Frédéric Guay

On the assessment of situational intrinsic and extrinsic motivation : the Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS).

The purpose of the present research was to develop and validate a situational (or state) measure of motivation, the Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS). The SIMS is designed to assess the constructs of intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, external regulation, and amotivation (E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 1985, 1991) in field and laboratory settings. Five studies were conducted to develop and validate the SIMS. Overall, results show that the SIMS is composed of 4 internally consistent factors. The construct validity of the scale is also supported by correlations with other constructs as postulated by current theories. Moreover, the SIMS is responsive to experimental induction as evidenced by data gathered through a laboratory study. In sum, the SIMS represents a brief and versatile self-report measure of situational intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, external regulation, and amotivation.

Academic Self-Concept and Academic Achievement: Developmental Perspectives on Their Causal Ordering

This study tests theoretical and developmental models of the causal ordering between academic self-concept and academic achievement in a multicohort-multioccasion design (i.e., 3 age cohorts, each with 3 measurement waves). Participants were students in Grades 2, 3, and 4 from 10 elementary schools. The structural equation model for the total sample supported a reciprocal-effects model, indicating that achievement has an effect on self-concept (skill-development model) and that academic self-concept has an effect on achievement (self-enhancement model). This pattern was replicated in tests of invariance across the 3 age cohorts and did not support the developmental hypothesis that skill-development and self-enhancement models would vary with age. Discussion centers on the theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

On the Hierarchical Structure of Self-Determined Motivation: A Test of Top-Down, Bottom-Up, Reciprocal, and Horizontal Effects

This article aimed to test some hypotheses about the hierarchical structure of self-determined motivation in two longitudinal studies. First, the authors verified the stability of global self-determined motivation and school self-determined motivation over time. Second, they tested top-down, bottom-up, reciprocal, and horizontal effects between global self-determined motivation and school self-determined motivation. In Study 1, 122 college students were evaluated on two occasions with a 5-year interval on their global and school self-determined motivation. In Study 2, 294 college students were evaluated on the same variables with a 1-year interval. Results from both studies revealed that (a) global self-determined motivation was not more stable than self-determined school motivation over time and (b) a cross-lag model including reciprocal effects between self-determined global and self-determined school motivation offered the best fit indices comparatively to a model involving only horizontal (or stability) effects. Discussion emphasizes the theoretical implications of the results.

Adjusting to Job Demands: The Role of Work Self-Determination and Job Control in Predicting Burnout.

This study examined the dynamic interplay among job demands, job control, and work self-determination in order to predict burnout dimensions. A three-way interaction effect was found between job demands, job control and work self-determination in predicting each dimension of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment). Overall, results showed that job control moderates the unhealthy effects of job demands in predicting emotional exhaustion and depersonalization only for employees with high levels of work self-determination. In addition, job control increases the relation between job demands and the sense of personal accomplishment only for employees with high levels of work self-determination. These results are discussed in light of the Job Demand–Control model. 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Predicting Career Indecision: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

The purpose of this study was to propose and test a model of career indecision based on selfdetermination theory (E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 1985). This model posits that peer and parental styles predicted career indecision through perceived self-efficacy and autonomy. Participants were 834 college students (236 men, 581 women, 17 without gender identification). Results from structural equation modeling provided support for the proposed model and showed that the model was invariant across gender. Discussion centers on the theoretical and practical implications of the results. Career indecision has been a focus of vocational research over the last few decades. It is defined as an inability to make a decision about the vocation one wishes to pursue. Career indecision has been related empirically to various intraindividual constructs. For example, personality traits such as perfectionism, selfconsciousness, fear of commitment (Leong & Chervinko, 1996), and anxiety (Fuqua, Newman, & Seaworth, 1988) were positively associated with career indecision. In contrast, rational decisionmaking style (Mau, 1995), self-efficacy beliefs (Betz & Luzzo, 1996), and level of ego identity (Cohen, Chartrand, & Jowdy, 1995) were negatively related to career indecision. Moreover, research has drawn attention to the interpersonal factors related to career indecision. For instance, positive family and peer interactions (e.g., Felsman & Blustein, 1999; Guerra & Braungart-Rieker, 1999) have been negatively related to career indecision. However, little is known about how intraindividual and interpersonal factors interact to produce career indecision. That is, how do contextual factors such as parents and peers affect career indecision? What psychological processes are involved? A potentially useful theoretical framework for understanding these critical questions in career indecision research is self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Specifically, SDT focuses on the social– contextual conditions that facilitate the natural processes of self-motivation and healthy psychological functioning. The purpose of this study was to propose and test a model of career indecision based on SDT. This model posits that interactions with parents and peers predict career indecision through perceived competence and autonomy. The model proposed and tested in this study contributes to the existing vocational literature in three important ways. First, although some research has provided support for the relation between family environment and career indecision, little is known about the processes that may mediate this relation. Second, to the best of our knowledge, few studies have assessed the role of peers in the prediction of career indecision. Testing such a relation is important because some work reveals that peers have an important impact on psychosocial adjustment (Harter, 1999; Hartup & Stevens, 1997; Mounts & Steinberg, 1995). Third, some studies focusing on career indecision are not based on a theoretical framework. In contrast to some of these studies, the proposed model is based on a well-known theoretical framework, which has been the object of considerable research (see Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2000; Vallerand, 1997, for literature reviews). We present a brief overview of SDT and evidence in support of the proposed model.

Autonomy Support, Intrinsic Motivation, and Perceived Competence: Conceptual and Empirical Linkages

The purpose of this study was to test three models with regard to the linkages among autonomy support, intrinsic motivation, and perceived competence. The first model is based on Cognitive Evaluation Theory and postulates that teachers’ autonomy support influences changes in intrinsic motivation via changes in perceived academic competence. However, the second and the third model are based on the Diathesis Stress Model of Achievement Processes and posit, respectively, that intrinsic motivation could play a mediating and a moderating role in the relation between teachers’ autonomy support and changes in perceived competence. A total of 215 fifth-grade children participated in a longitudinal study over a 1-year period. Results from regression analyses provided some support for the first model but stronger support for the second and third model.

Passion: Does one scale fit all? Construct validity of two-factor passion scale and psychometric invariance over different activities and languages.

The passion scale, based on the dualistic model of passion, measures 2 distinct types of passion: Harmonious and obsessive passions are predictive of adaptive and less adaptive outcomes, respectively. In a substantive-methodological synergy, we evaluate the construct validity (factor structure, reliability, convergent and discriminant validity) of Passion Scale responses (N = 3,571). The exploratory structural equation model fit to the data was substantially better than the confirmatory factor analysis solution, and resulted in better differentiated (less correlated) factors. Results from a 13-model taxonomy of measurement invariance supported complete invariance (factor loadings, factor correlations, item uniquenesses, item intercepts, and latent means) over language (French vs. English; the instrument was originally devised in French, then translated into English) and gender. Strong measurement partial invariance over 5 passion activity groups (leisure, sport, social, work, education) indicates that the same set of items is appropriate for assessing passion across a wide variety of activities--a previously untested, implicit assumption that greatly enhances practical utility. Support was found for the convergent and discriminant validity of the harmonious and obsessive passion scales, based on a set of validity correlates: life satisfaction, rumination, conflict, time investment, activity liking and valuation, and perceiving the activity as a passion.

Antecedents and Outcomes of Work-Family Conflict: Toward a Motivational Model

The purpose of the present study was to propose and test a model of work-family conflict based on Self-Determination Theory and the Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation. The model posits that positive interpersonal factors both at work (i.e., one’s employer) and at home (e.g., one’s spouse) influence work and family motivation. Moreover, the model proposes that low levels of self-determined family and work motivation both contribute to family alienation, which in turn influences the experience of work-family conflict. Finally, work-family conflict leads to feelings of emotional exhaustion. Results from structural equation modeling supported the model. Although the model was supported for both men and women, some sex differences were uncovered at the mean level. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.

Distinguishing Developmental From Chronic Career Indecision: Self-Efficacy, Autonomy, and Social Support:

Career indecision can be divided into two categories: developmental and chronic indecision. The former is generally viewed as a developmentally normal problem resulting from a lack of information on the self and on the world of work, whereas the latter is defined as a pervasive inability to make a decision about one’s career. The goals of the present study were to test the validity of this typology of career indecision and to explain these types of indecision as a function of self-efficacy, autonomy, and support from parents and friends. Based on a 3-year longitudinal design with college students (N = 325), results provided validity for this typology by revealing the presence of two indecision groups (chronically undecided and developmentally undecided) and a group of students who are decided. In addition, results indicated that self-efficacy and autonomy are important dimensions that make it possible to distinguish between these three groups.

Family Correlates of Trajectories of Academic Motivation During a School Transition: A Semiparametric Group-Based Approach

The present study examined whether academic motivations, conceptualized from the stance of self-determination theory, fluctuate over time in a homogeneous or heterogeneous fashion during a school transition. Three objectives were pursued: First, motivational trajectories were studied using the conventional, homogeneous approach. Second, the group-based, semiparametric approach to developmental trajectories was used to study heterogeneous motivational trajectories. Third, family factors were compared across trajectory groups for each type of motivation. Results suggested that most types of motivation tend to fluctuate differently over time for distinct groups of individuals. Furthermore, students characterized by problematic motivational trajectories perceived their parents to be less involved in their scholastic work and less autonomy supportive than those of other students. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for research and theories on motivation and parenting.