Motivation Profiles Among Ph.D. Students and Their Association With Educational Outcomes: A Comparison Across Disciplines

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Human Agency, Identity, and Persistence in Graduate Education

Abstract

Based on self-determination theory, this study investigates motivation profiles of PhD students based on their types of behavioral regulation. This research also examines whether these profiles are similar across natural and human science programs and how they relate to educational outcomes. A total of 1060 PhD students participated in this study (Mage = 31.8 years; 52.1% female). Four distinct profiles emerged from the latent profile analyses: Low self-determination, Introjected, Identified, and High self-determination. These profiles and their associations with the outcomes were similar across fields of study, and were aligned with expectations from self-determination theory. Students corresponding to the High self-determination and Identified profiles reported higher positive outcomes and lower negative outcomes than those corresponding to the remaining profiles.

Authors

• David Litalien, Université Laval

• István Tóth-Király, Concordia University - Montreal

• Alexandre Morin

• Frederic Guay, Université Laval