AUTONOMOUS & CONTROLLED MOTIVATION AND ACADEMIC OUTCOMES AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

Motivation has immense significance in human functioning. Self-determination theory describes motivation as autonomous and controlled types. The objective of this study was to explore the association between university students’ autonomous and controlled motivation and their two important academic outcomes: critical thinking skills and academic performance. The study sample consisted of 193 participants (57 men and 136 women) studying at the University of Karachi, Pakistan. Participants' autonomous and controlled motivation was assessed by the modified Academic Motivation Scale, critical thinking was assessed by the Critical Thinking scale of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, and academic performance was measured by the Subjective Academic Performance Scale. The analysis showed a significant medium-level positive association between students’ autonomous motivation and their critical thinking skills, and weak significant positive association between controlled motivation and their critical thinking skills and academic performance. However, autonomous motivation was not significantly associated with academic performance. It was also determined that differences in autonomous and controlled motivation scores of students with reference to their year of study were not significant. The findings highlight that both autonomous and controlled motivation may have a positive role in academic outcomes at university level in collectivist contexts