On the Hierarchical Structure of Self-Determined Motivation: A Test of Top-Down, Bottom-Up, Reciprocal, and Horizontal Effects

Abstract

This article aimed to test some hypotheses about the hierarchical structure of self-determined motivation in two longitudinal studies. First, the authors verified the stability of global self-determined motivation and school self-determined motivation over time. Second, they tested top-down, bottom-up, reciprocal, and horizontal effects between global self-determined motivation and school self-determined motivation. In Study 1, 122 college students were evaluated on two occasions with a 5-year interval on their global and school self-determined motivation. In Study 2, 294 college students were evaluated on the same variables with a 1-year interval. Results from both studies revealed that (a) global self-determined motivation was not more stable than self-determined school motivation over time and (b) a cross-lag model including reciprocal effects between self-determined global and self-determined school motivation offered the best fit indices comparatively to a model involving only horizontal (or stability) effects. Discussion emphasizes the theoretical implications of the results.