Materialism does not pay: Materialistic students have lower motivation, engagement, and achievement

Unraveling motives: identifying the impact of university attendance motives on learning behaviors among dental students

PURPOSE

Students report various motives for attending university (MAU) grouped under five categories, namely, personal-intellectual development (PER), humanitarian (HUM), careerist-materialist (CAR), expectation-driven (EXP), and uncertain motives. Although the literature demonstrates that these motives exert an influence on learning and achievement, relatively less attention is given to this issue in the context of dental students. This study aimed to examine the relationship among the mindsets, MAU, academic engagement (AE), and DAL of dental students and to test the mediating effect of AE on the relationship between MAU and deep approach to learning (DAL).

METHODS

The study recruited 226 dental students at various levels of the curriculum, who responded to four questionnaires for measuring MAU, DAL, mindsets, and AE. The study employed structural equation modeling to analyze the mediation effects of AE on the relationship between MAU and DAL and to determine the influence of mindsets on MAU.

RESULTS

This model reveals the significant relationships of a growth mindset with CAR, PER, and HUM. Moreover, the study finds that a fixed mindset was associated with CAR, EXP, and uncertain motives. Furthermore, AE only fully mediated the significant positive relationship between PER and DAL, whereas CAR negatively predicted DAL without a mediator.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that administering the inventories in a dental school setting can facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of students' mindsets toward learning and effective processes related to learning. This understanding can inform instructors' pedagogical practices, enabling them to provide more effective guidance to students navigating the complexities of academic coursework.

Motives for Studying and Student Wellbeing: Validation of the Motivational Mindset Model

Research on the joint effect of multiple motives for studying was recently given a push in a new direction with the introduction of the motivational mindset model (MMM). This model contributes to a better understanding of study success and student wellbeing in higher education. The aim of the present study is to validate the newly developed model and the associated mindset classification tool (MCT). To this end, 662 first-year university students were classified in one of the four types of motivational mindset using the classification tool and three exploratory validation procedures were conducted through sense of purpose, study engagement, and students' background characteristics in terms of gender and ethnicity. Both purpose and study engagement are central dimensions of student wellbeing and predictors of study success. The results show that (1) sense of purpose and study engagement differ across the four types of mindset, (2) students in the low-impact mindset show the least optimal pattern of study engagement and sense of purpose, (3) sense of purpose and study engagement are positively related and this relationship is consistent across mindsets, and (4) overall differences in purpose and study engagement between gender and ethnic subgroups stem from one specific type of motivational mindset. The results provide support for the validity of the MMM and the usefulness of the MCT. The implications of the findings are discussed as well as promising avenues for future research.

When and How Job Design Influences Work Motivation: A Self-Determination Theory Approach

Based on self-determination theory and job characteristics theory, this study aims to provide a systematic and comprehensive model simultaneously investigating the relationship between job characteristics and two forms of work motivation (i.e., controlled motivation and autonomous motivation). To examine the proposed model, we recruited employees working in multiple Chinese industries and collected 435 valid questionnaires. The results indicate that job characteristics have a significantly positive effect on basic psychological needs satisfaction, which, in turn, positively affects autonomous motivation and negatively influences controlled motivation. In addition, basic psychological needs satisfaction mediates the linkage between job characteristics and positive or negative work motivation. Moreover, when an employee had high positive affectivity, job characteristics were more likely to fuel their basic psychological needs satisfaction. In contrast, job characteristics were more likely to be the depressor of these needs satisfaction when an employee possesses high negative affectivity. Our findings revealed that the degree of three needs satisfaction at work is a convincing and identifiable psychological mechanism between job characteristics and two types of work motivation. Also, work affectivity may influence the different perceptions of job characteristics, reminding managers that personality traits are a non-negligible factor in job design. Overall, this paper extends the application of the job characteristics model by revealing when and how job characteristics influence two types of work motivation and further puts forward managerial implications.

STUWA: Ein multifaktorielles Inventar zur Erfassung von Studienwahlmotivation

Zusammenfassung. Forschung zu Studienwahlmotivation von Lehramtsaspirantinnen und -aspiranten hat gezeigt, dass verschiedene Motivationen die Studienwahlentscheidung beeinflussen können. Leider mangelt es an reliablen und validen Instrumenten, die verschiedene Facetten von Studienwahlmotivation studienfachübergreifend erfassen. Diese Lücke im testtheoretischen Arsenal der empirischen Bildungsforschung soll durch die Entwicklung eines multifaktoriellen Inventars zur Messung der Studienwahlmotivation (STUWA) geschlossen werden. Das vorgestellte Instrument erfasst fünf in der Selbstbestimmungstheorie der Motivation sowie der Erwartungs-Wert-Theorie fundierte Facetten von Studienwahlmotivation testökonomisch (jeweils drei Items): intrinsische, extrinsisch-materialistische, extrinsisch-soziale, sozial-induzierte und bewältigungsorientierte Studienwahlmotivation. Darüber hinaus ermöglicht es die Erfassung des Ausmaßes, in dem die Studienwahlentscheidung mit Unsicherheit verbunden ist oder alternativenorientiert gegen ein eigentlich aspiriertes Studienfach getroffen wurde. Die Gesamtskala wurde in zwei Studien auf ihre Reliabilität und Validität getestet. In einer ersten Studie ( N = 413 Erstsemesterstudierende) ließ sich mit Hilfe explorativer Faktoranalysen eine sieben-faktorielle Skalenstruktur aufzeigen. Diese Struktur konnte in einer zweiten Studie ( N = 716 Erstsemesterstudierende) durch eine konfirmatorische Faktoranalyse repliziert werden. Die einzelnen Subskalen zeichnen sich durch akzeptable interne Konsistenz aus. Außerdem zeigten sich bedeutsame Zusammenhänge zwischen einzelnen Facetten der Studienwahlmotivation mit motivationalen Zielorientierungen und der Studienzufriedenheit. Insbesondere intrinsische Studienwahlmotivation zeichnete sich wie erwartet durch ein adaptives Assoziationsmuster aus. Das Ausmaß der unsicheren oder alternativenorientierten Studienwahl zeigte hingegen maladaptive Außenkorrelationen. Des Weiteren ließ sich in der zweiten Studie skalare Messinvarianz für Geschlecht sowie zwischen Studienfächern nachweisen, was auf die Eignung des Instruments für Fachvergleiche hinweist. Entsprechende Vergleiche konnten zeigen, dass sich BWL-Studierende in stärkerem Ausmaß als Studierende anderer Fächer durch eine extrinsisch-materialistische Studienwahlmotivation auszeichnen. Lehramtsstudierende gaben hingegen eher extrinsisch-soziale und sozial-induzierte Studienwahlmotivation an. Die aufgeführten Belege für die Validität des Instruments verdeutlichen seine Eignung für den Einsatz zur studienfachübergreifenden Messung von Studienwahlmotivation. Auch wenn weitere Forschung zur Bedeutung der einzelnen Facetten im Längsschnitt noch aussteht, wird erst durch das präsentierte Instrument solche Forschung (über Lehramtsstudiengänge hinaus) überhaupt möglich.

Relationship Between Students' Prior Academic Achievement and Homework Behavioral Engagement: The Mediating/Moderating Role of Learning Motivation

The interest of assigning homework is frequently discussed due to its alleged low impact on student achievement. One of the current lines of research is to emphasize the quality of student homework engagement rather than the amount of time spent on homework. The aim of this study was to determine (a) the extent to which students’ prior achievement affects their homework engagement (i.e., time spent, time management, and amount of teacher-assigned homework done), and (b) how students’ intrinsic motivation toward homework may mediate or moderate the relationship between prior achievement and the homework engagement variables. A large sample of students from the first 4 years of Secondary Education (N = 1899) completed questionnaires. The results showed that intrinsic motivation partially mediates, but does not moderate, the effect of prior achievement on the three variables related to homework engagement (time spent, time management, and amount of teacher-assigned homework done). These results highlight the importance of considering both students’ current level of achievement and their motivation toward homework engagement when assigning homework.

Adolescentes Materialistas Brasileiros Estão Satisfeitos com suas Vidas?

Resumo Em nossa sociedade, os valores materiais têm apresentado grande importância. Estudos apontam que a valorização demasiada dos bens materiais (materialismo) pode influenciar negativamente o desenvolvimento dos indivíduos. Este estudo investiga os níveis de materialismo e sua relação com os níveis de satisfação de vida em adolescentes de escolas públicas e privadas de Porto Alegre. Participaram deste estudo 128 adolescentes, de 11 a 18 anos (M = 13,80; DP = 1,74), sendo 75% do sexo feminino. Utilizaram-se as escalas EVM (Materialismo) e EMSVA (Satisfação de vida adolescência). Os resultados indicam uma correlação inversamente proporcional significativa entre os níveis de materialismo e de satisfação com a família (r = -0,550, p < 0,001) e com a escola (r = -0,436, p < 0,001). De acordo com a literatura, esses adolescentes mostram-se mais suscetíveis ao adoecimento e a prejuízos acadêmicos. Sugere-se que, em futuros estudos, utilizem-se também entrevistas com os participantes.

Associations Between Materialism, Gratitude, and Well-Being in Children of Overseas Filipino Workers

Children left behind by parents who are overseas Filipino workers (OFW) benefit from parental migration because their financial status improves. However, OFW families might emphasize the economic benefits to compensate for their separation, which might lead to materialism among children left behind. Previous research indicates that materialism is associated with lower well-being. The theory is that materialism focuses attention on comparing one’s possessions to others, making one constantly dissatisfied and wanting more. Research also suggests that gratitude mediates this link, with the focus on acquiring more possessions that make one less grateful for current possessions. This study explores the links between materialism, gratitude, and well-being among 129 adolescent children of OFWs. The participants completed measures of materialism, gratitude, and well-being (life satisfaction, self-esteem, positive and negative affect). Results showed that gratitude mediated the negative relationship between materialism and well-being (and its positive relationship with negative affect). Children of OFWs who have strong materialist orientation seek well-being from possessions they do not have and might find it difficult to be grateful of their situation, contributing to lower well-being. The findings provide further evidence for the mediated relationship between materialism and well-being in a population that has not been previously studied in the related literature. The findings also point to two possible targets for psychosocial interventions for families and children of OFWs.