Validity Evidence For a Measure of Motivational Regulation Strategies

Abstract

Motivation is positively related to performance and achievement. The ability to regulate motivation is essential for overcoming motivational barriers to success. Motivational regulation strategies is defined as the intentional use of thoughts and actions to manage motivation in order to accomplish a task (Wolters, 2003). This study examined two types of validity evidence for a measure of motivational regulation strategies: the internal structure of the measure and the relation between motivational regulation strategies measure and metacognitive strategies. Participants (N = 293) were undergraduate and graduate students from education programs at the University of Kansas. Students filled out a questionnaire with measures of motivational regulation strategies and metacognitive strategies. A series of confirmatory factor analysis models were fitted to data. Results showed that a nine-factor model was the best fit for the data. In addition, motivational regulation strategies and metacognitive strategies correlated positively. Overall, there is evidence for reliability for the measure of motivational regulation strategies, but its validity need to be further evaluated.