Performance goals: The moderating roles of context and achievement orientation

Past research has yielded mixed findings for performance achievement goals. To help resolve this inconsistency, two experiments explored the moderating role of context and individual differences in achievement orientation. Participants in Study 1 pursued either a performance goal or no goal while solving enjoyable puzzles. They did so within either an evaluative or non-evaluative context, and received positive feedback after task completion. Results show that performance goals did not affect performance on the puzzles and undermined interest only when pursued within evaluative contexts by people low in achievement orientation. Study 2 replicated Study 1 and extended it by manipulating outcome feedback valence. Negative feedback given in an evaluative context undermined interest for people high in achievement orientation, but had no effect on those low in achievement orientation. The findings are related to classic achievement motivation findings and current approach-avoidant models of achievement goal theory.     

The trichotomous achievement goal model and intrinsic motivation: a sequential mediational analysis

This experiment was designed to extend the research by Elliot and Harackiewicz (1996) on the trichotomous achievement goal model in several important ways and to more thoroughly document the processes through which the goals in the trichotomous model influence intrinsic motivation. Results indicated that performance-avoidance goals undermined intrinsic motivation relative to performance-approach and mastery goals; the latter goals evidenced the same intrinsic motivation. These results were obtained using highly evaluative performance goal manipulations, with early adolescent participants, and for a motor task relevant to physical ability. Sequential mediational analyses revealed that competence valuation, state anxiety, and task absorption processes accounted for the observed effects. Perceived competence served neither mediating nor moderating roles.     

Extending hierarchical achievement motivation models: The role of motivational needs for achievement goals and academic performance

In the current study, we investigated the role of three basic motivational needs (need for power, affiliation, achievement) as antecedents of goals within the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework, and examined their combined predictive validity with regard to academic performance in a sample of 120 university students. Structural equation modeling analysis largely supported our postulated model, linking motivational needs indirectly to course grades through goals. Achievement goals were formed by a combination of different motives: need for achievement was a positive predictor of all four achievement goals, and need for affiliation was negatively related to performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals. Additionally, need for power was a positive predictor of performance-avoidance goals. Performance-approach goals had a direct (positive) effect on performance outcomes. In sum, our results integrate basic motivational needs with the achievement goals literature and extend therefore hierarchical achievement motivation models, by showing how basic human motives of achievement, affiliation, and power are related to goal striving motivation and performance outcomes in an academic setting.     

Achievement and avoidance motivational orientations in the domain of mentoring

To extend research on fundamental motivational orientations into a new domain, we explored the achievement (positive) and avoidance (negative) orientations of formal organization-based mentors and protégés as joint predictors of personal learning experienced by both parties. We also examined the extent of mentoring functions provided by mentors as a hypothesized partial mediator. Regression analyses of 8-month data from 61 dyads revealed that mentors’ personal learning was predicted by protégés’ achievement (positive) and avoidance (negative) orientations, whereas protégés’ personal learning was predicted by their own achievement orientation (positive). Although the extent of mentoring functions facilitated personal learning equally among mentors and protégés, it did not function as a mediator. Finally, mentor-protégé congruence on achievement orientation had implications for the personal learning of protégés.     

Born to learn or born to win? Birth order effects on achievement goals

Given the widespread use and well-known consequences of achievement goals in different competence-relevant situations, it is important to gain a thorough understanding of how these differences in goal pursuit are formed. Using different analytic approaches, we show that birth order lies at the heart of people’s goal preferences as we consistently found that firstborns have developed a preference for mastery goals (which are based on self-referenced standards of competence), whereas secondborns have developed a preference for performance goals (which are based on other-referenced standards of competence). These findings may help explain why people differently define, experience, and respond to competence-relevant situations, including the workplace, the classroom, and the ball field.     

Validation of Hayamizu and Weiner's Achievement Goal Questionnaire among Uruguayan university students

Abstract

The aim of this study is to confirm the factor structure of a self-report measure of achievement goal tendencies (Hayamizu & Weiner, 1991) described in previous research, and examine the reliability and validity of scores in a sample of Uruguayan university students. A theoretical three-factor model is proposed (learning, performance and outcome goals), as well as one-factor models for each goal. Confirmatory factor analyses show that all models are identified, and solutions are conceptually correct. Our results suggest that outcome goals could be split into two correlated sub-dimensions related to achievement time (short and long term goals). Concurrent and predicted validity were established through significant correlations with perceived ability and academic achievement respectively. Conceptualisation of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Achievement goals and improvement following failure: moderating roles of self-compassion and contingency of self-worth

We examined whether mastery goals promote greater score improvement on a cognitive test than performance goals and whether self-compassion and contingency of self-worth moderated the effect. Participants received either mastery or performance goals manipulation, failed on a difficult test, and took the test again after receiving the correct answers. Those with mastery goals showed a greater score improvement than those with performance goals, although post-failure state self-esteem did not differ between the two conditions. Moreover, the goals had a greater effect among (a) those with low rather than high self-compassion and (b) those with high rather than low competition contingency of self-worth. The findings suggest that by framing the task as a challenge rather than a threat, mastery goals encourage people to learn from failure more so than performance goals, especially when under high ego-threat.     

Achievement motivation among urban adolescents: Work hope, autonomy support, and achievement-related beliefs

Drawing upon expectancy value, hope, and self-determination theories, this study explores the contributions of work-based beliefs and autonomy support as predictors of adaptive achievement-related beliefs. Two hundred and one urban high school students who were enrolled in a work-based learning program completed measures of work hope, autonomy support, and achievement beliefs. Results from the full canonical correlation model revealed that work hope, career planning, and autonomy support shared 37.5% of the variance with achievement-related beliefs. Moreover, work hope and teacher autonomy support further contributed unique variance in explaining these beliefs. The findings contribute to the theoretical knowledge base concerning the value of work-based learning in fostering academic motivation among adolescents.     

Impression management and achievement motivation: Investigating substantive links

In this research, we investigate impression management (IM) as a substantive personality variable by linking it to differentiated achievement motivation constructs, namely achievement motives (workmastery, competitiveness, fear of failure) and achievement goals (mastery‐approach, mastery‐avoidance, performance‐approach, performance‐avoidance). Study 1 revealed that IM was a positive predictor of workmastery and a negative predictor of competitiveness (with and without self‐deceptive enhancement (SDE) controlled). Studies 2a and 2b revealed that IM was a positive predictor of mastery‐approach goals and mastery‐avoidance goals (without and, in Study 2b, with SDE controlled). These findings highlight the value of conceptualising and utilising IM as a personality variable in its own right and shed light on the nature of the achievement motive and achievement goal constructs.     

Achievement goals and intrinsic motivation: Their relation and their role in adaptive motivation

In this article, the relation between research emerging from the goals approach to motivation and research emerging from the intrinsic motivation approach is examined. A review of relevant research suggests that factors promoting learning goals (emphasizing the development of competencies) are associated with enhanced intrinsic motivation, and that factors promoting performance goals (emphasizing the evaluation of competence) are associated with diminished intrinsic motivation. It is also suggested that important aspects of the goals approach are often incorporated into conceptions and measures of intrinsic motivation. Finally, a framework is presented in which adaptive motivation is described in terms of the coordination of achievement goals and intrinsic motivation.     

The impact of competition on intrinsic motivation and creativity: considering gender, gender segregation and gender role orientation

The present research investigated whether competition influences children's artistic creativity and intrinsic motivation toward an art activity. Study 1 tested the hypothesis that boys' creativity would be enhanced by competition, while girls' creativity would be undermined. Fifty children (aged 6–10) made paper collages in one of two conditions; half competed for prizes and half did not. Results supported our hypotheses, and further showed that when children self-segregated by gender, the impact of competition was much more pronounced. Study 2 was designed to clarify the unexpected gender-segregation finding from Study 1. The Children's Sex Role Inventory [Boldizar, J.P. (1991). Assessing sex typing and androgyny in children: the Children's Sex Role Inventory. Developmental Psychology, 27, 505–515] was administered to 143 children (aged 6–11). One week later, these children made paper collages in one of four conditions; in addition to manipulating competition, assigned seating ensured that half of children were segregated by gender and half were not. Following the collage activity, an intrinsic and extrinsic motivation questionnaire was administered. Masculine children reported higher levels of intrinsic motivation when competing and when segregated by gender; they also reported higher levels of extrinsic motivation, especially when segregated by gender. These findings demonstrate that gender role is an important factor in determining children's responses to competition.     

Endorsement of achievement goals across secondary school years: Applying a state-trait framework

This study examined stability and change in endorsement of achievement goals across secondary school years. A longitudinal, complementary, integrative approach was utilized with a sample of 6908 Korean eighth graders followed over three years at one-year intervals. The autoregressive models demonstrated differential stability, whereas latent growth curve models showed mean-level changes. Applying a state-trait framework, achievement goals evidenced both trait and state components; endorsement of achievement goals is stable, but may also exhibit change over time. Although all achievement goal types were more state-like than trait-like, avoidance goals (mastery-avoidance and performance-avoidance goals) were more malleable than approach goals (mastery-approach and performance-approach goals); no differences were found between approach or avoidance goals.     

Cultural variations in achievement motivation despite equivalent motivational strength: Motivational concerns among Indian and American corporate professionals

We explored the possibility that persons from two cultures, Indian and American, might be similar in overall levels of motivational strength yet differ significantly in their experience and expression of achievement motivation. We anticipated that Indian, more than American, corporate professionals would incorporate not only self-based but also other-oriented concerns (e.g., for the welfare of co-workers and community members) into their experience of achievement motivation in the workplace. American and Indian corporate professionals responded to an online survey that included a novel measure tapping interpersonal concerns in achievement motivation. Despite the groups being equivalent on multiple demographic indicators and on traditional indices of both motivational strength and motivational orientation, Americans and Indians differed substantially in motivational concerns, with Indians grounding their sense of achievement motivation more strongly in concerns for extended family, co-workers and community. Implications for the study of cultural variations in personality processes are discussed.     

Distinguishing the desire to learn from the desire to perform: The social value of achievement goals

We sought to distinguish mastery goals (i.e., desire to learn) from performance goals (i.e., desire to achieve more positive evaluations than others) in the light of social judgment research. In a pilot study, we made a conceptual distinction between three types of traits (agency, competence, and effort) that are often undifferentiated. We then tested the relevance of this distinction for understanding how people pursuing either mastery or performance goals are judged. On self-perception, results revealed that effort was predicted by the adoption of mastery goals and agency by performance goals (Study 1). On judgments, results showed that (a) the target pursuing mastery goals was perceived as oriented toward effort, and (b) the target pursuing performance goals was oriented toward agency (Study 2). Finally, these links were shown again by participants who inferred a target’s goals from his traits (Study 3). Results are discussed in terms of the social value of achievement goals at school.     

Goal orientations in negotiations: the influence of goal orientations on fixed-pie perceptions and bargaining outcomes

As is the case for other achievement situations, people may approach negotiations emphasizing outcome and/or process goals. This paper examines the effects of process goal orientation (PGO) and outcome goal orientation (OGO) on individuals' fixed-pie perceptions and the negotiation of joint outcomes. Process and outcome goal orientations are associated with different personal beliefs about the world. We hypothesized that persons who are primarily oriented toward outcome goals, based on their fixed-entity perception of the world, would mainly concentrate on the final results or on the outcomes of the negotiation. They would tend to perceive negotiations as fixed, zero-sum, competitive situations, which have to be "won" by one of the parties at the expense of the other. On the other hand, we predicted that people who are strongly process-oriented, based on their malleable-entity perception of the world, would focus mainly on formulating and mastering the best strategies that lead to successful resolution of the negotiation. They would perceive positions to be "malleable" and, hence, would tend to perceive the negotiation as a non zero-sum situation. Additionally, the interaction between the two types of goal orientations and its effect on the parties' joint negotiation outcomes was examined. Results of two empirical studies indicated that OGO was significantly positively associated with fixed-pie bias (Study 1). The significant interaction between PGO and OGO (Study 2) demonstrated that a strong OGO combined with a strong PGO led to the best joint negotiation outcomes. Implications for goal orientation and negotiation theories are discussed.     

Values,achievement goals,and individual‐oriented and social‐oriented achievement motivations among Chinese and Indonesian secondary school students

This study examined how values related to achievement goals and individual‐oriented and social‐oriented achievement motivations among secondary school students in China (N = 355) and Indonesia (N = 356). Statistical comparisons showed the Chinese students endorsed more strongly than the Indonesian students on self‐direction and hedonism values, individual‐oriented achievement motivation, and mastery‐approach goals. Conversely, the Indonesian students endorsed more strongly than their Chinese counterparts on security, conformity, tradition, universalism and achievement values, social‐oriented achievement motivation, and performance‐approach and mastery‐avoidance goals. Values explained a significant amount of the variance in almost all of the dimensions of motivation. Etic and emic relationships between values and achievement motivations were found.     

Sociocultural antecedents of academic motivation and achievement: Role of values and achievement motives in achievement goals and academic performance

With a view to understand the influence of culture on achievement motivation, the study aimed to test the hypothesized mediating role of individual‐oriented and social‐oriented achievement motives in linking value orientations (e.g. achievement, security, conformity, hedonism) to achievement goals (i.e. mastery‐approach, mastery‐avoidance, performance‐approach, and performance‐avoidance goals) as predictors of English and mathematics achievements. These hypothesized relationships were tested in the one‐path analytic model with a sample of Indonesian high‐school students (n = 356; 46% girls, M age = 16.20 years). The findings showed that security and conformity values positively predicted social‐oriented achievement motive; self‐direction values positively predicted individual‐oriented achievement motive; and hedonism values negatively predicted both achievement motive orientations. Both individual‐oriented and social‐oriented achievement motives positively predicted mastery‐approach and performance‐approach goals. Interestingly, social‐oriented achievement motive also positively predicted mastery‐avoidance and performance‐avoidance goals, which in turn, negatively predicted English and mathematic achievement. There was also some evidence for the direct effects of values on performance‐approach goals and achievement. Taken together, the findings evinced the relevance of achievement goal constructs to Indonesian students and the psychometric properties of the Indonesian version of the Achievement Goals Questionnaire for further use in Indonesia. The study concludes that the meanings of academic motivation and achievement should be seen from a sociocultural perspective relevant to the context in which they are being studied.