Academic motivation and the undergraduate business major

Abstract

This research examines the motivation of undergraduate business students using the academic motivation scale. We examined the difference in motivation between business majors and a variety of nonbusiness majors. There were differences in the patterns of motivation, but business majors were not less motivated than nonbusiness students. As expected, business students exhibited an overall stronger extrinsic orientation. However, they scored significantly higher on the intrinsic desire toward accomplishment subscale. This is an interesting finding and we believe that it has implications for business educators. Specifically, we believe that game based learning may present a particularly useful approach for business majors.

Keywords:

• Academic motivation
• amotivation
• extrinsic
• intrinsic