Mastery Motivation in Infancy and Early Childhood: The Consistency and Variation of Its Stability and Predictability of General Competence
Infant mastery motivation has been regarded as an important developmental precursor for later achievement and adaptability. This longitudinal study examined the cross wave stablility of mastery motivation and its association with general competence in different periods of infancy and early childhood. Fifty three 10 month old infants and their mothers participated in this study. Children's mastery motivation and general competence were rated by mothers using the Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire at each wave of testing at 10, 21, 26, 37, and 53 months. The cross wave analyses of stability and predictability were conducted on three sets of 16month intervals (i.e. 10 to 26 mo. 21 to 37 mo. and 37 to 53 mo. and from 10 to 53 months of age. Results indicated that children's task persistence, especially in the cognitive and physical domains, remained stable throughout infancy and early childhood. The domain of negative reactions to failure showed consistent stability in all three sets of 16 month intervals while mastery pleasure was only stable when children were younger than two years of age. In terms of the predictability of mastery motivation, task persistence remained a significant predictor of competence across different periods in infancy and early childhood even after controlling for participants' demographic backgrounds and prior competence.