Level of aspiration, or probability of success.

Level of aspiration (LA) may be valid index of S's feelings of success or failure in a situation where he is free to change his goal from one trial to the next; but if the goal he is trying to achieve is established and maintained by agencies over which he has no control, his estimate of the probability of success (Ps) is the prefered criterion of his feelings of success or failure. In the latter situation LA may rise continuously (usually taken to indicate feelings of success) but with a low rate of improvement or a rapidly approaching deadline Ps may decline. ? the Ss (24) in the experiment were told that the experimental task was a preliminary screening test to determine their fitness for a special science training program (high motivated—HM). The other 24 (low motivated—LM) were told only that the Es were interested in the task. All Ss volunteered in response to 1 of these announcements, all attempted to achieve the same level of performance within 10 trials, and were given controlled information about their "performance curves," which increased. HM Ss set higher overall LAs and lower Ps than did LM Ss. For both HM and LM conditions, the trends of LA and Ps were in opposite directions over the 10 trials: while LA increased, Ps declined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Three determinants of the level of aspiration.

"In a design similar to that of Chapman and Volkmann, the effect of reference group was again found to be a significant anchoring point for S's aspiration level. The effects of 2 other dimensions of the design, sample question difficulty and reference score, have also been found to have significant anchoring influences which explain the puzzling portion of Chapman and Volkmann's results. In that phase of this study in which the 3 reference groups were coupled with high reference scores, Ss' aspiration-levels were below that of any prediction based on the anchoring effect of the reference group alone." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The level of aspiration of schizophrenic and normal subjects.

The performance of normals and schizophrenics on five selected levels of aspiration variables was evaluated for significant differences and examined in the light of Hausmann's earlier findings. The differences between the groups are analyzed. Hausmann's findings, however, could not be reproduced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The goals behind performance goals.

Despite decades of research on achievement goals, there is still relatively little known about differences among individuals in their conceptualizations of performance goals and reasons for pursuing them in academic settings. The purpose of the present investigation was to use participants' own words, rather than survey measures or experimental manipulations, to examine the variety of reasons students gave for pursuing performance goals. Fifty-three high school seniors with relatively high scores on a survey measure of performance-avoidance goals were interviewed. Analysis of the interviews revealed that students' reasons for pursuing performance goals could be divided into 4 categories: appearance-approach, appearance-avoidance, competition-approach, and competition-avoidance. Within each of these 4 categories, students mentioned a wide variety of purposes behind their goal pursuits such as wanting to please parents, to silence nay-saying peers, and to prove something to one's self. Implications for achievement goal theory and research methodology are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A closer look at level of aspiration as a training procedure: A reanalysis of Fryer's data.

On the basis of a study of Morse Code learning, Fryer claimed support for his hypothesis that having Ss set levels of aspiration would lead to a higher performance level than giving knowledge of score alone. The present writer reanalyzed Fryer's data to test the hypothesis that the superiority of the level-of-aspiration procedure would depend upon the level at which the goals were set. In 3 of 4 comparisons it was found that Ss who set high goals performed better than Ss who set low goals and better than Ss given knowledge of score alone. There were no significant differences between Ss who set low goals and Ss given knowledge of score alone. A qualification of Fryer's hypothesis, taking account of these facts, was therefore proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dominance as a factor in interpersonal choice and perception.

The hypotheses herein tested were that a person chooses to interact with, and tends to perceive other people in terms of the complement of his own degree of dominance. Ss were shown a movie depicting the interaction between 4 people, 2 of whom displayed dominant behavior, 2, submissive. Measures of the Ss' own dominance were compared with their answers on a sociometric questionnaire which elicited Ss' preference for the actors. The results failed to support the hypotheses as stated. The findings were discussed in terms of their possible meaning, and their relationship to other findings. 25 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement motive and test anxiety conceived as motive to approach success and motive to avoid failure.

"… the following hypotheses are investigated: persons in whom the motive to achieve success is stronger than the motive to avoid failure (a) should prefer tasks of intermediate difficulty, (b) should show greater persistence in working at an achievement related task, and (c) should show more efficiency, or a higher level of accomplishment, than persons in whom the motive to avoid failure is stronger… . [Results] support the hypotheses." 3 measures of achievement related motives were not found to be correlated. "These results highlight the importance of discovering why different methods of measuring apparently the same human motive do not yield comparable results." 30 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social perception and sociometric choice of children.

"This study was designed to test the generality of the positive relationship between perceived similarity and valuation of others." The results indicate that highest sociometric choices tend to be perceived as more similar to self than are lowest sociometric choices and also more similar to self than they actually are. The proposition is suggested that the positive relationship between perceived similarity and valuation of others is a function of the need to be similar to valued persons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obesity, level of aspiration, and Rorschach and TAT measures of oral dependence.

Obese Israelis and controls were administered the Rorschach, TAT, and a level-of-aspiration task. The obese Ss scored higher on oral dependence than the control Ss on both the Rorschach (p = .01) and TAT (p = .02). There were no differences on either test for oral sadism, although the Rorschach subcategories of overwhelming figures and burdens and TAT themes of deprivation discriminated significantly between the groups. The most sensitive oral dependence subcategories were nurturers, supplicants and food organs (Rorschach), and themes of passivity, optimism, and helplessness (TAT). When only those Ss who scored above or below the median on both tests were considered, predictions regarding obesity were 90% accurate. Contrary to expectation, the obese Ss set level-of-aspiration goals more realistically than the controls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental arousal of achievement motivation in adolescent girls.

2 groups of female high school students (40 achievers and 40 underachievers, matched for IQ) were exposed to 2 experimental conditions (Neutral and Achievement Oriented) and 2 types of pictures (those depicting males and those depicting females). The overall effect of the experimental achievement arsousal conditions for all girls was nonsignificant. However, a highly significant 2nd-order interaction effect was obtained: the achievement motivation scores of achievers increased significantly in response to Achievement Oriented conditions when they produced stories to pictures of females but did not increase in response to pictures of males; by contrast, the achievement motivation scores of underachievers increased significantly in response to Achievement Oriented conditions when they produced stories to pictures of males but did not increase in response to pictures of females. (43 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement motivation and learning.

The hypothesis was offered that Ss with high n Achievement would learn more in directed and incidental learning situations than those with low n Achievement. Using extreme groups on a n Achievement continuum, the 12 highest and 14 lowest high school freshmen, it was found that the expected superiority of high n Achievement Ss in a directed learning situation did not obtain, although they did demonstrate more efficient incidental learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond social cognitions.

Reviews the book, Social motivation: Understanding children's school adjustment edited by J. Juvonen and K. R. Wentzel (see record 1997-97006-000). In general, research has paid little attention to the possibility that children's social motivation is intertwined with their academic motivation. Affiliation and achievement have been regarded as two distinct motivations. This book is an attempt to redress this imbalance and misconception. The book argues that children's social and academic development are intertwined. Contributors to the book discuss specific ways in which children are motivated to achieve socially and academically at school. The book's social motivation perspective has successfully extended the reader's attention from intrapsychological processes to interpersonal relationships and social concerns as motivators of behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivated information processing, strategic choice, and the quality of negotiated agreement.

The authors tested a motivated information-processing model of negotiation: To reach high joint outcomes, negotiators need a deep understanding of the task, which requires them to exchange information and to process new information systematically. All this depends on social motivation, epistemic motivation (EM), and their interaction. Indeed, when EM (manipulated by holding negotiators process accountability or not) was high rather than low and prosocial rather than proself, negotiators recall more cooperative than competitive tactics (Experiment 1), had more trust, and reached higher joint outcomes (Experiment 2). Experiment 3 showed that under high EM, negotiators who received cooperative, rather than competitive, tactics reached higher joint outcomes because they engaged in more problem solving. Under low EM, negotiators made more concessions and reached low joint outcomes. Implications for negotiation theory and for future work in this area are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of choice on intrinsic motivation and related outcomes: A meta-analysis of research findings.

A meta-analysis of 41 studies examined the effect of choice on intrinsic motivation and related outcomes in a variety of settings with both child and adult samples. Results indicated that providing choice enhanced intrinsic motivation, effort, task performance, and perceived competence, among other outcomes. Moderator tests revealed the effect of choice on intrinsic motivation was stronger (a) for instructionally irrelevant choices compared to choices made between activities, versions of a task, rewards, and instructionally relevant options, (b) when 2 to 4 successive choices were given, (c) when rewards were not given after the choice manipulation, (d) when participants given choice were compared to the most controlling forms of control groups, (e) for children compared to adults, (f) for designs that yoked choice and control conditions compared to matched designs in which choice was reduced or designs in which nonyoked, nonmatched controls were used, and (g) when the experiment was conducted in a laboratory embedded in a natural setting. Implications for future research and applications to real-world settings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

To Dispel Fantasies About Fantasy-Based Measures of Achievement Motivation.

This article reviews the literature on reliability of fantasy-based achievement motivation measures. Homogeneity estimates for such measures are suggested, and some illustrative applications to data are presented. Analysis of both published and unpublished data suggests that homogeneity reliability of these measures rarely exceeds .30 to .40. The use of achievement motive measures to predict school achievement is questioned on grounds of low reliability of the measures. Previous findings in this area are interpretable in terms of failure to control on IQ and/or productivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fear of failure, achievement motivation, and aspiring to prestigeful occupations.

From a list of 40 occupations, 67 male undergraduates were asked (a) which occupation was nearest the one they intended to strive for, (b) what satisfaction could be expected from each occupation listed, (c) which were realistically attainable, and (d) which would they settle for if the stress of occupational achievement could be avoided. As fear of failure (FF) increased (a) the prestige of aspired-to occupations decreased, (b) willingness to settle for less satisfying and less prestigeful occupations increased, and (c) the person became more likely to perceive that occupations with extremely low probabilities of attainment were within his reach. Effects of achievement motivation were very weak but generally in a direction opposite to that of FF. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in interpersonal perception as a means of reducing cognitive dissonance.

A situation was structured so that Ss were under the impression they were reading to someone a negative evaluation about him. Half of the Ss expected to meet this person later, where the nature of the situation could be explained and rectified; the other half were told they would not be given such an opportunity. It was predicted that there would be greater cognitive dissonance where S was given a choice whether to read the abusive statement or not and where no opportunity to meet the individual and rectify matters would be permitted. This prediction was confirmed. From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2GE02D. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of sibling competition and alliance on level of aspiration, expectation, and performance.

"The present study set out to test hypotheses derived from the Adlerian theory of sibling relations… . Allies and Competitors were found to differ significantly in their goal-setting when the sib's performance was compared to S's own performance." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:1FC13F. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An exploration of young adolescents' social achievement goals and social adjustment in middle school.

Two studies investigated the proposition that social achievement goals (different orientations toward social competence) are an important aspect of young adolescents' social motivation. Study 1 (N=153 6th-grade students) established that different orientations toward developing or demonstrating social competence can be seen in young adolescents' responses to open-ended questions about their social goals and social competence. Study 2 (N=217 6th-grade students) evaluated a new survey measure of social achievement goals for young adolescents. Exploratory factor analyses indicated a 3-factor model (social development, demonstration-approach, and demonstration-avoid goals). Different social achievement goals were associated with distinct patterns of subsequent self- and teacher-reported social adjustment (prosocial, aggressive, and anxious solitary behaviors, as well as social worry, best-friend quality, and perceived popularity). Effects for social achievement goals were independent of perceived social competence and gender. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)