Student Cognitive Motivation: The Mediating Role of Self-Reactive Influences on the Relationship Between Negative Feedback and Intended Effort

This study examined college students' cognitive motivation based on goal intentions in the context of negative performance-goal discrepancies. Specifically, an integrated model of intended effort was developed to further understand the relationships between negative performance-goal discrepancies, self-reactive infl uences, and intended effort toward the next proximal goal. We explored these relationships within an authentic achievement-oriented setting by using actual exam performance with a sample of 451 undergraduate students. Primary results from a path analysis suggest that, among other things, future affective self-evaluation is more predictive of intended effort than performance-goal discrepancy or self-efficacy toward original goal attainment. Implications are primarily intended for those interested in fostering students' cognitive motivation.