Individual differences in academic motivation: Perceived ability, goals, beliefs, and values

Abstract It is argued that research on academic motivation should help us reflect on the problems occasioned by the preoccupation, characteristic of our society, with one's ability relative to that of others. Research on perceived ability often obscures these problems. Research on the individual difference dimensions of ego orientation (desire for superiority) and task orientation (desire for understanding) provides one framework for addressing these problems. Task orientation and ego orientation were uncorrelated or only slightly correlated with each other and with perceived ability. Other correlates of these orientations are examined. A case is made for broadening the scope of research on academic motivation to include students' ethical, political values and their interpretations of the purposes of curriculum content.

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