Goal complexes: Integrating achievement goals as standards and self-attributed motives as reasons underlying goal pursuit

Goal complexes, which are formed by pairing standards of competence strivings with their underlying reasons, are essential to an understanding of achievement goal regulation. This paper examines goal complexes that cross other-approach and other-avoidance goals with the approach-avoidance dimensions of Big Three motives as underlying reasons. 220 undergraduates participated in Study 1 which developed and validated the Self-Attributed Motive Scale to measure hope of success, fear of failure, hope of affiliation, fear of rejection, hope of power, and fear of loss of power. Additionally, 235 undergraduates participated in Study 2 where goal complexes were created by crossing the motive items developed in Study 1 with other-approach and other-avoidance goals. The predictive utility of the resultant goal complexes was examined in relation to positive well-being (positive learning-related emotions and engagement), negative well-being (negative learning-related emotions and burnout), and academic buoyancy. The contributions of the studies to the self-attributed motive and goal complex literatures are discussed.

     

A meta-analysis of induced achievement goals: the moderating effects of goal standard and goal framing

Social Psychology of Education - In this paper, we present a meta-analysis of the motivational and performance effects of experimentally induced achievement goals and the moderating effects of goal...     

Performance‐approach and performance‐avoidance classroom goals and the adoption of personal achievement goals

Background. Students’ perceptions of classroom goals influence their adoption of personal goals. To assess different forms of classroom goals, recent studies have favoured an overall measure of performance classroom goals, compared to a two‐dimensional assessment of performance‐approach and performance‐avoidance classroom goals (PAVCG). Aims. This paper considered the relationship between students’ perceptions of classroom goals and their endorsement of personal achievement goals. We proposed that three (instead of only two) classroom goals need to be distinguished. We aimed to provide evidence for this hypothesis by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and also by divergent associations between the respective classroom goal and students’ personal goal endorsement. Sample. A total of 871 (474 female) 10th grade students from several German high schools participated in this study. Method. Students responded to items assessing their perception of mastery, performance‐approach, and performance‐avoidance goals in the classroom. Additionally, the students reported how much they personally pursue mastery, performance‐approach, and performance‐avoidance goals. All items referred to German as a specific school subject. Results. A CFA yielded empirical support for the proposed distinction of three (instead of only two) different kinds of classroom goals. Moreover, in hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) analyses all three classroom goals showed unique associations with students’ personal goal adoption. Conclusions. The findings emphasized the need to distinguish performance‐approach and PAVCG. Furthermore, our results suggest that multiple classroom goals have interactive effects on students’ personal achievement strivings.     

Effective pursuit of personal goals: The fostering effect of dispositional optimism on goal commitment and goal progress

Personal goals play a leading role in directing behavior and influencing well-being. Thus, it is important to assess goal dimensions promoting effective goal pursuit. The current research aimed at identifying the best predictors of goal pursuit, operationalized as perceived goal progress, among goal-related variables and individual differences in dispositional optimism. Two studies examined the influence of optimism on goal progress, commitment, expectancy, value, and conflict. Moreover, the mediation effect of expectancy in the relationships among optimism, commitment and progress was assessed.Participants in the first cross-sectional study were 283 young people (19–32 years old), whereas participants in the second longitudinal study were 409 people (19–71 years old). They reported their most important personal goals and rated each of them with respect to goal progress, conflict, expectancy, commitment, and value. Dispositional optimism was also assessed.In both studies, multilevel and mediational analyses demonstrated the fostering role of optimism on perceived goal progress and commitment through the mediation of goal expectancy. Thus, optimists are more likely than pessimists to report more perceived progress in their pursued personal goals. By clarifying the role of optimism in fostering goal progress and commitment, this research provides insight on how effective goal pursuit could be promoted.     

Youth sport dropout from the achievement goal theory

This study examined dropout behavior, using the conceptual framework of achievement goal theory. We hypothesized that dropout could be predicted by a high ego-oriented goal disposition in combination with a low perception of personal skill and the perception that the coach and sport peers maintained ego-oriented sport success criteria. The participants were 134 adolescent athletes involved in high-level competitive sports participation. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) supported these hypotheses. Furthermore, the variables that directly predicted sport dropout were the participant's ego orientation (positively) and perception of skill (negatively). These findings and the research prospects are discussed.     

Mediation models of implicit theories and achievement goals predict planning and withdrawal after failure

Dweck posits that implicit theories of intelligence provide a meaning system that organizes goal-based patterns of response in achievement situations. Goals of increasing competence or demonstrating competence provide purposes for engaging in achievement tasks and frameworks for interpreting and responding to outcomes. Despite suggestions that within an implicit theory framework, attributions and emotions should mediate associations between goals and post-failure responses, such models have rarely been explicitly tested. We obtained questionnaire data from college students (N = 261) on implicit theories, goals, and attributions, as well as emotions and behavior after a hypothetical failure. Path analysis showed that learning goal and effort attribution mediated the association between incremental theory and post-failure intention to plan remedial action. Theory-consistent indirect effects that predicted intention to withdraw were also identified. Findings provide support for Dweck’s theory and extend our understanding of the roles of goals, attributions, and emotions in explaining responses to achievement setbacks.     

Sex role orientations,attributions for achievement,and personal goals of Chinese youth

The role of women in the People's Republic of China has changed dramatically in the last 40 years. This study assesses what impact these changes have had on the attitudes of Chinese youth. The sample consisted of 164 subjects (77 men and 87 women) who completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory, the Objective Fear of Success Measure, a locus of control scale, and a personal goals questionnaire. They also evaluated a painting attributed to artists of different gender and status. The results indicate that the sex role orientations of Chinese students were similar to those of American students. On the Bem inventory, the direction of the sex differences on the sex role scales was the same for U.S. and Chinese students, but the latter had a sex role orientation that, in our culture, is regarded as more “traditional.” Chinese women were significantly more likely to endorse statements expressing fear of success than were Chinese men. On the locus of control measures, Chinese women were more likely than men to attribute their achievement successes to luck and failures to a lack of ability. The women students also attributed affiliation outcomes more to luck than did the men. The most important personal goal cited by both men and women was that of career success. Chinese men placed greater importance than women on achieving wealth, and their expectancy of actually becoming wealthy was higher. Finally, in an evaluation of a painting, Chinese men, but not the women, devalued a painting when it was supposedly the work of a female student artist.     

Predicting academic self‐handicapping in different age groups: The role of personal achievement goals and social goals

Background. Academic self‐handicapping refers to the use of impediments to successful performance on academic tasks. Previous studies have shown that it is related to personal achievement goals. A performance goal orientation is a positive predictor of self‐handicapping, whereas a task goal orientation is unrelated to self‐handicapping. Aims. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between academic self‐handicapping, goal orientations (task, performance‐approach, performance‐avoidance), social goals, future consequences and achievement in mathematics. An additional aim was to investigate grade‐level and gender differences in relation to academic self‐handicapping. Sample. Participants were 702 upper elementary, junior and senior high school students with approximately equal numbers of girls and boys. Results. There were no grade‐level or gender differences as regards the use of self‐handicapping. The correlations among the variables revealed that, when the whole sample was considered, self‐handicapping was positively related to performance goal orientations and pleasing significant others and negatively to achievement in mathematics. The results of hierarchical regression analysis showed that, in upper elementary and junior high schools, the association between achievement in mathematics and self‐handicapping was mediated by performance‐avoidance goals. In senior high school, only task goal orientation was a negative predictor of self‐handicapping.     

Analyzing student motivation at the confluence of achievement goals and their underlying reasons: an investigation of goal complexes

This research investigated the interrelations among achievement goals and the underlying reasons for pursuing them. To do so, it utilized the framework of goal complexes, which are regulatory constructs defined at the intersection of aims and reasons. Data from two independent large samples of New Zealand university students showed that across types of reasons, namely development versus demonstration of competence/ability, and approach-avoidance tendencies pertaining to aims and reasons, respectively, participants rated lowest items mapping normative aims. Additionally, for most non-normative achievement goals, which in this study were related to task and own past performance, students endorsed more strongly items pertaining to the development rather than the demonstration of competence/ability. This pattern of results was reversed for approach—but not avoidance—related reasons associated with normative aims. These findings are largely consistent with the tenets of cognitive dissonance theory and have important implications for pedagogical practice, policy development, and the study of self-evaluation and cognitive processes. In addition, they delineate new directions for fruitful future research.     

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.     

Interference and facilitation among personal goals: differential associations with subjective well-being and persistent goal pursuit

Three studies demonstrate that mutual facilitation and interference among personal goals are distinct characteristics rather than mutually exclusive opposites and have different functions for psychological well-being and goal pursuit. The three studies vary in design (cross-sectional, short-termlongitudinal) and follow a multimethod approach using questionnaires, diaries, and objective behavioral information. Results show that interference among goals (resulting from resource constraints and incompatible goal attainment strategies) is negatively associated with trait and state well-being, whereas mutual facilitation among goals (resulting from instrumental goal relations and overlapping goal attainment strategies) is positively associated with involvement in goal pursuit.     

Self-handicapping strategies in physical education classes: the influence of implicit theories of the nature of ability and achievement goal orientations

Aim: To investigate the role of implicit theories of ability and achievement goals on self-handicapping strategies in physical education classes.Hypotheses: It was expected that incremental theories of ability would be negatively associated with self-handicapping strategies, whereas fixed theories of ability would enhance pupils’ self-reported use of such strategies. It was also hypothesised that low perceived competence would reinforce self-handicapping among pupils holding fixed theories of ability and an ego goal orientation.Method: A cross-sectional study of 9th graders in Norway (N=343; 166 boys and 177 girls) was conducted in which pupils responded to a questionnaire measuring sub-dimensions of fixed and incremental theories of ability, achievement goal orientations, perceived competence and self-handicapping in physical education.Results: Regression-based path analyses revealed that a fixed theory of ability had a direct positive effect on self-handicapping. The effects of an incremental implicit theory of ability on self-handicapping were negative and mediated by a task orientation. High perceived competence was found to buffer the aversive affect of holding a stable theory of ability on self-handicapping.Conclusion: The findings illustrate the importance of studying implicit motivational beliefs in physical education classes in order to provide an understanding of self-handicapping strategies among pupils.     

Implications of goal theories for the theories of reasoned action and planned behaviour

This paper argues that the predictive validity of the theories of reasoned action and planned behaviour could be enhanced by considering key ideas from goal theories. In particular, goal theories highlight the importance of: (a) construing action as a process of behavioural selection designed to achieve actors’ goals, (b) assessing the extent to which people have planned how to perform action sequences implied by their goals (c) investigating goal conflict in order to understand intention-behaviour discrepancies (d) examining contextual variations in goal salience to account for the dynamics of choice, (e) using intention stability to index the prioritization of goals, and (f) analyzing the content of the goals underlying attitudes and intentions. Suggestions are made about self-report measures and computations that would permit greater use of these ideas in future research.     

University students' achievement goals and approaches to learning in mathematics

Background Achievement goals (AG) and students' approaches to learning (SAL) are two research perspectives on student motivation and learning in higher education that have until now been pursued quite independently. Aims This study sets out: (a) to explore the relationship between the most representative variables of SAL and AG; (b) to identify subgroups (clusters) of students with multiple AG; and (c) to examine the differences between these clusters with respect to various SAL and AG characteristics. Sample The participants were 680 male and female 1st year university students studying different subjects (e.g. mathematics, physics, economics) but all enrolled on mathematics courses (e.g. algebra, calculus). Method Participants completed a series of questionnaires that measured their conceptions of mathematics, approaches to learning, course experience, personal 2 × 2 AG, and perceived AG. Results SAL and AG variables were moderately associated and related to both the way students perceived their academic environment and the way they conceived of the nature of mathematics (i.e. the perceptual‐cognitive framework). Four clusters of students with distinctive multiple AG were identified and when the differences between clusters were analysed, we were able to attribute them to various constructs including perceptual‐cognitive framework, learning approaches, and academic performance. Conclusio This study reveals a consistent pattern of relationships between SAL and AG perspectives across different methods of analysis, supports the relevance of the 2 × 2 AG framework in a mathematics learning context and suggests that AG and SAL may be intertwined aspects of students' experience of learning mathematics at university.     

Implications of goal theories for the theories of reasoned action and planned behaviour

This paper argues that the predictive validity of the theories of reasoned action and planned behaviour could be enhanced by considering key ideas from goal theories. In particular, goal theories highlight the importance of: (a) construing action as a process of behavioural selection designed to achieve actors’ goals, (b) assessing the extent to which people have planned how to perform action sequences implied by their goals (c) investigating goal conflict in order to understand intention-behaviour discrepancies (d) examining contextual variations in goal salience to account for the dynamics of choice, (e) using intention stability to index the prioritization of goals, and (f) analyzing the content of the goals underlying attitudes and intentions. Suggestions are made about self-report measures and computations that would permit greater use of these ideas in future research.     

A novel approach to assessing achievement goals in the context of the 2 x 2 framework: identifying distinct profiles of individuals with different dominant achievement goals

In two studies, individuals' dominant achievement goals were assessed using a new, simple, and conceptually precise measure based on Elliot and McGregor's (2001) 2 x 2 framework. Next, the four groups were compared in terms of achievement-relevant variables, including need for achievement, perfectionism, perceived competence, interest, and graded performance. As expected, a very high percentage (approximately 85%) of people indicated they had a dominant achievement goal. Furthermore, the results suggest that individuals with different dominant achievement goals have clear, distinct profiles that can be characterized as positively valenced (mastery-approach), both positively and negatively valenced (performance-approach), negatively valenced (performance-avoidance), or neither positively nor negatively valenced (mastery-avoidance).     

Development of the Idiographic functional status assessment: A measure of the personal goals and goal attainment activities of people with AIDS

Abstract

This study presents the development of the Idiographic Functional Status Assessment (IFSA), an interview to assess functional status according to each person's unique point of view. This idiographic method asks people to state their personal goals in terms of things they want to accomplish, problems they want to solve, situations they hope to avoid, roles and relationships they want to maintain, and pursuits they want to relinquish. After describing their goals, respondents rate goal attainment activities they have pursued in the past month in terms of level of difficulty, dependence and other performance dimensions. In a study of 224 people with AIDS, the idiographic measure provided functional status scales that were relatively stable over time, and that correlated well with other subjective well-being measures and heath status criteria. Goal content measures derived from the interview can be used to distinguish sub samples that differ in terms of the determinants of quality of life.     

The social-cognitive model of achievement motivation and the 2 x 2 achievement goal framework

Two studies examined hypotheses drawn from a proposed modification of the social-cognitive model of achievement motivation that centered on the 2 x 2 achievement goal framework. Implicit theories of ability were shown to be direct predictors of performance attainment and intrinsic motivation, and the goals of the 2 x 2 framework were shown to account for these direct relations. Perceived competence was shown to be a direct predictor of achievement goals, not a moderator of relations implicit theory or achievement goal effects. The results highlight the utility of attending to the approach-avoidance distinction in conceptual models of achievement motivation and are fully in line with the hierarchical model of achievement motivation.