Achievement Motivation: A Comparative Study between Bright Learners and Slow Learners in Saudi Arabia

This study aims at investigating the achievement motivation of two categories of students of Psychology at the undergraduate level: bright students (fast learners) and slow learners in relation to the learning strategies employed by them. It is an empirical research with learner motivation assessed post intervention. The intervention was in the form of encouraging the learners to employ the best suited learning strategy for better performance. The study found the former group excelling and the latter group sagging in efforts/achievements ? either failing or scoring poorly in studies. We conclude that this situation is mainly the outcome of good or poor achievement motivation level, operating differently with different students, due to personality differences (intrinsic) and environmental factors (such as learning strategies and ‘interest’). The study also presents the motivating factors behind the excellence of bright learners with the aim to assist the poor learners improve their performance. Data for this study was collected using a questionnaire with the Psychology learners (undergrad level), an interview with teachers and student counseling for collection of post intervention data. The study concludes with constructive recommendations and suggestions.