The effects of task labels and difficulty of practice tasks on intrinsic motivation

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of task labels, difficulty of practice tasks and their interaction on intrinsic motivation. Participants were 20 undergraduates and they were assigned to 2（task label; test vs. non-test）×2 （difficulty of practice tasks; difficult vs. easy）experimental groups at random. Motivational variables were measured twice by questionnaires after engaging practice tasks（Questionnaire I）and after finishing main tasks（Questionnaire II）. Then, 2×2 ANOVAs were conducted on motivational variables. The results showed that（1）labeling the task as a test undermined intrinsic motivation on both Questionnaire I and II and that（2）the interaction between task labels and diff iculty of practice tasks were signif icant only on Questionnaire II. To understand the undermining effect on intrinsic motivation more precisely, we should consider interactions between various factors. Furthermore, we have to conduct longitudinal studies with taking temporal factors into account