An examination of the motivation to reflection and its related factors

Despite the critical role of reflection in self-regulation, its motivational quality has received limited attention.Guided by selfdetermination theory, this study investigated the motivation structure for reflection and examined the related factors.Three hundred and fifty-seven adults were asked to indicate their motivation for reflection, support for psychological needs, and the consequences of reflection, including metacognitive activity, self-control, and stress response.Exploratory factor analysis identified four distinct motivational factors for reflection: internal, identified, introjected, and external regulation.Structural equation modeling revealed that autonomy, competence, and relational support heightened identification adjustment, which promoted metacognitive activity.Furthermore, internal and identified regulations were positively associated with self-control, whereas external adjustment was linked to heightened stress response.These findings are consistent with previous studies of the self-determination theory.Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.