Abstract—This paper describes an experimental study that
was performed among undergraduate students in their third
year out of four required for their Software Engineering degree.
The study's main purpose that stems from Maslow's
motivational theory (self-actualization), was to explore possible
motivational increase through self-grades comparisons. For
that reason, a small Excel tool was provided with relative
performance comparison graphs. Each student could enter his
or her ID number and receive a two graphs figure. One graph
represents the average class grades for all assignments and the
second graph represents his or her assignments' grades. All
assignments were individualized and personalized, so every
student got a different set of assignments. The study revealed
that the mechanism employed had a positive effect by
increasing the average grades. The students' reflection
supported these findings as some students expressed their views
regarding the importance of their relative performance. The
paper concludes with a discussion on the results and future
follow-up directions.
Index Terms—Enhancing students’ motivation, personal and
individual assignments, students’ learning accountability.
Aharon Yadin is with the Max Stern Yezreel Valley College (YVC),
Yezreel Valley, 19300, Israel (e-mail: aharony@yvc.ac.il).
Cite: Aharon Yadin, "Social Comparison as a Motivational Agent among Students," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 5, no. 7, pp. 512-515, 2015.