Social Motivation and School
Adjustment in Young Adolescents
Kathryn R. Wentzel
University of Maryland, College Park
PAEPS10 Conference, Halle, Germany
September, 2005
Overview
Background
Conceptual Definitions and Model
 Evidence for Model
Study 1:
Social support and classroom behavior
Study 2:
Expectations and classroom behavior
Study 3:
Multiple provisions and motivation
Summary and Conclusions
Background
How do the social lives of children relate to their
academic success and healthy adjustment to school?
Aspects of social behavior are strong predictors
of academic outcomes:
Prosocial: helping, sharing, cooperating
Responsible: following rules, keeping commitments,
restraint from aggressive, disruptive actions
Pursuit of goals to be prosocial and responsible
predicts academic outcomes:
High achieving students tend to pursue social as
well as academic goals
Background
How do the social lives of children relate to their
academic success and healthy adjustment to school?
Aspects of social relationships are strong predictors
of academic outcomes:
Children who are well-accepted by their peers tend to do well
academically; those who are rejected tend to do poorly in school
Children who are well-liked by their teachers tend to do well
academically
Relationships with peers and teachers might have differential
effects on school adjustment
Rejected:
Nobody likes,
everyone dislikes
Neglected:
Nobody likes,
Nobody dislikes
*
*
Aggressive
Submissive
**
Perceived Family
Support
Perceived Teacher
Support
Distress
Perceived Peer
Support
Interest
Current Focus
How do interpersonal relationships with
teachers and peers promote positive social
and academic outcomes at school? How
is social competence achieved?
Social Competence is…
achieving a balance between the
development of positive outcomes for
the self and adherence to context-specific
expectations for behavior.
Positive outcomes for the self:
Achievement of goals that are personally valued
Goals = cognitive representations of desired
outcomes in a specific setting (Ford, 1992);
perceived effort towards achieving a desired
outcome
Self-regulatory processes that support goal pursuit
Perceptions of efficacy and control, emotional
well-being, internalized reasons for behavior
Desirable social outcomes
at school:
 Social behavior in the form of prosocial (helping,
sharing) and socially responsible (following rules,
keeping commitments) actions

Academic accomplishments
Social competence at school
is contingent on opportunities and
affordances of the classroom context
Interpersonal relationships
Quality of social relationships with teachers
and peers (liking, acceptance)
Quality of social interactions with teachers
and peers
Teacher
Relationships
=
Teacher preference;
Fairness, Rule setting,
Negative feedback,
High expectations,
Motivation
Motivation
=
Social goal pursuit,
Interest, Mastery
Behavior
=
Social behavior,
Grades
(Wentzel, 1998, 2002)
Peer
Relationships
=
Status: Acceptance/Rejection
Groups: Networks
Dyadic Friendships
Motivation
=
Social goal pursuit,
Emotional distress
Behavior
=
Prosocial behavior,
Grades
(Wentzel, 1991,1994,1997,1998, 2004)
Relationship supports:
Students are likely to engage in positive social
and academic activities at school if they also:
 know they can get help;
 know what is expected and valued;
 can do so without feeling threatened; and
 feel like they are a valued part of the
social group
Conceptual Definitions:
Social Motivation

interpersonal relationships and interactions
that direct efforts to engage in behavior
 social cognitions that direct efforts to engage
in behavior
 goals to achieve social outcomes
Heuristic Model of Social-Motivational Processes
Relationship Supports
•Help
•Safety
•Expectations & values
•Emotional support
Self-Processes
•Efficacy
•Control beliefs
•Reasons for behavior
•Affect
Goal
Pursuit
Socially
Competent
Outcomes
Empirical support
Study 1:
Social Support and Antisocial Behavior
Study 2:
Expectations, Self-Processes and
Prosocial Behavior
Study 3:
Multiple Provisions and Social and
Academic Goals
Study 1
Teacher and
Peer Provisions
Of Social Support
Students’ Antisocial
Behavior
Relationship Supports
Teacher and Peer Provisions of:
•Help
•Safety
•Expectations & values
•Emotional support
Self-Processes
•Efficacy
•Control beliefs
•Reasons for behavior
•Affect
Goal
Pursuit
Competent
Outcomes
Moderation Model
Antisocial
Behavior – 6th
Antisocial
Behavior – 7th
Perceived Social
Support in 7th
Sample
•159 sixth graders (11-12 year olds)
followed from sixth to seventh grade
•Suburban mid-Atlantic middle school:
•34% free or reduced price lunch
•32nd percentile CTBS reading,
•29th percentile CTBS math
•148 African-American, 9 Caucasian, 2 other; 52%male
•10 sixth-grade teachers from academic subject areas;
4 seventh grade social studies teachers
Measures
•Classroom behavior: Peer nominations and
teacher ratings
•Perceived Social Support: Classroom Life Measure
(Johnson et al., 1985) “My teacher/classmates care
about my feelings”
Stability of Predictors
Correlations of 6th & 7th Grade Scores:
Irresponsible Behavior
Perceived Teacher Support
Perceived Peer Support
r = .46**
r = .30**
r = .43**
Results of Multiple Regression Analyses
Sixth-Grade Predictors of Sixth and SeventhGrade Irresponsible Behavior
Sixth
Sex
Perceived support – Peers
Perceived support – Teachers
Irresponsible behavior
R2
-.31***
.22***
.34***
NA
.22***
Seventh
-.23**
-.06
-.04
.49***
.39***
Results of Multiple Regression Analyses
Seventh Grade Perceived Support as Moderator of
Relations Between Sixth and Seventh Grade
Irresponsible Behavior.
Seventh Grade Irresponsible Behavior
Step 1: 6th grade vars.
Sex
-.22**
Perc. support – P -.08
Perc. support – T -.05
Step 2: Interaction
Sex
-.22**
Perc. support – P .09
Perc. support – T -.05
Step 2: Interaction
Perc. T. support (7)
x Irres. Beh. (6) .44***
R2
Step 1: 6th grade vars
.35***
Step 1: 6th grade vars
Sex
Perc. Support – P
Perc. Support – T
-.23**
-.07
-.08
Step 2: Interaction
Perc. P. support (7)
x Irres. Beh (6)
.44***
Perc. T support 7 x
P support 7 x Irres.
Beh.(6)
.42***
.35***
.35***
Perceived Support in 7th Grade
Low teacher and peer support
High teacher and peer support
High teacher and low peer support
Low teacher and high peer support
4
3
2
1
Low
Average
High
6th Grade Irresponsible Behavior
Summary:
 Perceived emotional support from teachers and peers
is not always complementary in its effects on student behavior.
Highly supportive teachers and unsupportive peers can result in
lowered levels of negative behavior over time for highly aggressive students.
Students at risk for negative behavior in sixth grade are also at risk in
seventh grade if they have a highly supportive peer group even if they perceive
teachers as being highly supportive.
 Replicated in a second sample of older adolescents as they
make the transition into high school
Study 2
Teacher & Peer
Expectations
and Self-processes
Prosocial
Goals
Prosocial
Behavior
Relationship Supports
Teacher and Peer Provisions of:
•Help
•Safety
•Expectations & values
•Emotional support
Self-Processes
•Efficacy
•Control beliefs
•Reasons for behavior
•Affect
Goal
Pursuit
Competent
Outcomes
Sample
 339 sixth (11-12 yrs) and eighth (13-14 yrs) grade
middle school students
 suburban, predominantly middle class
 52% females; 49% Caucasian, 44% African-American
 18 social studies classes (4 teachers)
Measures
Social Cognitions:
Peer expectations for prosocial behavior
Teacher expectations for prosocial behavior
(Wentzel et al., 2002)
Self-Processes:
Distress (Weinberger et al., 1987)
Empathy (Davis; IRI, 1983)
Perspective taking (Davis; IRI, 1983)
Efficacy (Harter, 1982)
Reasons for goal pursuit (adapted from Ryan
& Connell, 1989)
External = Tangible rewards; Fear of reprisals
Other-focused = Social approval, affirmation
Self-focused = Guilt, Shame
Internal = Importance to self
Behavior: Teacher ratings and peer nominations
Model of Relations Among Variables
Self-Processes
Empathy
Emotional Distress
Perspective taking
Perceived competence
Reasons for behavior
Social Cognitions
Expectations from teachers
Expectations from peers
Prosocial
Goal Pursuit
Prosocial
Behavior
Results of Regression on Prosocial Behavior
Self-Processes
Empathy
Emotional Distress
Perspective taking
Perceived competence
Reasons for behavior
Social Cognitions
Expectations from teachers
Expectations from peers
Prosocial
Goal Pursuit
Prosocial
Behavior
R2 = .38***
Results of Regression on Prosocial Goal Pursuit
Self-Processes
Empathy
Emotional Distress
Perspective taking
Perceived competence
Reasons for behavior
Social Cognitions
Expectations from peers
Expectations from teachers
Prosocial
Goal Pursuit
Prosocial
Behavior
R2 = .49***
Self-Processes
Empathy
Emotional Distress
Perspective taking
Perceived competence
Reasons for behavior
Social Cognitions
Expectations from peers
Expectations from teachers
Prosocial
Goal Pursuit
Prosocial
Behavior
Results of Regressions on Reasons
Demographic variables
Grade level
Sex
Race
Social Cognitions
Expectations from teachers
Expectations from peers
Self-Processes
Emotional Distress
Empathy
Perspective taking
Perceived competence
Reasons
External
Other-focused
Self-focused
Internal
Results of Regressions on Reasons
Demographic variables
Grade level
Sex
Race
Social Cognitions
Expectations from teachers
Expectations from peers
Self-Processes
Emotional Distress
Empathy
Perspective taking
Perceived competence
Reasons
External
Other-focused
Self-focused
Internal
Results of Regressions on Reasons
Demographic variables
Grade level
Sex
Race
Social Cognitions
Expectations from teachers
Expectations from peers
Self-Processes
Emotional Distress
Empathy
Perspective taking
Perceived competence
Reasons
R2
External
.13***
Other-focused
.22***
Self-focused
.28***
Internal
.48***
Summary
 Goal pursuit partly mediates relations between prosocial
behavior and relationship supports and self-processes
 Goal pursuit is predicted most strongly by perceived
expectations of peers, a sense of efficacy, and empathy
 Reasons for goal pursuit are related to different sets of
Relationship supports and self-processes depending on the
degree to which the reason reflects more external or
internal regulation
Study 3
Teacher and
Peer Multiple
Provisions
Students’ Academic
and Social Motivation
Relationship Supports
Teacher and Peer Provisions of:
•Help
•Safety
•Expectations & values
•Emotional support
Self-Processes
•Efficacy
•Control beliefs
•Reasons for behavior
•Affect
Goal
Pursuit
Competent
Outcomes
Sample
 495 6th, 7th, and 8th graders
(11-13 year olds)
 249 males, 246 females
Suburban, predominantly middle class
 5 teachers, 23 social studies
classes
Measures
Social Cognitions:
Help (adapted from Parker & Asher, 1993)
Safety (adapted from Parker & Asher, 1993;
Midgely et al., 1988)
Expectations (new)
Social support (Johnson et al, 1985).
Motivation:
Social goal pursuit (Wentzel, 1993)
Interest in class (Ford & Tisak, 1982).
Interest
in classwork
Sex
Grade
Teacher
Peer provisions
Social Goal
Pursuit
-.02
.33***
***
.20***
-.17
ns
Expectations and values
Safety
Instrumental help
Emotional support
.16***
-.01
-.16***
.05
.07
.07*
-.01
.07
Expectations and values
Safety
Instrumental help
Emotional support
.32***
-.13**
.12**
.12**
.05
.03
-.01
.17**
T x P Expectations
T x P Safety
T x P Help
T x P Support
-.04
-.07*
-.03
.03
-.01
.04
-.04
.04
.61***
.38***
Teacher provisions
Interactions
Total R2
To what extent are student perceptions
influenced by individual teachers?
Classrooms
Teacher 1
Teacher perceptions
Peer perceptions
Teacher 2
Teacher perceptions
Peer perceptions
Teacher 3
Teacher perceptions
Peer perceptions
Teacher 4
Teacher perceptions
Peer perceptions
Teacher 5
Teacher perceptions
Peer perceptions
Sex differences
(n=5)
ns
ns
ns
ns
(n=4)
ns
ns
ns
ns
(n=5)
ns
*******
ns
ns
(n=5)
*******
ns
ns
ns
(n=5)
********
******
*******
*******
Summary
 Multiple provisions from teachers and peers predict
motivation in the classroom
 Peers who provide a sense of safety have the potential to
influence interest in class positively when a teacher is
perceived as being highly critical
 Teachers differ in the degree to which they influence their
students’ perceptions of them and of their classmates
Overall Conclusions
• Teachers and peers have the potential to create contexts that
facilitate social and academic competence by providing help,
safety, expectations, and social support.
Teachers and peers have overlapping as well as unique influence on social
cognitive processes and motivation - further examination of perceived safety
and social support is necessary.
 Student self-processes and goals provide a pathway from
relationship supports to behavior
 Many remaining questions:
 How do teacher and peer supports influence self-processes?
 What do teachers and classmates do to influence perceptions of relationship
supports?
 How strong are contextual effects when family and community
factors are taken into account?
Thank you!
And thanks to student collaborators:
Ann Battle, Kathryn Caldwell, Lisa Looney,
Carolyn McNamara, Robert Tomback and
Alexis Williams