Psychology Commons^™

Examining The Structure And Outcomes Of Work Motivation Profiles: A Mindset-Based Approach, Leonid V. Beletski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Self-determination theory (SDT) distinguishes between both quality and quantity of motivation. Motivation within SDT has been treated both as a unidimensional (autonomy continuum) and multidimensional (motivation types) construct. Recently, Meyer et al. (2022) suggested that drawing a distinction between reasons for exerting effort and the mindset experienced while exerting effort may help reconcile the two approaches. Using profile analyses, Meyer and colleagues demonstrated that reasons for engaging in an activity combine in ways that are not unambiguously interpretable from an SDT standpoint. In the present study (N = 500), we replicate the results of Meyer et al. using reason-based motivation …

Exploring Effectiveness Of Implementation Of The Mindup Program Through Implementor Perspectives, Maria Jelic

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Developing feasible universal school-based programs that help children develop social and emotional competencies is crucial for the development of improved mental health in children, especially those who have been exposed to trauma. Educators need to be motivated to implement such programs with high quality so that intended outcomes are more likely to occur, but a variety of both internal and external factors can affect implementation. The present study explores these factors by inviting the perceptions of implementers and support staff who were involved in an SEL program called MindUP. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight participants, the interviews were transcribed …

Interactive Media And Problem-Solving Skills, Tiffany M. Atkinson

Brescia Psychology Undergraduate Honours Theses

This study investigated whether undergraduate students who have high video gaming experience would have increased problem-solving abilities compared to those who have moderate or low to no gaming experience. The sample consisted of twenty-two undergraduate students at Brescia University College. Participants completed one online questionnaire which consisted of three problem-solving tasks, a Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI), a Motivation for Gaming Questionnaire (MOGQ), and gaming information questionnaire. The problem-solving tasks included numbers-based math problems, language-based anagram problems, and logic-based riddle problems. The results from a 3x3 ANOVA test found no statistically significant effect of video game experience on problem-solving skills. Though, there …

Using The Health Action Process Approach (Hapa) To Understand And Change Sedentary Behaviour In Office Workers: Effects On Motivation, Behaviour, And Health Outcomes, Andrew Scott Rollo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Sedentary behaviour (SB) is positively associated with all-cause mortality, as well as numerous chronic diseases, including fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer, and metabolic syndrome. Interventions targeting reductions in sedentary time among office workers who are an at-risk population for high levels of SB are needed. The main objective of this dissertation was to contribute to the body of knowledge surrounding theory-based behavioural interventions targeting SB among office working adults. First, a systematic review of the literature (study 1, chapter 2) was conducted that highlighted important cognitive and motivational factors associated with SB, which …

Descriptive And Prescriptive Belief In A Just World, Joel Armstrong

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Justice Motive has traditionally been conceptualized as a homeostatic, prevention-focused motivation, but attempts to measure individual differences in the Justice Motive (i.e., the Belief in a Just World) have not treated it as one. The measurement of a motivation requires accounting for both the current state and the goal state, but traditional measurement techniques have relied solely on beliefs about how just the world currently is (i.e., the current state). This has resulted in two major issues in the literature. First is the assumption that everyone who reports believing in a just world has reached that belief because of …

Examining The Relationship Between Intrinsic Drivers Of Motivation And Functional Outcomes In A Cross-Section Of Individuals With Psychotic Disorders, Sahana Kukan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Impaired functioning is recognized as a major barrier to recovery among individuals with psychotic disorders. Research on the role of negative symptomatology on functioning has identified avolition (i.e. lack of motivation) as being highly correlated with functional outcomes. However, current measures of avolition fail to consider more intrinsic factors that influence motivation. There is a need for more nuanced research on the drivers of motivation and their relationship with functioning to inform the observed relationship between avolition and impaired functioning. This cross-sectional study uses data obtained from the Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Psychoses, in London, Ontario. 105 clients …

A Touchscreen Motivation Assessment Evaluated In Huntington's Disease Patients And R6/1 Model Mice, Christopher J. Heath, Claire O'Callaghan, Sarah L. Mason, Benjamin U. Phillips, Lisa M. Saksida, Trevor W. Robbins, Roger A. Barker, Timothy J. Bussey, Barbara J. Sahakian

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Copyright © 2019 Heath, O'Callaghan, Mason, Phillips, Saksida, Robbins, Barker, Bussey and Sahakian. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Apathy is pervasive across many neuropsychiatric disorders but is poorly characterized mechanistically, so targeted therapeutic interventions remain elusive. A key …

Validation And Optimisation Of A Touchscreen Progressive Ratio Test Of Motivation In Male Rats, Jonathan M. Hailwood, Christopher J. Heath, Trevor W. Robbins, Lisa M. Saksida, Timothy J. Bussey

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

© 2018, The Author(s). Rationale: Across species, effort-related motivation can be assessed by testing behaviour under a progressive ratio (PR) schedule of reinforcement. However, to date, PR tasks for rodents have been available using traditional operant response systems only. Objectives: Touchscreen operant response systems allow the assessment of behaviour in laboratory rodents, using tasks that share high face validity with the computerised assessments used in humans. Here, we sought to optimise a rat touchscreen variant of PR and validate it by assessing the effects of a number of manipulations known to affect PR performance in non-touchscreen paradigms. Methods: Separate groups …

Examining Eudaimonic Well-Being In Sport, Despina Kouali

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The general purpose of this dissertation was to examine eudaimonic well-being in sport. This dissertation was divided into three studies. Study 1 was designed to develop a sport-specific eudaimonic well-being measurement tool (EWBSS; Eudaimonic Well-Being in Sport Scale) and included three phases. During Phase 1, 19 items were created by two investigators and five of these items were selected by five experts to represent eudaimonic well-being in sport. Phase 2 assessed the factorial validity and reliability of the EWBSS on a large sample (N = 400) with competitive level athletes from various individual and team sports with results demonstrating …

The Effects Of Fantasy Role-Play On Bravery, Motivation, And Physiological Fear Responses While Playing Horror Video Games, Paul A. Giulietti

Undergraduate Honours Theses

A prior study found that role-playing exercises might have the capacity to reduce people’s fear (Giulietti, 2017). The present experiment was designed to replicate, improve upon, and extend the results of the prior study. Participants were randomly assigned to role-play either as a brave and powerful wizard or an ordinary accountant before playing the computer horror game, Slender: The Eight Pages. While participants played, they imagined themselves as their respective role-play character, were observed for their bravery and motivation to complete the game’s objective, and had their skin conductance measured. No significant differences were found between conditions and the prior …

Snapchat And Its Relationship To Alcohol Consumption And Associated Behaviours, Kellie S. Thomas

Undergraduate Honours Theses

The current study examined the relationship between Snapchat use, alcohol consumption and associated behaviours and motivations. The participants in the study were 200 undergraduate students enrolled at Western University. Participants in the control condition watched a video made up of 11 Snapchats where subjects were consuming water, the experimental condition was identical except subjects were consuming alcoholic beverages. Regression analyses indicated that relationship management motivation (RMM) and self-enhancement motivation (SEM) were the most significant predictors across condition and gender. Implications are discussed.

Improving Workplace Commitment To Change: A Test Of Impact Reflection And Motivation On Perceived Commitment Constructs, Trenton J. Macduff

Undergraduate Honours Theses

Commitment to change in the constantly evolving world of work presents compelling obstacles for both employers and employees (Meyer, Allen, & Topolnytsky, 1998). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of impact reflection (i.e., focus on employer vs. employee) and extrinsic motivation (i.e., approach vs. avoidance motivation) on employed and working participants’ commitment to change scores and other commitment constructs, such as work-life balance and job satisfaction. In an online survey, participants were asked to consider a potential policy change that their employer might adopt (i.e., formalizing the use of social networking sites to recruit and screen …

The Effects Of Religiosity On Near And Distant Possible Selves And Goals, Erin Sveinbjornson

Brescia Psychology Undergraduate Honours Theses

The effects of religiosity on goals and decision-making remain poorly understood. Essentially, motivation guides one’s goals, and therefore, it is necessary to understand what motivates people. This study looks to investigate further, the role of religiosity as a motivational factor in determining goals and decision-making processes. A survey was used to gather data on 51 female undergraduate students from Brescia University College. Students were enrolled in a first year introduction to psychology class and participated by completing a package of focused scales and questionnaires regarding religiosity, ideology, goals and decision-making. Data was gathered and analyzed using a series of linear …

Motivation And Well-Being: A Test Of Self-Determination Theory Using A Person-Centered Approach, Chelsea A. Vaters

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Self-determination theory postulates that individuals can experience motivation in different ways and that these different types of motivation fall along a continuum from controlled to autonomous regulation. Recently, there have been challenges to the notion that an individual’s motivation can be categorized as falling at a particular point along the autonomy continuum. Researchers have begun to investigate the possibility that individuals can experience different types of motivation simultaneously. The current study used a person-centered approach to study motivation and also examined how the profiles detected related to well-being outcomes and adaptive student behaviours. Latent profile analyses of data from two …

Effects Of Caffeine In Operant Learning And Locomotor Activity, Daniel Kharlas

2015 Undergraduate Awards

Caffeine is widely considered to be a reinforcer in humans, but this effect is difficult to measure in non-human animals. This study extended the understanding of the effects of caffeine on reinforcement and locomotor activity by testing rat animal models. A group of 24 adult male Long Evans rats was split into three groups, caffeine (15mg/kg), Scopolamine (spatial learning inhibitor) or a NaCl control. Each drug was administered 15 min prior to behavioural testing. The rats were given one habituation session to familiarize with eating the reinforcing agent, one baseline session before testing and on test day were monitored for …

Motivation And The 40-Hour Community Involvement Program: Their Relationship To Identity Status In First Year University Students, Michael A. Mcdonald

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the relationship between motivation and identity status in first year university students through examining their participation in the Ontario secondary school community involvement program. This document consists of three separate, but related studies: a scoping review, a mixed-methods research study, and a document review.

Methods: The scoping review was completed using the methodology outlined by Arskey and O’Malley (2005). The Mixed-methods research was conducted using an embedded mixed methods approach. The quantitative aspect was approached from a cross-sectional, descriptive design, with the qualitative component being addressed from a phenomenological perspective. The …

Examining The Relationships Between Imagery, Sport Motivation, And Athletic Identity In Curling, Nicole Westlund

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Imagery use, motivation, and athletic identity all have been investigated in sport; however, a study examining the relationships among these three constructs has yet to be conducted. The participants (N = 213) were club and competitive curlers (M_age = 49.0; SD = 15.39). Results showed that athletic identity was significantly correlated with all five imagery functions and six behavioural regulations (p < .01) except for external regulation and amotivation. Multiple regression analyses predicting imagery use from both the behavioural regulations and athletic identity were conducted for each imagery function in club and competitive curlers. Athletic identity, identified regulation, and integrated regulation emerged as significant predictors of imagery use (p < .05). These findings suggest that there is a link between imagery use, motivation, and athletic identity. Researchers and sport psychologists can use these findings to develop more effective psychological skills training programs to improve the performance of curlers.

On The One Hand And On The Other: The Effect Of Embodying Balance And Uncertainty Orientation On The Confirmation Bias, Jeffrey Rotman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The moderating effects of embodied cognition and uncertainty orientation were examined in relation to the confirmation bias. Specifically, the alternate movement of both hands palms up, which often accompanies the expression “on the one hand, and on the other” relating to the weighing of an argument, was manipulated. Uncertainty orientation distinguishes between people who are uncertainty-oriented (UOs), that confront uncertainty with the intention of resolving it; and people who are oriented toward certainty (COs), in that they attempt to maintain certainty, by creating a predictable environment. Significant interactions were found between uncertainty orientation and the embodiment manipulations for selective exposure, …

Impact Of Goal Compatibility On Self-Care Adherence Among Patients With Congestive Heart Failure, Karen M. Zhang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Increasing adherence to self-care behaviours can optimize the health of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). This study examined whether considering the compatibility of self-care to valued life goals can improve the prediction of self-care adherence, above and beyond knowledge and self-efficacy. Forty CHF patients (22.5% female; mean age = 66.22) identified their goals though a card-sort and rated the compatibility of self-care regimens to these priorities. Aspects of CHF knowledge, self-efficacy and adherence to self-care were also assessed. Results indicated that participants valued CHF management, but its importance did not correlate with adherence. General and applied knowledge was associated …

Motivation In Goal Orientation And Motivational Climate In Elite Wheelchair Tennis Players, Laurence M. Zalmanowitz

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research explored motivation in relation to goal orientation and motivational climate among elite wheelchair tennis players in Canada who were asked to recall their experiences from early development to the highest levels of competition. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three Canadian wheelchair tennis players via Skype. Each represented Canada in international competition during their career. An ethnographic collective case study method was followed. All interviews were transcribed and analyzed by the researcher. Four themes emerged from the data, including involvement, process, impact/support of others and measures of success. Results were compared with existing research. Similarities and differences were discussed. …

Perceived Parental Attachment And Achievement Motivation, Mena Bal, Imants Barušs

Psychology

A significant amount of research in attachment theory has been devoted to factors affecting academic achievement, but less attention has been given to the role of attachment in the relation between academic achievement and achievement motivation. The current preliminary study examined the role of perceived parental attachment in achievement motivation. Self-report data obtained from the Parental Attachment Questionnaire, Achievement Goals Questionnaire, and the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory were collected from 50 university students with a mean age of 18.8 yr. Correlation and regression analyses indicated that parental facilitation of independence correlated significantly and negatively with fear of failure. Results yielded …

Adding A Motivational Interviewing Pretreatment To Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial., Henny A Westra, Hal Arkowitz, David J A Dozois

Psychology Publications

Seventy-six individuals with a principal diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) were randomly assigned to receive either an MI pretreatment or no pretreatment (NPT), prior to receiving CBT. Significant group differences favoring the MI-CBT group were observed on the hallmark GAD symptom of worry and on therapist-rated homework compliance, which mediated the impact of treatment group on worry reduction. Adding MI pretreatment to CBT was specifically and substantively beneficial for individuals with high worry severity at baseline. There was evidence of relapse at 6-month follow-up for high severity individuals who received MI-CBT, but significant moderator effects favoring the high severity …

Triple Dissociation Of Anterior Cingulate, Posterior Cingulate, And Medial Frontal Cortices On Visual Discrimination Tasks Using A Touchscreen Testing Procedure For The Rat., T J Bussey, J L Muir, B J Everitt, T W Robbins

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Four experiments examined effects of quinolinic acid-induced lesions of the anterior cingulate, posterior cingulate, and medial frontal cortices on tests of visual discrimination learning, using a new "touchscreen" testing method for rats. Anterior cingulate cortex lesions impaired acquisition of an 8-pair concurrent discrimination task, whereas posterior cingulate cortex lesions facilitated learning but selectively impaired the late stages of acquisition of a visuospatial conditional discrimination. Medial frontal cortex lesions selectively impaired reversal learning when stimuli were difficult to discriminate; lesions of anterior and posterior cingulate cortex had no effect. These results suggest roles for the anterior cingulate, posterior cingulate, and medial …