Exploring Learning Motivation: A Literature Review of Influencing

Factors and Educational Intervention Strategies

Yuhan Qiu

Essex business school, University of Essex, Colchester, CO2, U.K.

Keywords: Learning Motivation, Psychological Factors, Self-Efficacy, Goal Orientation.

Abstract: Learning motivation is the core driving force of students' learning, which is affected by a variety of

psychological factors, including internal factors such as self-efficacy, attribution style, goal orientation, and

external factors such as teacher support and classroom atmosphere. Through literature review, this paper

analyzes the concept, classification and performance of learning motivation in different cultural backgrounds,

subject areas and education stages. At the same time, it summarizes the specific influence of internal and

external psychological factors on learning motivation, and discusses its application in educational practice,

such as differentiated teaching and educational intervention strategies. Although the existing research

provides important support for the theory and practice of learning motivation, there are still limitations in the

selection of research methods and objects. Future research should further focus on individual differences,

cultural comparisons, and the combination of neural and behavioral data to enrich theoretical research and

practical guidance in the field of learning motivation.

1 INTRODUCTION

Learning motivation is one of the core issues in

educational psychology and is widely present in

academic research and teaching practice. It is the

psychological motivation that drives students to

participate in learning and achieve specific goals. It

not only determines students' learning attitudes and

efforts but also has a great impact on students'

academic performance and future development

(Pintrich & Schunk, 2002). Learning motivation is

usually divided into intrinsic motivation and extrinsic

motivation. Intrinsic motivation is usually the

students' interest in learning and satisfaction with

learning outcomes, such as enthusiasm for exploring

knowledge and sense of achievement in solving

problems. Extrinsic motivation is the pursuit of

external factors, such as getting good grades, getting

rewards or avoiding negative consequences (Filgona

et al., 2020).

In recent years, researchers have realized that

learning motivation is affected by many factors,

including self-efficacy, attribution style, goal

orientation from within the individual, and external

factors such as teacher support and classroom

atmosphere (Bandura, 1997; Pintrich, 2000). At the

same time, cultural background, subject area and

education stage will also have an impact on learning

motivation. This paper analyzes relevant literature

and systematically explores the impact of these

factors on learning motivation and their significance

in educational practice, so as to provide effective

theoretical support and practical guidance for

educators.

2 INTRODUCTION OF THE

RESEARCH OBJECT

2.1 The Concept of Learning

Motivation

Learning motivation refers to a psychological driving

force that motivates individuals to learn and strive to

achieve specific goals (Pintrich & Schunk, 2002). It is

particularly important in the education system.

Sterling pointed out that the intrinsic motivation and

extrinsic motivation of learning motivation are

directly affected by the educational environment and

teaching methods (Stirling, 2014). Conversely,

teachers' positive feedback on students' learning

motivation will also prompt teachers to actively

improve their teaching methods. Therefore, educators

should pay attention to and cultivate students' intrinsic

652

Qiu, Y.

Exploring Learning Motivation: A Literature Review of Inﬂuencing Factors and Educational Intervention Strategies.

DOI: 10.5220/0014150100004942

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Applied Psychology and Marketing Management (APMM 2025), pages 652-656

ISBN: 978-989-758-791-7

motivation, so that students can show more positive

learning behaviors and achieve better academic

results (Pintrich & Groot, 1990).

2.2 Classification and Characteristics

of Psychological Factors

The psychological factors of learning motivation can

be explained from two aspects: internal personal

factors and external environmental factors.

Internal personal factors include self-efficacy,

attribution style, and goal orientation. Self-efficacy

refers to an individual's belief that he or she can

successfully complete a certain behavior in a specific

situation, which often directly affects learning

motivation. People with high self-efficacy are more

likely to set challenging goals and show more

endurance when facing difficulties. People with low

self-efficacy may exhibit avoidance behavior and

their learning motivation will also decrease (Bandura,

1997). Attribution style refers to the factors that an

individual tends to attribute to his or her success or

failure. If an individual tends to believe that the reason

for success comes from internal, stable, and

controllable factors such as high ability and high

effort, then the individual's self-confidence and

learning motivation will increase accordingly. On the

contrary, if an individual believes that the reason for

failure is internal, stable, and controllable factors such

as low ability, it may lead to a decrease in learning

motivation (Weiner, 1985). Goal orientation refers to

whether the student's learning goal is mainly to master

knowledge or to get good grades. Students who focus

on mastering knowledge can still maintain their

interest and enthusiasm in learning when faced with

failure, perhaps because they regard failure as an

indispensable part of the learning process (Pintrich,

2000).

From a non-personal perspective, learning

motivation is often influenced by the external

environment. For instance, teachers' teaching

methods, classroom atmosphere, and the resources

and facilities of the school all play a crucial role in

stimulating and maintaining students' learning

motivation (Palmer, 1998).

2.3 The Performance of Learning

Motivation in Different Cultures

and Contexts

From a cross-cultural perspective, Niles compared the

learning motivations and strategies of 72 overseas

students and 136 local Australian students at the

University of the Northern Territory in Australia from

a cross-cultural perspective (Niles, 1995). The results

showed that overseas students scored significantly

higher than Australian students in the field of learning

motivation influenced by external factors. Therefore,

educators should adjust their teaching strategies based

on students' cultural backgrounds. For instance, they

should design cooperative tasks for students who

value social recognition and offer more opportunities

for autonomous learning to those who emphasize

personal achievement (Pada et al., 2023).

The differentiation of learning motivation across

different subject areas is particularly notable.

Ramadhan and Sugito conducted a comparative

experiment, which indicated that different subjects

require differentiated teaching strategies to better

stimulate students' learning motivation (Ramadhan &

Sugito, 2022). For instance, in language courses,

intrinsic motivation can be strengthened by increasing

fun and interaction; while in science courses, extrinsic

motivation can be enhanced through practical

applications and goal-oriented designs, and at the

same time, more ways to stimulate intrinsic

motivation should be introduced.

Learning motivation may also vary across

different educational stages. In primary school,

students' learning motivation mainly stems from the

desire to explore, with a stronger intrinsic motivation.

As the grade level increases, extrinsic motivation

begins to dominate, and students pay more attention

to external factors such as exam scores, peer

evaluations, and teachers' expectations. After entering

university, for some students, due to the autonomy in

choosing their majors, intrinsic motivation increases,

but for others, extrinsic motivation remains

significant due to external factors such as

employment pressure.

3 ANALYSIS OF THE

INFLUENCE OF

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS

3.1 Influence of Internal Psychological

Factors

Mastery goals are about guiding students to focus on

learning and mastering content or tasks, while

performance goals are about guiding students to focus

on their own abilities and performance relative to

others. Pintrich conducted an experiment and

surveyed 150 students at three different time points in

grades 8 and 9 (Pintrich, 2000). The results showed

that mastery should be the primary goal of teaching in

Exploring Learning Motivation: A Literature Review of Inﬂuencing Factors and Educational Intervention Strategies

653

the classroom. Students who focus on mastery have

good learning motivation, emotional and cognitive

adaptability, and will not lose interest in learning

because of temporary setbacks. At the same time,

mastery goals can be combined with performance

goals, which will not weaken students' adaptability. In

the experiment, students who only focused on grades

had significantly lower learning motivation and self-

confidence, and their math scores were significantly

lower in the ninth grade, so performance could not be

set as the main goal.

3.2 Influence of External Psychological

Factors

It is generally believed that high levels of social

support will enhance students' motivation to learn.

However, Kristensen et al. found that parents'

academic support for their children, teachers' support

for students' autonomy, and peer support all had a

positive impact on academic self-efficacy (ASE),

while neither parental nor peer support had a

significant impact on GPA (Kristensen et al., 2023).

Only support from teachers could affect GPA through

AES, which may be because teachers play a major

role in the learning process.

Providing autonomy support to students can

motivate students to learn and enable them to think

independently. Autonomy support means

understanding and fully responding to students' views

and providing students with meaningful learning

tasks rather than forcing them to think in a specific

way. When teachers and parents provide autonomy

support, students show higher engagement,

performance, and higher well-being. In addition,

providing students with challenging but achievable

tasks and providing appropriate help can allow

students to receive feedback, stimulate their sense of

achievement, and increase their self-confidence,

thereby improving their learning motivation (Ryan &

Deci, 2020).

A positive classroom climate can lead to higher

levels of student engagement and motivation, such as

enthusiasm, respect, and emotional support. These

factors can help students improve their learning,

autonomy, and relationships with others. When

teachers provide more support, student engagement,

attendance, and grades improve (Klem & Connell,

2023).

4 IMPLICATIONS OF

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS

ON EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE

4.1 Significance of Differentiated

Teaching

Differentiated teaching is particularly important

within the framework of multicultural education.

Differentiated instruction requires not only adjusting

teaching methods according to students’ academic

levels but also recognizing and respecting each

student’s unique cultural and social background. It not

only helps improve academic performance but also

enhances understanding and trust between teachers

and students in multicultural classrooms and also

provides a practical way to build a more equitable and

inclusive education system (Gay, 2018).

4.2 Educational Intervention Strategies

Aronson has demonstrated that educational

interventions can be significantly enhanced by

incorporating psychological principles (Aronson,

2012). Specifically, educators can design more

targeted instructional programs that include methods

such as enhancing self-efficacy, fostering a growth

mindset, creating a supportive learning environment,

and leveraging social influences to help students

overcome learning challenges, thereby improving

their motivation and academic performance.

5 DISCUSSION

5.1 Limitation of Current Studies

At present, surveys on learning motivation often

focus on the same age group or specific region,

ignoring the potential impact of these factors on

learning motivation and learning behavior. In addition,

the sampling time points of the survey are insufficient,

and most of them are based on annual intervals,

resulting in insufficient experimental data. Lee et al.

have found that students of different ages will have

different feelings about the same factor (Lee et al.,

2009). In addition, survey data often come from the

self-evaluation of the respondents, which may cause

the results to be affected by social expectations and

individual biases. Moreover individual differences

such as gender, social background, and personality are

not included in the discussion, which may lead to

deviations in research results.

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5.2 Future Research

Due to cultural differences between the East and the

West, Eastern classrooms tend to be more teacher-led,

but this environment can also fully motivate students'

learning motivation. Therefore, it is possible to study

the differences between classrooms led by students

and teachers in affecting students' self-efficacy. It is

also possible to explore what kind of adaptive changes

classroom teaching strategies need to make under

different cultural differences to fully mobilize

students' learning motivation (Lee et al., 2009). At the

same time, due to the two-way feedback between

teachers and students, this also needs to be further

studied (Jang et al., 2016).

Research needs to pay more attention to individual

differences, and explore how individual differences

such as gender, personality, and family background

are related to learning motivation, and then affect

learning performance. The study of these factors is

helpful for personalized educational intervention

design.

What kind of changes will be learning motivation

make to different feedback is also a possible research

direction. Individuals may get different amounts of

motivation changes from material feedback and

spiritual feedback. It is possible to further study the

impact of feedback, rewards and classroom

atmosphere received by students from teachers on

students' learning motivation.

Survey data can not only be limited to

questionnaires, but also include neural data,

behavioral data, and physiological data into the

research to further study how learning motivation

changes.

6 CONCLUSION

The current study discussed that learning motivation

was affected by various aspects such as self-efficacy,

task value, and social and cultural background.

However, there are some limitations in the current

study, including the limitation of cultural background,

the singleness of research methods, and the neglect of

individual differences. Future research should focus

on cross-cultural comparison, longitudinal research,

and individual differences to further enrich theoretical

research and learning motivation interventions.

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