Purpose Supportive Messages Convey the Need for Autonomy: An Adolescent Developmental Perspective

• In Event: Facilitating Student and Teacher Outcomes by Supporting Autonomy: Innovations and Implementation in the Field

Abstract

Purpose
Motivating adolescent students to complete tedious but important skill-building assignments is notoriously difficult, as interest and motivation tend to decline during this time. We propose that a purpose for learning rationale (learning for the sake oneself and the world beyond the self) is an effective technique for increasing willingness to complete classwork because it is autonomy-supportive which is a developmentally salient need.

Conceptual Framework
Self-determination theory proposes that fundamental needs of relatedness, competence, and autonomy are integral to healthy psychological development and enhance motivation. By communicating one thinks a student has the potential and ability to make an impact for themselves and the world around them, teachers may implicitly convey a sense of autonomy. Thus, we test if students’ autonomy judgments mediate the relationship between a purpose rationale and motivation. Second, adolescents entering puberty display a surge of gonadal hormones (e.g. Testosterone), which are shown to be related to status-attaining and leadership behaviors. We therefore predict a stronger effect of the purpose-rationale message among high-T adolescents as they may be more sensitive to signs of autonomy support.

Methods
Middle (age 12-13) and high school (age 14-15) students (N=578) were invited to participate in an online survey during class. Students encountered a teacher vignette featuring a math worksheet with either the Purpose Supportive Rationale or one of two controls (a skills-based rationale, and no information rationale) overlain. Students then responded to several items of their autonomy (e.g. “This teacher would listen to my point of view”, 1-7 scale) and motivation to complete the assignment (e.g. “I would try to truly learn from this assignment”, 1-7 scale). On the survey day and day prior, some students (N=260) provided approximately 2 mL of saliva via passive drool which were assayed for Testosterone via LC-MS and averaged across days.

Results
We found a significant effect of the purpose-supportive rationale compared to the combined control groups for both autonomy (b=.683 (.083), p<.000) and motivation (b=.494 (.112), p<.000) (figure 1). Autonomy fully mediated the rationale’s effect on motivation (bIndirect=.398 (.057), p<.000; bDirect=.092 (.103), p=.326).

The interaction between T levels and the purpose-supportive rationale was marginally significant for autonomy (brationale x testosterone = .274 (.143), p=.056) and non-significant for motivation (brationale x testosterone = -.159 (.171), p=.352). At higher levels of basal T (ROS cutoff for T z-scored: -0.97), the effect of the purpose supportive rationale is greater for autonomy (Figure 2), but no different for motivation (figure 3).

Discussion
A purpose supportive rationale for learning seemed to support a sense of autonomy among adolescent students, which in turn increased motivation to complete a tedious math worksheet. This finding indicates a promising new approach for autonomy-supportive messages in the classroom. Such an approach may be even more salient for adolescent groups, who are developmentally more sensitive to autonomy supportive messages. Future work could explore whether higher-T adolescents are more likely to shift their behavior (e.g. homework completion) due to autonomy supportive language. Such an approach may prove a powerful tool in adolescent behavior change.

Authors

• Fortunato Nick Medrano, University of Texas at Austin

• David Yeager, The University of Texas at Austin