A study examined the relative effects of course and program on 39 college students' motivation over a semester-long introductory physics course, a discipline chosen because of its emphasis on higher-order learning. Results include information about student learning motives, changes over time, and student emphasis on different learning goals and…

A discussion of motivational techniques for promoting self-regulated learning in college students focuses on two methods students use to anticipate and negotiate the affective consequences of success and failure. The strategies, defensive pessimism and self-handicapping, are described and a study of their impact on self-regulated learning of 127…