Art and achievement

Philosophical Studies - An increasingly popular view in the philosophy of art is that some artworks are good artworks at least partly because they are achievements. This view was introduced to...     

Assessing gender-related differences in achievement orientation using two different achievement scales

The consistent finding that the achievement scales of the Adjective Check List (ACL) and Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS) are not correlated has led researchers to question the validity of both of these measures. This article presents evidence indicating that although these measures are independent, they can predict the same performance criteria. Of interest is that the EPPS predicts outcomes for men, whereas the ACL predicts performance for women. A topical examination of each measure's relationships to other scales provides a tentative rationale for these scales' orthogonality that does not call into question the validity of either measure.     

Independent effects of achievement motivation and overt attribution on achievement behavior

The cognitive attribution theory of achievement motivation was examined in a series of three studies. The persistence of performance under failure feedback was investigated, with improvement over trials on a digit-symbol substitution task constituting the measure of persistence. Although evidence was obtained relating overt causal attributions of failure to persistence, partial correlation statistics indicated that this relationship was independent of achievement motivation. Partial correlation statistics also revealed that the relationship between achievement motivation and persistence was independent of attributional variables. In addition, greater persistence was exhibited by high- than by low-achievement subjects in the absence of attribution differences between these groups. Additional evidence was collected suggesting that the act of overt attribution was an ego-involving operation that led to these achievement differences in improvement. In general, achievement classification and overt causal attributions had separate effects on persistence, precluding the interpretation of achievement-related behavior in terms of attribution theory. Overt causal attributions were found to be, in part, a function of the ego-involving character of the task instructions, as was improvement.Portions of this research were conducted while L. A. White was supported by a Purdue University David Ross Research Fellowship; Kay Deaux, principal investigator.     

Attractiveness and school achievement

Facial attractiveness has been shown to have powerfully biasing effects in hypothetical investigations of teacher attitudes. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the relationship between rated attractiveness and two measures of school performance. Attractive children received significantly higher report cards and, to some degree, higher achievement test scores than their unattractive peers. The results are discussed and implications for further research are considered.     

Counselling and academic achievement

The possible relationship between emotional difficulty and under-achievement and wastage is examined. Psychometric data is presented from a recent longitudinal study on university students which suggests that psychological and academic difficulty may be different presentations of similar core problems. Particular attention is paid to the interaction between the individual and the institution, and clinical illustrations are provided. It is concluded that psychotherapy and counselling may be the appropriate response to a proportion of students in academic difficulty.     

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.     

The creative achievement scale

The Creative Achievement Scale (CAS) was designed to measure the creative accomplishments of deceased individuals based on information extracted from biographical sources (e.g., published biographies). The CAS contains 11 items which pertain to personal attributes, product qualities, and sociocultural factors. Statistical analyses conducted on one small (n = 12) and one larger sample (n = 50) of subjects revealed the CAS to be a reliable and valid instrument.     

Expectancy and academic achievement

Two possible explanations of the relationship between expectancy and subsequent academic achievement were formulated and tested. The assumption that goal setting, by influencing actual and intended effort expenditure, might also determine both expectancy and subsequent performance, and thereby explain the relationship between the latter two variables, found little support. The hypothesis that expectancy determines how hard people work and thereby how well they perform found support only in a male group. Moreover, when previous academic achievement, goal setting, and effort expenditure were all controlled, expectancy was still found to relate to subsequent grades for both women and men. It was concluded that neither goal theory nor effort calculation theory could fully account for the relationship between expectancy and academic achievement.     

Social agents,achievement goals,satisfaction and academic achievement in youth sport

ObjectivesThis study examined the contribution of motivational climate created by mothers, coaches, and best friends in the explanation of variance of athletes’ achievement goals, sport satisfaction and academic performance.DesignCross-sectional; participants completed self-reports assessing achievement goals in sport, perceptions of goals that are endorsed by mother, coach and best friend, satisfaction in sport and academic achievement.MethodsParticipants were 863 current Greek athletes (488 males, 372 females, 3 did not provide gender) aged 14.5±.60 (n=420) and 11.5±.60 (n=443).ResultsFactor, reliability and correlation analyses supported the psychometric properties of the instruments. All socialization agents had unique contribution to the explained variance of athletes’ achievement goals in sport. Mastery goals and perceptions corresponded positively to satisfaction in sport and they had low positive relationship with academic performance. Perceptions of performance approach goals endorsed by significant others had low negative relationship with academic performance and they were unrelated to sport satisfaction.ConclusionsMastery oriented climates should be established in sport, family, and peer contexts because all social contexts seem responsible for the formation of athletes’ achievement goals, emotions, and behaviours.     

Relationships between self-concept and achievement

This study is based on a multifaceted and hierarchical model of self-concept and explores the relationships between the various facets of self-concept and academic achievement. The model of self-concept has general self-concept at the apex, then academic self-concept, presentation of self, and social self-concept. There are 7 third-order factors: achievement, ability, and classroom self-concepts (academic), physical self-concepts (social). Further, there are four specific-subject and peer and family self-concepts (social). Further, there are four specific-subject self-concepts. The argument proposed in this study is that the relations between achievement and the facets of academic self-concept are greater than the relations between achievement and presentation of self and social self-concept. This argument is not rejected. Adolescents consistently evaluate themselves across various academic subjects, but there are no relationships between achievement and other aspects of the self.