Gallery Presentation International Positive Psychology Association 7th IPPA World Congress 2021

Assessing Changes in Academic Motivation in University Students Following a Two-Week Web-Based Gratitude Journal Intervention (#288)

Norberto Eiji Nawa 1 2 , Noriko Yamagishi 1 3
  1. Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), Advanced ICT Research Institute, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Suita, Osaka, Japan
  2. Graduate School of Frontiers Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
  3. College of Global Liberal Arts, Ritsumeikan University, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan

Background

Student motivation is thought to be a critical factor associated with academic achievement and overall satisfaction with school activities.

 

Hypotheses/Research Questions

Here, we hypothesized that were would be enhancements in academic motivation following a two-week web-based gratitude journal intervention.

 

Sample Characteristics and Sample Size

Eighty-four university students were randomly assigned to either the Gratitude or the Control group.

 

Design

A web-based system was employed for data collection during the intervention; all other interaction with the participants was performed via email. Before group assignment, participants answered a battery of questions with the items of the Gratitude Questionnaire, Satisfaction With Life Scale, Perspective-Taking Scale, Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). In the first 6 days of each week, participants in the Gratitude group were requested to report anything that made them feel grateful, plus additional self-assessment scales about aspects of their daily life routines. Participants in the Control group were only requested to complete the self-assessment scales. On days 7, 15, and 1 and 3 months after the end of the intervention, participants were asked to respond to all items in the battery again, with exception of the NEO-FFI.

 

Results

No differences were observed between groups at baseline; however, at the end of the two-week intervention an improvement in the self-determination index (SDI) derived from the subscales of the AMS was detected in the Gratitude group but not in the Control group. That improvement remained unchanged after 3 months. Further examination revealed that a decrease in the amotivation scores among participants in the Gratitude group was the underlying factor of the observed improvements.

 

Scientific Contribution

These results indicate that the positive impact of gratitude interventions may reach beyond the typically assessed measures of individual wellbeing and extend to key components of goal-directed behavior.

  • Keywords: Motivation, Positive emotions