Is Extrinsic Motivation Helpful for High- and Low-Intrinsic-Motivation Students? Comparison Between Western and Confucian Students

• In Event: 63.086 - Sheraton Roundtable 11 - Osgoode Ballroom
  In Roundtable Session: 63.086-3 - Student Motivation and Academic Outcomes

Abstract

The research examined the multiplicative effect between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations on academic performance in a cross cultural situation. Eight representative countries and economies from a large scale database — the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 — was used. Results showed that among the Confucian economies, the positive association between identified (extrinsic) motivation and mathematics performance was stronger with low intrinsic motivation students than with high intrinsic motivation ones, which was shown as the multiplicative effect between intrinsic and identified motivations. Despite the difference, students in both Confucian and Western cultures with high intrinsic and identified motivations had better mathematics performance.

Authors

• Yuan Liu, Southwest University

• Xiaofang WANG, Shenzhen University

• Kit-Tai Hau, Chinese University of Hong Kong