Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

Publication Date

7-2-2011

Abstract

Individuals select goals to decide on which actions to pursue. They find themselves motivated toward some activities more than others. Time is also influential in making these decisions. Two models describe some of these differences in motivation by employing alternative perspectives of the world around us. Future time perspective (FTP) theory looks at a persons perception to the framework of time, whereas Expectancy-Value (EV) looks at a person's perception of objects that populate the time space. This study addressed three questions concerning the instruments designed to measure each of these two different models. Will the implementation of the FTP instrument yield results similar to those previously observed? Will the implementation of the EV instrument yield results similar to those previously? Will two of the sub-dimensions taken from these two models define separate factors or one? Exploratory factor analyses were conducted on the time-perspective set of questions and on the expectancy-value set of questions. An exploratory factor analysis was also conducted on the sub-constructs of FTP-Connectedness and ALS-Perceived Instrumentality to examine the hypothesis that the two questionnaire sub-dimensions were measuring two distinct constructs. The findings of the FTP survey analysis described results similar to those found by Husman and Shell (2008). The findings of the approach to learning survey (ALS) analysis described results of diminished resolution as compared to those found by Miller, DeBacker & Greene (2000). The analysis of the sub-scale dimensions of FTPS-Connectedness and ALS-Perceived Instrumentality described separate constructs. This study lends support to the assertion that Future Time Perspective is a model that describes motivational beliefs that are different from Expectancy-Value. It also suggests that our relationship to time-space is in somehow different from our relationship to the motivational objects that occupy that time-space.'

Keywords

Motivation (Psychology)--Testing, Time--Psychological aspects--Testing, Goal (Psychology)--Testing, Self-efficacy--Testing

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

Degree Name

Educational Psychology

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Individual, Family, and Community Education

First Committee Member (Chair)

Parkes, Jay

Second Committee Member

Bramble, William

Third Committee Member

Husman, Jenefer

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