The effect of monetary incentives on accounting student motivation.

The effect of monetary incentives on accounting student motivation. ABSTRACT We investigate the effects of monetary incentives on accountingstudent motivation. Using a within-persons decision modeling approachand Russian accounting student participants to investigate potentialmotivators, we find students with monetary incentives placedsignificantly less emphasis on their overall grade-point average andsignificantly more emphasis on esteem in the eyes of classmates Classmates can refer to either: Classmates.com, a social networking website. Classmates (film), a 2006 Malayalam blockbuster directed by Lal Jose, starring Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Indragith, Sunil, Jagathy, Kavya Madhavan, Balachandra Menon, ... . Ourresults suggest monetary incentives do not undermine personalsatisfaction, an intrinsic intrinsic/in��trin��sic/ (in-trin��sik) situated entirely within or pertaining exclusively to a part. in��trin��sicadj.1. Of or relating to the essential nature of a thing.2. motivator. Finally, in the context ofimproving course performance, we find students with monetary incentivestend to value the attractiveness of academic success over the expectancy A mere hope, based upon no direct provision, promise, or trust. An expectancy is the possibility of receiving a thing, rather than having a vested interest in it.The term has been applied to situations where an individual hopes and expects to receive something, generally of success in making their effort-level decisions, whereas studentswithout monetary incentives tend to value the expectancy of academicsuccess over the attractiveness of success in making their effort-leveldecisions. These findings support the use of Vroom's (1964)expectancy theory Expectancy theory is about choice. It explains the processes that an individual undergoes to make choices. In organizational behavior study, expectancy theory is a motivation theory first proposed by Victor Vroom of the Yale School of Management. as a conceptual framework For the concept in aesthetics and art criticism, see .A conceptual framework is used in research to outline possible courses of action or to present a preferred approach to a system analysis project. for understanding accountingstudent motivation in cross-cultural cross-cul��tur��aladj.Comparing or dealing with two or more different cultures: a cross-cultural survey; cross-cultural influences on an artist's work. settings. INTRODUCTION Incentives, the goal objects we desire to attain, figureprominently in several theories of motivation (e.g., Atkinson Atkinson may refer to: PlacesIn Canada: Atkinson, Nova Scotia Atkinson Point, Northwest Territories Atkinson, Ontario In the United States of America: Atkinson, Illinois Atkinson, Indiana Atkinson, Maine Atkinson, Nebraska , 1964;Lewin, 1935; Rotter, Chance, and Phares, 1972; Vroom, 1964). In contrastto intrinsic incentives, extrinsic EVIDENCE, EXTRINSIC. External evidence, or that which is not contained in the body of an agreement, contract, and the like. 2. It is a general rule that extrinsic evidence cannot be admitted to contradict, explain, vary or change the terms of a contract or of a incentives involve, "themotivation to work primarily in response to something apart from thework itself, such as rewards or recognition or the dictates of otherpeople" (Amabile Amabile may refer to: For the interior designer and television presenter, see John Amabile Sweetness of wine The Amabile Choirs of London, Canada, an organization based in London, Ontario, Canada. , Hill, Hennessey, and Tighe 1995, 950). Mostaccounting educators readily acknowledge the importance of motivatingtheir students, but disagreement exists concerning the use of extrinsicincentives for this purpose. Behavioral behavioralpertaining to behavior.behavioral disorderssee vice.behavioral seizuresee psychomotor seizure. researchers often argueextrinsic incentives stimulate motivation and enhance academicachievement by making the learning objective more attractive. Cognitiveresearchers on the other hand generally contend extrinsic incentivesundermine intrinsic motivation (an interest in learning for its ownsake), decrease academic performance, and encourage a dependence on theacceptance, reinforcement reinforcement/re��in��force��ment/ (-in-fors��ment) in behavioral science, the presentation of a stimulus following a response that increases the frequency of subsequent responses, whether positive to desirable events, or , and approval of others (Bower, 1994). In this paper we focus on the relation between monetary incentivesand accounting student motivation. Specifically, in the context ofimproving course performance, we first examine the link between aperformance-based monetary incentive and the attractiveness (valence Valence, city, FranceValence(väläNs`), city (1990 pop. 65,026), capital of Drôme dept., SE France, in Dauphiné, on the Rhône River. ) ofacademic success. Second, we examine the link between aperformance-based monetary incentive and the amount of effort accountingstudents are willing to put forth to achieve academic success. EmployingVroom's (1964) expectancy theory and Stahl and Harrell's(1981, 1983) within-persons decision modeling method, our researchdesign replicates earlier accounting student motivation studies byHarrell, Caldwell, and Doty (1985), Geiger and Cooper (1996), andGeiger, Cooper, Hussain, O'Connell, Power, Raghunandan, Rama, andSanchez (1998). Our data are collected from 154 upper-level Russianaccounting students. Monetary incentives are a prominent feature ofstudent support for some, but not all, Russian university students andthis differential treatment provided an element of control not availablein other natural settings. Our results support the applicability of expectancy theory and thewithin-persons decision modeling approach. Specifically, we find inmaking their effort-level decisions, Russian accounting studentsreceiving a performance-based monetary incentive placed significantlyless emphasis on improving their overall grade-point average andsignificantly more emphasis on increasing esteem in the eyes of theirclassmates, compared to accounting students not receiving aperformance-based monetary incentive. We also find a performance-basedmonetary incentive did not undermine the personal satisfaction derivedfrom superior academic performance. Finally, we find the studentsreceiving performance-based monetary incentives tended to value thevalence of academic success over expectancy of success in making theireffort-level decisions, whereas students not receiving aperformance-based monetary incentive tended to value the expectancy ofacademic success over the valence of success in making theireffort-level decisions. The next section provides some background information on highereducation and the study of accounting in Russian universities. Sectionthree develops the study's hypotheses and explains thewithin-persons research method. The results are discussed in sectionfour and the fifth section concludes. BACKGROUND In recent years Russian higher education has experiencedsignificant changes. During much of the Soviet period, the centralgovernment promoted a policy of full access to higher education andalmost every secondary school graduate had his or her college educationfunded from the federal budget. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union,federal funding for higher education has been reduced and access tohigher education is no longer universal. Most Russian universities havehad to raise tuition For tuition fees in the United Kingdom, see .Tuition means instruction, teaching or a fee charged for educational instruction especially at a formal institution of learning or by a private tutor usually in the form of one-to-one tuition. and as a result the majority of students now comefrom high and middle income groups, which comprise about one-third ofthe Russian population (Smolentseva, 1999). Russian university accounting programs are normally five yearprograms that students begin at age 17 or 18. Before enrolling in aRussian university, the typical Russian student must secure funding fromone of three primary funding sources: the federal government, a privatecompany, or parents. For purposes of this study, the important featureof federal government funding is a monthly cash stipend sti��pend?n.A fixed and regular payment, such as a salary for services rendered or an allowance.[Middle English stipendie, from Old French, from Latin st , the amount ofwhich depends on the student's academic performance. At theKhabarovsk State Academy of Economics and Law, the setting for thisstudy, the grades of federally funded students are reviewed at the endof each semester se��mes��ter?n.One of two divisions of 15 to 18 weeks each of an academic year.[German, from Latin (cursus) s and if the student's academic performance fails tomeet expectations, the student's monthly stipend is usually reducedor terminated. Generally, federally funded students with unsatisfactorygrades receive no stipend, those with marginal grades receive a modeststipend, and those with high grades receive a more substantial stipend.These grade-based stipends are not available to privately fundedstudents. Students with private company funding contract to work for aprivate company for a specified period of time after graduation Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the associated ceremony. The date of event is often called degree day. The event itself is also called commencement, convocation or invocation. inexchange for their college financing. Tax incentives are given toencourage private companies to enter into these student supportcontracts. Parental funding is less structured and only available to thewealthy. Student funding from the federal budget is administered by theuniversity and choosing the student recipients is an administrativedecision. Students demonstrating superior academic ability at thesecondary school level are likely to receive federal funding based onmerit, but merit is not the sole criterion. Students whose parents areconnected to the university or whose parents can benefit the universityin some way are widely believed to receive preferential pref��er��en��tial?adj.1. Of, relating to, or giving advantage or preference: preferential treatment.2. consideration inthe selection process. Of the 154 student participants in this study, 47were funded from the federal budget, 45 by private companies, 56 percentby parents, and six by other sources. HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH METHOD Vroom's (1964) original formulation formulation/for��mu��la��tion/ (for?mu-la��shun) the act or product of formulating.American Law Institute Formulation of expectancy theoryconsisted of two models, the valence model and the force model. In thisstudy the valence model is expected to explain a Russian accountingstudent's perception of the attractiveness (valence) of academicsuccess, defined in terms of receiving a high course grade. The forcemodel is expected to explain the student's effort-level decisiongiven the valence of the higher grade and the expected probability thatan increased effort will result in the higher grade. The Valence Model The valence model captures the perceived attractiveness, orvalence, of achieving a first-level outcome (academic success) byaggregating the valences of associated second-level outcomes (thepotential motivators). In this study the valence of academic success, afirst-level outcome, is determined by aggregating the valences of thefollowing three second-level outcomes: (1) an improved overall GPA GPAabbr.grade point averageNoun 1. GPA - a measure of a student's academic achievement at a college or university; calculated by dividing the total number of grade points received by the total number attempted , (2)a strong feeling of personal satisfaction, and (3) increased esteem inthe eyes of classmates. Thus: [MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSION NOT REPRODUCIBLE re��pro��duce?v. re��pro��duced, re��pro��duc��ing, re��pro��duc��esv.tr.1. To produce a counterpart, image, or copy of.2. Biology To generate (offspring) by sexual or asexual means. IN ASCII ASCIIor American Standard Code for Information Interchange,a set of codes used to represent letters, numbers, a few symbols, and control characters. Originally designed for teletype operations, it has found wide application in computers. ] (1) Where: [V.sub.j] = the valence of the first-level outcome, [V.sub.k] = the valence of the second-level outcome, [I.sub.jk] = the perceived instrumentality InstrumentalityNotes issued by a federal agency whose obligations are guaranteed by the full-faith-and-credit of the government, even though the agency's responsibilities are not necessarily those of the US government. , or belief, that[V.sub.j] will lead to [V.sub.k], and n = the number of second-level outcomes. The effects of extrinsic incentives on student motivation andlearning have engendered a longstanding controversy in the educationliterature. This debate dates back to a study by Harlow, Harlow, andMeyer (1950) that found monkeys This list includes individual non-human primates (capuchin monkeys, squirrel monkeys, Rhesus Macaques, and marmosets) who are in some way famous or notable.Note: This list does not include fictional monkeys, nor Apes, which are not monkeys. who had previously enjoyed solvingpuzzles puz��zle?v. puz��zled, puz��zling, puz��zlesv.tr.1. To baffle or confuse mentally by presenting or being a difficult problem or matter.2. would, after being rewarded with food for each puzzle “Puzzle solving” redirects here. For the concept in Thomas Kuhn's philosophy of science, see normal science.A puzzle is a problem or enigma that challenges ingenuity. solved, nolonger solve puzzles when they were not given food. Conversely con��verse?1?intr.v. con��versed, con��vers��ing, con��vers��es1. To engage in a spoken exchange of thoughts, ideas, or feelings; talk. See Synonyms at speak.2. , monkeysthat had not been rewarded with food continued to enjoy solving puzzles.Studies with humans since Harlow et al. (1950) have found similarresults (e.g., Lepper, Greene, and Nisbett, 1973; Amabile, 1979; Deciand Ryan, 1985). A common explanation for these findings is that rewardscause people to lose interest in whatever it is they were rewarded fordoing. Our first hypothesis tests whether a monetary reward for achievinghigh grades is associated with a decrease in the influence of grades asa potential motivator. The studies cited in the preceding paragraphsuggest a monetary reward for high grades will cause students to loseinterest in grades as an independent motivating influence. If this iscorrect, improving overall grade-point-average (GPA) should be a lessinfluential motivating influence for federally funded students, whoreceive a monetary reward, than it is for privately funded students whodo not receive a monetary reward. Thus, our first hypothesis is: H1: Improving overall GPA will be a less influential motivator forfederally funded accounting students than for private company andparentally funded accounting students. Motivation is not a single characteristic and in recent yearsnumerous contrary terms have been proposed to describe the complexnature of the forces affecting student behavior. The oldest of thesedichotomies is the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsicmotivation. Many educators believe intrinsic motivation, an interest inthe task for its own sake, is incompatible incompatibleadj. 1) inconsistent. 2) unmatching. 3) unable to live together as husband and wife due to irreconcilable differences. In no-fault divorce states, if one of the spouses desires to end the marriage, that fact proves incompatibility, and a divorce with extrinsic motivation inwhich the task is viewed as a prerequisite pre��req��ui��site?adj.Required or necessary as a prior condition: Competence is prerequisite to promotion.n. for obtaining something else(Deci and Ryan, 1985). They acknowledge rewards motivate students, butthey contend this sort of motivation comes at the expense of personalsatisfaction and other intrinsic values. Amabile (1979) and Harackiewiczand Elliot (1993) find extrinsic incentives undermine intrinsicmotivation in college students. Furthermore, rather than helpingstudents to develop their own criteria for successful learning, manyeducators and education researchers believe extrinsic rewards encouragea dependence on acceptance, reinforcement, and approval from others(Bower, 1994; Kohn, 1993). Conversely, other theorists (e.g., Dweck, 1986 and McKeachie, 1961)have proposed college students have multiple learning goals and thatmastery and performance goals can play complementary roles in motivatingstudent learning. Under this view extrinsic incentives can eitherenhance or reduce interest in learning depending on how they are used.Cameron and Pierce Pierce may refer to: PlacesPierce, Colorado, a US town Pierce, Idaho, a US city Pierce, Nebraska, a US city Pierce, Wisconsin, a US town Mount Pierce (New Hampshire), USA, a peak in the White Mountains Pierce County, several places (1994) find intrinsic motivation is not adverselyaffected by extrinsic rewards in many applications. They concludeeducators need to abandon old beliefs about the negative effects ofexternal rewards and embrace the idea of intrinsic and extrinsicmotivational factors working together. Lin and McKeachie (1999) findmedium levels of extrinsic motivation in combination with high levels ofintrinsic motivation is more effective in facilitating college studentlearning than either low or high levels of extrinsic motivation. In summary, the education literature concerning the relationbetween extrinsic incentives and intrinsic motivation is conflicting andcontroversial. In this study we address two issues related to theintrinsic and/or extrinsic motivation debate. First, we test whether amonetary incentive is associated with a reduction in the valence ofpersonal satisfaction. Since only federally funded students receive amonetary reward for academic performance, we hypothesize hy��poth��e��size?v. hy��poth��e��sized, hy��poth��e��siz��ing, hy��poth��e��siz��esv.tr.To assert as a hypothesis.v.intr.To form a hypothesis. : H2: A strong feeling of personal satisfaction will be a lessinfluential motivator for federally funded accounting students than forprivate company and parentally funded accounting students. Second, we test whether a monetary incentive promotes an extrinsicorientation by fostering a dependence on approval from others. Wehypothesize: H3: Increased esteem in the eyes of classmates will be a moreinfluential motivator for federally funded accounting students than forprivate company and parentally funded accounting students. The Force Model In the force model of Vroom's expectancy theory, Vroomhypothesized the motivational force influencing a person to act is amonotonically increasing function See Increase of the sum of the products of thevalences of the second-level outcomes ([V.sub.j] in Equation 1) and theexpectancy that the act will be followed by the attainment of theseoutcomes. Thus: [F.sub.i] = ([E.sub.ij][V.sub.j]) (2) Where: [F.sub.i] = the motivational force to perform act i, [E.sub.ij] = the expectancy that act i will result in outcome j,and [V.sub.j] = the valence of outcome j. The force model implies the motivational force acting upon aRussian accounting student to achieve academic success is explained bythe sum of the valences of the second-level outcomes associated withacademic success and the expectancy a particular effort-level willresult in academic success. Success in this case is defined as earning agrade of "5" in an accounting course. (In Russian universitiesgrades range from one to five with five being the highest mark.) Thus,the motivational force required to earn a grade of "5" isdetermined by the valence of earning a "5" and the expectancythat a particular level of effort will result in this outcome. In this study the federally funded students have a second-leveloutcome not available to privately funded students, a performance-basedmonetary stipend. If the attractiveness of the other second-leveloutcomes associated with academic success are similar for federally andprivately funded students, then additional valence of a monetary rewardfor federally funded students would cause the sum of valences for thesecond-level outcomes to be larger for federally funded students thanfor privately funded students. Thus, we hypothesize federally fundedaccounting students should be more influenced by the valence of academicsuccess in their effort-level decisions than their privately fundedcounterparts: H4: Regarding the relative influences of valence and expectancy inthe force model, the federally funded accounting students will be moreinfluenced by valence of academic success than private company andparentally funded students. Within-Persons Decision Modeling Decision modeling, as previously developed by Stahl and Harrell(1981, 1983) and employed in this study, involves a subject answeringmultiple decision making cases, each requiring separate decisions basedon varying combinations of values for the second-level outcomes and theexpectancy of success. Several prior studies have successfully usedexpectancy theory and the within-persons decision modeling approach tostudy accounting student motivation including Harrell et al. (1985),Geiger and Cooper (1996), and Geiger et al. (1998). This latter studydemonstrated the appropriateness of the within-persons design forstudying accounting student motivation in a cross-cultural context. The within-persons approach avoids many of the methodological andmeasurement problems associated with an across-persons design (Kopelman1977). By using each individual's decisions as operational measuresof valence and expectancy an element of control is established. In thisstudy we replicate rep��li��catev.1. To duplicate, copy, reproduce, or repeat.2. To reproduce or make an exact copy or copies of genetic material, a cell, or an organism.n.A repetition of an experiment or a procedure. the design used by Harrell et al. (1985) by testingthe following three second-level outcomes: an improved overall GPA, astrong feeling of personal satisfaction, and increased esteem in theeyes of classmates. Each second-level outcome is manipulated at twolevels, low (10 percent) and high (90 percent) and the expectancy ofsuccess is manipulated at three levels, low (10 percent), moderate (50percent), and high (90 percent). This results in 24 decision cases, witheach case presenting a unique mix of values for the three second-leveloutcomes and the expectancy of success. A sample case is presented inExhibit 1. The decision cases were randomly ordered to prevent possiblebias. The participants in this study (n = 154) were third, fourth, andfifth year accounting students attending the Khabarovsk State Academy ofEconomics and Law, in the city of Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East.They completed the decision exercise during normal class time. Writtenand oral instructions were given at the time the decision exercise wasadministered. The students were told to assume they were at themid-point of the semester and were currently earning a grade of"4" in an accounting course. The first decision (see Exhibit1) asks the student to indicate the overall valence of increasing agrade of "4" to a grade of "5". The student'sresponses to the 24 decision cases are used to derive an individualregression regression,in psychology: see defense mechanism. regressionIn statistics, a process for determining a line or curve that best represents the general trend of a data set. model in which the student's valence decision is theresponse variable and the three second-level outcomes are explanatory ex��plan��a��to��ry?adj.Serving or intended to explain: an explanatory paragraph.ex��plan variables. The second decision in the decision exercise (see Exhibit 1) asksthe student to indicate the level of effort he or she would be willingto exert to increase the grade, given their valence response in decisionone and a stated probability of success. The outcome of this seconddecision indicates the motivational force acting on the student toincrease the course grade. The student's responses to the 24decision cases are used to derive a second individual regression modelin which the student's effort-level decision is the responsevariable and the valence of success and the expectancy of success arethe explanatory variables. RESULTS In this section we report the results of tests investigating theimpact of monetary incentives on accounting student motivation. We firstreport the valence model results for our first three hypotheses and thenwe report the force model results for our fourth hypothesis. Table 1shows the valence and force models were generally successful inpredicting the valence and effort-level decisions of Russian accountingstudents. Of the 154 students who completed the decision exercise, 133had significant individual valence and force models. Six of thesestudents were funded from non-traditional sources and, since the natureof their funding arrangements were unknown, were not considered forfurther analysis. This yields a resulting sample of 127 studentparticipants. Valence Model Results Table 2 presents a summary of significant individual valence modelresults for students in the three principal funding source categories.The mean [R.sup.2] (adj) statistics range from .68 to .72, indicating auniform good fit. Improving overall GPA was the dominant motivator inall funding source categories and it was the highest standardized betaweight in 76 of the 127 individual regression models. Table 2 shows themean standardized beta weights for increasing GPA is lowest for thegovernment funded students, which is consistent with the firsthypothesis. To determine whether the influence of GPA is significantlyless for government funded students, we ran an unbalanced ANOVA anovasee analysis of variance.ANOVAAnalysis of variance, see there in whichthe standardized beta weight for increasing GPA was the dependentvariable and the three funding sources the independent class variable.This analysis indicated statistically significant differences (p=.014)across funding source categories. We also performed a second unbalancedANOVA in which the private company funded students and the parentallyfunded students were pooled and compared to the government fundedstudents. The results of this ANOVA indicated marginally significantdifferences (p=.062) in the influence of increasing GPA as a motivator.These results provide some support for the first hypothesis. The second hypothesis predicts personal satisfaction will be a lessinfluential motivator for government funded students than for privatelyfunded students. The mean standardized beta weights reported in Table 2indicate personal satisfaction was the second most influential motivatorin all three funding source categories. Also, personal satisfaction wasthe highest standardized beta weight in 37 of the 127 individualregression models. As reported in Table 2, the mean standardized betaweights for personal satisfaction fall within the narrow range of .224to .313. This suggests only minimal differences in the valence ofpersonal satisfaction between the funding source categories. To verify (1) To prove the correctness of data.(2) In data entry operations, to compare the keystrokes of a second operator with the data entered by the first operator to ensure that the data were typed in accurately. See validate. the lack of any significant treatment effect for personalsatisfaction, we ran an unbalanced ANOVA in which the standardized betaweight for personal satisfaction was the dependent variable and fundingsource the independent class variable. This analysis indicated nostatistically significant differences (p=.749) across the three fundingsource categories regarding the influence of personal satisfaction. Wealso performed a second unbalanced ANOVA in which the private companyand parentally sponsored students were pooled. The results of this ANOVAalso indicated no significant differences (p=.958) in the influence ofpersonal satisfaction. These results do not support the secondhypothesis. The third hypothesis predicts increased esteem in the eyes ofclassmates will be a more influential motivator for government fundedstudents than for privately funded students. Only 14 of the 127individual regression models had increased classmate esteem as thehighest standardized beta weight and the mean standardized beta weightsreported in Table 2 also indicate this was the least influentialmotivator in all three funding source categories. However, consistentwith our third hypothesis, the mean standardized beta weight forincreased classmate esteem is higher for government funded students thanfor either private company or parentally funded students. To determine whether the influence of classmate esteem issignificantly higher for government funded students, we ran anunbalanced ANOVA in which the standardized beta weight for classmateesteem was the dependent variable and funding source the independentclass variable. This analysis indicated marginally significantdifferences (p=.072) across the three funding source categories. We alsoperformed a second unbalanced ANOVA in which the private company andparentally sponsored student groups were pooled and compared to thegovernment funded students. The results of this ANOVA also indicatedsignificant differences (p=.030) between government and privately fundedstudents. These results provide some support for the third hypothesis. Force Model Results The high [R.sup.2] (adj) statistics presented in Table 3 indicatethe force model was effective in predicting the students'effort-level decisions. Also the mean standardized beta weights reportedin Table 3 for valence and expectancy, both within and acrosscategories, suggest Russian accounting students consider both valenceand expectancy important factors in their effort-level decisions. Theprivate company and parentally funded students generally weighted theexpectancy of success more heavily in their effort-level decisions,while the government sponsored students generally weighted the valenceof success more heavily in their effort-level decisions. Slightly morethan half of the students in the private and parentally fundedcategories indicated expectancy had a dominant influence in theireffort-level decision, while slightly more than half of the students inthe government funded category indicated valence had the dominantinfluence in their effort-level decisions. To determine whether the influences of valence and expectancydiffered significantly across funding source categories, we ranunbalanced ANOVAs in which the standardized beta weights for valence andexpectancy were dependent variables and funding source the independentclass variable. These analyses indicated no statistically significantdifferences across categories in the influence of valence (p=.160) orexpectancy (p=.209); however, when private company and parentally fundedstudents were pooled and compared to government funded students, wefound marginally significant differences in the relative influences ofvalence (p=.078) and expectancy (p=.085). These results provide somerather weak evidence in support of the fourth hypothesis. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS In this paper we use expectancy theory and a within-personsdecision modeling approach to assess the influence of monetaryincentives on accounting student motivation. Both components ofexpectancy theory, the valence model and the force model, were found toprovide a useful conceptual framework for understanding the valence andeffort-level decisions of Russian accounting students. Overall, ourevidence suggests monetary incentives have subtle effects on studentmotivation. We addressed four hypotheses. First, we found improving overall GPAwas the dominant motivator for most Russian accounting studentsregardless of whether or not a monetary incentive was present. However,group-level differences in the emphasis placed on improving GPA weresignificant; students with monetary incentives were less influenced bythe desire to increase their GPA than students without monetaryincentives. Second, the education literature contains much debate on therelation between extrinsic incentives and intrinsic motivation. We foundpersonal satisfaction, an intrinsic motivator, was influential for aconsiderable number of Russian accounting students regardless of whetheror not a monetary incentive was present. In comparing students with amonetary incentive to students without a monetary incentive, we found nosignificant differences in the valence of personal satisfaction. Thethird second-level outcome examined, increased esteem in the eyes ofclassmates, was the least influential motivator regardless of whether ornot a monetary incentive was present. However, consistent with out thirdhypothesis, group-level differences in the emphasis placed on classmateesteem were significant; students with monetary incentives were moreinfluenced by classmate esteem than students without monetaryincentives. Our fourth hypothesis concerned the force model ofexpectancy theory and in the context of improving course performance, wefound students with a monetary incentive tended to value the valence ofsuccess over the expectancy of success in making their effort-leveldecisions, whereas students without a monetary incentive tended to valuethe expectancy of success over the valence of success in their effortlevel decisions. One limitation of our study is the focus of expectancy theory onthe individual decision maker. Our results provide educators with someuseful general insights into accounting student motivation and theoverall impact of monetary incentives on student motivation; however,motivation is an individual attribute and we observed considerableindividual differences in our student participants' valence andeffort-level decisions. This variation in individual results illustrateswhy expectancy theory is more properly applied on an individual level ofanalysis and why generalizations must be made with caution. Anotherlimitation is the Russian student participants were not randomlysampled. Although we do not believe our sample selection proceduresbiased our results, the use of a convenience sample must beacknowledged. Finally, readers are cautioned that these results may notgeneralize generalize/gen��er��al��ize/ (-iz)1. to spread throughout the body, as when local disease becomes systemic.2. to form a general principle; to reason inductively. to non-Russian students and non-accounting majors. This research represents an initial application of expectancytheory and the within-person decision modeling approach to examine therelation between monetary incentives and accounting student motivation.The results suggest expectancy theory can provide accounting educatorswith a useful conceptual framework for understanding the effects ofextrinsic incentives on student learning. It is hoped this initialeffort will inspire accounting educators to use the natural controlsprovided by cross-cultural settings to examine the influence of otherextrinsic incentives on accounting student motivation. NOTE Acknowledgement: The authors appreciate the assistance receivedfrom administrative officials and participating faculty at theKhabarovsk State Academy of Economics and Law. REFERENCES Amabile, T. (1979). Effects of external evaluation on artisticcreativity. 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Niles, University of IdahoTable 1: Sample CompositionFunding Number of Students with SignificantSource Students Valence and Force ModelsGovernment 47 40 (83) (a)Private 45 36 (80)Parents 56 51 (91)Other 6 6 (100)Total 154 133 (86)(a) Percent of students with significant valence and force models.Table 2: Summary of Significant Valence Model Results by Funding Source Government Private Parents[R.sup.2] (adj.) .72 .680 .680GPA .487 .749 .619SAT .271 .224 .313EST .053 -.197 -.117Correlations GPA SAT GPA SAT GPA SATEST -.26 -.22 -.30 -.34 -.54 -.31GPA -.82 -.70 -.54GPA = Mean standardized beta weight for grade point average. SAT = Meanstandardized beta weight for personal satisfaction. EST = Meanstandardized beta weight for esteem within the group.Table 3: Summary of Significant Force Model Results by Funding Source Government Private Parents[R.sup.2] (adj.) .93 .880 .920VAL .524 .417 .457EXP .499 .601 .577Correlation -.990 -.970 -.970VAL = Mean standardized beta weight for valence. EXP = Meanstandardized beta weight for expectancyExhibit 1. Sample Case from the Set of 24 Decision CasesModel Elements If you receive a "5" in this course,(not on the likelihood this will result in:instrument):Second-Level ...increased esteem in the eyes LOW (10%) (a)Outcomes of your classmates is([V.sub.k]) ...a strong feeling of personal HIGH (90%) satisfaction is ...an improved grade point LOW (10%) (b) average isValence of First- DECISION A. With the factors and likelihoods shownLevel above in mind, indicate the attractiveness to youOutcomes of receiving a "5" in this course.([V.sub.j]) -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 Very Very Unattractive AttractiveExpectancy of FURTHER INFORMATION. If you exert a great studySuccess effort during the remainder of this semester, the([E.sub.ij]) likelihood you will earn a "5" in this course is HIGH (90%).Motivational DECISION B. With the attractiveness and likelihoodForce ([F.sub.i]) information above in mind, indicate the study effort you will exert for this course during the remainder of the semester. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Low Average Great Effort Effort Effort (a) Earning a "5" in this particular course is not likely to enhance your reputation in the eyes of your classmates. (b) It seems likely so much effort is required to earn a "5" in this course that doing so means your no improvement grades in other courses will suffer, resulting in your grade point average.