Relations of social goal pursuit to social acceptance, classroom behavior, and perceived social support.

Relations of social goal pursuit to (1) social acceptance by teachers and peers, (2) prosocial and irresponsible classroom behavior, and (3) perceived support from teachers and peers were examined. Ss were 475 6th and 7th graders. Students' pursuit of academic prosocial goals (to help classmates with academic problems) was related positively to peer acceptance. Pursuit of academic responsibility goals (adhering to classroom rules) was related negatively to peer acceptance but positively to teacher acceptance. These findings reflected in part, significant relations between social goal pursuit and displays of social behavior. Perceived support from teachers and peers was also related positively to social goal pursuit, although findings differed as a function of type and source of support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relations among children's social goals, implicit personality theories, and responses to social failure.

Two studies examined children's thought patterns in relation to their responses to social challenge. In Study 1, 4th and 5th graders tried out for a pen pal club under either a performance goal (stressing the evaluative nature of the tryout) or a learning goal (emphasizing the potential learning opportunities). In their behavior and attributions following rejection, children who were focused on a performance goal reacted with more helplessness, whereas children given a learning goal displayed a more mastery-oriented response. Study 2 found that in response to hypothetical socially challenging situations, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders who believed personality was nonmalleable (entity theorists) vs. malleable (incremental theorists) were more likely to endorse performance goals. Together, these studies indicate that children's goals in social situations are associated with their responses to social failure and are predicted by their implicit theories about their personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral and sociometric methods of identifying cooperators, competitors, and individualists: Support for the validity of the social orientation construct.

Cooperative, competitive, and individualistic social orientation of 132 4th–6th graders was assessed using a behavioral choice point and a sociometric measure. The classifications based on responses to the 2 measures are consistently related, and results are interpreted in terms of the convergent validity of the social orientation construct. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Goal orientation and ability: Interactive effects on self-efficacy, performance, and knowledge.

This study examined the direct relationship of goal orientation--and the interaction of goal orientation and cognitive ability--with self-efficacy, performance, and knowledge in a learning context. The authors argue that whether a particular type of goal orientation is adaptive or not adaptive depends on individuals' cognitive ability. Consistent with previous research, learning orientation was positively related to self-efficacy, performance, and knowledge, whereas performance orientation was negatively related to performance only. The interactions between goal orientation and ability also supported several hypotheses. As expected, learning orientation was generally adaptive for high-ability individuals but had no effect for low-ability individuals. In contrast, the effects of performance orientation were contingent on both individuals' level of cognitive ability and the outcome examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal examination of the role of goal orientation in cross-cultural adjustment.

In this longitudinal study, the authors introduced goal orientation theory to the study of cross-cultural adjustment. The authors examined relationships among dispositional goal orientation, domain-specific self-efficacy, and cross-cultural adjustment. Results indicated that a learning orientation was positively related to sojourners' academic and social self-efficacy, whereas a performance orientation was negatively related to sojourners' social self-efficacy. Sojourners' academic and social self-efficacy were positively related to academic and social adjustment, respectively. A learning orientation was positively related to academic and social adjustment, and the relationship was mediated by self-efficacy. A performance orientation was not related to adjustment. Finally, academic adjustment was positively related to grade point average. The authors discussed implications for research and practices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in children's responses to adult pressure for achievement.

Studied the achievement-oriented behaviors of 64 1st and 64 4th graders under either a neutral or an achievement-emphasis condition and with either a female or a male E. After seeing a memory task with 7 levels of difficulty, Ss selected 1 level to try. Selection of a moderately challenging task was defined as high-achievement orientation and selection of an easy or difficult task as low-achievement orientation. Fourth graders were more achievement oriented than 1st graders and were not influenced by the sex of the E; however, when the 1st graders were encouraged to achieve, boys responded positively to the male E but negatively to the female. For the girls, the pattern was reversed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of an elaborated goal on the persuasive writing of students with learning disabilities and their normally achieving peers.

Fourth- and sixth-grade students with and without learning disabilities (LD) wrote persuasive essays about controversial topics under 2 different conditions. Students in the general goal condition were asked to write a letter to persuade an audience to agree with their position. Students in the elaborated goal condition were given the same general goal plus explicit subgoals based on the elements of argumentative discourse. Sixth-grade students in the elaborated goal condition produced more persuasive essays and included a greater number of argumentative elements in their essays than did either 6th graders in the general goal condition or 4th graders in both goal conditions. In addition, students with LD wrote less persuasively than did their normally achieving peers. Implications for the study of argumentative writing are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's understanding of social anxiety.

202 2nd, 4th, and 7th graders evaluated story characters who were either highly or less motivated to impress an audience and had either high or low expectations of being able to accomplish their self-presentational goals. As predicted according to a self-presentation model of social anxiety, both factors were related to judgments of the character's social anxiety, especially for the older Ss. For all age groups, actors who expected to do poorly rather than well were regarded as more anxious, as more likely to exhibit nervous responses and to have communication difficulties, and as less likely to be successful in accomplishing their goal; they were also evaluated less favorably. The actor's motivation had different effects on younger and older Ss; 2nd graders attributed less anxiety to highly motivated actors, whereas older Ss attributed greater anxiety to them. For all age groups, high motivation was expected to have a channeling effect on behaviors that would increase interpersonal effectiveness. A finding that was consistent with the literature on social-cognitive development was that older Ss displayed greater differentiation in their cause–effect inferences and that they better appreciated the complex implications of social anxiety. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social cognition and social competence in adolescence.

Investigated whether social cognition is related to effective social behavior, using 2 samples of 9th and 12th graders as Ss. Social competence was defined as the attainment of relevant social goals in specified social contexts, using appropriate means and resulting in positive development. The social goal chosen was being able to behave effectively in challenging social situations involving salient social objects. Nine measures of social cognition and 4 other measures were used to predict 4 measures of social competence, each dealing with performance in specific challenging social situations. Taken together, these predictors accounted for a large proportion of variance in social competence, especially when a composite criterion was used. Significant age and sex differences were obtained for many of the predictor and criterion variables, and there also appeared to be important developmental differences in the validity of social competence judgments. Factor analysis results suggested that social competence represents a domain of human functioning that is at least partly distinguishable from a cognitive or general competence domain. These results were substantially replicated in a 2nd sample. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task-relevant information, social reinforcement, and race as factors affecting performance.

Hypothesized that lower-class blacks, who have been found to have an external control orientation to their environment, would be more responsive to social reinforcements in a skill task than in a chance task situation. Conversely, it was expected that middle-class whites, who have been shown typically to maintain interval control orientations, would be more responsive to social reinforcements in a chance task than in a skill task situation. 48 male 5th and 6th graders (24 lower-class blacks and 24 middle-class whites) were assigned to social reinforcement and control conditions. The independent variables, social reinforcement, type of task, and ethnic group of Ss were used in a 3 * 2 * 2 analysis of variance. Results confirm the original hypotheses. (French summary) (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents of pre-competition achievement goals in elite junior tennis players

The aim of this study was to integrate both dispositional and situational factors to examine their interactive ability to predict pre-competitive goal states of task and ego involvement in a sample of National junior tennis players. The Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (Chi and Duda, 1995) and a set of single-item assessments of match goal orientation represented the dispositional measures in the study. These were administered at home, away from the tennis environment. The situational antecedents of pre-match task and ego involvement were assessed by an 11-item Match Context Questionnaire, which was administered to the players (n = 119) within 1 h of their singles match start time at the National Junior Championships. The Match Context Questionnaire also measured the personal task- and ego-involved goal states of the player with respect to the upcoming singles match (i.e. 'state' goals). Factor analysis of this questionnaire revealed three situational factors which cumulatively accounted for 64.7% of variance in the match context: social/personal perceptions of ability; perceived state goal preference of significant others; and match value. Moderated hierarchical regression analyses revealed significant main effects of the dispositional and situational factors on the different goal types. Specifically, perceptions of significant others, the achievement value of the match and perceptions of ability were the major predictors of task involvement. The pre-match intensity of ego involvement was predicted by ego orientation combining with perceptions of significant others and match value. These findings reinforce the need for researchers to consider the importance of both dispositional and situational variables when predicting goal involvement in competitive contexts.     

Avoiding the demonstration of lack of ability: An underexplored aspect of goal theory.

Traditionally, theorists have described motivation in terms of approach and avoidance tendencies. In contrast, goal orientation research has focused primarily on 2 approach goals: demonstrating ability (performance-approach) and developing ability (task). A scale to assess the goal of avoiding the demonstration of lack of ability (performance-avoid) was included with scales assessing approach goals in a survey given to 703 6th graders. Factor analysis supported the differentiation among the 3 scales. The performance scales were moderately positively correlated and exhibited low correlations with the task scale. With all 3 goals in regression equations, task goals predicted academic efficacy, self-regulated learning, and lower levels of avoiding seeking academic help in the classroom. Performance-avoid goals negatively predicted academic efficacy and positively predicted avoiding seeking help and test anxiety. Performance-approach goals did not emerge as the most significant predictor of any of these educationally relevant outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental analysis of the role of social comparison in self-evaluation.

The use of social comparison information for self-evaluation may be viewed as a major developmental step in children's growing understanding of their competencies and limitations. The 2 studies presented here suggested that children's achievement-related self-evaluations are little affected by relative comparisons until surprisingly late—that is, not earlier than 7–8 yrs of age. In Study 1, 104 1st and 2nd graders performed a task with 3 coacting peers; only the 2nd graders made any use at all of the social comparison information in their evaluative judgments. In Study 2 an attempt was made to maximize the potential for using comparative information by providing a strong incentive to engage in social comparsion of abilities in a situation in which objective information about a success/failure outcome was unavailable. The 90 kindergarten, 2nd, and 4th graders played a game with peers and made competence-related self-evaluations and decisions about future performance. Only the judgments of the 4th graders were consistently affected by the social comparison information. Previous research on the development of social comparison and possible explanations for the developmental trends observed are discussed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Legal and social contexts and mental health among lesbian and heterosexual mothers.

This study examines the role of legal and social context (the level of legal and social support offered by one's country of residence) and sexual orientation in the mental health of lesbian and heterosexual mothers. Participants were sampled from the United States and Canada because the two countries have many similarities (North American location, reliance on English language, and democratic structures) but provide different legal and social rights to their lesbian citizens. The study included 52 lesbian mothers and 153 heterosexual mothers in the United States and 35 lesbian mothers and 42 heterosexual mothers in Canada. Although there were no differences between heterosexual mothers as a function of legal and social context, lesbian mothers from the United States reported more family worries about legal status and discrimination (but not more general family worries) and more depressive symptoms than did lesbian mothers in Canada. Results indicate that legal and social context moderates the role of sexual orientation in maternal mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer group identification and smoking: Implications for intervention.

The present investigation had the goal of examining the relation between cigarette smoking and peer group affiliations in junior high school students. The data were obtained by administering a structured interview to 353 seventh and eighth graders. The results showed that two high-risk groups who made up 14.7% of the sample accounted for 55.6% of the smokers. In addition, a discriminant analysis revealed that cigarette smoking was the best discriminator of social group affiliations. The results suggest that smoking intervention programs will have a greater chance of being a success if they address specific social and emotional needs of individuals who are at greater risk for becoming smokers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social comparison, task motivation, and the development of self-evaluative standards in children.

Investigated whether 30 1st graders and 27 4th graders were more interested in comparing with a similarly performing other than with others whose performances were superior or inferior to their own. Ss were given the opportunity to compare performances with a peer on each trial of an achievement task. Ss were given feedback that the peer's performance level was either consistently higher than, lower than, or roughly the same as their own. Ss who were offered comparison with a similarly performing peer (a) chose to compare more often, (b) persisted at the task for more trials, and (c) self-rewarded on a smaller proportion of the trials than did Ss offered comparison with a consistently superior or inferior peer. Those offered a superior peer did not differ from those offered an inferior peer on any of these measures. However, younger Ss compared more often with a similar other than did older ones. Results are discussed in the context of the role social comparison plays in children's establishment of standards for evaluating the goodness of their own performance. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic intrinsic motivation in elementary and junior high school students.

Investigated in 3 studies the significance of academic intrinsic motivation (AIM) for children's education. Ss for Studies 1–3 were 77 4th graders and 64 7th graders; 260 Ss in Grades 4–7; and 166 White middle-class Ss in Grades 5–8, respectively. Ss were administered an AIM inventory and an inventory of academic anxiety (AA). As predicted, AIM was found to be significantly and positively correlated with Ss' school achievement and perceptions of academic competence and negatively correlated with AA. Findings support the view that AIM is differentiated into school subject areas and is also a general orientation toward school learning. Relations between motivation and perception of competence and anxiety were differentiated by subject area, whereas achievement was more pervasively related to general motivation. Mathematics motivation, however, emerged as a unique predictor of mathematics achievement. The significance of AIM as differentiated into subjects and as a general orientation is discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk factors for elementary school drinking: Pubertal status, personality, and alcohol expectancies concurrently predict fifth grade alcohol consumption.

Little is known about the correlates and potential causes of very early drinking. The authors proposed this risk theory: (a) pubertal onset is associated with increased levels of positive urgency (the tendency to act rashly when experiencing intensely positive mood), negative urgency (the tendency to act rashly when distressed), and sensation seeking; (b) those traits predict increased endorsement of high-risk alcohol expectancies; (c) the expectancies predict drinker status among fifth graders; and (d) the apparent influence of positive urgency, negative urgency, and sensation seeking on drinker status is mediated by alcohol expectancies. The authors conducted a concurrent test of whether the relationships among these variables were consistent with the theory in a sample of 1,843 fifth grade students. In a well-fitting structural model, their hypotheses were supported. Drinker status among fifth graders is not just a function of context and factors external to children: it is predictable from a combination of pubertal status, personality characteristics, and learned alcohol expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relational victimization predicts children’s social-cognitive and self-regulatory responses in a challenging peer context.

In this study, the authors examined whether exposure to relational victimization was associated with children’s thoughts, emotions, and behavior in an unfamiliar, challenging peer context. Children (110 girls, 96 boys; mean age = 10.13 years, SD = 1.16) reported on their exposure to relational victimization by peers. Following a challenging interaction with an unfamiliar peer, children reported on their beliefs about their interaction partners and their social goals (i.e., focus on getting to know their partner vs. impressing their partner) during the interaction. Coders rated children’s emotion and behavior regulation and the quality of the dyadic context. Results from hierarchical linear modeling analyses reveal that relational victimization predicted maladaptive social-cognitive processes (i.e., more negative peer beliefs and a heightened performance goal orientation) and heightened emotion and behavior dysregulation. Several of these effects were particularly salient in the context of a conflictual dyadic interaction. This research provides insight into impairments associated with relational victimization that may contribute to the emergence and/or perpetuation of peer difficulties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A matter of time: Individual differences, contextual dynamics, and goal progress effects on multiple-goal self-regulation.

The authors examined contextual dynamics and individual differences as moderators of the relationship between goal–performance discrepancies and time allocation among competing demands. As hypothesized, a complex 3-way interaction was observed among environmental volatility, relative progress, and time on resource allocation. When goal progress was determined only by the performers’ actions (low environmental volatility), greater time was allocated to the least discrepant goal early on and to the most discrepant goal toward the end of available time. In contrast, when goal progress was also influenced by unpredictable external factors (high environmental volatility), greater time was allocated to the most discrepant goal early on and to the least discrepant goal as the deadline neared. Individual differences in goal orientation further influenced this relationship within a volatile context, with these relationships also varying across time. Under such conditions, those with a strong mastery orientation allocated more time to toward the most discrepant task, whereas those with a strong avoidance orientation allocated more time to the goal closest to being attained. The implications for theory and research on dynamic time allocation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)