Two experiments were designed to test Kukla's cognitive theory of task performance, based on intended effort. Experiment I was designed to determine if success feedback leads to an overall increase in performance level and differential asymptotic performance for those high and low in achievement motivation. Experiment 2 was aimed at determining if…

This study explored the relationship between locus of control, Ss skill/chance perceptions, and verifiability of feedback on Ss decision time in a letter elimination task. Ss were 72 male and 72 female undergraduates, divided into groups of internals and externals based on results from Rotter's I-E scale. In a letter elimination task, several…

This paper summarizes the results of a field study conducted by the Center for Research in Scientific Communication at the University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, which concerned the effects of a technology-monitoring program on communication activities, behaviors, and attitudes of employees at a multinational, Minneapolis-based company. It was…

Data from 464 adults were analyzed to provide a more heuristic paradigm for mass communication uses and gratifications research in a study of the interactive nature of television viewing motivations, viewing behavior, and attitude gratifications. Factor analysis located five principal television viewing motivations: passing time, information,…

There may be many social psychological variables that influence or are influenced by children's behavior in organized sports. The major variable discussed in this paper is the child's motivation to participate. One cognitive theory--the attribution theory-- offers insights into the child's view of his motivation, and the effects upon this…

Consistency theory holds that persons are motivated to behave in ways that maintain a "steady state" cognitively and otherwise; need-fulfillment theory argues that people will act in ways that reinforce their sense of worth and enhance their self-esteem. While consistency theory predicts that low self-esteem persons will exhibit more eye…

An experiment designed to study the relationship between moral behavior and level of moral development is described. Subjects in the experiment were faced with the choice of either remaining uninvolved observers or intervening to help another student. Their choice was affected by the presence of an authority figure which discouraged any…

Guided by the belief that impressions of communication competence are based on observations of behavior appropriate to a particular context and on inferences about others' capabilities and motivations, a study was undertaken to (1) examine the relationship between self perceptions and other perceptions, (2) discover the role of motivation in…

A total of 286 subjects was presented with a series of motivations and asked to evaluate the relative importance of each in their exposure/avoidance decisions about watching sports programs on television. The 188 sports viewers assessed the importance of each motivation for their viewing of baseball, hockey, football, and tennis. The 98…

This paper reports on a study of the involvement of high school students with instructional activities. It was hypothesized that student involvement depends on expectations for success, importance of the action to the achievement of success, and confidence that the action is appropriate for the achievement of success. Eighty-eight students…

The major objective of this series of studies was to clarify the concept of mastery motivation and to develop measures of this concept applicable to 1-year-old children. Three studies were made with 44 infants, aged 12 to 13 months. The first study, "Aspects of Mastery Motivation and Cognitive Functioning," utilized structured situations…

A study tested the effectiveness of ridicule as an educational and social corrective in children's educational television programs. Arbitrary activities involving a novel object were presented to 69 four-year-old and 83 six-year-old children via videotaped presentations and demonstrations. In each of three types of motivational message (ridicule,…

Given the decline in birth rates, which will produce a steep decline in the youth population by 1990, this paper examines the possible effects such a population shift will have on the achievement motivation of children. It is reasoned the increased adult/child ratio could result in either of two possibilities: the greater attention paid to the…