Continuity of Academic Intrinsic Motivation From Childhood Through Late Adolescence

Journal of Educationa l Psycholog

2001,

Vol.

93,

No.

1,

3-13Copyright 2001 by the America n Psychological Association, Inc .

0022-O663/0(/$5.OO DOI: 10.1037//0022-0663.93.1.3

Continuity of Academic Intrinsic Motivation From Childhood Through

Late Adolescence: A Longitudina l Study

Adele Eskeles Gottfrie d and James S. Flemin g

California State University, NorthridgeAllen W. Gottfrie d

California State University , Fullerton

Two aspects of continuity , stability of individual difference s and means, were examined in a longitudinal

study from the middle elementary through the high school years . Two hypotheses regarding individual-

difference stability were supported with structural equatio n modeling in both the general-verbal an d math

domains: (a) Academic intrinsic motivation is a stabl e construc t throughout these years, and (b) wit h

advancement in age, academic intrinsic motivation becomes increasingly stable. A thir d hypothesis, that

the mean level of academi c intrinsic motivation declines over thes e ages, also was supported, and

significant linear trends were obtained, bu t it was also found to be modified by particular subjec t areas,

with math showing the greatest declin e and social studie s showing no significant change . The combi-

nation of thes e 2 aspect s of continuit y places those with low motivatio n early in their schoolin g

particularly at risk.

The issue of continuity is of centra l importance for understand -

ing development. Continuity, the connectedness of developmen t

over time (Emde & Harmon , 1984; Lerne r et al., 1996), is centra l

for theory building and validation o f theoretical positions, predic-

tion of future development, an d determining the significance of

responses at particular age s (Kagan, 1971). When studying conti-

nuity, stability is ke y for examinin g each of these .

Longitudinal research is essentia l for assessing stability o f in -

dividuals over time and henc e provide s the avenue for determinin g

a construct's links across ages . Further, multivariate techniques

allow for theory testing as well as assessment o f different models.

The purpose of th e present research is t o investigat e the continuity

of academic intrinsic motivation in a longitudina l study from th e

middle elementary through th e high schoo l years. The present

research provides a uniqu e an d first-time examinatio n of the mag-

nitude of continuity of academi c intrinsic motivation over thi s

period. It is interesting tha t despite the proliferation of researc h

Adele Eskeles Gottfried, Department of Educationa l Psycholog y and

Counseling, California State University, Northridge; Jame s S. Fleming,

Department of Psychology, California State University, Northridge ; Allen

W. Gottfried, Department of Psychology , California State University,

Fullerton.

James S. Fleming is now at th e Department of Integrativ e Studies,

Prescott College.

This research was partially supported by faculty research grants from

California State University, Northridge; Californi a State University, Ful-

lerton; the Spencer Foundation ; and the Thrasher Foundation . Our gratitud e

is extended to Kay Bathurst, Jeff Gottfried , Diana Guerin, David Kaplan,

George Marcoulides, William Marelich, Jennifer Steighner , and the fami-

lies participating in the Fullerton Longitudinal Stud y for hel p in various

aspects of thi s study.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Adele

Eskeles Gottfried , Department of Educational Psycholog y an d Counseling,

California State University, Northridge, California 91330. Electronic mail

may be sent t o adele.gottfried@csun.edu.

concerning intrinsic motivatio n and learning, little is know n about

the continuity of academi c intrinsic motivation over this extensiv e

time frame. The significance of this issu e concerns providing a

deeper understanding o f the development o f academic intrinsic

motivation, which may then provide a foundation for educationa l

practice.

Intrinsic motivation concerns the performance of activitie s fo r

their own sake, i n which pleasure is inherent in the activit y itself

(Berlyne, 1965; Deci, 1975; Eccles, Wigfield, & Schiefele , 1998).

Though different researchers ma y conceive of intrinsi c motivation

slightly differently (see Murph y & Alexander , 2000), this defini -

tion provides a share d commonality amongst them. Academic

intrinsic motivation specifically focuses o n schoo l learning (A . E.

Gottfried, 1985, 1990). When the construc t of academic intrinsi c

motivation was first propose d (A. E. Gottfried, 1985), it was base d

on intrinsic motivatio n theory and research (see A. E. Gottfried,

1985),

including pleasure derive d from the learnin g process itself

(Berlyne, 1971) ; curiosity (Berlyne,

1971;

Maw, 1971); the learn -

ing of challengin g and difficult tasks (Lepper , 1983; Pittman,

Boggiano, & Ruble , 1983); persistence and a mastery orientatio n

(Harter, 1981; Lepper, 1983); and a high degree of tas k involve -

ment (Brophy, 1983; Nicholls, 1983). Whereas findings for aca -

demic intrinsic motivation relate specifically to th e schoo l and

educational domain, they also have implications for th e realm o f

intrinsic motivation as a whole , as its conceptua l foundation an d

definition were derive d directly from intrinsic motivatio n theory

and research.

Academic intrinsic motivation concerns enjoymen t of schoo l

learning characterized b y a master y orientation; curiosity; persis-

tence; task endogeny ; and the learnin g of challenging , difficult,

and novel tasks (A . E. Gottfried, 1985, 1990; A. E. Gottfried,

Fleming, & A . W. Gottfried, 1994, 1998; A. E. Gottfried & A . W.

Gottfried, 1996). This construc t has substantia l validity and sig -

nificance for effectiv e school functioning. Children with highe r

academic intrinsic motivation have higher achievement , more fa -

This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

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