This article presents a motivational conceptualization of engagement and disaffection: First, it emphasizes children's constructive, focused, enthusiastic participation in the activities of classroom learning; second, it distinguishes engagement from disaffection, as well as behavioral features from emotional features. Psychometric properties of…

The psychometric properties of scores from the Achievement Goal Questionnaire were examined in samples of Japanese (N = 326) and Canadian (N = 307) postsecondary students. Previous research found evidence of a four-factor structure of achievement goals in U.S. samples. Using confirmatory factor-analytic techniques, the authors found strong…

The Prestatic Motivation Test was positively related to persistence and to performance in academic examinations. The relationship held when the measure was used alone and when it was combined with the Mandler-Sarason Test Anxiety Questionnaire as a measure of resultant motivation. (Author/BJG)

The validity of using seperate male and female scales for measurement of achievement motivation, as A. Mehrabian did, is seriously questioned. A variety of data are presented to support the case made against this practice. nAuthor/JKS)

Two new paper-and-pencil tests of achievement motivation were compared to two older measures, McClelland's Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Need Achievement and the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule achievement scale. The results lend support to past findings; namely, that the various achievement measures would appear to be measuring dissimilar…

The NachNaff scale is a 30-item questionnaire requiring examinees to choose between self-descriptions consistent with either need for achievement or need for affiliation. The NachNaff scores were positively correlated with grade point average for both sexes (n= 164). (Author/PN)

An assessment was conducted of the relationship between students' evaluations of college instructors and four measures of students' affective characteristics: locus of control, achievement motivation, anxiety, and social desirability. A significant relationship was found between locus of control and instructor evaluation. (Author/CTM)

Using the expectancy-value model of achievement motivation as a basis, this study's purpose is to develop, apply, and validate scores from a self-report instrument measuring student test-taking motivation. Sampled evidence of construct validity for the present sample indicates that a number of the items in the instrument could be used as an…

Reliability and validity data are reported for a 38-item questionnaire measure of individual differences in achieving tendency, which is an expanded and improved version of Mehrabian's scales. (Author/JKS)

Open admission college undergraduates who were successful in college were administered the Adjective Check List, measuring Achievement, Aggression, and Deference. Achievement and Aggression accounted for 21 percent of the variance in grade point average (GPA). High School GPA was also found to account for 10 percent of the variance. (GDC)

Valid measures of achievement need must consider both specific discipline and motivational factors within each discipline. Four factors influence a student's achievement need: self-concept of ability, attitudes toward teachers, teacher expectations, and future value of courses. (CP)

Results showed that significantly more accurate predictions of academic performance were obtained for lower fear of failure students and for students who perceived their present course grades as more important to their career plans than those who did not. (Author/DEP)

The Personality Research Form and the Achievement Anxiety Test were compared to the Thematic Apperception Test and Mandler-Sarason Test Anxiety Questionnaire. The former were equally reliable and valid measures of motive for success and motive to avoid failure. The ease of administration and scoring would recommend their use to researchers.…

The relationship between ability and grade point average was examined for the moderating effects of achievement motivation and locus of control for college students. Data indicated that achievement motivation did moderate the relationship between academic ability and cumulative grade point average for objective and subjective estimates of ability.…