title: The interplay between motivation, self-efficacy, and approaches to studying.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The strategies students adopt in their study are influenced by a number of social-cognitive factors and impact upon their academic performance.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present study examined the interrelationships between motivation orientation (intrinsic and extrinsic), self-efficacy (in reading academic texts and essay writing), and approaches to studying (deep, strategic, and surface). The study also examined changes in approaches to studying over time.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 163 first-year undergraduate students in psychology at a UK university took part in the study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants completed the Work Preference Inventory motivation questionnaire, self-efficacy in reading and writing questionnaires and the short version of the Revised Approaches to Study Inventory.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation orientations were correlated with approaches to studying. The results also showed that students classified as high in self-efficacy (reading and writing) were more likely to adopt a deep or strategic approach to studying, while students classified as low in self-efficacy (reading and writing) were more likely to adopt a surface approach. More importantly, changes in students' approaches to studying over time were related to their self-efficacy beliefs, where students with low levels of self-efficacy decreased in their deep approach and increased their surface approach across time. Students with high levels of self-efficacy (both reading and writing) demonstrated no such change in approaches to studying.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results demonstrate the important role of self-efficacy in understanding both motivation and learning approaches in undergraduate students. Furthermore, given that reading academic text and writing essays are essential aspects of many undergraduate degrees, our results provide some indication that focusing on self-efficacy beliefs amongst students may be beneficial to improving their approaches to study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The University of Winchester, UK. merce.prat-sala@winchester.ac.uk
authors.forename: Mercè
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prat-Sala
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Redford
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007858:Learning; D009042:Motivation; D011584:Psychology / Q000193:education; D011932:Reading; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D006113:United Kingdom; D014956:Writing