The impact of mastery motivation on the development of cognitive competence in toddlers

Abstract

The current study examined two primary hypotheses relating to mastery motivation in toddlers. First, it has been proposed that mastery motivation leads to increases in competence (White, 1959). Second, the impact of external feedback on mastery motivation was examined. It vas hypothesized that for familiar tasks, experimenter provided verbal rewards should serve as an external reward and undermine mastery motivation. For unfamiliar tasks, external rewards were proposed to serve a feedback function and bolster mastery motivation. Forty-one 32 month toddlers served as the present sample. No significant differences were observed in competence level due to mastery motivation level. Additionally, test-retest correlations suggest that the manner in which mastery motivation has been conceptualized needs to be re-addressed. For the external feedback hypotheses, no significant differences were observed between treatment groups. Explanations for the present results are discussed.