School bullying continues to plague students around the globe. Bullying research to date has largely employed empirical methodologies, including both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Using a philosophical lens, this paper seeks to better understand the intentionality of bullying by considering the satisfaction derived in the tears of…

College instructors are increasingly relying on wireless clicker systems as instructional tools in the classroom. Instructors commonly use clicker systems for such classroom activities as taking attendance, giving quizzes, and taking opinion polls. However, these systems are uniquely well suited for the teaching of psychology and other courses…

Studies test validity of the instruments used to measure intrinsic motivation. Compares behavioral and self-report measures among undergraduates of intrinsic task interest to momentary mood, long-term motivational orientation, and interest in competing activities. Finds the behavioral measure depends on how treatments affect interest in…

The debate over the effects of the use of extrinsic reinforcement in classrooms, businesses, and societal settings has been occurring for over 30 years. Some theorists have cautioned against the use of reward, whereas others have found little, if any, detrimental effect. This article examines the debate with an emphasis on data-based findings. The…

University students worked puzzles and were given a high or low value cash award, contingent on simple task completion or on attainment of a performance level, or noncontingent and unexpected. Interest in the task after reward was analyzed. Results provided substantial support for Deci's cognitive evaluation theory. (Author/SJL)

The absence of theories of boredom is argued to be a gap both in psychology and education. A model of boredom is put forward as a basis for specifying predisposing factors and possible consequences. (Editor)

In this article, we argue for a change in how researchers study motivation to learn. We believe that research can provide better explanations of the origins and outcomes of behavior, and thus be more useful, if we focus on how motivation develops and why it changes. We suggest reframing motivation research in education by extending the current…

Discusses a study which examined influences of teaching methods and classroom environment on motivation, attention, and concept attainment of high school social studies students. (Author/DB)

States that the combination of group rewards (based on group members' individual learning) and peer interaction on learning tasks is necessary to produce learning gains characteristic of effective cooperative learning methods. Discusses research on group contingencies and cooperative learning in the elementary school classroom.(NH)

Found that college students are motivated to participate in debate to fulfill the following broad range of needs: educational, social, competitive, career preparation, miscellaneous, and financial. Results of this study suggest that educational motivations are clearly more important than competitive needs. (PD)

This study asks whether placing students in small, cooperative work groups results in redirecting student norms, climate and student interaction. Using a post-test only design, students in classes which daily used cooperative groups for the entire academic year were compared with comparable students from classes which used the lecture-discussion…