Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Motivation And Online Information Literacy Instruction: A Self-Determination Theory Approach, Francesca Marineo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Information literacy skills, including critical thinking and problem-solving skills, are imperative for academic, personal, and professional success. Unfortunately, many students graduate only to be more daunted than ever by the vast amount of information available to them and increasingly rely on convenience over quality in their information-seeking behaviors. This study hoped to address this by increasing students’ motivation for engaging in an online information literacy module. Using self-determination theory (SDT) from the field of motivation, motivationally-supportive modules were designed to support students’ feelings of autonomy and competence and ultimately grades on their final research assignment. Experimental conditions included providing relevance, …

Relationships Between Goal-Setting, Motivational Traits, And Job Performance, Charissa Samaniego

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

Ensuring employees are and remain motivated is an important issue for organizations. One problem regarding employee motivation is not everyone is motivated in the same way, thus affecting performance. Goal setting has shown to increase performance when specific and difficult goals are set. Moreover, newer research concerning motivational traits has sought to explain individual differences in motivation. This trait framework shows potential, but research on the relationship between job performance, goal-setting and motivational traits has not been clearly established. The goals of this correlational study were to (1) determine if a relationship exists between motivational traits and job performance, (2) …

Vocal Expression Of Emotions In Mammals: Mechanisms Of Production And Evidence, Elodie Briefer

Elodie Briefer, PhD

Emotions play a crucial role in an animal’s life because they facilitate responses to external or internal events of significance for the organism. In social species, one of the main functions of emotional expression is to regulate social interactions. There has recently been a surge of interest in animal emotions in several disciplines, ranging from neuroscience to evolutionary zoology. Because measurements of subjective emotional experiences are not possible in animals, researchers use neurophysiological, behavioural and cognitive indicators. However, good indicators, particularly of positive emotions, are still lacking. Vocalizations are linked to the inner state of the caller. The emotional state …

Motivated To Learn: Motivational Differences In High School And University-Level Foreign Language Classroom Experiences, Roy Williams Iv

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Student motivation in the context of foreign language learning is a complex topic that influences many areas of language study. Dornyei’s L2 Motivational Self Model and the concept of future self guides give some insight into the underlying motivational orientations when used to analyze self-reported survey data regarding language learning and its perceived benefits (Dornyei & Ushioda, 2009, p. 456). This analysis brings to light some of the major differences between these two contexts, challenges the idea that they are identical or equivalent in learning outcomes, and suggests some practical application to the foreign language classroom at Western Kentucky University.

Life Events Which Motivate Youth To Become Climate Activists In Sydney And Canberra, Phoebe Dolan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Climate activism is the tool of young people to rise and fight for their future and the future of the planet. Today it is necessary that young people engage as climate activists. My research asks what life events motivate youth to become climate activists. I looked into the initial life events which spark the motivation of young people to understand their initial motives for joining the climate movement. I looked into where the motivation came from, a concern for nature, a concern for social justice or the interconnectedness of the two. I also looked into the life events of individuals …

Patient Motivational Language As A Predictor Of Symptom Change, Hazard Of Clinically Significant Response, And Time To Response In Psychotherapy For Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Brien J. Goodwin

Masters Theses

Change-talk (CT), or self-arguments for change, has been associated with favorable patient outcomes, while counter change-talk (CCT), or self-arguments against change, has been associated with poorer outcomes. Most studies on change language have focused on the prediction of distal posttreatment outcomes, while the prediction of more proximal outcomes has remained largely untested. Addressing this gap, we examined early treatment CT and CCT as predictors of worry change trajectories, “hazard” of clinically significant response, and time to response (i.e., outcome efficiency) in CBT and CBT integrated with MI (MI-CBT) for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). We also explored whether treatment type moderated …

Motivations For Pursuing A Career In Law Enforcement: An Analysis Of A Local Law Enforcement Agency, Mark W. Thomas

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Current law enforcement agencies are facing increasing pressure to hire more female and minority applicants. In addition to this, many agencies may be struggling to hire sufficient numbers of qualified candidates in general. This has created a need for understanding the individual factors that may motivate specific types of individuals towards a career in law enforcement. The current study assesses these motivations in a sample of currently employed law enforcement officers, current students enrolled in criminal justice programs, and undergraduate students unaffiliated with a law enforcement career. These motivations are then examined by demographic categories to explore the correlation between …

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 …

Online Mmorpg Games In China: Player Motivations And The Mediating Role Of Flow, Jiaxin Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) are gaining popularity and are being used widely in China. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between the motivation and the experience of MMORPG players, and the effects of playing MMORPG through an extensive online survey of more than 300 Chinese participants (n = 305). Specifically, the findings support the complex relationship between variables, including the direct effects on motivation and flow, on the time the players invest in MMORPG games, and the mediated effects on motivations through flow. In addition to the importance of direct and indirect effects on …

Darling, Get Closer To Me: Spatial Proximity Amplifies Interpersonal Liking, Ji Eun Shin, Eunkook Suh, Norman P. Li, Kangyong Eo, Sang Chul Chong, Ming-Hong Tsai

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Does close distance increase liking for a social object? In a preliminary sociogram task, an association between proximity and intimacy was found in drawings of self and others. In three experimental studies, male participants consistently preferred female targets who were (actually or appeared to be) close than far from them. Distance was manipulated through various means—sitting distance (Study 2), presenting two facial images separately to each eye by a stereoscopic device (Study 3), or a video clip (Study 4). This effect was stronger among those with deprived social needs and occurred in part because close (vs. far) targets seemed psychologically …

Designing A Collaborative Cross-Campus Drop-In Workshop Series To Motivate Lifelong Learners, Tim Miller, Sarah Fay Philips

Tim Miller

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 …

Student Participation In School Sponsored Extra-Curricular Activities At The Elementary School Level And The Impact Of Student Engagement, Kirsten D. Myers

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Getting students involved in their day to day educational processes is often challenging and, in some schools, systems appear almost unrealistic. Students in school do not often see the value of or make the connection with the importance of education. Students see movie stars such as Jennifer Lawrence drop out of school at fourteen, singers, rappers and others in the entertainment industry who are successful and make millions without an education. The potential of a YouTube posting, turning someone into a star looms in their imaginations and they think it could happen to them. Students today are even more enticed …

Learned Helplessness In Industrial-Organizational Psychology: Relationships With Locus Of Control, Self-Efficacy, And Feedback-Seeking Behavior, Nicholas Kovacs

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have suggested that self-efficacy and feedback-seeking behavior (FSB) are effective in enhancing performance. To improve performance in the workplace, research should focus on how psychologists can enhance these constructs in employees. Though locus of control (LOC) relates to self-efficacy and increased FSB, research has revealed issues in LOC (e.g., failure to predict performance, range restriction, failure to predict behaviors). The current study examined the effects of perceived “lack of control”, learned helplessness, over LOC on both self-efficacy and FSB in two different samples: a student sample (N = 321) and a work sample (N = 794). Learned helplessness accounted …

The Effect Of Early Childhood Abuse On Educational Attainment, Onzie Luke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to fill a gap in the literature regarding survivors of child abuse and their capacity to continue their educational pursuits beyond high school. Thus, this study explored the lived experience of self-identified abuse survivors who were enrolled in higher education. The theoretical bases for this study included Bandura'€™s social cognitive theory, Rotter'€™s theory of locus of control and Heider'€™s and Weiner'€™s theory of attribution. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 15 survivors of child abuse enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at an online or brick and mortar university. The interviews were then …

A Phenomenological Study Of High-Performance Teachers' Happiness At School And Home, Sarah Abuaqel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This research study is focused on understanding the phenomenology of happiness of High Performing Teachers (HPT) working in an elementary school located in a Midwest City. The purpose of the study was to understand positive and negative emotions of HPT, through their experiences at work and home. Qualitative methodology through in-depth interviews was employed for this study. Tomkins' affect theory of happiness (ATH), was used to assess and explore positive and negative emotions of participants of the study. In this study a purposeful sample of 11 participants that work in elementary school located in a Midwest City, participated in in-depth, …

A Comparison Of Motivational Differences Among Older Marathon Runners And Their Injury Status, Marsha Renee Kaufman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the high occurrence of running-related injuries, master level runners, those aged 40 years and older, account for 50% of all marathon finishers. What is not known is the common motive sustaining participation, especially among this age demographic. The self-determination theory was the theoretical framework to support how behavior is regulated by the individual. The purpose of this quantitative research was to identify a difference in the motives (psychological, physical, social, and achievement) and their subcategorical motives (health orientation, weight concern, affiliation, recognition, psychological coping, life meaning, self-esteem, competition, and personal goals) via the Motivations of Marathoners Scales by master …

Leadership, Empowerment, And Motivation: An Analysis Of Modern Management, Patrick J. Myers

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of management in organizations and, specifically, look at the overlap between management and leadership with a particular focus on empowerment. With considerations of previous literature, current examples, and a case study interview, this literature seeks to solidify the importance of leadership by managers in the workplace. Furthermore, it seeks to highlight the role of empowerment, presented by the leader and experienced by followers, in creating a thriving workplace built on culture and trust. Lastly, the literature aims to better understand the motivations of the modern employee to provide potential areas …

Understanding The Role Of Motivation In Professional Athletes, Michelle Gacio Harrolle, Melissa Klay

Journal of Applied Sport Management

Our study examines the overall motivation of professional athletes in an effort to assist sport organizations in understanding their most important asset, the players. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the experiences and motivations of professional athletes within a team setting. Researchers conducted individual semi-structured interviews with 13 professional American football players. Seven themes were present within the data including a love of the game, selfmotivation, sense of community, professional development, engagement with fans, assist the league, and lack of financial support, which was identified as a deterrent to motivation. Teams should increase investment in the professional …

Valuation Of Ex-Offender Motivation For Participation In A Restorative Justice Praxis, Kenneth Lang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Restorative justice (RJ) is an emerging concept of justice in the American penal system that seeks equality for all stakeholders involved. While RJ is vastly under researched--especially concerning RJ and violent offenses--current studies have only focused on determining victims' motivations for participating in RJ. Determining and evaluating offender motivations for participating in RJ remains unexplored. The purpose of this study was to explore the possible motivations of criminal offenders and their willingness to participate in RJ. The social construction framework and the narrative policy framework were employed to understand the social context. A mixed-method approach was used that began with …

Gaming, Workplace, Self-Esteem, Counterproductive Work Behaviors, Sarah Marie Dyson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although there is ample information on the negative aspects of video game playing, we know less about the benefits and how the benefits transfer to the gamers’ workplace. Further understanding of these relationships may offer employees and employers more insight on how they can reduce counterproductive workplace behaviors (CWB) while also improving workplace morale and productivity. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study is to examine the relationships between time spent engaging in gameplay, workplace self-esteem, and positive and negative workplace behaviors among gamers. Participants anonymously completed an online questionnaire utilizing the Behind the Screen Measure, Counterproductive Workplace Behavior Checklist, …

Increasing Daily Exercise Adherence In Women By Examining Motivational Factors, Victoria Wozniak

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Women ages 20–39 years old have seen the most dramatic increase in obesity levels in the United States over the last 2 decades. Researchers have indicated the need for studies to increase motivation in women to promote daily exercise. There is a gap in the literature about what motivational factors are most effective with increasing exercise in daily life. Using the transtheoretical model of change (TM) as the grounding theory, this study measured daily exercise adherence. A selective sampling of women ages 20–39 years old in the United States were recruited to complete an online survey. The online survey included …

Do Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Symptoms Improve With School-Based Adhd Interventions? Outcomes And Predictors Of Change., Zoe Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is a construct that includes symptoms of slowness, mental confusion, excessive daydreaming, low motivation, and drowsiness/sleepiness. SCT is often co-morbid with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and SCT symptoms are associated with significant academic and interpersonal impairment above and beyond the influence of ADHD symptoms. Despite the overlap between ADHD and SCT and associated impairments, no studies have evaluated how evidence-based psychosocial interventions for adolescents with ADHD impact symptoms of SCT. This study examined whether SCT symptoms improved in a sample of 274 young adolescents with ADHD who received either an organizational skills or a homework completion intervention. …

Motivation In Minority Populations: Perceived Locus Of Control And The Effect Of Ethnic Matching, Matthew R. Agosto

Senior Projects Spring 2019

The aim of this study is to measure the differences in perception of the locus of control of a target individual in two motivational scenarios and discover the effect of ethnic/non-ethnic matching conditions. Two different motivational strategies were used to assess the role of ethnic matching in perceiving other people as well as identifying with them. Rotter’s Internal External locus of control scale (I-E scale) is utilized in a novel way. Subjects were asked not to report their own control beliefs, but rather, the beliefs they perceive the target individual to hold true. The following study measures participants’ perceived locus …

Leadership And Culture Effects On Corporate Retention Of Black Millennials, Ashley Rhae Grishby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to determine if transformational leadership, motivation, organizational culture, and person-€organization (P-€O) fit predict retention of Black millennials compared to White millennials. This study also determined if transformational leadership mediated the relationship between motivation and retention, if motivation mediated the relationship between P-€O fit and retention, and if P-€O fit mediated the relationship between culture and retention. With the millennial population making up approximately 50% of the workforce by 2020, it is important for organizations to determine which factors are affecting their retention. To predict employee retention, each variable was measured with 5 reliable online …

Where There's A Will, There's A Way: Implementing Motivational Strategies To Combat Decision Fatigue, David Huang

CMC Senior Theses

Recent research suggests we have a limited supply of willpower, termed the “ego”, which becomes depleted by undergoing cognitively demanding tasks. Any acts of volition, including decision-making, self-control, and taking responsibility, reduce this supply of “ego” (Baumeister, 1998), which impedes our ability to further perform these tasks. Decision fatigue, a specific form of ego depletion, is prevalent everywhere from judicial court cases (Danzinger, Levav, & Avnaim-Pesso, 2010) to our daily lives. There is now significant mainstream media exposure and literature on decision fatigue and the activities to which it applies. However, it remains contested how to best handle its negative …

A Qualitative Study Exploring Motivation And Engagement Among Millennial Volunteers In Nonprofit Organizations, Joanne Quinones

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation focused on capturing the lived experiences of Millennials and explore their motivation and engagement for volunteering in a nonprofit organization. This study illustrates the importance of civic and social engagement in our society. The Millennials have been labeled as “Genme or the me generation” (Twenge, Campbell, Hoffman, & Lance, 2010, p. 1117; Twenge, 2006, p. 1), as they have been criticized for focusing on their own self-interest. While millennials have been considered as being technologically savvy, since they grew up with the internet. The millennials, have a social interest in offering support to a cause versus an …

Impact Of Self-Determined Motivation On Work Behavior And Response To Cognitive Remediation In Individuals With Schizophrenia, Desmond Spann

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Research has implicated motivational deficits as having a severe impact on functional outcomes and quality of life for individuals with schizophrenia. There has been a call for investigation on how these motivational deficits impact different aspects of the therapeutic process for these individuals. A popular model of motivation used in recent investigation with schizophrenia has been Self-Determination Theory. This theory tries to describe why individuals undertake specific goals and behaviors, with the focus being the content of goal-directed outcomes and the regulatory processes with which outcomes are pursued. The goal of this investigation is to examine the impact of self-determined …

Teaching Motivation That Works: Structuring Graduate-Level Research Support Workshops To Foster Centered, Focused Self-Sufficient Learners, Wendy C. Doucette

ETSU Faculty Works

All too frequently, instruction librarians’ only opportunity to teach students distills down to the fifty-minute, one-shot, make-or-break experience. We disseminate the essential information as requested—how to use the library, how to search the databases, and so on—with little time to explain why all the pieces fit together and why they are important. Worse, well-intentioned librarians often strive to cover as much as possible in these sessions, oversaturating and frustrating their student audience.

Even in settings of brief duration with no follow-up, another approach is possible. Rather than attempting to demonstrate everything at once, we can interject effective, real-life motivational tactics …

Analysis Of Factors Influencing College Choice Decisions Of Mid-Major Ncaa Division I Swimmers, Kaden Huntrods

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Student-athletes face an ever-increasing challenge of selecting a higher education institution that meets their desired criteria academically and athletically. Coaches and recruiters have sought to discover how to best recruit student-athletes over the history of college athletics. Understanding these factors can assist coaches and athletes to create athletic programs to best fit the desired student-athletes. This study examined the factors that influence the college selection process of mid-major NCAA Division I, male and female swimmers. The instrument utilized in this study was the Student Athlete College Choice Profile Survey (SACCPS). The participants included 141 student-athletes from seven mid-major NCAA Division …