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Originalarbeit

Can Motive-Related Imagery Make School Tasks More Appealing?

Published Online:September 11, 2017https://doi.org/10.1024/1010-0652/a000207

Abstract

Abstract. According to recent research (Eccles, 1999; GEOlino-UNICEF-Kinderwertemonitor, 2014), young people are particularly interested in issues related to affiliation, achievement, or power. We suggest that tasks that raise these issues should be more motivating than tasks that do not raise these topics. To test this hypothesis, we enriched the tasks of common mathematics and German textbooks with affiliation, achievement, or power issues. In four experiments, fifth-graders rated how much they would like to work on the tasks (n = 31 for essay tasks, n = 76 for math tasks) and how confident they were about solving them (n = 56 for essay tasks, n = 60 for math tasks). Motive-related issues were within-subject variables. Participants were more attracted to tasks that included motive imagery than to neutral tasks, and they were more confident that they could solve the former than the latter. These effects were true particularly for tasks containing affiliation motive imagery.


Können Motivthemen Schulaufgaben attraktiver machen?

Zusammenfassung. Forschungsergebnissen zufolge (Eccles, 1999; GEOlino-UNICEF-Kinderwertemonitor, 2014) interessieren sich Kinder und Heranwachsende v.a. für anschlussbezogene Themen, gefolgt von leistungs- und macht- bzw. statusbezogenen Inhalten. Wir gehen davon aus, dass Aufgaben mit diesen Inhalten motivierender sind als Aufgaben ohne diese Inhalte. Um diese Hypothese zu prüfen, haben wir Aufgaben aus gängigen Mathematik- und Deutschbüchern mit den genannten motivbezogenen Themen angereichert. Fünftklässler/-innen sollten in insgesamt vier Experimenten Aufgaben danach beurteilen, wie gern sie diese bearbeiten würden (n = 31 für Deutschaufgaben; n = 76 für Mathematikaufgaben) und wie zuversichtlich sie sind, dabei erfolgreich zu sein (n = 56 für Deutschaufgaben; n = 60 für Mathematikaufgaben). Die Motivthemen waren dabei within-subject-Variablen. Unserer Erwartung entsprechend wurden motivthematisch angereicherte Aufgaben als attraktiver eingeschätzt als Aufgaben ohne motivthematischen Bezug. Darüber hinaus waren Lernende zuversichtlicher, motivthematische Aufgaben lösen zu können als motivneutrale Aufgaben. Der Unterschied zwischen motivthematischen und neutralen Aufgaben zeigte sich v.a. für anschlussthematische Aufgaben.

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