There is a strong popular belief that self-concept and motivation are intricately related to performance. To test this theory, a study was conducted to determine if increases in student self-enhancement and intrinsic motivation would explain increased academic performance. Students (N=472) in experimental groups completed interest inventories, which were then used by professors to prepare classes based on what students felt was meaningful. The results revealed that increasing the professor's awareness of how students perceived the meaningfulness of his/her discipline and then applying this knowledge to course preparation directly enhanced students' intrinsic motivation and directly influenced students' self-enhancement, two factors which were found to be significantly related to academic performance. (Author/JAC)