A Self-Determination Theory Approach to Understanding Motivational Profiles: Links to Academic Emotions and Substance Use

• In Event: Person-Centered Research: A Methodological Answer to Motivation Theory's Most Critical Questions

Abstract

Self-determination theory (SDT) conceptualizes motivation as a multidimensional construct, with forms of regulation ranging from externally controlled to fully autonomous. Recent person-centered studies on combinations of these motives indicate that a high ratio of autonomous to controlled motives is most academically adaptive, supporting SDT’s emphasis on motivation quality over quantity (Boiche & Stephan, 2014; Vansteenkiste et al., 2009). The present research expanded this line of inquiry to examine relationships between motivational profiles and adolescents’ emotional well-being and substance use. Because academic functioning is central to the ecology of high school and collegiate life, we hypothesized that academic motives would meaningfully relate to other domains of functioning. Variable-centered research on substance use has supported both qualitative (Wormington et al., 2011) and quantitative (Vaughan et al., 2009) perspectives on motivation. Examining motivational profiles with a broader range of correlates could shed light on the validity of SDT’s emphasis on quality over quantity of motivation.
In Study 1, 270 ninth- and tenth-grade students self reported academic motives, academic emotions, and alcohol use. Cluster analysis identified five motivational profiles: high quantity (high levels of intrinsic, identified, introjected, and external motives), autonomous (high intrinsic/identified relative to introjected/external), controlled (low intrinsic/identified relative to introjected/external), low moderate (below average levels of all motives), low quantity (quite low levels of all motives). Findings for academic emotions largely supported SDT’s qualitative perspective on motivation: the autonomous profile reported the least anxiety and most enjoyment, whereas the controlled profile reported the most anxiety. Patterns of alcohol use, however, supported a quantitative perspective: the low moderate and especially the low quantity group reported far more alcohol use than their peers.

In Study 2, 208 undergraduates self reported academic motives, academic emotions, and marijuana use. Cluster analysis identified five motivational profiles: high quantity-autonomous (high intrinsic/identified, moderate introjected/external), high quantity-controlled (moderate intrinsic/identified, high introjected/external), autonomous (high intrinsic/identified relative to introjected/external), controlled (low intrinsic/identified relative to introjected/external), low quantity (low levels of all motives). Like Study 1, anxiety was lowest in the autonomous profile and highest in the controlled profile. Enjoyment was highest in the autonomous profile and the two high quantity profiles relative to the controlled and low quantity profiles. Moreover (and in contrast to Study 1), a qualitative perspective was supported even for marijuana use: the autonomous profile was least likely to report coping and conformity motives for use, particularly compared to the controlled and high quantity-controlled profiles.

Taken together, these studies support SDT’s central tenet that the quality of motivation is essential. Profiles of controlled motivation reported the most anxiety and the use of marijuana as a means of coping and conforming to peer pressure. The quantity of motivation, however, was also predictive in that high school students with more motivation of any type reported less alcohol use. These findings point to the potential role of context (high school vs college; low vs high normativeness of use) in determining whether or not quantity matters, and – more broadly – the importance of person-centered approaches for identifying optimal combinations of motivation.

Authors

• Teresa Maita-Keppeler, Reed College

• Alison Chavez, Reed College

• Jennifer Henderlong Corpus, Reed College