Willy Lens
Biographic Data
| ID | 370994 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Willy Lens |
| GIVEN NAMES | Willy |
| FAMILY NAME | Lens |
| SIGNATURE | LENS W |
| AFFILIATIONS | KU Leuven |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6214-354X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 353 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1982 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Future Time Perspective and Motivation
Basic psychological need satisfaction, need frustration, and need strength across four cultures
Parenting styles and psychological needs influences on adolescent life goals and aspirations in a South African setting
The present study examined the role of parenting styles and basic psychological needs in the adoption of goals and aspirations of learners, as well as for their psychological wellbeing (positive versus negative affect) in a South African sample of learners. A cross-sectional design was used to conduct this study with a sample of 853 learners at public schools in the Western Cape of South Africa (females = 57%, mean age 16.96 years, SD = 1.12). Da…
Factors Contributing to the Risk of HIV Infection in Rural School-Going Adolescents
The objective of this study was to determine the factors that increase the risk of HIV infection in rural school-going adolescents and young adults. This was a cross-sectional study of 430 secondary school students (47.4% boys and 52.6% girls) from two rural schools in South Africa. Data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire on demographic information, sources of HIV/AIDS information, HIV knowledge, sexual behaviors, communication…
Enriching the hierarchical model of achievement motivation: Autonomous and controlling reasons underlying achievement goals
BackgroundThe hierarchical model of achievement motivation presumes that achievement goals channel the achievement motives of need for achievement and fear of failure towards motivational outcomes. Yet, less is known whether autonomous and controlling reasons underlying the pursuit of achievement goals can serve as additional pathways between achievement motives and outcomes.AimsWe tested whether mastery approach, performance approach, and perfor…
Future time perspective as a motivational variable: Content and extension of future goals affect the quantity and quality of motivation
In the first part we briefly discuss the concept of future time perspective (FTP) as a cognitive‐motivational construct. By setting goals in the rather near or more distant future, human beings develop their individual FTP that can be characterized by its content (i.e., what people are striving for) and extension or depth (i.e. how far into the future individuals set their goals). Individual differences in the content and extension of the FTP hav…
Capturing autonomy, competence, and relatedness at work: Construction and initial validation of the Work‐related Basic Need Satisfaction scale
The satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as defined in Self‐Determination Theory, has been identified as an important predictor of individuals' optimal functioning in various life domains. The study of work‐related need satisfaction seems, however, hampered by the lack of a validated measure. To assist future research, the present study aimed to develop and validate a Work‐related Basic Need Sat…
Updating Allport's and Batson's Framework of Religious Orientations: A Reevaluation from the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory and Wulff's Social Cognitive Model
We theoretically and empirically evaluate Allport's intrinsic-extrinsic and Batson's quest religious orientations through the lens of self-determination theory (SDT) and Wulff's social-cognitive model. Confirming our theoretical analysis, we find that Allport's intrinsic-extrinsic dichotomy fails to correspond empirically to the differentiation between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation within SDT. Whereas Allport's intrinsic religious orientatio…
Motivational profiles from a self-determination perspective: The quality of motivation matters.
The present research complements extant variable-centered research that focused on the dimensions of autonomous and controlled motivation through adoption of a person-centered approach for identifying motivational profiles. Both in high school students (Study 1) and college students (Study 2), a cluster analysis revealed 4 motivational profiles: a good quality motivation group (i.e., high autonomous, low controlled); a poor quality motivation gro…
Explaining the relationships between job characteristics, burnout, and engagement: The role of basic psychological need satisfaction
Within the Job Demands-Resources model, the presence of job demands (e.g., work pressure) and the absence of job resources (e.g., social support) relate to burnout through a psychological energetic process, whereas the presence of job resources associates with work engagement through a motivational process. Although various mechanisms have been suggested to understand these processes, empirical evidence for these mechanisms is scarce within the J…
Conceptualizing parental autonomy support: Adolescent perceptions of promotion of independence versus promotion of volitional functioning
In current research on parenting, 2 ways of conceptualizing perceived parental autonomy support can be distinguished. Parental autonomy support can be defined in terms of promotion of independence (PI) or in terms of promotion of volitional functioning (PVF). This study aimed to establish the empirical distinctiveness of both conceptualizations and to examine their relative contribution to the prediction of adolescents' adjustment. The authors co…
Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Goal Contents in Self-Determination Theory: Another Look at the Quality of Academic Motivation
Examination of motivational dynamics in academic contexts within self-determination theory has centered primarily around both the motives (initially intrinsic vs. extrinsic, later autonomous vs. controlled) that regulate learners' study behavior and the contexts that promote or hinder these regulations. Less attention has been paid to the goal contents (intrinsic vs. extrinsic) that learners hold and to the different goal contents that are commun…
Study Orientation and Causal Attribution in Mathematics Achievement
The empirical relationship between study orientation as measured by the Study Orientation in Mathematics Questionnaire (SOM) and achievement in mathematics was investigated for Grade 9 learners from five racially integrated, secondary schools in the Northern Cape province in South Africa. A series of hierarchical regression analyses was performed to determine the percentage of the criterion (mathematics achievement) variance that could be explain…
Experiences of Autonomy and Control Among Chinese Learners: Vitalizing or Immobilizing?
Various cross-cultural researchers state that autonomy is not valued in Eastern cultures and, hence, is unlikely to predict optimal study functioning and well-being. In contrast, self-determination theory (SDT; R. M. Ryan & E. L. Deci, 2000) maintains that autonomous or volitional study motivation is universally important and should predict better learning and higher well-being, even among Chinese students. Two studies were conducted to shed ligh…
Examining the Motivational Impact of Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Goal Framing and Autonomy-Supportive Versus Internally Controlling Communication Style on Early Adolescents' Academic Achievement
The present experimental research examined whether framing early adolescents' (11- to 12-year-olds) learning activity in terms of the attainment of an extrinsic (i.e., physical attractiveness) versus intrinsic (i.e., health) goal and communicating these different goal contents in an internally controlling versus autonomy-supportive way affect performance. Both conceptual and rote learning were assessed. Three experimental field studies, 2 among o…
Future goal setting, task motivation and learning of minority and non-minority students in Dutch schools
Background. Cross-cultural research on minority school achievement yields mixed findings on the motivational impact of future goal setting for students from disadvantaged minority groups. Relevant and recent motivational research, integrating Future Time Perspective Theory with Self-Determination Theory, has not yet been validated among minority students.Aims. To replicate across cultures the known motivational benefits of perceived instrumentali…
Placing Motivation and Future Time Perspective Theory in a Temporal Perspective
The ‘why’ and ‘why not’ of job search behaviour: Their relation to searching, unemployment experience, and well‐being
Two studies ( n = 273 and 254) used self‐determination theory (SDT) to examine unemployed people's motivation both to search and not to search for a job. The self‐regulation questionnaire format (Ryan & Connell, 1989) was used to assess participants' autonomous and controlled job‐search motivation (the ‘why’ of job search) as well as their amotivation for searching. Additionally, both autonomous and controlled motivation for not searching (the ‘w…
Motivating Learning, Performance, and Persistence: The Synergistic Effects of Intrinsic Goal Contents and Autonomy-Supportive Contexts
Three field experiments with high school and college students tested the self-determination theory hypotheses that intrinsic (vs. extrinsic) goals and autonomy-supportive (vs. controlling) learning climates would improve students' learning, performance, and persistence. The learning of text material or physical exercises was framed in terms of intrinsic (community, personal growth, health) versus extrinsic (money, image) goals, which were present…
The role of different types of instrumentality in motivation, study strategies, and performance: Know why you learn, so you'll know what you learn
Background: Two theories in the field of motivation and achievement, namely the future time perspective theory and goal theory, result in conflicting recommendations for enhancing students' motivation, because of their differential emphasis on the task at hand and on the future consequences of a task.Aims: We will present a framework consisting of four types of instrumentality that combines both perspectives. The implications of those different t…
Measuring needs with the Thematic Apperception Test: A psychometric study
Three apperception theories that explain how people respond to Thematic Apperception Test cards are proposed: a simple apperception theory, an apperception theory with a dynamic component, and an apperception theory with 2 types of responses. Each theory is translated into an item response theory model and is applied to need for achievement (nAch) data. The analysis indicates that the best fitting model is provided by the apperception theory with…
The evaluation practice of teachers as a learning opportunity for students
Wanting to have vs. wanting to be: The effect of perceived instrumentality on goal orientation
Two theories of motivation relevant to classroom learning result in conflicting recommendations for enhancing motivation and performance. The goal theory stresses only that stimulating an individual s natural curiosity will increase motivation. This theory relies on the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Future time perspective theory stresses the importance of the personal future for motivation and learning and the utility o…
The role of the future in student motivation
Students' multiple goals and motivations for engaging in school learning are discussed. Our discussion is organized around two divisions of student motivation: intrinsic-extrinsic motivation and future-present orientation. In the case of future-present orientation, an extensive review of both the history of this concept and several studies that provide insight into the relation of Future Time Perspective (FTP) to human motivation is provided. A b…
Academic achievement and future time perspective as a cognitive–motivational concept
A new approach to future time perspective (FTP) was taken by integrating FTP into cognitive theories of motivation. Valence and instrumentality measurements of 23 general motivational goals were made in a group of 251 high-school boys. Goals were classified in three time zones: near future, distant future, and open present. Results showed that students with high grade point averages (GPA) and high study persistence attached significantly higher v…
Motivating Learning, Performance, and Persistence: The Synergistic Effects of Intrinsic Goal Contents and Autonomy-Supportive Contexts
Three field experiments with high school and college students tested the self-determination theory hypotheses that intrinsic (vs. extrinsic) goals and autonomy-supportive (vs. controlling) learning climates would improve students' learning, performance, and persistence. The learning of text material or physical exercises was framed in terms of intrinsic (community, personal growth, health) versus extrinsic (money, image) goals, which were present…
Conceptualizing parental autonomy support: Adolescent perceptions of promotion of independence versus promotion of volitional functioning
In current research on parenting, 2 ways of conceptualizing perceived parental autonomy support can be distinguished. Parental autonomy support can be defined in terms of promotion of independence (PI) or in terms of promotion of volitional functioning (PVF). This study aimed to establish the empirical distinctiveness of both conceptualizations and to examine their relative contribution to the prediction of adolescents' adjustment. The authors co…
Examining the Motivational Impact of Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Goal Framing and Autonomy-Supportive Versus Internally Controlling Communication Style on Early Adolescents' Academic Achievement
The present experimental research examined whether framing early adolescents' (11- to 12-year-olds) learning activity in terms of the attainment of an extrinsic (i.e., physical attractiveness) versus intrinsic (i.e., health) goal and communicating these different goal contents in an internally controlling versus autonomy-supportive way affect performance. Both conceptual and rote learning were assessed. Three experimental field studies, 2 among o…
Academic achievement and future time perspective as a cognitive–motivational concept
A new approach to future time perspective (FTP) was taken by integrating FTP into cognitive theories of motivation. Valence and instrumentality measurements of 23 general motivational goals were made in a group of 251 high-school boys. Goals were classified in three time zones: near future, distant future, and open present. Results showed that students with high grade point averages (GPA) and high study persistence attached significantly higher v…
The ‘why’ and ‘why not’ of job search behaviour: Their relation to searching, unemployment experience, and well‐being
Two studies ( n = 273 and 254) used self‐determination theory (SDT) to examine unemployed people's motivation both to search and not to search for a job. The self‐regulation questionnaire format (Ryan & Connell, 1989) was used to assess participants' autonomous and controlled job‐search motivation (the ‘why’ of job search) as well as their amotivation for searching. Additionally, both autonomous and controlled motivation for not searching (the ‘w…
The role of different types of instrumentality in motivation, study strategies, and performance: Know why you learn, so you'll know what you learn
Background: Two theories in the field of motivation and achievement, namely the future time perspective theory and goal theory, result in conflicting recommendations for enhancing students' motivation, because of their differential emphasis on the task at hand and on the future consequences of a task.Aims: We will present a framework consisting of four types of instrumentality that combines both perspectives. The implications of those different t…
Future goal setting, task motivation and learning of minority and non-minority students in Dutch schools
Background. Cross-cultural research on minority school achievement yields mixed findings on the motivational impact of future goal setting for students from disadvantaged minority groups. Relevant and recent motivational research, integrating Future Time Perspective Theory with Self-Determination Theory, has not yet been validated among minority students.Aims. To replicate across cultures the known motivational benefits of perceived instrumentali…
Measuring needs with the Thematic Apperception Test: A psychometric study
Three apperception theories that explain how people respond to Thematic Apperception Test cards are proposed: a simple apperception theory, an apperception theory with a dynamic component, and an apperception theory with 2 types of responses. Each theory is translated into an item response theory model and is applied to need for achievement (nAch) data. The analysis indicates that the best fitting model is provided by the apperception theory with…
Enriching the hierarchical model of achievement motivation: Autonomous and controlling reasons underlying achievement goals
BackgroundThe hierarchical model of achievement motivation presumes that achievement goals channel the achievement motives of need for achievement and fear of failure towards motivational outcomes. Yet, less is known whether autonomous and controlling reasons underlying the pursuit of achievement goals can serve as additional pathways between achievement motives and outcomes.AimsWe tested whether mastery approach, performance approach, and perfor…
Updating Allport's and Batson's Framework of Religious Orientations: A Reevaluation from the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory and Wulff's Social Cognitive Model
We theoretically and empirically evaluate Allport's intrinsic-extrinsic and Batson's quest religious orientations through the lens of self-determination theory (SDT) and Wulff's social-cognitive model. Confirming our theoretical analysis, we find that Allport's intrinsic-extrinsic dichotomy fails to correspond empirically to the differentiation between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation within SDT. Whereas Allport's intrinsic religious orientatio…
Wanting to have vs. wanting to be: The effect of perceived instrumentality on goal orientation
Two theories of motivation relevant to classroom learning result in conflicting recommendations for enhancing motivation and performance. The goal theory stresses only that stimulating an individual s natural curiosity will increase motivation. This theory relies on the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Future time perspective theory stresses the importance of the personal future for motivation and learning and the utility o…
Academic achievement and future time perspective as a cognitive–motivational concept
A new approach to future time perspective (FTP) was taken by integrating FTP into cognitive theories of motivation. Valence and instrumentality measurements of 23 general motivational goals were made in a group of 251 high-school boys. Goals were classified in three time zones: near future, distant future, and open present. Results showed that students with high grade point averages (GPA) and high study persistence attached significantly higher v…
The role of the future in student motivation
Students' multiple goals and motivations for engaging in school learning are discussed. Our discussion is organized around two divisions of student motivation: intrinsic-extrinsic motivation and future-present orientation. In the case of future-present orientation, an extensive review of both the history of this concept and several studies that provide insight into the relation of Future Time Perspective (FTP) to human motivation is provided. A b…
Wanting to have vs. wanting to be: The effect of perceived instrumentality on goal orientation
Two theories of motivation relevant to classroom learning result in conflicting recommendations for enhancing motivation and performance. The goal theory stresses only that stimulating an individual s natural curiosity will increase motivation. This theory relies on the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Future time perspective theory stresses the importance of the personal future for motivation and learning and the utility o…
The evaluation practice of teachers as a learning opportunity for students
Measuring needs with the Thematic Apperception Test: A psychometric study
Three apperception theories that explain how people respond to Thematic Apperception Test cards are proposed: a simple apperception theory, an apperception theory with a dynamic component, and an apperception theory with 2 types of responses. Each theory is translated into an item response theory model and is applied to need for achievement (nAch) data. The analysis indicates that the best fitting model is provided by the apperception theory with…
Placing Motivation and Future Time Perspective Theory in a Temporal Perspective
The ‘why’ and ‘why not’ of job search behaviour: Their relation to searching, unemployment experience, and well‐being
Two studies ( n = 273 and 254) used self‐determination theory (SDT) to examine unemployed people's motivation both to search and not to search for a job. The self‐regulation questionnaire format (Ryan & Connell, 1989) was used to assess participants' autonomous and controlled job‐search motivation (the ‘why’ of job search) as well as their amotivation for searching. Additionally, both autonomous and controlled motivation for not searching (the ‘w…
Motivating Learning, Performance, and Persistence: The Synergistic Effects of Intrinsic Goal Contents and Autonomy-Supportive Contexts
Three field experiments with high school and college students tested the self-determination theory hypotheses that intrinsic (vs. extrinsic) goals and autonomy-supportive (vs. controlling) learning climates would improve students' learning, performance, and persistence. The learning of text material or physical exercises was framed in terms of intrinsic (community, personal growth, health) versus extrinsic (money, image) goals, which were present…
The role of different types of instrumentality in motivation, study strategies, and performance: Know why you learn, so you'll know what you learn
Background: Two theories in the field of motivation and achievement, namely the future time perspective theory and goal theory, result in conflicting recommendations for enhancing students' motivation, because of their differential emphasis on the task at hand and on the future consequences of a task.Aims: We will present a framework consisting of four types of instrumentality that combines both perspectives. The implications of those different t…
Experiences of Autonomy and Control Among Chinese Learners: Vitalizing or Immobilizing?
Various cross-cultural researchers state that autonomy is not valued in Eastern cultures and, hence, is unlikely to predict optimal study functioning and well-being. In contrast, self-determination theory (SDT; R. M. Ryan & E. L. Deci, 2000) maintains that autonomous or volitional study motivation is universally important and should predict better learning and higher well-being, even among Chinese students. Two studies were conducted to shed ligh…
Examining the Motivational Impact of Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Goal Framing and Autonomy-Supportive Versus Internally Controlling Communication Style on Early Adolescents' Academic Achievement
The present experimental research examined whether framing early adolescents' (11- to 12-year-olds) learning activity in terms of the attainment of an extrinsic (i.e., physical attractiveness) versus intrinsic (i.e., health) goal and communicating these different goal contents in an internally controlling versus autonomy-supportive way affect performance. Both conceptual and rote learning were assessed. Three experimental field studies, 2 among o…
Future goal setting, task motivation and learning of minority and non-minority students in Dutch schools
Background. Cross-cultural research on minority school achievement yields mixed findings on the motivational impact of future goal setting for students from disadvantaged minority groups. Relevant and recent motivational research, integrating Future Time Perspective Theory with Self-Determination Theory, has not yet been validated among minority students.Aims. To replicate across cultures the known motivational benefits of perceived instrumentali…
Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Goal Contents in Self-Determination Theory: Another Look at the Quality of Academic Motivation
Examination of motivational dynamics in academic contexts within self-determination theory has centered primarily around both the motives (initially intrinsic vs. extrinsic, later autonomous vs. controlled) that regulate learners' study behavior and the contexts that promote or hinder these regulations. Less attention has been paid to the goal contents (intrinsic vs. extrinsic) that learners hold and to the different goal contents that are commun…
Study Orientation and Causal Attribution in Mathematics Achievement
The empirical relationship between study orientation as measured by the Study Orientation in Mathematics Questionnaire (SOM) and achievement in mathematics was investigated for Grade 9 learners from five racially integrated, secondary schools in the Northern Cape province in South Africa. A series of hierarchical regression analyses was performed to determine the percentage of the criterion (mathematics achievement) variance that could be explain…
Conceptualizing parental autonomy support: Adolescent perceptions of promotion of independence versus promotion of volitional functioning
In current research on parenting, 2 ways of conceptualizing perceived parental autonomy support can be distinguished. Parental autonomy support can be defined in terms of promotion of independence (PI) or in terms of promotion of volitional functioning (PVF). This study aimed to establish the empirical distinctiveness of both conceptualizations and to examine their relative contribution to the prediction of adolescents' adjustment. The authors co…
Explaining the relationships between job characteristics, burnout, and engagement: The role of basic psychological need satisfaction
Within the Job Demands-Resources model, the presence of job demands (e.g., work pressure) and the absence of job resources (e.g., social support) relate to burnout through a psychological energetic process, whereas the presence of job resources associates with work engagement through a motivational process. Although various mechanisms have been suggested to understand these processes, empirical evidence for these mechanisms is scarce within the J…
Motivational profiles from a self-determination perspective: The quality of motivation matters.
The present research complements extant variable-centered research that focused on the dimensions of autonomous and controlled motivation through adoption of a person-centered approach for identifying motivational profiles. Both in high school students (Study 1) and college students (Study 2), a cluster analysis revealed 4 motivational profiles: a good quality motivation group (i.e., high autonomous, low controlled); a poor quality motivation gro…
Capturing autonomy, competence, and relatedness at work: Construction and initial validation of the Work‐related Basic Need Satisfaction scale
The satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as defined in Self‐Determination Theory, has been identified as an important predictor of individuals' optimal functioning in various life domains. The study of work‐related need satisfaction seems, however, hampered by the lack of a validated measure. To assist future research, the present study aimed to develop and validate a Work‐related Basic Need Sat…
Updating Allport's and Batson's Framework of Religious Orientations: A Reevaluation from the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory and Wulff's Social Cognitive Model
We theoretically and empirically evaluate Allport's intrinsic-extrinsic and Batson's quest religious orientations through the lens of self-determination theory (SDT) and Wulff's social-cognitive model. Confirming our theoretical analysis, we find that Allport's intrinsic-extrinsic dichotomy fails to correspond empirically to the differentiation between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation within SDT. Whereas Allport's intrinsic religious orientatio…
Future time perspective as a motivational variable: Content and extension of future goals affect the quantity and quality of motivation
In the first part we briefly discuss the concept of future time perspective (FTP) as a cognitive‐motivational construct. By setting goals in the rather near or more distant future, human beings develop their individual FTP that can be characterized by its content (i.e., what people are striving for) and extension or depth (i.e. how far into the future individuals set their goals). Individual differences in the content and extension of the FTP hav…
Factors Contributing to the Risk of HIV Infection in Rural School-Going Adolescents
The objective of this study was to determine the factors that increase the risk of HIV infection in rural school-going adolescents and young adults. This was a cross-sectional study of 430 secondary school students (47.4% boys and 52.6% girls) from two rural schools in South Africa. Data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire on demographic information, sources of HIV/AIDS information, HIV knowledge, sexual behaviors, communication…
Enriching the hierarchical model of achievement motivation: Autonomous and controlling reasons underlying achievement goals
BackgroundThe hierarchical model of achievement motivation presumes that achievement goals channel the achievement motives of need for achievement and fear of failure towards motivational outcomes. Yet, less is known whether autonomous and controlling reasons underlying the pursuit of achievement goals can serve as additional pathways between achievement motives and outcomes.AimsWe tested whether mastery approach, performance approach, and perfor…
Future Time Perspective and Motivation
Basic psychological need satisfaction, need frustration, and need strength across four cultures
Parenting styles and psychological needs influences on adolescent life goals and aspirations in a South African setting
The present study examined the role of parenting styles and basic psychological needs in the adoption of goals and aspirations of learners, as well as for their psychological wellbeing (positive versus negative affect) in a South African sample of learners. A cross-sectional design was used to conduct this study with a sample of 853 learners at public schools in the Western Cape of South Africa (females = 57%, mean age 16.96 years, SD = 1.12). Da…
Psychology (23 works) · Social Psychology (22 works) · Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports (13 works) · Cognitive psychology (10 works) · Developmental psychology (10 works) · Self-determination theory (10 works) · Education, Achievement, and Giftedness (9 works) · Behavioral Health and Interventions (8 works) · Intrinsic motivation (8 works) · Psychological and Temporal Perspectives Research (8 works)