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The need for self-control in achievement tests: Changes in students’ state self-control capacity and effort investment

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Abstract

In the present research, we investigated the relation between changes in students’ state self-control capacity and their motivational test-taking effort over the course of an achievement test. Thereby, we considered trait self-control as a major predictor of achievement-related behavior as a covariate. N = 1840 apprentices repeatedly rated their state self-control capacity and the test-taking effort they invested while working on a 140-min achievement test in mathematics and science. Using growth curve analyses, our results revealed correlated decreases in state self-control capacity and the test-taking effort invested over the course of the test. Furthermore, we found that trait self-control helped to keep state self-control capacity and test-taking effort at a higher level over the course of the test. Our results support the assumption of the process model of self-control that waning self-control capacity is reflected in reduced motivational effort. Furthermore, our findings provide evidence that self-control might play a crucial role in students’ test-taking behavior in large-scale assessment studies. By modeling changes in state self-control capacity and effort investment while considering trait self-control, we provide an alternative approach for investigating self-control-dependent processes and the underlying mechanisms of self-control in achievement situations.

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Acknowledgements

Parts of the research reported in this article stem from the project “Mathematics and Science Competencies in Vocational Education and Training (ManKobE)”.

Funding

The project was funded by the Leibniz Society, Germany [SAW-2012-IPN-2]. We would like to thank Gráinne Newcombe for language editing.

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Correspondence to Christoph Lindner.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical statement

This study was carried out in accordance with the ethical guidelines for research with human participants as proposed by the American Psychological Association (APA).

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Lindner, C., Nagy, G. & Retelsdorf, J. The need for self-control in achievement tests: Changes in students’ state self-control capacity and effort investment. Soc Psychol Educ 21, 1113–1131 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-018-9455-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-018-9455-9

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