Editedby MIMI BONG, JOHNMARSHALL REEVE, AND SUNG-IL KIM
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DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780197662359.001.0001
Contents
Acknowledgments
AboutthebMRISymposiumonMotivation
Contributors
Introduction
SECTION I WHAT IS MOTIVATION?
1. What Is Motivation?
What Is Motivation, Where Does It Come from, and How Does It Work?
CarolS.Dweck,MatthewL.Dixon,andJamesJ.Gross
Energization and Direction Are Both Essential Parts of Motivation
AndrewJ.Elliot
What Is Motivation?
EdwinA.Locke
Motivation Processes and Outcomes
DaleH.Schunk
Motivation Is the Interaction Between Dispositions and Context
DeborahStipek
Motivation Is the State of Wanting Something . . . But Do We Want the Right Things?
KennonM.Sheldon
Wanting to Feel Effective in Our Goal Pursuits for Both Outcomes and Process
E.ToryHigginsandEmilyNakkawita
Pleasure, Utility, and Goals: Motivation as a Value-Based Decision-Making Process
Sung-ilKim
Jingle-Jangle Fallacies in Motivation Science: Toward a Definition of Core Motivation
ReinhardPekrun
Academic Self-Concept: A Central Motivational Construct
GeetanjaliBasarkodandHerbertW.Marsh
Motivation Resides Only in Our Language, Not in Our Mental Processes
KouMurayama
InsightsGainedfromControversy1
SECTION II WHAT ARE THE CURRENT CONTROVERSIES IN MOTIVATION SCIENCE?
2. Are Motivational Processes Universal Across Cultures and Contexts?
Does One Size Fit All? Cultural Perspectives on School Motivation
DennisM.McInerney†
Where Will Michelle Go to College? Culture and Context in the Study of Motivation
PaulA.Schutz
Can We Really Say that Motivational Processes Are Universal Across Cultures and Contexts?
Community-Engaged Research: The Next Frontier in Motivation Science
DeLeonL.GrayandBrookeHarris-Thomas
InsightsGainedfromControversy10
References
NameIndex
SubjectIndex
Acknowledgments
The book would simply not exist without the 57 motivation scientists who contributed their essays, so our first expression of gratitude is to our authors. Another essential group who made the book possible was the editorial team at Oxford University Press—Abby Gross and Katharine Pratt. They shared our enthusiasm and vision for this volume from the very beginning and remained supportive throughout. We would also like to express our appreciation to Allan Wigfield at the University of Maryland, who provided excellent early critiques on the direction of the volume. The four anonymous reviewers of our book proposal offered many detailed and extremely helpful suggestions, and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts. We took their comments seriously and, by doing so, substantially improved the quality and scope of the volume. We shared this book-writing journey with the past and present members of the Brain and Motivation Research Institute (bMRI) at Korea University. The bMRI Symposium on Motivation has been possible because of their dedication and yearning for new learning. We hope they hear their voices in the pages of this volume. Finally, we would like to thank our families. We are eternally grateful for their love, encouragement, and support.
About the bMRI Symposium on Motivation
The bMRI Symposium on Motivation is an annual international symposium hosted by the Brain and Motivation Research Institute (bMRI) of Korea University in Seoul, Korea. Each year, leading figures in the field of motivation science visit Korea University to present their theories and findings. Below is a list of the international keynote speakers at the past bMRI Symposia:
Edward L. Deci, Judith Harackiewicz, Deborah Stipek, Allan Wigfield
Ruth Butler, Jacquelynne S. Eccles, Bernard Weiner, Kathryn R. Wentzel
Patricia A. Alexander, Suzanne E. Hidi, Reinhard Pekrun, Richard M. Ryan
Avi Assor, Wendy S. Grolnick, Kennon M. Sheldon, Maarten Vansteenkiste
Daniel Ansari, Layne Kalbfleisch
Andrew J. Martin, Allison M. Ryan
Tim Urdan, Ellen L. Usher
Erika A. Patall, Helen Patrick
Benjamin Nagengast, Christopher A. Wolters, Shirley L. Yu
Andrew J. Elliot, Herbert W. Marsh
K. Ann Renninger, Ulrich Trautwein
(Symposium canceleddue to COVID-19)
(Symposium heldonline due to COVID-19) John A. Bargh, Roy F. Baumeister
Eric M. Anderman, Lynley H. Anderman
The bMRI Symposium on Motivation began in 2009 and continues year after year. International and local scholars share and discuss their programs of research during this event.
Contributors
Patricia A. Alexander, PhD
Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology
University of Maryland
College Park, MD, USA
Eric M. Anderman, PhD
Department of Educational Studies
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH, USA
Avi Assor, PhD
School of Education
Ben Gurion University of the Negev Beer Sheva, Israel
John A. Bargh, PhD
Department of Psychology
Yale University
New Haven, CT, USA
Geetanjali Basarkod, PhD
Institute for Positive Psychology and Education
Australian Catholic University
North Sydney, Australia
Moti Benita, PhD
School of Education
Ben Gurion University of the Negev Beer-Sheva, Israel
Mimi Bong, PhD
Department of Education
Korea University
Seoul, South Korea
Emma C. Burns, PhD
School of Education
Macquarie University
Sydney, Australia
Matthew L. Dixon, PhD
Department of Psychology
Stanford University
Stanford, CA, USA
Carol S. Dweck, PhD
Department of Psychology
Stanford University
Stanford, CA, USA
Andrew J. Elliot, PhD
Department of Psychology
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY, USA
Yael Geifman, PhD
School of Education
Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Beer-Sheva, Israel
Peter M. Gollwitzer, PhD
Department of Psychology
New York University
New York, NY, USA
DeLeon L. Gray, PhD
Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC, USA
Briana P. Green, MS
Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI, USA
Wendy S. Grolnick, PhD
Department of Psychology
Clark University
Worcester, MA, USA
James J. Gross, PhD
Department of Psychology
Stanford University
Stanford, CA, USA
Brooke Harris-Thomas, MA
Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI, USA
Suzanne E. Hidi, PhD
Applied Psychology and Human Development
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON, Canada
E. Tory Higgins, PhD
Department of Psychology
Columbia University
New York, NY, USA
Elan C. Hope, PhD
Department of Psychology
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC, USA
Avi Kaplan, PhD
Department of Psychological Studies in Education
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Roger Kennett, PhD, Bsc, DipEd
School of Education
University of New South Wales
Sydney, Australia
Sung-il Kim, PhD
Department of Education
Korea University
Seoul, South Korea
Thomas A. Kindermann, PhD
Department of Psychology
Portland State University
Portland, OR, USA
Alison C. Koenka, PhD
Department of Educational Psychology University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK, USA
Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia, PhD
Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI, USA
Edwin A. Locke, PhD
Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
College Park, MD, USA
Herbert W. Marsh, PhD, DSc
Institute for Positive Psychology and Education
Australian Catholic University
Sydney, Australia
Andrew J. Martin, PhD
School of Education
University of New South Wales
Sydney, Australia
Jamaal S. Matthews, PhD
Combined Program in Education and Psychology
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Dennis M. McInerney†, PhD
Department of Special Education and Counselling
Education University of Hong Kong
Ting Kok, Hong Kong
Kou Murayama, PhD
Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology
University of Tübingen
Tübingen, Germany
Benjamin Nagengast, Dr. phil.
Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology
University of Tübingen
Tübingen, Germany
Emily Nakkawita, MA, MPhil
Department of Psychology
Columbia University
New York, NY, USA
Nikos Ntoumanis, PhD
Danish Centre of Motivation and Behaviour Science
Southern Denmark University
Odense, Denmark
Erika A. Patall, PhD
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Helen Patrick, PhD
Department of Educational Studies
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN, USA
Joel Pearson, PhD
School of Psychology
The University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia
Reinhard Pekrun, PhD
Department of Psychology University of Essex Colchester, Essex, UK
Johnmarshall Reeve, PhD Institute for Positive Psychology and Education Sydney, Australia
K. Ann Renninger, PhD
Department of Educational Studies
Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA, USA
Nicolette P. Rickert, PhD
Department of Psychology
Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA, USA
Dale H. Schunk, PhD
Teacher Education and Higher Education University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC, USA
Paul A. Schutz, PhD
College of Education University of Arizona Tucson, AZ, USA
Kennon M. Sheldon, PhD
Department of Psychological Sciences University of Missouri Columbia, MO, USA
Ellen A. Skinner, PhD
Department of Psychology
Portland State University
Portland, OR, USA
Bart Soenens, PhD
Department of Developmental, Personality, and Social Psychology
Ghent University
Ghent, Belgium
Deborah Stipek, PhD
Graduate School of Education
Stanford University
Stanford, CA, USA
Ulrich Trautwein, Dr. Phil.
Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology
University of Tübingen
Tübingen, Germany
Tim Urdan, PhD
Department of Psychology
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA, USA
Ellen L. Usher
Office of Applied Scholarship and Education Science
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, MN, USA
Maarten Vansteenkiste, PhD
Department of Developmental, Social and Personality Psychology
Ghent University
Ghent, Belgium
Justin W. Vollet, PhD
Department of Psychology
The University of Texas Permian Basin
Odessa, TX, USA
Kathryn R. Wentzel, PhD
Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology
University of Maryland
College Park, MD, USA
Allan Wigfield, PhD
Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology
University of Maryland
College Park, MD, USA
Christopher A. Wolters, PhD
Educational Studies
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH, USA
Introduction
Motivation science has advanced tremendously in the past decade. However, it is now clear that future progress is going to be stalled by the extent of disagreement among motivation scientists to some basic, yet controversial, questions. To help move motivation science toward greater coherence, we decided to recruit prominent scholars to voice their contrasting perspectives. Such debate is not only interesting, but it also makes future research, discoveries, collaborations, and applications more fruitful. It is in this spirit that we put together a volume to address those controversies that are most likely to provide insight.
The three editors of this volume are or have been professors of educational psychology and faculty members of the Brain and Motivation Research Institute (bMRI) at Korea University. Since 2009, we have hosted an annual international symposium called the bMRI Symposium on Motivation, whose name we came up with to pay tribute to the pioneering Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (1953-present). Each year, we have invited leading figures in the field of motivation to deliver their keynote addresses (2009-present). In 2018, the bMRI Symposium on Motivation celebrated its 10th anniversary. Given this successful and well-received history, we saw the need for and interest in the present volume to commemorate the symposium’s 10-year history.
Purpose of the Volume
Because many excellent handbooks on motivation exist, we wanted to try something different—be provocative. We wanted to provoke creative ideas among the authors and readers. By sharing current
thinking and providing innovative insights into the important questions and controversies in the study of motivation, we wanted the volume to inform readers about cutting-edge theory and research in motivation that they can use to generate fresh and effective applications and interventions.
Question Selection Criteria
To achieve that end, we ask 10 thought-provoking questions that define contemporary motivation science’s most important, controversial, and provocative ideas. These questions deal with the nature of motivation, cultural differences in motivational processes, evidence-based strategies to enhance motivation, unresolved controversies, predictions of the future, and more. For each question, we invited multiple prominent scholars around the globe to provide their independent answers. This format allowed us to offer the reader multiple answers to each motivation question. No one right answer exists. Instead, multiple international authors share their views on each particular question. In this way, readers gain a rare opportunity to see how different theorists and researchers recognize, evaluate, and prescribe solutions to the same motivation problem. As editors, we hope the commonalities, disagreements, and uniqueness in the authors’ approaches will become evident to the readers.
Structure of the Volume
This volume features four sections, each of which highlights a different core question:
What is motivation?
What are the current controversies in motivation science?
How do we motivate people?
What is the future of motivation science?
Within each section are more specific questions. We intentionally framed these more specific questions in a yes/no format to encourage the authors to agree or disagree with the controversial proposition and to explain the rationale behind their answers. Upon invitation, each author (or author team) chose up to three specific questions they wanted to address. As a result, a minimum of 4 to a maximum of 11 answers accompany each of the 10 specific questions in this volume.
Overall, the table of contents features 4 core questions, 10 specific and controversial questions, and 67 individual author responses. A total of 57 motivation scientists participated in answering one or more of the specific questions, allowing this volume to represent various unique and shared perspectives on each issue. Because the authors presented solid scientific evidence for their respective position based on their expertise and research record, it is not a right-or-wrong situation. Rather, we leave it to the readers to decide whose response or position they find most persuasive.
Tone of the Volume and Intended Audience
The volume targets the motivation science research community, graduate students, and a variety of professionals and practitioners (e.g., educators). While this represents our intended audience, we are optimistic that readers outside the field of contemporary motivation study will also find the book interesting, personally relevant, and professionally useful. To help make our volume attractive to a broad scope of readers, we asked the authors to tell some good stories in an informal and conversational tone and avoid jargon and technical terms as best they could. We wanted to make the book approachable for anyone interested in understanding motivational phenomena and improving the motivation of oneself and others, such as parents, employers/employees, and college students. To reach these more applied audiences, we added a concise discussion at the end of each specific question that
reiterates the main points articulated in the multiple essays and explains in plain language how the authors’ views are similar to or different from each other.
Editors’ Reflections
Putting this volume together has been a pleasant journey. The authors’ essays inspired our thinking and expanded our perspectives about the issues and controversies in contemporary motivation science. We are certain that readers will experience the same intellectual stimulation and satisfaction that we experienced while reading the authors’ insightful contributions.
We have been deeply impressed by our motivation colleagues and their thinking about motivation. Without a single exception, all of the authors conveyed their passion and commitment to the study of motivation, which will be evident to the readers as they survey the essays. The greatest reward for us out of the whole process is our renewed respect for and confidence in both our colleagues and the current state of motivation science. It is our hope that this volume advances the 10 controversies and produces a whole new set of interesting questions for the next generation to consider.
In Seoul and Sydney, Mimi Bong, Johnmarshall Reeve, and Sung-il Kim
SECTION I
WHAT IS MOTIVATION?
Question 1 What Is Motivation?
Essay 1.1
What Is Motivation, Where Does It Come from, and How Does It Work?
CarolS. Dweck, Matthew L. Dixon, andJames J. Gross
Motivation is often taken for granted in psychology, perhaps because it is hidden beneath the actions we take. The relative visibility of our actions and the relative invisibility of their motivational underpinnings may explain why some researchers—such as many who study cognition, intelligence, or personality—do not see their phenomena as arising from and importantly influenced by motivation. In fact, an eminent social-personality psychologist told one of us how his graduate school advisor had assured him that “motivation was assumed” and did not require further attention.
Our view is quite different. We see motivation as foundational to virtually all important actions or choices and therefore foundational for all forms of skilled performance or adaptive functioning. And, therefore, critical to acknowledge and understand.
But even for those of us who acknowledge and study motivation, many questions remain, and the purpose of this essay is to pose some of those questions and venture some answers to them.
What Is Motivation, and Where Does It Come From?
Motivation can be defined as the processes that drive, select, and direct behaviors (see Reeve, 2018), but direct them toward what? Toward our goals. In simpler terms, motivation answers the
