Abdelsayed, L. M., Bustrum, J. M., Tisdale, T. C., Reimer, K. S., & Camp, C. A. (2013). The impact of personality on God image, religious coping, and religious motivation among Coptic Orthodox priests. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 16(2), 155-172. doi:10.1080/13674676.2011.652604The authors of this article show how intrinsic motivation is linked to personality characteristics among priests in the Coptic Orthodox tradition. Using a sample of 75 Orthodox priests, all of whom are male, the researchers administered the 16 Factor Personality Questionnaire, which has 185 items, for trait assessment. Because of the high reliability and validity of the instrument used, the results of this study can be generalized reasonably well to a broader religious population. In addition to evaluating the relationship between personality and spirituality, the researchers also assessed different traits that might be related to spiritual motivation, which is why this research links to my own. Interestingly, the researchers found no significant differences between Orthodox clergy personality profiles and profiles in the mainstream male population, suggesting no “typical” priest personality. However, the researchers do point out the specific elements that motivate priests to seek positions of leadership or perform specific roles in their respective communities.

Brimhall, A., & Butler, M. (2007). Intrinsic vs. extrinsic religious motivation and the marital relationship. American Journal of Family Therapy, 35(3), 235-249.

Prior literature has focused on the positive link between marriage satisfaction and religiosity. This study builds on prior literature and corrects gaps in the research by including motivation as an additional variable. The researchers surveyed 74 couples, and results showed that the husband’s intrinsic religious or spiritual motivation was significantly correlated with marriage satisfaction, and that the higher the husband’s motivation, the higher the level of satisfaction in the marriage for both the husband and the wife. Therefore, this research has tremendous implications for my own. Limitations of this study include a homogenous population, which can be corrected for easily in future studies. Interestingly, the results of the Brimhall & Butler (2007) study reveal significant gender differences in motivation. In particular, the female participants in the study reported higher overall marriage satisfaction when they were extrinsically motivated for religious and spiritual activities. Results have implications for religious counselors and clergy.

Corodeanu Agheorghiesei, D. T., Copoeru, I., & Horia, N. (2016). The role of religion in businesses from a three-dimensional perspective--entrepreneurship, marketing and organizational management. Journal For The Study Of Religions And Ideologies, (45), 283.

This research is unique in that it places the teaching of religion within a global perspective. As the teaching of religion has fallen out of favor in secular societies, there do remain many areas in which religion is still taught in the standard curriculum. Research has revealed some positive connections between the teaching of religion in public schools and student outcomes. In this review of literature, the authors show how the teaching of religion specifically to economics students at the undergraduate level might lead to personal and professional advantages. The authors focus on the ethical and values dimensions of religious education, to show how organizations in the private sector can also capitalize on some religious education. Because of its special focus on religion as motivating ethical behavior during the learning process, this research will become helpful in informing my work and offering some background information on the types of intrinsic motivation that religious education can inspire.

Dousay, T. T. (2016). Effects of redundancy and modality on the situational interest of adult learners in multimedia learning. Educational Technology Research & Development, 64(6), 1251-1271.

Design principles are integral to pedagogy and theories of learning because of the effect of environment on student outcomes. Building on this prior research, Dousay (2016) conducts original experimental research using 102 adult learners working in the medical technician or emergency medical systems field. Participants were randomly assigned to control and two experimental groups. The experimental groups included three different training sessions that followed...

Specifically, animation-text, animation-narration, and animation-narration-text design principles were used. A pretest and a posttest were administered, and the differences between scores was analyzed using the analysis of variance method. Situational interest was also measured, and results showed that each of the design principles had a differential outcome on situational interest of the participants. If educators are to integrate multimedia materials into the learning environment, I would rely on this study for support. Given the proliferation of multimedia materials in education, this research will become valuable in my research on intrinsic motivation.
González-Marcos, A., Alba-Elías, F., Navaridas-Nalda, F., & Ordieres-Meré, J. (2016). Student evaluation of a virtual experience for project management learning: An empirical study for learning improvement. Computers & Education, 102172-187. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2016.08.005

To improve student learning outcomes, researchers need to understand how to increase student extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. In this research, Gonzolez-Marcos, Alba-Elias, Mavaridas-Nalda & Ordieres-Mere (2016) examine specific student-centric approaches that are based on situated learning theory. Moreover, this research focuses on project-based learning, which has become integrated into the business environment because of its emphasis on teamwork and collaboration. Both peer motivations and self-directed learning were linked with the development of student intrinsic motivation and learning outcomes. In this study, 122 students at undergraduate and master’s level who were enrolled in project management courses were selected and randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The researchers found that positive expectations of future professional development, clear learning objectives, and positive self-perception were all correlated with academic performance and motivation. Although it was a quasi-experimental design with a few methodological issues, the outcomes do support my hypothesis about intrinsic motivation and its relationship to learning.

Heeneman, S., Oudkerk Pool, A., Schuwirth, L. T., Vleuten, C. M., & Driessen, E. W. (2015). The impact of programmatic assessment on student learning: theory versus practice. Medical Education, 49(5), 487-498. doi:10.1111/medu.12645

Prior literature shows that assessment frequency, type, and style affect student self-perception as well as actual learning outcomes. In this study, the authors build upon and add to prior literature in assessment by assessing factors that contribute to students’ active construction of learning. The authors sampled a population of seventeen graduate students, making it a relatively small sample size. Because the graduate students were enrolled in a medical school, it is difficult to generalize about the results of the study. Moreover, the research was qualitative in nature. However, this research does offer some insight into the elements that impact student learning. The authors found that active participation in learning improves student outcomes because active participation is akin to intrinsic learning and self-directed learning. Furthermore, the researchers found that programmatic assessment was especially conducive to active learning, with tremendous implications for educators. The study also influences my own research design on intrinsic motivation.

Marmon, E. L. (2013). TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING THEORY: CONNECTIONS WITH CHRISTIAN ADULT EDUCATION. Christian Education Journal, 10(2), 424-431.

Transformative learning theory is based on several core dimensions including experience, critical reflection, corporate disclosure, authentic relationships, and change, according to the author. Based on the principles of transformative learning theory, this research applies the theory to adult Christian education. The principles of transformative learning theory are evaluated in turn and applied to specific elements of the adult Christian education experience. The author also discusses the principle of discipleship, and factors it into the Christian education experience in light of transformative learning theory. Although this research is not experimental, it provides a theoretical framework that can be helpful for grounding my own investigation in the field of intrinsic motivation and religious learning. Authentic relationships between students and their peers or between students…