Self-efficacy studies
Albert Bandura (1986) suggests that motivation (or a lack thereof) is the result of an individual's self-efficacy related to a task. Bandura defines self-efficacy as the beliefs we have about ourselves that cause us to make choices, put forth effort, and persist in the face of difficulty. And for help in the classroom, Bandura notes that one of the most powerful sources of self-efficacy is mastery experience.