Abstract
The present longitudinal study extends the findings of earlier cross-sectional studies (Waterman, Schwartz, Green, Miller, & Philip, 2003) on the subjective experience of intrinsic motivation. University students generated lists of personally salient (identity-related) activities at the beginning of an academic semester and were asked to evaluate these activities at three points during the semester. Drawing on theories of intrinsic motivation, three subjective indices of intrinsic motivation (interest, flow experiences, and feelings of personal expressiveness) and three theoretically derived predictor variables (self-determination, the balance of challenges and skills, and self-realization values) were used in the present study. Cross-sectional relationships between the predictors and subjective experience indices at each timepoint replicated those observed in previous research. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to demonstrate that, as hypothesized, increases or decreases in the predictor variables between timepoints were associated with corresponding increases or decreases in the subjective experience indices. Implications for the study of intrinsic motivation are discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1119-1136 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Journal of Research in Personality |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2006 |
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Keywords
- Flow
- Interest
- Intrinsic motivation
- Longitudinal study
- Personal expressiveness
- Self-determination
- Self-realization values
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
Cite this
Changing interests : A longitudinal study of intrinsic motivation for personally salient activities. / Schwartz, Seth J; Waterman, Alan S.
In: Journal of Research in Personality, Vol. 40, No. 6, 01.12.2006, p. 1119-1136.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Changing interests
T2 - A longitudinal study of intrinsic motivation for personally salient activities
AU - Schwartz, Seth J
AU - Waterman, Alan S.
PY - 2006/12/1
Y1 - 2006/12/1
N2 - The present longitudinal study extends the findings of earlier cross-sectional studies (Waterman, Schwartz, Green, Miller, & Philip, 2003) on the subjective experience of intrinsic motivation. University students generated lists of personally salient (identity-related) activities at the beginning of an academic semester and were asked to evaluate these activities at three points during the semester. Drawing on theories of intrinsic motivation, three subjective indices of intrinsic motivation (interest, flow experiences, and feelings of personal expressiveness) and three theoretically derived predictor variables (self-determination, the balance of challenges and skills, and self-realization values) were used in the present study. Cross-sectional relationships between the predictors and subjective experience indices at each timepoint replicated those observed in previous research. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to demonstrate that, as hypothesized, increases or decreases in the predictor variables between timepoints were associated with corresponding increases or decreases in the subjective experience indices. Implications for the study of intrinsic motivation are discussed.
AB - The present longitudinal study extends the findings of earlier cross-sectional studies (Waterman, Schwartz, Green, Miller, & Philip, 2003) on the subjective experience of intrinsic motivation. University students generated lists of personally salient (identity-related) activities at the beginning of an academic semester and were asked to evaluate these activities at three points during the semester. Drawing on theories of intrinsic motivation, three subjective indices of intrinsic motivation (interest, flow experiences, and feelings of personal expressiveness) and three theoretically derived predictor variables (self-determination, the balance of challenges and skills, and self-realization values) were used in the present study. Cross-sectional relationships between the predictors and subjective experience indices at each timepoint replicated those observed in previous research. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to demonstrate that, as hypothesized, increases or decreases in the predictor variables between timepoints were associated with corresponding increases or decreases in the subjective experience indices. Implications for the study of intrinsic motivation are discussed.
KW - Flow
KW - Interest
KW - Intrinsic motivation
KW - Longitudinal study
KW - Personal expressiveness
KW - Self-determination
KW - Self-realization values
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33750829214&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=33750829214&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jrp.2005.12.003
DO - 10.1016/j.jrp.2005.12.003
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:33750829214
VL - 40
SP - 1119
EP - 1136
JO - Journal of Research in Personality
JF - Journal of Research in Personality
SN - 0092-6566
IS - 6
ER -