ED492971

Self-regulation and Korean Students

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Running head: SELF-REGULATION AND KOREAN STUDENTS

Perception of Self-efficacy, Academic Delay of Gratification, and Use of Learning

Strategies among Korean College Students

Héfer Bembenutty

Queens College of the City University of New York

Héfer Bembenutty

Queens College, CUNY

Powdermaker Hall, 150-P

65-30 Kissena Boulevard

Flushing, New York 11367-1597

Office Telephone: (718) 997-5158

Home Telephone: (646) 685-0011

Fax: (718) 997-5152

Email: bembenuttyseys@http://wendang.chazidian.com

A paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association,

San Diego, CA. (April, 2004)

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the association between students’ self-

efficacy beliefs, satisfaction with their academic performance, expected grade, willingness to delay gratification, use of volitional strategies, and final course grade among Korean college

students. The results support the hypothesized relationship between students’ motivational

beliefs, use of self-regulation, such as delay of gratification and volitional learning strategies, and final course grade. Final course grade was related to delay of gratification and expected

grade. Delay of gratification was significantly related to expected grade, satisfaction with

academic performance, use of volitional control, and self-efficacy beliefs. These findings

serve to establish academic delay of gratification as an important self-regulatory strategy

useful to protect intentions from distracting tendencies while academic goals are pressing and that delay of gratification is associated with the students’ self-efficacy beliefs for learning, as well as expected grade, satisfaction with academic performance, and final course grade.

Perception of Self-efficacy, Academic Delay of Gratification, and Use of Learning

Strategies among Korean College Students

Successful learners are those who engage in self-regulation of learning by enacting

volition control and delaying gratification. They exercise behavioral control not only to

choose or plan valuable academic tasks, but also to maintain motivation and intention in the

light of distracting alternatives (Bembenutty & Zimmerman, 2003; Schunk & Zimmerman,

1997; Zimmerman, 1998). Self-regulation of learning is a process that required students to

get proactively involved in their personal, behavioral, motivational, and cognitive learning

endeavors in order to accomplish important and valuable academic goals (Zimmerman,

1998). Volition is defined as the “tendency to maintain focus and effort toward goals despite potential distractions” (Corno, 1993; Kuhl, 1985; Snow, Corno, & Jackson, 1996). Kuhl

(1985) posited that volition is important to put into action established goals. In an academic

setting, volitional control is associated with protecting learners’ intentions and motivation to

pursue academic goals (García et al., 1997). Volition plays a key role in students’ academic

achievement by helping learners to maintain intentions while they pursue academic goals.

Volition, therefore, is related to self-regulation. Indeed, volition is a dimension of self-

regulation. For instance, Mischel (1996) framed volition (willpower) from the perspective of cognitive social theory by accentuating the necessity of delay of gratification for an

individual to become a successful goal achiever.

Delay of gratification refers to individuals’ intentions to postpone immediate available

rewards in order to obtain larger rewards temporally distant. Delay of gratification is

important for self-regulation of learning because, for example, alternatives to academic goals are attractive, in part, because they offer immediate gratification, in contrast to rewards for

academic goals (e.g., grades, degrees) that are temporally remote. However, successful

students are those who delay gratification, engage in volitional control, and sustain high

motivation.

Two important dimension of self-regulation of learning are the use of volitional

learning strategies and willingness to delay gratification for American students. Volitional

control encompasses the activation of motivational, cognitive, and behavioral process

necessary to be certain that goals are obtainable in the present of competing tendencies (Kuhl (1985). Use of volitional strategies, such as enhancing self-efficacy beliefs, reducing stress-

related tasks, activating positive rather than negative thoughts, seeking help from a friend or

a teacher when tasks are too difficult, thinking about the positive and negative consequences

associated with neglecting fulfilling an expected task, and engaging in some sort of relation

technique, are task known to be associated with academic success (Bembenutty &

Karabenick, 1998). According to Mischel (1996; Mischel, Shoda, & Peake, 1988; Michel,

Shoda, & Rodriquez, 1989), individuals are able to use diverse strategies, such as delay of

gratification to facilitated the implementation of intentions and goals. For example, a student who intent to study for a test may select a less distracting environment to study and exert

control over their cognition.

An emergent theme in the literature is the conviction that delay of gratification plays an indispensable role in pursuing and maintaining goals (Mischel, Cantor, Fieldman, 1996).

Consequently, learners must maintain their intention to learn and cognitive engagement in

actions that will insure success in the presence of distractors. Delay of gratification is

associated with students’ use of learning strategies such as organization, elaboration,

rehearsal, critical thinking, help seeking, peer learning, as well as students’ motivation for

learning, such as self-efficacy, task value, and intrinsic interest. Bembenutty and Karabenick (1998) found that preference for delay options is related to students’ final course grade, high

self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation. However, the relationship between students’

motivation for learning, expected grade, use of volitional learning strategies, delay of

gratification, and final course grade among Korean students is not fully understood.

Kim et al (2001) investigated the association between these aforentioned variables

among junior high school students. The researchers found a positive relationship between

the variables. However, to date, it is not know the association between these variables for in a Korean sample of college students. With an increased wave of Asian students coming to

America is important to know these students’ ability to engage in self-regulation in order to

help them to accomplish learning tasks. Thus, the goal of the present study was to examine

the relationship between Korean students’ motivation for learning, expected grade, use of

volitional learning strategies, delay of gratification, and final course grade.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the association between students’

motivational beliefs, such as self-efficacy, satisfaction with their academic performance, and expected grade, use of self-regulatory learning strategies such as delay of gratification, and

use of volitional strategies, and final course grade among Korean college students.

Method

Participants

Participants were 112 undergraduate college students enrolled in science education

courses at a large urban Korean university during the Spring of 1999.

Instruments

Academic Delay of Gratification. Participants completed the Academic Delay of

Gratification Scale (ADOGS; Bembenutty & Karabenick, 1998). The ADOGS, which has

shown evidence of both validity and reliability (Cronbach alpha = .71 for the previous

studies), presents students with four choices between options that offer more immediate

gratification, such as “Go to a party the night before a test for this course” and options with

relatively delayed gratification (academic) options, such as “Study first and party only if you have time.” Students responded on a four point scale: “Definitely choose A,” “Probably

choose A,” “Probably choose B,” and “Definitely choose B.” Overall, delay preference was the total for the ten items scored, so that higher values indicate greater delay preference (see

Appendix A).

Self-efficacy Beliefs. To assess self-efficacy beliefs, participants answered a modified

version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ; Pintrich, Smith,

García, & McKeachie, 1993). The MSLQ uses a 5-point Likert-type response format of “Not at all true of me” to “Very true of me.”

Volitional Learning Strategies. To assess students’ use of volitional learning strategies, the

students responded to the Academic Volitional Strategy Inventory (AVSI; McCann, 1999),

which is an instrument which target college students’ use of motivational regulation

strategies know to support and mediate cognitive and behavioral performance. The AVSI is

a scale with the response format consisting of a 7-point Likert scale (1 = “Not at all of me”

and 7 = “Very true of me”).

Expected Grade, Level of Satisfaction, and Course Grade. The students also indicated the

lowest grade they expected in the course and the expected grade. They also indicated their

expected grade in the course. In addition, the students indicated their level of satisfaction

with their academic performance. Final course grades were obtained from the instructors of

the courses.

Results

Correlational Analyses

A Pearson correlation coefficient was computed to assess the association between

students’ motivational beliefs, expected grade, willingness to delay of gratification, use of

volitional strategies, and final course grade. As expected, final course grade was related to

delay of gratification (r = .25, p < .05) and expected grade (r = .37, p < .05). Delay of

gratification was significantly related to expected grade (r = .40, p < .05), satisfaction with

academic performance (r = .31, p < .05), use of volitional control (r = .32, p < .05), and self-

efficacy beliefs (r = .27, p < .05); see Table 1.

With respect to motivational variables, self-efficacy was associated with delay of

gratification. In addition, expected grade was associated with satisfaction with the academic performance and delay of gratification. However, final course grade was not associated with use of volitional strategies, self-efficacy beliefs, and satisfaction with the academic

performance.

Regression Analyses

Further, regression analyses were conducted to examine which variables significantly

predicted final course grade. The results indicated that delay of gratification was the only

variable that significantly (at the p < .05) predicted final course grade.

Discussion

The results support the hypothesized relationship between students’ motivational

beliefs, use of self-regulation, such as delay of gratification and volitional learning

strategies, and final course grade. The notion that delay of gratification and volitional

learning strategies should be considered when examining students’ academic

performance is important. From this perspective, academic delay of gratification is part

of the self-regulatory learning strategies that students activate to secure academic

intentions. For learners, it is important not only that they could structure tasks and could

establish the intention to accomplish them, but also that they choose to postpone

immediate gratification to achieve their academic goals. The results also indicate that

greater delay of gratification is related to the more frequent use of volitional regulation of

effort that describe behaviors dedicated to structuring and controlling conditions to

maximize successful academic outcomes.