Intraindividual Differences in Motivation and Cognition in Students With and Without Learning Disabilities

Despite the efforts of Adelman (1978), Adelman and Taylor (1986), Deci and Chandler (1986) and others, at the time Paul Pintrich, Eric Anderman and Cheryl Klobucar published their study, Intraindividual Differences in Motivation and Cognition in Students With and Without Learning Disabilities (1994), there was still a deficit in the research on cognitive and motivational aspects of learning disabilities (LD).  Intrinsic motivation was expected to be lower in students with LD; however, this concept had not been fully researched.  This study was one of the first to examine the intraindividual differences between cognitive and motivational variables in students with and without LD.  Pintrich et al. (1994) sampled 39 students with (n = 19) and without (n = 20) learning disabilities, using intelligence (Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children – Revised) and achievement (Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement) tests to measure the abilities of the students with LD, and the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills to measure the abilities of the students without LD.  Two self-report questionnaires were also used to assess motivation and attribution for reading success and failure, and further reading comprehension assessments were used to measure reading abilities.  Results from this study indicate, among other things, that students with LD did not differ from students without LD in their intrinsic orientation, anxiety and self-efficacy, an unanticipated finding.  The students with LD did not show any signs of learned helplessness (although they were more external in their attributions), which was also a somewhat surprising finding at the time.  Finally, Pintrich et al. (1994) report that they found three clusters of students with different patterns of motivation and cognition, a pattern that cut across the two groups (students with LD and students without).  

In spite of its small sample size, this study was influential in that it was one of the first to look at intrinsic goal orientation in students with and without LD.  It was also one of the first studies to find that students with LD are similar to those without in intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and learned helplessness.  The understanding gained from this study has implications for teaching, theories, and further research in this area.

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Pintrich et al., 1994
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© Rose Atkins 2009