Across 37 countries, polynomial models with nonlinear or interactive effects of autonomous and controlled motivation on mathematics achievement always fit better than linear additive-only models¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2024 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In TIMSS 2019 data from 37 countries, nonlinear or interactive polynomial effects of autonomous and controlled motivation on achievement always provided better fit than linear additive effects alone. → Núñez-Regueiro 2024

Evidence¶

Núñez-Regueiro 2024¶

Núñez-Regueiro, F. (2024). Cubic Relations of Autonomous and Controlled Motivation to Achievement: A Cross-National Validation of Self-Determination Theory Using Response Surface Analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 36 (3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09905-x

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Model-comparison results from the TIMSS 2019 cross-national analysis, in which 37 families of polynomial regression models were estimated per country. The article reports that polynomials with nonlinear or interactive effects "always provided a better fit than solutions including linear effects only".

"polynomials including nonlinear or interactive effects of autonomous and controlled motivation on achievement (i.e., interactive, quadratic, cubic, or interactive-quadratic effects) always provided a better fit than solutions including linear effects only"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Autonomous and controlled motivation correlate positively and strongly across countries (r = .544), and each relates positively to mathematics achievement (r = .248 and r = .080) — related
• In 14 countries, a cubic effect of autonomous motivation best fit the motivation-achievement relation, explaining 10.7% of achievement variance (an 8.1% increase over the additive model) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• In 12 countries, a level-dependent incongruence polynomial with free cubic effect of control explained 7.8% of achievement variance (a 30.9% increase over the additive model) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• In 8 countries, a non-parallel asymmetric congruence/incongruence polynomial explained a modest 4.1% of achievement variance yet a 41% increase over the additive model — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• In 3 countries, a quadratic-effects-of-x-and-y polynomial explained 7.2% of achievement variance (an 11% increase over the linear model) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• SDT-based predictions on motivation and achievement hold for about 93% of students but may not generalize to extreme states of autonomous or controlled motivation — related
• The cubic RSA findings were cross-validated on replication data from TIMSS 2015 (N = 169,269) and an SDT college-student dataset (N = 270) using the Academic Motivation Scale — related
• The relation of autonomous motivation to grades is curvilinear, with grades accelerating at higher autonomous motivation — related
• Higher grades occur when high autonomous motivation coincides with low controlled motivation (incongruence), not congruence — a narrower finding that bears on this claim