Academic Motivation: How Fear of Negative Evaluation and Emotional Intelligence Play Their Role?

Abstract

The present study aimed to explore the factors that could influence academic motivation, i.e., fear of negative evaluation and emotional intelligence. Three scales namely, academic motivation scale, fear of negative evaluation and emotional intelligence were applied on 300 students enrolled in university of Peshawar in various programs. The age range of the sample was between 18-25 years (M=20.91; SD=1.87). The results confirmed the hypotheses suggesting significant negative correlation between emotional intelligence and fear of negative evaluation, a positive impact of emotional intelligence on academic motivation as well as a positive correlation between fear of negative evaluation and academic motivation. The findings of the study suggest that educational programs should cater students' emotional intelligence that could both reduce evaluative anxiety and promote more adaptive academic motivation. Interventions can target mindfulness-based training, social-emotional learning (SEL) curricula, and cognitive-behavioral strategies for dealing with anxiety. Incorporation of these techniques may strengthen student’ ability to encounter academic challenges with confidence, resilience, and intrinsic motivation.

Key words: Academic motivation, fear of negative evaluation, emotional intelligence