Testing the Relationships between Global, Contextual, and Situational Motivation: A Longitudinal Study of the Horizontal, Top-Down, and Bottom-Up Effects // Probando las relaciones entre la motivación global, contextual y situacional: un estudio longitudinal de los efectos horizontal, arriba-abajo y abajo-arriba

Abstract

The hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation establishes three levels of generality to analyze human motivation (global, contextual, and situational). The dynamism of motivation is explained by means of the relations between the three levels. The purpose of this study is to test the reciprocal effects, top-down and bottom-up, between one motivational level and the adjacent level, as well as the stability of the global level (horizontal effect). A longitudinal design with six measurement time points across a 4-month interval was used. Participants were 142 undergraduate students. Results from path analysis using a Bayesian estimation method provided support for our hypotheses. Finally, the implications of the dynamic processes of influence among the hierarchical levels in academic setting are discussed.