Abstracts - Earli

findings of Study 1 with a different task (analogy-task) and found also support for our secondhypothesis: Significant correlations of expectancy of success and actual performance were onlyfound for participants with higher NFC and when the task was difficult. The findings from bothstudies have several implications for research on self-regulated learning.Changing motivational orientation in group learning for statistics education: experiences fromGerman and Dutch social science students.Thomas Martens, Bremen University, GermanyRob Martens, Leiden University, NetherlandsCess de Brabander, Leiden University, NetherlandsTraditionally, in the social sciences many students consider learning statistics and researchmethodology as difficult and uninteresting. Students report high fear of failure and hold negativeattitudes towards statistics. Following Self determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) it can bepredicted that increasing students’ sense of autonomy, competence and relatedness, intrinsicmotivation will be enlarged and lead to more deep level learning, more persistence, curiosity andbetter study results. A special focus on relatedness is placed in collaborative learning. Combiningboth approaches, an instrument was used, QWIGI, which enables the measurement of group basedfeelings of relatedness, autonomy and competence as well as intrinsic motivation. The onlineversion that was used, added a feedback modus, so that students got a tailored visual feedback oftheir scores compared to the group scores. The effects of this evoked group process was tested bytwo between subjects experiments, one at Leiden University in the Netherlands (n=63) and one atBremen University in Germany (n=100). The use of QWIGI versus not using this online tool didinfluence intrinsic motivation negatively in the Leiden sample. In the Bremen sample using thetool did influence intrinsic motivation positively in one course, but negatively in another. Practicalimplications to improve collaborative learning in the difficult subject matter of statistics for socialsciences will be discussed.A longitudinal study of sustained motivationSusan Beltman, Curtin University of Technology, AustraliaThe paper reports a study of the sometimes ‘rocky’ trajectories of high achieving athletes andmusicians. It addresses the issue of sustained motivation over time, in relation to real-life activitiesrequiring complex skills in multiple contexts of participation. The work is grounded in the latestdevelopments in motivation research, which conceptualize motivation as situated, dynamic,interactive and multi-dimensional. A person-in-context perspective, which combines elements ofsociocultural and socio-cognitive theoretical approaches to motivation, provides a conceptualframework for exploring sustained motivation. The research aims to explore how high achievingathletes and musicians appraise salient aspects of person and context as affordances andconstraints, and how these appraisals shape motivation over time. Longitudinal and retrospectivequalitative data were gathered about the life trajectories of thirty adolescent and adult participants,including details of their development and participation over time in sport and music, difficultiesand life events encountered and how these had been dealt with. Analysis of semi-structuredinterviews and case summaries of individual participants revealed key aspects of person andcontext which contributed to decisions about persistence, modified participation or discontinuedinvolvement. Three major findings emerged. Firstly, sustained motivation is inextricably linked toboth person and context. Secondly, it is mediated by individuals’ ongoing appraisal process ofpersonal and contextual aspects of their current situation, which are interpreted as affordances orconstraints. Thirdly, the nature and extent of participation is constantly revised due to ongoing– 664 –