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- Vol 4 TE: App C
choiceintrinsic motivationperceived competencelearner autonomytask engagementbounded choicechoice architectureJournal article Evidence summaryAt a glance
Patall, Cooper, and Robinson meta-analyse 41 studies testing whether giving people choices affects intrinsic motivation and related outcomes. Across child and adult samples, choice generally increased intrinsic motivation, effort, task performance, and perceived competence, but effects varied substantially with the design and form of choice.
Key ideas
Motivation effects were stronger for instructionally incidental choices than for choices between activities, task versions, rewards, or other instructionally consequential options; they were also stronger when participants received a small number of successive choices, when choice was not followed by rewards, and when comparison conditions were highly controlling. Effects differed with age, setting, and how researchers equated the options available to choice and no-choice groups. The findings support autonomy as one influence on motivation, not the claim that any choice is beneficial. For educators, bounded and meaningful choice can support engagement when options are manageable and compatible with learning goals.
Why it matters
Excessive, trivial, confusing, or poorly structured options may impose costs, so choice should be designed rather than simply added.
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Edition abbreviations
- TE
- Teacher Edition
- PE
- Practice Edition
- RE
- Research Edition
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