-determination theory-based online intervention","authors":"Yurou Wang , Yadan Zhao , Jihong Zhang , Kaiwen Man , Junfei Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102118","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102118","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Achievement motivation plays a crucial role in shaping college students’ academic success and future prospects. This study developed and evaluated a self-determination theory (SDT)-based online intervention designed to enhance first-year college students’ optimal types of achievement motivation (i.e., autonomous motivation). The research was conducted in two phases: a pilot study (Study 1) to test the initial intervention and a full-scale randomized controlled trial (Study 2) to assess its effectiveness. In Study 1, 128 students participated in the intervention, and feedback from students and educators was used to refine the program. Study 2 implemented the improved intervention with 125 first-year college students in an experimental group, while 199 students served as a control group. We examined whether the intervention increased students’ identified regulation, integrated regulation, and intrinsic motivation. Path analysis and ANOVA revealed significant increases in all three types of autonomous motivation for students in the experimental group compared to the control group. Although academic performance (final exam scores) was also measured, no significant differences were found between the groups. Additionally, qualitative responses indicated greater self-awareness of motivation, improved future planning, and reduced anxiety among students who received the intervention. These findings suggest that SDT-based interventions can effectively foster autonomous motivation and provide a framework for designing future motivational interventions in higher education.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47305,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Motivation","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102118"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143620635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The impact of pretraining on autoshaping and operant acquisition in rats is significant but transient","authors":"Nathaniel C. Rice, Todd M. Myers","doi":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102112","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102112","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pretraining refers to events or conditions explicitly arranged prior to the learner (e.g., student, employee) experiencing specific instruction within the learning environment (i.e., training). Such pretraining can occur inside or outside of the specific learning environment, but by definition must precede the onset of training. Pretraining can modify the rate and quality of early learning and the final performance levels attained. Within experimental psychology, laboratories often include pretraining to hasten acquisition, but few empirical studies support this practice. Therefore, in the present study, four distinct levels of pretraining were examined by randomly assigning 284 naïve rats into groups: no training, chamber acclimation, pellets only, or magazine training. By manipulating experience with the chamber, food pellets, and stimuli associated with pellet delivery, direct assessments were made of pretraining on autoshaped lever press acquisition and incremental progress through a fixed order of common (ratio and interval) schedules of reinforcement. Pretraining affected acquisition, and the several measures of learning corroborated the presumed benefits of magazine training. Notably, simple pre-exposure to the chamber (both with pellets and without pellets in the magazine) also promoted acquisition compared to the no-training group. Nevertheless, despite clear benefits upon acquisition in early sessions, comparable levels of performance developed as training progressed, with the exception of higher lever-pressing rates from the magazine-training group compared to the pellets-only and chamber-acclimation groups. Magazine training hastened operant acquisition, but the overall benefit was somewhat diminutive and short-lived, and the practical value of these pretraining procedures on subsequent operant performance appears limited.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47305,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Motivation","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102112"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143592589","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Efficacy of an expectancy-based training in mitigating the effect of explicit gender stereotype activation on motor learning in children","authors":"Seyyed Mohammadreza Mousavi , Hamid Salehi , Takehiro Iwatsuki","doi":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102119","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102119","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study was designed to explore whether increasing learners’ expectancies through delivering relatively easy criteria for success could mitigate the negative effect of explicitly activating gender stereotypes on motor learning. Fifty-four female participants (<em>M</em><sub>age</sub>: 9.42 years, <em>SD</em> = 0.49) were recruited from an elementary school through convenience sampling. During the first stage (day 1), all participants completed three low-kick trials of a soccer skill that served as the pre-test. Based on their pre-test scores, children were then randomly allocated to one of three groups: stereotype threat with enhanced expectancies (ST/EE), stereotype threat (ST), and nullified stereotype threat (NST). Prior to the practice stage, participants in the ST/EE and ST groups received explicit instructions emphasizing the natural superiority of boys/men in soccer. During the practice stage, participants in the ST/EE group were given relatively easy success criteria. In the second stage (day 2), participants completed the retention phase as part of the learning assessment. The results revealed that, after controlling for the pre-test kicking scores, the NST and ST/EE groups exhibited similar levels of motor learning (<em>p</em> = 0.76). However, both the ST/EE group (<em>p</em> = 0.046) and the NST group (<em>p</em> = 0.007) outperformed the ST group. These findings suggest that enhancing children’s expectancies can effectively counteract the adverse effects of gender-stereotypical threats on motor learning, providing valuable insights for educational interventions and practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47305,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Motivation","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102119"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143534182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"EFL students’ perceptions about the role of generative artificial intelligence (GAI)-mediated instruction in their emotional engagement and goal orientation: A motivational climate theory (MCT) perspective in focus","authors":"Ali Derakhshan","doi":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102114","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102114","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Research on the contributions of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) technologies to second language (L2) education has soared in the past couple of years. However, there is limited evidence pertaining to the impact of AI-mediated instruction on postgraduate students’ psycho-affective factors and the overall learning climate in English as a foreign language (EFL) context. To address this gap, the present study drew on motivational climate theory (MCT) to explore postgraduate EFL students’ perceptions of the role of GAI technologies in their emotional engagement and goal orientation. To do so, an interview was conducted with 30 postgraduate students using maximum variation sampling. The results of the inductive thematic analysis revealed that AI-mediated instruction had affected both the emotional engagement and goal orientation of the students. In particular, it was found that GAI tools fostered emotional engagement by ‘enlightening teacher-student classroom relationships’, ‘making the overall classroom culture/climate engaging, motivating, and updated’, ‘improving teachers’ action, instruction, and feedback quality’, ‘providing a personalized, interactive, and autonomy supporting education’, and ‘taping into learner-specific idiosyncrasies and individual differences’. Furthermore, GAI tools affected the students’ goal orientation by ‘facilitating the mastery of course content’, ‘setting personalized and achievable goals’, ‘fostering students’ performance comparison in the classroom’, and ‘providing a reflective and adaptive learning environment’. The findings are discussed and implications are provided for EFL teachers, students, teacher educators, and policymakers concerning the interplay of GAI, emotions, goal orientation, and motivational climate.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47305,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Motivation","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102114"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143510560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does digital task-based instruction make a difference in EFL university students’ motivation in Saudi Arabia? An Active theory perspective","authors":"Anwar Hammad Al-Rashidi","doi":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102115","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102115","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Drawing on Activity Theory, which emphasizes the role of tools and goal-directed actions in shaping learning processes, this study investigates the potential of digital task-based instruction (DTBI) to enhance motivation among English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in Saudi Arabia. Despite the growing recognition of DTBI as a means to promote active engagement and communicative competence, there is a notable lack of empirical research on its impact on EFL learners’ motivation, particularly in the Saudi Arabian context. This gap is significant given the unique cultural, educational, and technological landscape of Saudi Arabia, where traditional teaching methods often dominate EFL instruction. To address this gap, the study employed a true experimental design involving 50 EFL university students in Saudi Arabia, who were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 25) and a control group (n = 25). The experimental group engaged in digital task-based learning activities, while the control group received traditional instruction. Data were collected through pre-tests, post-tests, and delayed post-tests to assess changes in motivation. The results of a one-way ANCOVA revealed that the experimental group demonstrated significantly greater gains in motivation, with sustained improvements evident in the delayed post-test scores. These findings highlight the efficacy of DTBI in fostering motivation and communicative skills among EFL learners, underscoring the need for its integration into EFL curricula to promote sustained learner engagement and motivation. The study contributes to the growing body of research on technology-enhanced language learning and provides valuable insights for educators and policymakers in under-researched contexts like Saudi Arabia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47305,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Motivation","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102115"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143512173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploring the motivational dynamics of chinese learners on tandem and hellotalk: A self-determination theory perspective","authors":"Liang Yin , Jalil Fathi","doi":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102113","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102113","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the increasing popularity of online language exchange platforms, understanding the motivational dynamics that drive learners' engagement and persistence in these informal learning environments is crucial. This study explores how the satisfaction of basic psychological needs—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—impacts the motivation of Chinese learners of English participating in online language exchange platforms, specifically Tandem and HelloTalk. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the research employed a quantitative design involving 120 Chinese learners of English. Participants completed measures assessing motivation, psychological needs satisfaction, and engagement with the platforms. Data analysis, including descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, multiple regression, and moderation analysis, revealed that autonomy and competence were the strongest predictors of intrinsic motivation, while relatedness had a more significant impact on extrinsic motivation. Amotivation was negatively correlated with autonomy and competence, highlighting the importance of satisfying these needs to prevent disengagement. Additionally, platform usage frequency moderated the relationship between autonomy and intrinsic motivation, amplifying its effects with increased usage. These findings underscore the critical role of basic psychological needs in shaping motivation in informal, peer-to-peer language learning contexts. The study suggests that online language exchange platforms can be optimized by incorporating features that support learners' needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, such as personalized learning paths, opportunities for social interaction, and effective feedback mechanisms. These findings offer valuable insights for educators and platform designers seeking to enhance learner motivation and promote successful language learning experiences in online environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47305,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Motivation","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102113"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143488993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Roberto Jiménez-Castillo, Charbel Aguilar-Espinosa, Javier Vila
{"title":"Prediction error generated by extinction attenuates overshadowing in humans","authors":"Roberto Jiménez-Castillo, Charbel Aguilar-Espinosa, Javier Vila","doi":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102111","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102111","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Prediction error is a discrepancy between expected and actual outcomes in each situation (Torrents-Rodas et al., 2021). Experiencing extinction causes a rise in prediction error, which produces attention to the context, and thus context dependency. Behavioral measures of attention, such as responses to specific elements of a compound stimulus (Reynolds, 1961), have been previously proposed and can add another measure of the effect of extinction on attention and an insight into how attention changes when extinction occurs. The present experiment aimed to study the effects of prediction error produced by extinction on overshadowing through behavioral measures. Forty-eight participants were randomly assigned to four groups (n = 16) and trained to respond to Sample Stimulus (SS): Y, in a matching to sample task during a first phase. In the second phase, two groups experienced the extinction of SS: Y, while the other groups did not. All groups were trained to emit R1 responses to either compound SS: AX or SS: X during this phase. The test phase presented elements A and X separated. Results showed overshadowing when the extinction of SS: Y was not experienced, where the percentage of R1 responses was greater for A than X. However, when the extinction of SS: Y was experienced, both elements received similar responses showing an overshadowing attenuation. These results suggest that extinction produces an attentional change to X. This effect appears to be related to a rise in prediction error during extinction, which produces changes in attention.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47305,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Motivation","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102111"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143463384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jianling Xie , Kit W. Cho , Tianlan Wei , Jianzhong Xu , Min Fan
{"title":"The effects of academic emotions on learning outcomes: A three-level meta-analysis of research conducted between 2000 and 2024","authors":"Jianling Xie , Kit W. Cho , Tianlan Wei , Jianzhong Xu , Min Fan","doi":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102109","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102109","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Over the past two decades, extensive research has been undertaken to examine students’ emotional experiences. The purpose of this meta-analysis study was to analyze the results in this area to approximate an accurate measure of the relationship between academic emotions (positive and negative) and learning outcomes (performance and motivation). A total of 120 studies were included in our analyses. The results indicate a significant relationship between positive emotions and performance (<em>k</em> = 76, N = 43,551, <em>r</em> = .24 [95 % CI:.20,.27]) and a significant effect of negative emotions (<em>k</em> = 78, N = 44,029, <em>r</em> = -.25 [95 % CI: −.28, −.21]). Regarding the effect of emotions on motivation, there were 58 effect sizes (N = 35,373) that assessed participants’ motivation and positive affect, which revealed a positive effect (<em>r</em> = .46 [95 % CI:.42,.51]) and 62 effect sizes (N = 37,571) that assessed participants’ motivation and negative affect, which revealed a negative effect, (<em>r</em> = <em>-.</em>28 [95 % CI: −.32, −.23]). This indicates the underlying mechanisms of how negative emotions affect motivation may be more complex than positive emotions. Culture and performance measurement moderated the effect of emotions on performance. Possibly due to the high-stakes testing environments in school, both positive and negative emotions had the strongest effect on Asian students’ performance. The effect of negative emotions was most robust when considering course grade, followed by GPA and then standardized test. It could be that emotions are short-lived and different assessment formats capture different attributes of students.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47305,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Motivation","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102109"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143419035","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Unboxing autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and oral skills among EFL learners: Insights into gamification through the lens of broaden-and-build theory","authors":"Jiao Song , Ru Wang , Xinyuan Wu , Zhiyu Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102110","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102110","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The growing interest in gamification as a pedagogical tool has highlighted its potential to enhance engagement and general language proficiency. However, limited research has specifically investigated its effects on autonomous and controlled motivation, as well as its role in fostering oral skills in EFL contexts. Addressing these gaps, this study draws on the Broaden-and-build Theory to examine the impact of gamification on autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and oral skills among Chinese EFL learners. Utilizing a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design, the study involved an experimental group (EG, n = 253) that participated in gamified learning activities and a control group (CG, n = 261) that followed traditional instructional methods. Data were analyzed using independent samples t-tests to compare the groups' performance before and after the intervention. The results revealed that the EG exhibited significantly higher levels of autonomous motivation and oral skill proficiency compared to the CG. Additionally, controlled motivation levels increased among learners in the gamified setting. These findings underscore the potential of gamification to not only promote autonomy but also enhance oral language development in EFL learners. The implications of the study suggest that integrating gamification into language instruction can create more engaging and effective learning experiences, offering valuable insights for educators and curriculum designers aiming to optimize EFL teaching practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47305,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Motivation","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102110"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143419034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Which academic motivations predict scheduling styles: Academic goal pursuit situations in Japanese high school students","authors":"Masato Nagamine , Li Tang , Shuhei Miwa , Ryo Kainuma , Miki Toyama","doi":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102102","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102102","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Scheduling styles include the clock-time style, which is based on time, and the event-time style, which is based on progress. Prior research suggested that the role of scheduling style in academic goal pursuit would be important. This study used two surveys to examine the motivations that predict scheduling styles in pursuing academic goals. For Part 1, a cross-sectional survey explored academic goal-pursuit among high school students. Part 2 involved a short-term longitudinal survey to examine the predictive relationships among scheduling style, academic motivation, and basic psychological need satisfaction in the academic domain. We found that the identified regulation predicted event-time style, that event-time style predicted the autonomy need satisfaction. Finally, we deliberated on the potential significance of event-time orientation in academic goal pursuit.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47305,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Motivation","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102102"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143377035","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}