Mediating relationships between academic motivation, academic integration and academic performance

• We examined indirect effects of academic motivation on academic performance.
• We tested seven types of academic motivation.
• We compared two different statistical models.
• Academic integration mediated some of the relationships between motivation and GPA.
• It is important for some students to believe that college helps them develop intellectually.

Using 81 first-year college students, researchers examined the indirect effects of seven types of academic motivation on academic performance when mediated by academic integration. When accounting for all other types of academic motivation in the statistical model, academic integration only mediated the relationship between intrinsic motivation to accomplish things and first-year grade point average (GPA). Therefore, students who attend college to gain a sense of accomplishment believe that college helps them develop intellectually and they perform well academically. However, when each motivation type was considered independently of the others, intrinsic motivation to know was also indirectly related to GPA, suggesting that students who enjoy learning are likely to perceive the intellectual benefits of college as well.