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Browsing by Subject "Motivation"

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  • Effects of task difficulty on learning, flow and motivation in a videogame environment 
    Paunonen, Erno (2016)
    Videogames are thought to be able to make learning more efficient. However, videogames should contain certain elements to reach this potential, for example clear goals, the right amount of challenge and fast feedback. Optimal challenge is reached – according to a truism – when "the task is not too hard or easy". This notation is also a central part in the flow theory (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). However, the exact evaluation of what is the optimal difficulty level cannot be made based on it. There are only a few studies, which try to find where the optimal difficulty level lies and these are not able to give a clear answer. In this thesis I used success rate (probability of successful execution of a task) as an objective measurement of challenge. I studied, what the success rate should be for optimal learning to occur and how it affects flow and motivation. In addition, I will evaluate the independent effects of flow and motivation on learning and performance. The study contained three groups with 11 participants each, who were made to play a simple reaction game on a touch screen monitor. Each group had a target success rate which were 0.2 (hard), 0.5 (medium) and 0.9 (easy). Participants played three gaming sessions with this target success rate. Between these sessions a test was conducted. In the test the game stayed the same, but the challenge also was same for all groups. Before every test, the participants filled a flow and motivation questionnaire. The study did not find that difficulty level would affect learning, flow or motivation. However, the 0.5 success rate group evaluated the challenge to be the most pleasant. This could affect motivation in the long run. Flow and motivation were found to increase performance at an individual level. The study did not show that the task difficulty level is as important of a factor as has been previously thought, but it reveals that flow and motivation do play a role in performance.
  • Teologian opiskelijoiden henkilökohtaiset projektit ja opintomenestys 
    Litmanen, Topi (2007)
    Motivation and personal goals play an important role in the ways in which people direct their behavior. Personal goals are closely connected with well-being but they also relate to how people perform in different achievement domains. Many studies show that evaluating study-related goals as important, easy to attain and non stressful, predict better academic achievements than evaluating them as non attainable and stressful (Salmela-Aro & Nurmi, 1997b). The aim of this study was to describe motivational factors among theology students. They form an interesting group in terms of exploring connections between motivation, spiritual goals and academic achievements. The average duration of graduation at the Faculty of Theology is among the highest at the University of Helsinki. On the other hand, it may be assumed that many theology students have spiritual goals which affect their studies. A special focus was paid on the different evaluations of study-related personal projects and how they are related to academic achievement. A methodology of personal projects (Little, 1983) was used to study what kind of personal goals theology students are engaged in during their studies. In the first part of the questionnaire the subjects (N=133) were asked to describe important personal projects. They were given four numbered lines for their written responses. In the second part the subjects were asked to rate projects concerning their studies according to 13 dimensions using a 7-point Likert-scale. Three subgroups were formed on a K-Means Cluster Analysis on the basis of evaluations of the study-related projects. The groups were named committed, self-fulfillers and non-committed according to their evaluations of their study related projects. Academic achievements among the different groups varied substantially. After two years of studying the students who were in the committed group had completed on an average twenty study credits more than those who were in the non-committed group. Self-fulfillers placed in the middle of the three groups. Committed and self-fulfiller students also reported higher levels of intrinsic reasons for striving towards study-related goals. The results indicate that goals reported at the beginning of studies predicted academic achievement later on. The results also showed that different evaluations of goals have long lasting connections to progress in studying. Implications for student well-being and how these results can be utilized for student counseling are discussed.

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