The purpose of this study was to examine the possible selves and learning motivation of the depressed students, and the effects of possible selves in balance on learning motivation. Participants were 479 college students and the data of depression, possible selves, and learning motivation were obtained through self reports. The results showed that depressed students had negative possible selves and their level of learning motivation was low. Thereafter, 76 depressed students participated in the following experiment. Four different possible selves conditions (balanced condition, positive condition, negative condition, control condition) were generated by manipulating possible selves and participants’ learning motivation were measured using Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM). The results of this study indicated that there were motivational differences between types of possible selves especially for difficulty, quantity, and accuracy of the task. Participants in balance type selected more challenging task, solved more items, and worked out more accurately than those in negative type. These results imply that balance in possible selves will be effective for improving motivation of the depressed students. Finally, the limitation of this study were discussed.

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• The Effects of Possible Selves of Teacher Candidates’ on their Teaching Motivation
  Feyza Gün, Tuğba Turabik
  Cumhuriyet International Journal of Education.2019;[Epub]     CrossRef