Student Motivation and Self-Regulation

One fundamental goal of education is to develop self-regulated students, those who plan, examine, execute, and evaluate their own learning. Self-regulation is closely related to students’ motivation. Academically motivated students demonstrate high levels of self-regulation and achievement, which recurrently serves as a driving force that increases students’ motivation. At bMRI, we investigate the relationships among motivational sources, such as self-efficacy, interest, value, achievement goals, and self-regulation, and the underlying mechanisms through which these sources influence self-regulation. To study these relationships and processes we use surveys, experiments, brain research, and other research methods.