Controllability Attribution as a Mediator in the Effect of Mindset on Achievement Goal Adoption Following Failure.

Juyeon Song,Sung-il Kim,Mimi Bong

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02943

Juyeon Song, Sung-il Kim + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02943

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a growth mindset on achievement goal adoption in the face of failure. We also sought to investigate the mediating role of controllability attribution in order to understand the underlying process behind the effect of mindset on achievement goal adoption following failure. One hundred and seventy-two 4th and 5th grade students participated in an experimental task. In the manipulation phase, in related to the experimental task, 71 participants were provided with growth mindset-based information, and the other 101 were provided with fixed mindset-based information. After completing the experimental task on a computer, all participants were informed that they had failed the task. The participants then responded to controllability attribution and achievement goal scales. We empirically demonstrated that a growth mindset had a positive influence on mastery goal adoption, while it did not predict performance goal adoption. We also found that controllability attribution had a full mediation effect on the relationship between the presence of a growth mindset and mastery goal adoption; this finding implies that a key element in promoting the adoption of mastery goals following failure is attributing the failure to controllable causes, a belief which arises from a stronger growth mindset.

Highlights

All students experience failure in the learning process, and failure experiences can intensify the fear of failure, cause anxiety, or reduce perceived competence (Miller and Hom, 1990; Elliot, 1999)
Self-efficacy was positively correlated with controllability attribution (r = 0.28, p < 0.001), which, in turn, was positively correlated with mastery goals (r = 0.53, p < 0.001) and performance-approach goals (r = 0.28, p = 0.02)
We reaffirmed the positive effect of a growth mindset on mastery goal adoption, and we found that controllability attribution mediated the effect of a growth mindset on mastery

Summary

Introduction

All students experience failure in the learning process, and failure experiences can intensify the fear of failure, cause anxiety, or reduce perceived competence (Miller and Hom, 1990; Elliot, 1999). The impact of failure in a task is not the same for every student; some may continue to engage in the task, whereas others may abandon the task or choose extremely easy or difficult levels in subsequent tasks to mask their true ability (Dweck and Leggett, 1988) Several motivational theories, such as mindset theory, attribution theory, and achievement goal theory are linked in that they all help to understand motivational changes and behavior in students, especially in the face of failure (Diener and Dweck, 1978; Elliott and Dweck, 1988; Mueller and Dweck, 1998; Weiner, 2010; Dweck, 2012). The purpose of Achievement Goal Adoption Following Failure this study was to examine how students’ mindsets and attribution beliefs affect their motivational reaction to failure, especially in relation to achievement goal adoption

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