Academic identity, self-efficacy, and self-esteem predict self-determined motivation and goals

a r t i c l e i n f o We conducted the first tests of implicit academic identity (social versus studious) in relation to explicit academic identity (social versus studious), self-efficacy and self-esteem as predictors of self-determined motivation and goals (performance and learning). In Study 1, 366 undergraduates completed measures of implicit social/studious identity and implicit attitude towards social/studious domains along with explicit social/studious identity, academic self-efficacy, and self-determined motivation. In Study 2, 128 undergraduates completed implicit measures of social/studious identity, implicit self-esteem, and explicit measures of self-esteem, and goals (performance and learning). Our results offer the first evidence of significant correspondence between implicit and explicit academic identity and the unique, incremental contributions of implicit measures beyond explicit measures in explaining self-determined motivation and goal orientation. We also establish that socially oriented students have lower academic self-efficacy, lower self-determined motivation, and a preference for performance goals; studiously oriented students report higher self-esteem and a preference for learning goals. College years offer a time to forge new identities. Although there are many dimensions along which students can shape their central identity, we examined two identities that may be particularly salient for motivation and goal striving: 1) 'scholars' invested in academic work and 2) 'socializers' invested in interpersonal and group socializing. Do these identities influence students' self-efficacy, self-esteem and moti-vation? Do students who identify more strongly as 'scholars' have different goals and motivations than do 'socializers'? We attempted to answer these questions by examining college students' implicit and explicit identities as 'scholars' or 'socializers' in relation to academic self-efficacy, self-esteem, self-determined motivation and goals (performance and learning). 2. Relevant prior research 2.1. Implicit and explicit academic identity Implicit identities are typically hidden from conscious awareness, expressed more automatically, and are less susceptible to influences exerted by impression management or social desirability (Baron & Banaji, 2006). In contrast, explicit identities tend to be within conscious awareness and likely to be expressed more deliberately. Similarly, implicit attitudes shaped by preverbal emotional experiences and established early in life tend to be accurate predictors of longer term behavioral patterns , whereas explicit attitudes are shaped largely by cognitive content and cultural norms and are better at predicting specific behaviors in immediate contexts (Baron & Banaji, 2006; Rudman, 2004). For instance, it has been found that implicit responses, as measured by the Implicit Associations Test (IAT), predict natural or spontaneous behavior and explicit self-report ratings …