Cognitive Mastery Motivation Antecedents of Academic Intrinsic Motivation Latent Profiles: A Longitudinal Study From Preschool to Adolescence

This research examined theoretical and empirical links between preschool cognitive mastery motivation (CMM) and latent profiles of adolescents' academic intrinsic motivation (AIM). Data were from the Fullerton Longitudinal Study (1979-2017; 48% female; 90% White, 10% varying ethnicities). CMM comprised behavioral ratings of goal-directedness, object orientation, attention span, and reactivity on challenging developmental tasks at ages 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5 years (N = 122, 119, and 118, respectively). AIM was assessed at ages 16 and 17 years (N = 112) with the Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory-High School, a self-report instrument measuring enjoyment of school learning for its own sake, and the learning of challenging, difficult, and novel tasks. A recently published latent profile analysis conducted on the Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory-High School (A. E. Gottfried et al., 2023), resulted in three valid profile groups designated as strong, moderate, and weak AIM. These profiles comprised the AIM criteria predicted by the antecedent preschool CMM variables. Results supported the prediction that CMM is a significant antecedent of the latent AIM profiles. The greater the preschoolers' CMM, the more likely they were to be placed in stronger AIM profiles in high school. CMM in the preschool years provides a theoretical and empirical foundation for, and elucidates the roots of, AIM over a 15-year interval. Implications are advanced.