Date of Award
Spring 2004
Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
Degree Name
Master of Science in Human Factors & Systems
Department
Human Factors and Systems
Committee Chair
Christina M. Frederick
Committee Member
Shawn Michael Doherty
Committee Member
Geoff Kain
Abstract
Cognitive Evaluation Theory was developed by Deci & Ryan, (1985) to explain factors that affect intrinsic motivation. This study was done to test this theory by having volunteers engage in direct and indirect competition while working on a simple task in a time-pressured environment. Specifically, it was predicted that task performance would be adversely affected in competition because participants would be focused on the outcome (winning versus losing), while being faced with a deadline for task completion. In addition, a reduction in intrinsic motivation toward the activity was expected. While these hypotheses were not supported, a proposal was made that certain environments may result in people becoming accustomed to competition and/or pressure, which would explain why this outcome occurred. In addition, females performed better and reported higher levels of intrinsic motivation, which is inconsistent with previous research.
Scholarly Commons Citation
Adkins, Tanya R., "The Effects of Competition and Perceived Pressure on Performance of a Visual Scanning Task: A Test of Cognitive Evaluation Theory" (2004). Master's Theses - Daytona Beach. 2.
https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/2
