TY - JOUR

T1 - Modeling self-determination theory motivation data by using unfolding IRT

AU - Freund, Philipp Alexander

AU - Lohbeck, Annette

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Hogrefe Publishing.

PY - 2021/9/1

Y1 - 2021/9/1

N2 - Self-determination theory (SDT) suggests that the degree of autonomous behavior regulation is a characteristic of distinct motivation types which thus can be ordered on the so-called Autonomy-Control Continuum (ACC). The present study employs an item response theory (IRT) model under the ideal point response/unfolding paradigm in order to model the response process to SDT motivation items in theoretical accordance with the ACC. Using data from two independent student samples (measuring SDT motivation for the academic subjects of Mathematics and German as a native language), it was found that an unfolding model exhibited a relatively better fit compared to a dominance model. The item location parameters under the unfolding paradigm showed clusters of items representing the different regulation types on the ACC to be (almost perfectly) empirically separable, as suggested by SDT. Besides theoretical implications, perspectives for the application of ideal point response/unfolding models in the development of measures for non-cognitive constructs are addressed.

AB - Self-determination theory (SDT) suggests that the degree of autonomous behavior regulation is a characteristic of distinct motivation types which thus can be ordered on the so-called Autonomy-Control Continuum (ACC). The present study employs an item response theory (IRT) model under the ideal point response/unfolding paradigm in order to model the response process to SDT motivation items in theoretical accordance with the ACC. Using data from two independent student samples (measuring SDT motivation for the academic subjects of Mathematics and German as a native language), it was found that an unfolding model exhibited a relatively better fit compared to a dominance model. The item location parameters under the unfolding paradigm showed clusters of items representing the different regulation types on the ACC to be (almost perfectly) empirically separable, as suggested by SDT. Besides theoretical implications, perspectives for the application of ideal point response/unfolding models in the development of measures for non-cognitive constructs are addressed.

KW - Psychology

KW - self-determination theory

KW - motivation continuum

KW - ideal response process/unfolding

KW - IRT

KW - Relative Autonomy Index

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85098789243&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1027/1015-5759/a000629

DO - 10.1027/1015-5759/a000629

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 37

SP - 388

EP - 396

JO - European Journal of Psychological Assessment

JF - European Journal of Psychological Assessment

SN - 1015-5759

IS - 5

ER -