Factors that influence the change of human behavior
in student's online activity
Delia DUMINICĂ
Faculty of Educational Sciences, Social
Science and Psychology
University of Pitești
Pitești, România
dumidel@yahoo.com
Abstract— Today, people are living more and more changing
times, they are subject of new challenges, they have to face new
situations, for which they have prepared little or nothing. We
refer here to education that has moved exclusively online, from
one day to another, without training, without warnings, without
tests. The students, like all teachers, in fact, were faced with a
state of sin that at first they denied, rejected, negotiated, hated
and, finally, accepted. This move to move courses exclusively
online due to the COVID-19 pandemic has generated the rapid
need for human change, a huge pressure to adapt and accept the
unprecedented change in recent human history. As known,
human behavior is strongly influenced by external and/or
internal environmental factors, by their constancy or change.
Thus, the change of the external environment generated a chain
reaction of change of the internal environment, but also of the
human behavior. This study aims to investigate how students'
behavior has changed as a result of changing external factors
and the influence of this change on their motivation.
Keywords—human behavior, influence, online activity,
changes, motivation
I. INTRODUCTION
Knowledge of the psychological mechanisms of human
behavior allows an efficient and effective functioning of
people in various directions, in different periods of time and
in any situation. The goal of knowing and directing the
behavior of an individual or group of people is the motivation
to continue to operate in a context and to improve our
performance.
Human behavior is a directed activity, the goal being the
one that regulates this direction - motivation, as a dynamic
cognitive structure that directs human action towards concrete
goals, the dynamic aspect of the subject's relationship with the
world, its active and preferential orientation towards a
category. of situations and objects.
Motivation must be understood as a dynamic cognitive
structure that directs the action towards concrete goals, the
dynamic aspect of the subject's relationship with the world, its
active and preferential orientation towards a category of
situations and objects.
People's behavior in society, collectively, at home or
online is the result of combining personal characteristics and
the external environment. A person's behavior depends on
personal abilities, predispositions, inclinations, the multitude
of needs and their degree of satisfaction, hopes, attitudes, the
degree of perception of values and values of life.
The behavior of a person or a group of people is not stable.
It changes depending on and under the influence of different
factors of the internal and external environment, depending on
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the degree of motivation of these factors. You can change
those components of behavior that produced it. Behavior is a
function of its consequences and can therefore be changed.
II. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
With the development of new skills, new personal
relationships are developed through communication, new
relationships of activity at work, in the profession, due to the
new areas of interest that have emerged. Accepting change
develops new opportunities in the way we see the
environment, the collective and family environment, as well
as our internal, personal environment. At the same time, new,
controllable and uncontrollable things appear. Changing a
behavior aims to improve performance, the formation of a
beneficial and healthy lifestyle.
Human behavior is determined by:
1. intrapersonal factors;
2. interpersonal processes, formal and informal structures
of people;
3. institutional factors;
4. community factors;
5. social, public policy.
Change comes, whether we want it or not, and it's always
a good thing. Any change causes a fear of the unknown. At
every event of change there is a high degree of resistance,
depending on the threat to the comfort zone of the individual.
Decreasing the degree of resistance to change can occur
when we know its benefits. The change of influencing factors
results in the change of behavior, which in turn imposes the
need to develop new skills and as a consequence increases the
experience of other decisions, organization, evaluation,
communication and others. At the same time, the inclinations,
the predispositions to novelty and creativity are developing. It
is a scientifically proven fact that by changing old behaviors,
new connections are made in the intellect, memory, both in the
left and right hemispheres of the brain, making us more
creative, more open to the new.
Motivation was defined as the totality of the internal motives
of behavior, be they innate or acquired, conscious or
unconscious, simple physiological needs or abstract ideals.
Motivation is characterized by intention, need or aspiration,
all produced within the individual. No stimulus can trigger a
reaction if there is no need in the body. For an external factor
to be the trigger for a reaction, it must have some
correspondence or relevance to an internal factor. Needs are
categorized as primary or secondary in relation to motivation.
In Psychology, the two types of motivation are used a lot:
extrinsic and intrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is internal and
causes the individual to act in order to achieve goals or meet
needs or desires. Extrinsic motivation is related to external
resources, outside the individual, performing certain activities
that lead to the avoidance of a punishment or to obtain a gain.
Individuals are driven by actions of both types of motivation,
which together form the "engine" of the individual. All our
daily actions are explicable based on these two concepts.
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation differ from one individual to
another, we will not find two people with identical
motivations, only with similar elements, which can bring them
together at a given time [1].
Not every technology destroys childhood or negatively
affects development. We live in a cyber world, and children
need to learn to explore it, but more importantly, parents need
better guidelines, instructions and guidance on the effects of
the online environment [2].
Paris and Turner [3] describe motivation as the ‘engine’ of
learning. Motivation is one of the factors that influence
learning („what we learn, how we learn and when we choose
to learn”) [4]. There are many research studies which shows
that motivated learners use to undertake challenging activities,
engage more actively in activities, feel joy and enthusiasm,
reach the performance, the persistence and the creativity [5].
Although, the relationship or the connection between
motivation and the learning process is extremely important,
and there were many research studies on this field, it is a
never-ending theme, in deep changing and continuous
transformation [6, 7, 8].
There are a number of factors specific to online learning
that can diminish the motivation of children and adolescents
to learn:
1. Absence of the teacher-student relationship. Online
communication, no matter how smooth, may not provide the
teacher with the same opportunities to interpret and observe
children's reactions during teaching, so that they can correctly
assess their level of attention and motivation. In addition, a
close teacher-student relationship can be essential in
motivating children to learn, and online communication can
often be superficial, disrupted, and impersonal.
2. The online learning environment can provide a relative
level of anonymity - children can participate in the online
lesson, but their attention can be directed to other things.
3. Lesson comprehension difficulties may be higher during
online lessons. The more difficult the subject, the less
motivated the child will be to learn - because he will feel
discouraged [9].
There are some similarities and differences between online
learning and distance learning, although they are related. A.
W. Bates [10] mentions that the terms ‘online learning’ and
‘e-learning’ the terms are used equally, without differences of
meaning, but the author distinguishes between the two
phrases, which he defines as follows: „e-learning can
encompass any form of technology while online learning
refers specifically to using the internet and the web. Bates
completes the terminology and uses the term "completely
online" to distinguish between distance learning courses
where students' access to devices is mandatory, which cannot
be avoided, and they must be able to connect to the Internet to
support the course. Ally [11] points out that there are several
definitions of online learning, which is inevitable due to the
varied individual experiences, diverse practices and
technologies used in the classroom:
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„… the use of the internet to access materials; to interact with
the content, instructor, and other learners; and to obtain
support during the learning process, in order to acquire
knowledge, to construct personal meaning, and to grow from
the learning experience” (p. 5).
Distance learners have been associated with the idea of
independent actions, of self-direction study and intrinsic
motivation guidance. In fact, intrinsic motivation is thought to
be the most important characteristic of online learners. It is
quite important to mention that comparative studies between
online and on-class students have released interesting results:
online learners proved to be more intrinsically motivated
compared with the on-class learners at both undergraduate and
postgraduate level [12].
TABLE I. INTRINSIC MOTIVATION VS.
EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION
Motivation Goals
Intrinsic The activity you are Goals come from
doing it's internally within. The results
rewarding. It offers satisfy your basic
you joy, fun, psychological needs.
satisfaction or other
benefits.
Extrinsic The reward for the The outcome is the
activity comes from goal. Goals are
an external source. pursuing external
gains (money, fame,
power etc.)
Motivation is a functional component specific to the
human psychic system, which is based on a state of necessity
of any kind, and which is the basis of the individual's behavior
and conduct, of all his conscious actions, which is a response
to internal esteem. By reason we understand the concrete form
in which such a state of necessity manifests itself, some
subjective and real transpositions of the states of necessity.
And by reason we will understand the specific reason that
underlies a concrete behavior or actions [13, 14].
One reason highlights four main dimensions, on the basis
of which it can be analyzed and evaluated. These are:
1. the content
2. Intensity
3. Duration
4. level of integration.
The content is identified and evaluated on the basis of the
state of necessity reflected in the reason. The intensity
expresses the energetic load of the motive and materializes in
the pressure force on the decision and execution mechanisms.
Thus, the reasons can be: strong, moderate and weak [15].
A. Maslow created the Motivational Pyramid based
on these elements of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Biophysiological needs or requirements reach and manifest
themselves with intensities significantly higher than aesthetic
or cognitive needs or needs; a need has a greater intensity than
interest or ideal [16]. Maslow suggested that people have five
needs levels: Level 1: physiological needs; Level 2: safety
needs; Level 3: love and belongingness needs; Level 4: esteem
needs; Level 5: needs for self-actualization. The five levels of
needs must be met from the bottom up, without skipping any
of the levels. Although the model proposed by Maslow has TABLE 3. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF
been intensely challenged and other theories have even RESPONDENTS’ CHARACTERISTICS
emerged regarding the needs of the individual, this model of
the pyramid remains quite well known, popular and widely Measure Value Frequency (%)
used in studies and research. Gender Male 40 (43.5)
In education, Maslow's pyramid theory reminds us that we Female 52 (56.5)
must pay attention to meeting the basic needs of students or
pupils, then climb to higher levels associated with education, Age Younger than 20 14(15.2)
self-knowledge, self-improvement, improvement. 20 – 24 33(35.8)
Similar to Maslow's theory, Reeve [18] organized the types of 25 – 30 32(34.7)
needs into a structure of needs, including physiological needs
(thirst, hunger, and sex), psychological needs (autonomy, Older than 40 13(14.1)
competence, and relationship), and social needs (achievement, Computer use (hour/s per day)
affiliation, and power). In addition to the theories of necessity,
Atkinson's "value of expectancy x value" theory has suggested <1 2(0.2)
that the persistence and efforts of pregnant people are <3 14(15.2)
determined by the value of pregnancy and their hope of
<5 49(53.2)
success.
TABLE 2. A. MASLOW HIERARCHY OF NEEDS More than 5 27(29.3)

The interpretation of the answers is given in the form of

diagrams, with brief observations and implications. The
Likert Scale was used for response values, with responses
ranging from "strong disagreement" to "strong agreement".
Motivation measurements are adapted from Maggie
Hartnett.
IV. RESULTS
From the analysis of these data resulted that the Hypothesis:
students' motivation is affected by the sudden change in the
way they teach and learn is confirmed.

TABLE 4. QUESTIONNAIRE'S INTERPRETATION

DIAGRAM

I hardly find my motivation to continue to attend

III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Online Courses
The purpose of this study was to investigate if student's
motivation was influenced by attending courses exclusively strongly agree
online, in the context of the pandemic period. The research 21%
30%
hypothesis is to determine if students' motivation is affected agree
by the sudden change in the way they are taught and in the 22% disagree
way they learn.
27% strongly disagree
In this study, we surveyed students from the University of
To carry out this study, we selected a group of 99 students
from the University of Pitesti, from different study, bachelor's
and master's programs, namely Journalism and Organizational
Communication. The students participated voluntarily in this
study, completed the online questionnaire, the answers being
anonymous. Of the 99 questionnaires completed, 7 were
incomplete and were not taken into account. Thus, we had 92
complete questionnaires. Of the respondents, 40 are men and
52 are women, approximately 35.8% of respondents are in the
age group 20-24, and over 97% of respondents use a computer
to access the Internet for more than an hour a day. A complete
description of the sample of respondents is presented in Table
no. 3.

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 feel this state of difficulty. They find it more and more difficult
to follow their schedule in these conditions, staying home and
It is easy for me to follow my online courses
attending online classes.
schedule
About 70% of the surveyed students stated that they felt
more motivated before, which shows that the degree of
13% strongly agree motivation is affected to a very large extent by the change in
33% the course regime. Most students, about 60%, do not feel
16% agree proactive during classes, which affects the quality of the
disagree learning process, by decreasing the degree of involvement.

strongly disagree There are also great difficulties in finding the intrinsic
38%
motivation to participate in online courses, which may affect
the quality and the quantity of knowledge. Participants with
high intrinsic motivation are more explorative [19].

I used to be more motivated to attend courses V. LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH ISSUES
before online courses The results of this study are valuable for knowing the
impact that the sudden change in the teaching-learning mode
has had on students. The inherent limitations of the study
come from the fact that the number of students surveyed is
strongly agree quite small, they come from the same university, which limits
15%
32% agree the investigation. Students can be perceived as belonging to
15% the same social group, being quite similar, so it is
disagree recommended to extend the study to a larger number of
38% strongly disagree
students, from several universities, from different regions and
from different fields (for example, Engineering Sciences,
Philology, etc.) The impact of these sudden changes certainly
has other effects on the motivation of students in the
humanities, compared to engineering. Future research may
I feel pro-active during online courses expand the questions to investigate new nuances of intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation.
VI. CONCLUSION
strongly agree
24% 19%
agree The academic world has gone through one of the most
challenging, changing and difficult periods in recent history in
23% disagree the last 3 months. The technological progress that humanity
34% strongly disagree enjoys today has made it possible for every student and
teacher to know, more or less, the specifics of online learning.
So far, in Romania, students have experienced online
education differently and without constancy. The use of
technology, tools, necessary devices was different from one
university to another, from one curriculum to another. In fact,
the rules of operation and evaluation in online education are
I find my intrinsic motivation to attend online not uniform, harmonized and tested, which meant that with the
courses rapid transition to exclusive online education we found that
none were prepared for this mode of operation, nor teachers,
neither universities nor students.
strongly agree We chose to investigate how motivation influences
29% 18%
agree students' behavior during this period, under the pressure of a
new, unusual way of working, for which they were not
23% disagree previously prepared. The data of the study show that the way
30% strongly disagree they reacted, the way the students behaved during the
exclusive online education period was not the best, efficient
and effective for the learning process. They were affected by
attention, memory, concentration, stress levels increased,
The answers of the interviewed students were carefully attention span decreased, involvement level, pro activity
processed and interpreted, so as to indicate the changes in their decreased as well. All these negative influences on reaction
motivation, against the background of changes in the external and behavior have undoubtedly affected learning outcomes. It
environment. would be very useful and interesting to study what students
have managed to learn during this period, based on online
The students surveyed said that they find it difficult to find learning.
the motivation to continue participating to online courses
during the pandemic crisis. More than half of those surveyed

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 The results of this research show that students' motivation
was affected by unexpected changes in teaching and learning,
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the answers of the
surveyed students show, the vast majority show a considerable
decrease in the level of motivation for learning, a reduced
capacity for involvement and concentration. Students have
difficulty following the usual course schedule, but online. The
impact of this sudden change in university teaching and
learning is worth investigating, through a larger and more
extensive study.
Studying the literature has shown that there are still too
few studies related to motivation and behavior in the context
of online learning. Applied studies are needed to investigate
changes in student behavior in the context of online learning.
In Romania, a better regulation of this way of learning, teacher
training, endowment of laboratories in universities, adaptation
of the university curriculum, identification of disciplines that
can be taught online and those that are not suitable for this way
of teaching is required.
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