Dissecting achievement motivation: Exploring the link between states, situation perception, and trait-state dynamics

Abstract

Achievement motivation is an important predictor for academic performance. For a better understanding of the mechanisms explaining this relation, it is necessary to shift from a trait to a state perspective to unravel underlying dynamic processes and take the influence of the situation into account. However, there were only few empirical attempts to analyze achievement motivation at the within-person level and they did not yet investigate relations to situation perception. Hence, we examined whether achievement motivation traits manifest as states and if those are related to specific situation characteristics. Utilizing the experience sampling method (N = 8,592 assessments), we obtained self-reports from N = 223 school and university students and applied multilevel modeling. Results revealed fluctuation of achievement motivation at state level and exclusive relations with situation characteristics (especially Duty and Intellect) for various motivational constructs. We discuss theoretical and practical implications as well as prospects for future studies.