How to measure the self-determination continuum? Initial validity evidence for the polish version of the Global Motivation Scale (GMS)

• Published in: Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) N.J.), 2021-05, Vol.40 (5), p.2211-2220
• Main Authors: Zycinska, Jolanta, Januszek, Maciej
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Behavioral Science and Psychology; Evaluation; Motivation (Psychology); Psychology; Regulation; Social Sciences
• ISSN: 1046-1310; 1936-4733
• DOI: 10.1007/s12144-019-0145-3

The Global Motivation Scale (GMS) is an 18-item self-report questionnaire. It measures a multidimensional conceptualization of motivation that falls along the self-determination continuum. The aim of the study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the GMS, and to investigate its structure and reliability in a group of 537 subjects, aged 18–86 ( M  = 36.19; SD  = 15.20). The bifactor modelling didn’t validate the theoretical six-factor model of the GMS, thus an exploratory analysis was conducted to determine an optimal model across age, gender and education. The adopted four-factor model matched three original GMS subscales: intrinsic motivation, external regulation and amotivation; the fourth factor represented identified and integrated regulations simultaneously (introjected regulation wasn’t included). Correlations among the factors didn’t confirm the simplex pattern, while the composite reliability coefficients were low (.55–.66). It is insufficient to analyze the assessment of the self-determination continuum only for statistical correctness – linguistic and cultural contexts should also be considered.