Human beings can be proactive and engaged or, alternatively, passive and alienated, largely as a function of the social conditions in which they develop and function. Accordingly, research guided by self-determination theo~ has focused on the social-contextual conditions that facilitate versus forestall the natural processes of self-motivation and healthy psychological development. Specifically, factors have been examined that enhance versus undermine intrinsic motivation, self-regulation, and well-being. The findings have led to the postulate of three innate psychological needs--competence, autonomy, and relatednesswhich when satisfied yield enhanced self-motivation and mental health and when thwarted lead to diminished motivation and well-being. Also considered is the significance of these psychological needs and processes within domains such as health care, education, work, sport, religion, and psychotherapy. T he fullest representations of humanity show people to be curious, vital, and self-motivated. At their best, they are agentic and inspired, striving to learn; extend themselves; master new skills; and apply their talents responsibly. That most people show considerable effort, agency, and commitment in their lives appears, in fact, to be more normative than exceptional, suggesting some very positive and persistent features of human nature. Yet, it is also clear that the human spirit can be diminished or crushed and that individuals sometimes reject growth and responsibility. Regardless of social strata or cultural origin, examples of both children and adults who are apathetic, alienated, and irresponsible are abundant. Such non-optimal human functioning can be observed not only in our psychological clinics but also among the millions who, for hours a day, sit passively before their televisions, stare blankly from the back of their classrooms, or wait listlessly for the weekend as they go about their jobs. The persistent, proactive, and positive tendencies of human nature are clearly not invariantly apparent. The fact that human nature, phenotypically expressed, can be either active or passive, constructive or indolent, suggests more than mere dispositional differences and is a function of more than just biological endowments. It also bespeaks a wide range of reactions to social environments that is worthy of our most intense scientific investigation. Specifically, social contexts catalyze both within- and between-person differences in motivation and personal growth, resulting in people being more self-motivated, energized, and integrated in some situations, domains, and cultures than in others. Research on the conditions that foster versus undermine positive human potentials has both theoretical import and practical significance because it can contribute not only to formal knowledge of the causes of human behavior but also to the design of social environments that optimize people's development, performance, and well-being. Research guided by self-determination theory (SDT) has had an ongoing concern with precisely these

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Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being.

▪ Abstract This chapter reviews the recent research on motivation, beliefs, values, and goals, focusing on developmental and educational psychology. The authors divide the chapter into four major sections: theories focused on expectancies for success (self-efficacy theory and control theory), theories focused on task value (theories focused on intrinsic motivation, self-determination, flow, interest, and goals), theories that integrate expectancies and values (attribution theory, the expectancy-value models of Eccles et al., Feather, and Heckhausen, and self-worth theory), and theories integrating motivation and cognition (social cognitive theories of self-regulation and motivation, the work by Winne & Marx, Borkowski et al., Pintrich et al., and theories of motivation and volition). The authors end the chapter with a discussion of how to integrate theories of self-regulation and expectancy-value models of motivation and suggest new directions for future research.

Motivational beliefs, values, and goals.

Publisher Summary
Current research on goal orientation and self-regulated learning suggests a general framework for examining learning and motivation in academic contexts. Moreover, there are some important generalizations that are emerging from this research. It seems clear that an approach-mastery goal orientation is generally adaptive for cognition, motivation, learning, and performance. The roles of the other goal orientations need to be explored more carefully in empirical research, but the general framework of mastery and performance goals seems to provide a useful way to conceptualize the academic achievement goals that students may adopt in classroom settings and their role in facilitating or constraining self-regulated learning. There is much theoretical and empirical work to be done, but the current models and frameworks are productive and should lead to research on classroom learning that is both theoretically grounded and pedagogically useful.

The role of goal orientation in self-regulated learning.

The education and research communities are abuzz with new (or at least re-discovered) ideas about the nature of cognition and learning. Terms like \"situated cognition,\" \"distributed cognition,\" and \"communities of practice\" fill the air. Recent dialogue in Educational Researcher (Anderson, Reder, & Simon, 1996,1997; Greeno, 1997) typifies this discussion. Some have argued that the shifts in world view that these discussions represent are even more fundamental than the now-historical shift from behaviorist to cognitive views of learning (Shuell, 1986). These new ideas about the nature of knowledge, thinking, and learning—which are becoming known as the \"situative perspective\" (Greeno, 1997; Greeno, Collins, & Resnick, 1996)—are interacting with, and sometimes fueling, current reform movements in education. Most discussions of these ideas and their implications for educational practice have been cast primarily in terms of students. Scholars and policymakers have considered, for example, how to help students develop deep understandings of subject matter, situate students' learning in meaningful contexts, and create learning communities in which teachers and students engage in rich discourse about important ideas (e.g., National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1989; National Education Goals Panel, 1991; National Research Council, 1993).

What Do New Views of Knowledge and Thinking Have to Say About Research on Teacher Learning

Two studies explored the role of implicit theories of intelligence in adolescents' mathematics achievement. In Study 1 with 373 7th graders, the belief that intelligence is malleable (incremental theory) predicted an upward trajectory in grades over the two years of junior high school, while a belief that intelligence is fixed (entity theory) predicted a flat trajectory. A mediational model including learning goals, positive beliefs about effort, and causal attributions and strategies was tested. In Study 2, an intervention teaching an incremental theory to 7th graders (N=48) promoted positive change in classroom motivation, compared with a control group (N=43). Simultaneously, students in the control group displayed a continuing downward trajectory in grades, while this decline was reversed for students in the experimental group.

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Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: a longitudinal study and an intervention

Foreword. Frank Pajares and Tim Urdan. Adolescent Development from an Agentic Perspective. Albert Bandura. Adolescents' Development of Personal Agency: The Role of Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Self-Regulatory Skill. Barry J. Zimmerman and Timothy J. Cleary. Self-Efficacy Development in Adolescence. Dale H. Schunk and Judith L. Meece. The Impact of Perceived Family Efficacy Beliefs on Adolescent Development. Gian Vittorio Caprara, Eugenia Scabini, and Camillo Regalia. Teacher Self-Efficacy and its Influence on the Achievement of Adolescents. Anita Woolfolk Hoy and Heather A. Davis. Self-Efficacy, Adolescents' Risk-Taking Behaviors, and Health. Ralf Schwarzer and Aleksandra Luszczynska. Self-Efficacy and Adolescents in Sport and Physical Activity. Deborah L. Feltz and T. Michelle Magyar. Too Much Confidence? The Self-Efficacy of Adolescents with Learning Disabilities. Robert M. Klassen. Preparing Adolescents to Make Career Decisions: A Social Cognitive Perspective. Steven D. Brown and Robert W. Lent. Developing and Using Parallel Measures of Career Self-Efficacy and Interests with Adolescents. Nancy E. Betz. Culture and Self-Efficacy in Adolescents. Gabriele Oettingen and Kristina M. Zosuls. Factors Influencing Academic Achievement in Relational Cultures: The Role of Self-, Relational, and Collective Efficacy, Uichol Kim and Young-Shin Park. Asking the Right Question: How Confident Are You That You Could Successfully Perform These Tasks? Mimi Bong. Guide for Creating Self-Efficacy Scales. Albert Bandura. Self-Efficacy and Adolescence: Implications for Teachers and Parents. Frank Pajares.

Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents

The Development and Validation of Scales Assessing Students' Achievement Goal Orientations

Classroom effects on student motivation: Goal structures, social relationships, and competence beliefs

The purposes of this study were to examine the predictors and achievement consequences of academic self-handicapping and to explore cultural variations in the pursuit and effects of performance goals and perceived classroom performance goal structures. Data were collected in 2 consecutive academic years from a diverse sample of high school students (N = 675). Performance-avoidance and classroom performance goal structure were positively associated with self-handicapping, whereas performance-approach goals negatively predicted handicapping. Self-handicapping was negatively associated with achievement in English. Cultural differences in the effects of performance goals on achievement and in the effects of classroom performance goal structure on the subsequent adoption of personal performance goals were found. Implications for efforts to alter classroom goal structures are discussed.

Predictors of Academic Self-Handicapping and Achievement: Examining Achievement Goals, Classroom Goal Structures, and Culture.

Some students purposefully use self-handicapping strategies (e.g., procrastinating, fooling around, getting involved in many activities) so that these circumstances, rather than lack of ability, will be seen as the cause if subsequent performance is low. The aim of the present study was to determine whether we could reliably assess fifth-grade students’ reports of their use of self-handicapping strategies and to examine individual- and classroom-level predictors of self-handicapping. Surveys were given to 646 fifth-grade students. The handicapping items formed a single factor with good internal consistency. Handicapping varied significantly across classrooms. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we found that boys used handicapping more than girls did and students’ grade point average and perceived academic competence were negatively related to handicapping. Students’ perceptions of an emphasis on relative ability in the classroom (ability goal structure) as well as teachers’ reported use of instructional ...

Tim Urdan

Papers

Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents

The Development and Validation of Scales Assessing Students' Achievement Goal Orientations

Classroom effects on student motivation: Goal structures, social relationships, and competence beliefs

Predictors of Academic Self-Handicapping and Achievement: Examining Achievement Goals, Classroom Goal Structures, and Culture.

The Role of Classroom Goal Structure in Students’ Use of Self-Handicapping Strategies