The Interactive Effect of Change Preferences and Intrinsic Motivation on Performance: A Longitudinal Study on French Leaning

Xueting Zhao

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, IL61801, USA

Abstract: This paper introduces the new construct of change preferences. Radical changes follow a steeper and faster temporal trajectory whereas incremental changes follow a slower but steady trajectory. To explore the effect of different change preferences, we consulted a similar construct of goal setting. Previous studies suggested an interaction between goal proximity and intrinsic motivation. Similarly, we hypothesized that there is an interactive effect of change preferences and intrinsic motivation on task performance. We ran a longitudinal study on French learning with between-group design. Participants were assigned to three change preferences conditions, then they had to study French on a language-learning app and report their progress throughout the week. We used participants’ self-reported French skills and French vocabulary test scores to measure their performance, and investigated the relationship between their intrinsic motivation, assigned con-dition and performance. Our research results showed no significance evidence for our hypotheses that people who are interested in task show better performance when they adopt radical change strategy, and people who are less interested show better performance when they adopt incremental change strategy. Our study suggests that people’s preferences for change may not influence their subjective improvement. The key of pursuing a goal may not be the change trajectory, but to get started.

Keywords: Intrinsic motivation; Goal setting; Goal proximity