The mediating role of positive and negative affect in the situational motivation-performance relationship

Based on self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan in Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Plenum Publishing Co., New York, 1985) and the broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson in Am Psychol 56:218–226, 2001), the purpose of the present research was to propose and test an integrative model on the role of positive and negative affect as mediators of the situational motivation-performance relationship. Specifically, the hypothesized model posits that autonomous motivation predicts positive affect, while controlled motivation and amotivation both lead to negative affect. In addition, amotivation negatively predicts positive affect. In turn, positive and negative affect positively and negatively predict performance, respectively. The model was confirmed in three studies using correlational (Studies 1 and 2) and experimental designs (Study 3) with a cognitive task (anagrams). In addition, the role of individual differences (Study 2) and situational factors (Study 3) as triggers of the “Motivation-Affect-Performance” sequence was confirmed. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed.