The role of achievement goals in the development of interest: Reciprocal relations between achievement goals, interest, and performance.

The dynamics of individual and situational interest and academic performance were examined in the college classroom and 7 semesters later in conjunction with achievement goals. At the beginning of an introductory psychology course, participants reported their initial interest in psychology, achievement goals, and situational interest in course lectures. At the end of the semester, participants (N = 858) reported their situational interest in course lectures and psychology. In the short term, relationships emerged among initial interest, achievement goals, situational interest, and class performance. Longitudinally, situational interest during the introductory course, independent of initial interest, predicted subsequent course choices. Results are discussed in terms of S. Hidi and K. A. Renninger's (2006) 4-phase model of interest development and the multiple goals model (J. M. Harackiewicz, K. E. Barron, P. R. Pintrich, A. J. Elliot, & T. M. Thrash, 2002). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors and consequences of achievement goals in the college classroom: Maintaining interest and making the grade.

The authors investigated personality predictors of achievement goals in an introductory psychology class, as well as the consequences of these goals for the motivation and performance of 311 undergraduates. Two dimensions of achievement motivation (workmastery and competitive orientations; J. T. Spence & R. L. Helmreich, 1983) predicted the goals endorsed. Individuals high in workmastery were more likely to adopt mastery goals and less likely to adopt work avoidance goals, whereas competitive individuals were more likely to endorse performance and work avoidance goals. Students adopting mastery goals were more interested in the class, but students adopting performance goals achieved higher levels of performance. These results suggest that both mastery and performance goals can lead to important positive outcomes in college classes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting success in college: A longitudinal study of achievement goals and ability measures as predictors of interest and performance from freshman year through graduation.

The authors examined the role of achievement goals, ability, and high school performance in predicting academic success over students' college careers. First, the authors examined which variables predicted students' interest and performance in an introductory psychology course taken their first semester in college. Then, the authors followed students until they graduated to examine continued interest in psychology and performance in subsequent classes. Achievement goals, ability measures, and prior high school performance each contributed unique variance in predicting initial and long-term outcomes, but these predictors were linked to different educational outcomes. Mastery goals predicted continued interest, whereas performance-approach goals predicted performance. Ability measures and prior high school performance predicted academic performance but not interest. The findings support a multiple goals perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task values, achievement goals, and interest: An integrative analysis.

The research presented in this article integrates 3 theoretical perspectives in the field of motivation: expectancy-value, achievement goals, and interest. The authors examined the antecedents (initial interest, achievement goals) and consequences (interest, performance) of task value judgments in 2 learning contexts: a college classroom and a high school sports camp. The pattern of findings was consistent across both learning contexts. Initial interest and mastery goals predicted subsequent interest, and task values mediated these relationships. Performance-approach goals and utility value predicted actual performance as indexed by final course grade (classroom) and coach ratings of performance (sports camp). Implications for theories of motivation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counseling psychology students' interest in research: Examining the contribution of achievement goals.

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive utility of achievement goal theory relative to the outcome of interest in research. The sample consisted of 114 doctoral students in counseling psychology. Results indicated that achievement goals accounted for 24% of the variance in interest in research over and above demographic and social-cognitive/contextual variables. Mastery approach and performance avoidance goals were shown to be significant positive and negative predictors of interest in research, respectively. In addition, age, year in program, and research outcome expectations were found to be significantly associated with interest in research. Implications for research training are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stability of small group interaction and achievement over time.

Investigated the stability over time of student behavior in small groups and the relationships among student and group characteristics, group interaction, and achievement. 110 students in 3 average-ability 7th- and 8th-grade mathematics classrooms worked for one semester in small groups. Group interaction and achievement were measured in 2 3-wk instructional units, 3 mo apart on perimeter, area, and volume and on the metric system. For both occasions, giving explanations was positively related to achievement and receiving no explanation in response to a question or error (receiving no response or a terminal response) was negatively related to achievement. The input–process–achievement relations were also fairly stable over time: For both occasions, group interaction partially mediated the effects of relative ability within the group and intellectual achievement responsibility on achievement. There were significant differences among group compositions (uniform-ability groups and 2 kinds of mixed-ability groups) in interaction and achievement at the 1st instructional unit but not at the 2nd one. In contrast to the stability of relationships among variables over time, student and group behavior tended to be unstable over time. Possible explanations for the instability of student and group behavior are discussed, as well as the implications of this result for instruction and further research. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stability and change in achievement goals.

The present research examined the nature of stability and change in achievement goal endorsement over time, using 4 complementary data-analytic approaches (differential continuity, mean-level change, individual-level change, and ipsative continuity). Three longitudinal studies were conducted in college classrooms; in each study, achievement goals were assessed prior to a series of 3 course examinations. All 3 studies yielded evidence for consistent patterns of both stability and change in each achievement goal under consideration. Fear of failure was linked to greater change in individuals' achievement goal clusters over time. Implications of the present findings for understanding the important and overlooked issue of achievement goal stability and change are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent classroom goals, standards for performance, and academic achievement: An interactionist perspective.

In the 1st study, correlational results from 203 high school students suggest that achievement, as indexed by grade point average (GPA), is positively related to efforts to be a successful student, be dependable and responsible, understand things, do one's very best, and get things done on time, and negatively related to trying to have fun. Student GPAs were also related to the number of goals and the unique sets of goals that students try to achieve. In the 2nd study, with a subsample of 107 students, the motivational characteristics of students that predicted GPAs did not predict Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores. Findings of the 1st study suggest the potential relevance of motivation to achieve socially prescribed as well as cognitive outcomes for explaining academic performance in the classroom. The importance of studying motivation–performance relationships within context is suggested by the fact that the findings of Study 1 were not replicated when nonclassroom evaluations of performance were used as indices of academic achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement goals and achievement emotions: Testing a model of their joint relations with academic performance.

The authors propose a theoretical model linking achievement goals and achievement emotions to academic performance. This model was tested in a prospective study with undergraduates (N = 213), using exam-specific assessments of both goals and emotions as predictors of exam performance in an introductory-level psychology course. The findings were consistent with the authors' hypotheses and supported all aspects of the proposed model. In multiple regression analysis, achievement goals (mastery, performance approach, and performance avoidance) were shown to predict discrete achievement emotions (enjoyment, boredom, anger, hope, pride, anxiety, hopelessness, and shame), achievement emotions were shown to predict performance attainment, and 7 of the 8 focal emotions were documented as mediators of the relations between achievement goals and performance attainment. All of these findings were shown to be robust when controlling for gender, social desirability, positive and negative trait affectivity, and scholastic ability. The results are discussed with regard to the underdeveloped literature on discrete achievement emotions and the need to integrate conceptual and applied work on achievement goals and achievement emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of classroom environment, achievement goals, and achievement outcomes.

Two studies examined the relationship between undergraduates' perceptions of their classroom environment, their adoption of achievement goals for the course, and their graded performance and intrinsic motivation. Results revealed a distinct antecedent profile for each goal in the trichotomous framework: Mastery goals were linked to the presence of lecture engagement and the absence of an evaluation focus and harsh evaluation, performance-approach goals were linked to the presence of evaluation focus, and performance-avoidance goals were linked to the presence of evaluation focus and harsh evaluation. When the perceived classroom environment and achievement goal variables were tested together as predictors of graded performance and intrinsic motivation, the results clearly demonstrated that the influence of the perceived classroom environment on these outcomes measures was indirect; the perceived classroom environment influenced achievement goal adoption, and achievement goal adoption, in turn, directly influenced graded performance and intrinsic motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mapping individual performance over time.

Cross-sectional research investigating seniority, tenure, and age as they relate to job performance has demonstrated an initial positive linear increase followed by a plateau. Investigations into the stability of performance have demonstrated that individuals change their rank order over time. Taken together, these findings suggest that the curvilinear relationship displayed in the seniority, tenure, and age research is actually made up of many different intraindividual change patterns. Performance data for 2 samples of professional baseball players were used to investigate these individual change patterns for systematic and meaningful differences. The results demonstrated the importance of studying performance over time at the individual level and that focusing on either mean performance or change in rank order can mask systematic individual patterns of change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing goals, task interest, and the mood–performance relationship: A mediational analysis.

The authors examined the role of intrinsic interest in mediating the relationship among mood, processing goals, and task performance. Participants in induced happy, neutral, or sad moods generated similarities and differences between TV shows using performance-based, enjoyment-based, or no stop rule (cf. L. L. Martin, D. W. Ward, J. W. Achee, & R. S. Wyer, 1993). Pretask interest and both quantitative (time spent, number generated) and qualitative (creativity) performance were assessed. Happy participants spent more time and generated more items than other participants when using an enjoyment-based stop rule but spent less time and generated fewer items when using a performance-based stop rule. Happy participants also expressed greater pretask interest and were more creative than other participants regardless of stop rule. Regression-based path analyses indicated that pretask interest partially mediated the effects of mood on quantitative performance but not on creativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moving toward more perfect unions: Daily and long-term consequences of approach and avoidance goals in romantic relationships.

In 2 daily experience studies and a laboratory study, the authors test predictions from approach-avoidance motivational theory to understand how dating couples can maintain feelings of relationship satisfaction in their daily lives and over the course of time. Approach goals were associated with increased relationship satisfaction on a daily basis and over time, particularly when both partners were high in approach goals. Avoidance goals were associated with decreases in relationship satisfaction over time, and people were particularly dissatisfied when they were involved with a partner with high avoidance goals. People high in approach goals and their partners were rated as relatively more satisfied and responsive to a partner's needs by outside observers in the lab, whereas people with high avoidance goals and their partners were rated as less satisfied and responsive. Positive emotions mediated the link between approach goals and daily satisfaction in both studies, and responsiveness to the partner's needs was an additional behavioral mechanism in Study 2. Implications of these findings for approach-avoidance motivational theory and for the maintenance of satisfying relationships over time are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A pattern analysis of students' achievement goals.

Cluster analysis procedures were used to classify 257 5th- and 6th-grade students on basis of their mastery, ego, and work-avoidant goal orientations. The results identified 3 clusters of students with different achievement profiles in science. Students who exhibited a pattern in which mastery goals were stronger than the other 2 goals, showed the most positive achievement profile. In contrast, students who were high on both mastery and ego goals did not perform as well academically; students low on both mastery and ego goals showed the most negative achievement profile. Additional analyses revealed that the cluster analysis provided a more distinctive and internally consistent set of findings than did pattern analyses that were based on median split procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Separation of performance-approach and performance-avoidance achievement goals: A broader analysis.

In the literature on achievement goals, performance-approach goals (striving to do better than others) and performance-avoidance goals (striving to avoid doing worse than others) tend to exhibit a moderate to high correlation, raising questions about whether the 2 goals represent distinct constructs. In the current article, we sought to examine the separability of these 2 goals using a broad factor-analytic approach that attended to issues that have been overlooked or underexamined in prior research. Five studies provided strong evidence for the separation of these 2 goal constructs: Separation was observed not only with exploratory factor analysis across different age groups and countries (Studies 1a and 1b) but also with change analysis (Study 2), ipsative factor analysis (Study 3), within-person analysis (Study 4), and behavioral genetics analysis (Study 5). We conclude by discussing the implications of the present research for the achievement goal literature, as well as the psychological literature in general. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of chronic achievement motivation and achievement primes on the activation of achievement and fun goals.

This research examined the hypothesis that situational achievement cues can elicit achievement or fun goals depending on chronic differences in achievement motivation. In 4 studies, chronic differences in achievement motivation were measured, and achievement-denoting words were used to influence behavior. The effects of these variables were assessed on self-report inventories, task performance, task resumption following an interruption, and the pursuit of means relevant to achieving or having fun. Findings indicated that achievement priming (vs. control priming) activated a goal to achieve and inhibited a goal to have fun in individuals with chronically high-achievement motivation but activated a goal to have fun and inhibited a goal to achieve in individuals with chronically low-achievement motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal analysis of achievement goals: From affective antecedents to emotional effects and achievement outcomes.

Affect and emotions are frequently seen as outcomes of mastery and performance goals, but affective experiences may also predict goal adoption. In a predictive study (N = 669 first-year college students), the authors used structural equation modeling to estimate relationships from 2 initial affective experiences to mastery and performance-approach goals, from goals to discrete emotions, and from discrete emotions to final grades in a university course while controlling for prior achievement. Representing initial affective experiences, hopefulness positively predicted mastery and performance goals, whereas helplessness negatively predicted mastery goals. Mastery goals positively predicted enjoyment, which in turn positively predicted achievement, and negatively predicted boredom, which in turn negatively predicted achievement. Anxiety was negatively predicted by mastery goals, positively predicted by performance goals, and exerted a negative predictive influence on achievement. The findings suggest that predictive relationships between goals and achievement are mediated by students’ emotions. Results are discussed with regard to the importance of affect and emotions for achievement goal theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals.

The importance of intellectual talent to achievement in all professional domains is well established, but less is known about other individual differences that predict success. The authors tested the importance of 1 noncognitive trait: grit. Defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals, grit accounted for an average of 4% of the variance in success outcomes, including educational attainment among 2 samples of adults (N=1,545 and N=690), grade point average among Ivy League undergraduates (N=138), retention in 2 classes of United States Military Academy, West Point, cadets (N=1,218 and N=1,308), and ranking in the National Spelling Bee (N=175). Grit did not relate positively to IQ but was highly correlated with Big Five Conscientiousness. Grit nonetheless demonstrated incremental predictive validity of success measures over and beyond IQ and conscientiousness. Collectively, these findings suggest that the achievement of difficult goals entails not only talent but also the sustained and focused application of talent over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Approach and avoidance achievement goals and intrinsic motivation: A mediational analysis.

Most contemporary achievement goal conceptualizations consist of a performance goal versus mastery goal dichotomy. The present research offers an alternative framework by partitioning the performance goal orientation into independent approach and avoidance motivational orientations. Two experiments investigated the predictive utility of the proposed approach-avoidance achievement goal conceptualization in the intrinsic motivation domain. Results from both experiments supported the proposed framework; only performance goals grounded in the avoidance of failure undermined intrinsic motivation. Task involvement was validated as a mediator of the observed effects on intrinsic motivation. Ramifications for the achievement goal approach to achievement motivation and future research avenues are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Creative self-efficacy development and creative performance over time.

Building from an established framework of self-efficacy development, this study provides a longitudinal examination of the development of creative self-efficacy in an ongoing work context. Results show that increases in employee creative role identity and perceived creative expectation from supervisors over a 6-month time period were associated with enhanced sense of employee capacity for creative work. Contrary to what was expected, employees who experienced increased requirements for creativity in their jobs actually reported a decreased sense of efficaciousness for creative work. Results show that increases in creative self-efficacy corresponded with increases in creative performance as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)