Achievement Goal Framework Research Articles

Singapore Primary Students’ Pursuit of Multiple Achievement Goals: A Latent Profile Analysis

Based on measures of approach and avoidance mastery and performance goals delineated in the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework, this study utilized a person-centered approach to examine Singapore primary students’ ( N = 819) multiple goals pursuit in the general school context. Latent profile analysis identified six types of students with distinct patterns of achievement goal motivation: high goal-oriented (strong multiple goals), average goal-oriented (moderate multiple goals), low goal-oriented (weak multiple goals), performance and approach-oriented (high mastery- and performance-approach, high performance-avoidance, low mastery-avoidance), approach-oriented (high mastery- and performance-approach, low mastery- and performance-avoidance), and mastery-oriented (moderate mastery-approach and mastery-avoidance, low performance-approach and performance-avoidance). Significant profile differences were detected in various measures of deep and surface learning strategies, metacognitive strategies, and mathematics test performance. The high goal-oriented profile appeared to be the most adaptive in relation to these learning outcomes, followed by the performance and approach-oriented, the mastery-oriented, and the approach-oriented profiles.

Linking social interdependence preferences to achievement goal adoption

Social interdependence theory and the 2×2 achievement goal framework represent two important literatures that are often studied independently. The present research examined general social interdependence attitudes in school (cooperative, competitive, and individualistic) as antecedents of individuals' situation-specific (semester- or class-focused) achievement goal adoption. All three studies consistently found that a cooperative attitude positively predicted mastery-approach goals, a competitive attitude positively predicted performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals, and an individualistic attitude positively predicted mastery-approach goals. The only anticipated relation that did not emerge consistently was that of an individualistic attitude as a positive predictor of mastery-avoidance goals. Implications of the present work for future empirical and theoretical development both in the social interdependence and the achievement goal literature are discussed.

Achievement motivation for band: A cross-cultural examination of the 2 × 2 achievement goal motivation framework

The purpose of this study was to explore the achievement goal motivation orientations of instrumental music students in the US and Singapore. Participants in this study were volunteer band students ( N = 359) from eight American public high schools ( n = 217) and five polytechnics in Singapore ( n = 142). Data were collected via a questionnaire that included measures of (a) the 2 × 2 achievement goal orientation constructs (mastery approach, mastery avoid, performance approach, and performance avoid), (b) flow in band rehearsal, (c) grit in practicing, and (d) commitment to band. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework specifying four latent variables (mastery approach, mastery avoid, performance approach, performance avoid) was the best relative fit to the data when compared with competing dichotomous and trichotomous models. In contrast to previous research comparing achievement goals of learners from collectivistic and individualistic cultures, no significant differences in achievement goal sub-scale means were found as a function of culture. However, some differentiated patterns of relationship were found between the achievement goal sub-scales and flow, grit, and commitment to band as a function of culture.

University Students' Emotion During Online Search Task: A Multiple Achievement Goal Perspective

ABSTRACTEndorsing a multiple goal perspective, students' academic emotions were examined with different goal profiles while solving learning tasks online. One hundred and seven Chinese undergraduates were classified based on the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework into three groups: Mastery-approach-focused, Approach-oriented, and Avoidance-oriented group. Participants' emotional states were assessed immediately prior to the task and following the task. Prior to the task, the Avoidance-oriented group reported significantly higher levels of deactivated negative emotion (i.e., bored and confused) than the Approach-oriented group. The Mastery-approach-focused group reported significantly higher levels of activated positive emotions (i.e., excited and eager) than the Avoidance-oriented group after the task. Within each group, all three groups followed a similar emotion change pattern prior versus after the search task in deactivated positive emotion, with a significant increase. In addition, the Mastery-approach-focused group also reported a significantly higher level of happiness after completing the task, whereas the other two groups did not report much change. The Avoidance-oriented group also reported a significant drop in the feeling of excitement, eagerness, anxiety, and nervousness; whereas, the Approach-oriented group reported a significantly higher level of confusion after the task was finished. Implications of the findings are further discussed.

In their own words: Reasons underlying the achievement striving of students in schools.

By analyzing the open-ended reasons for studying generated by 3 different groups of Korean middle school students, we aimed to provide partial answers to current issues in achievement goal research that are difficult to resolve solely with the use of survey ratings. We categorized student responses using the achievement goal frameworks of Midgley et al. (2000), Elliot and McGregor (2001), and Grant and Dweck (2003), as well as the social–academic goal framework of Dowson and McInerney (2003). The responses gained from interviews with the students (Study 2) supported our categorization. Grant and Dweck’s normative (Study 1) and outcome goals (Study 2) and Midgley et al.’s performance-approach goals (Study 3) appeared most frequently when competence-oriented responses were considered, while Dowson and McInerney’s social status goals were the most common for noncompetence responses. Grant and Dweck’s framework as a whole accounted for the largest proportion of competence-oriented responses. However, when present-oriented achievement goals were analyzed independently, Midgley et al.’s mastery goals (Grant and Dweck’s learning goals) accounted for the overwhelming majority of student responses. Grant and Dweck’s ability validation goals were also especially prominent among students subjected to ability grouping (Study 3), demonstrating the effect of the immediate learning environment on the types of achievement goals that students pursue. Elliot and McGregor’s mastery-avoidance goals were rare regardless of whether all achievement goals or only those in the immediate classroom context were examined. A majority of students also pursued only a single goal from within Elliot and McGregor’s 2 × 2 framework. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Relación entre las metas de logro 3x2 y la competencia percibida en los estudiantes de Educación Física

La adhesión de los jóvenes a la actividad física y su implicación activa en el deporte a lo largo de la vida, son dos de los grandes objetivos que persigue la Educación Física. En esta investigación se examina la relación entre las metas de logro y la competencia percibida en Educación Física desde el reciente marco teórico de metas de logro 3x2. Participaron 205 estudiantes (113 varones y 92 mujeres), con edades comprendidas entre los 12 y los 17 años (M = 14.02; SD = 1.70), pertenecientes a dos institutos de Educación Secundaria del Norte de España. Los estudiantes cumplimentaron el Cuestionario de Metas de logro 3x2 en Educación Física (CML 3x2-EF) y la subescala competencia percibida de la Escala de las Necesidades Psicológicas Básicas en el Ejercicio (BPNES) también adaptada a la Educación Física. Se realizaron análisis descriptivos (M y DT), alfas de Cronbach y un análisis de regresión lineal por pasos. Los resultados señalaron una correlación positiva entre las seis metas de logro y la competencia percibida, destacando el elevado valor de las metas de aproximación-tarea y aproximación-yo. Las tres metas de aproximación (aproximación-tarea, aproximación-yo, aproximación-otro) predijeron significativamente la competencia percibida (ß=.43; .18; .20, respectivamente). Los resultados dan apoyo al marco teórico de metas de logro 3x2.

A Group-Level Conceptualization of the 2 × 2 Achievement Goal Framework

While achievement goal theory is well-represented in the individual motivation literature, we know little about its role in groups. In 2001, Elliot and McGregor proposed a 2 × 2 achievement goal framework, which consists of a mastery-performance goal distinction and an approach-avoidance goal distinction. In the present study, we define this 2 × 2 framework at the group level and examine antecedents and collective motivational outcomes of group-level achievement goals in a longitudinal study among 125 small student groups engaged in a debating course. Results support the group-level 2 × 2 framework, although the shared nature of group-level performance-avoidance requires further attention. Individual dispositional achievement goals, measured before group formation, predicted subsequent group-level achievement goals. Concerning group-level motivational outcomes, a group climate focused on learning and improvement seems especially beneficial, as it related positively to sustained collective effort, group reflexivity, and group task strategy effectiveness, and mitigated adverse effects of group performance-approach achievement goals.

Motivational processes in children's physical activity and health-related quality of life

Background: School physical education (PE) not only offers and promotes health-related physical activity (PA), but also encompasses the promotion and development of health-related well-being such as health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Furthermore, assessing PA and HRQOL have become major issues in pediatric public health and also serve as a major goal of Healthy people 2020. Grounded in the expectancy-value and achievement goal frameworks, the primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among the perceptions of motivational climate in PE, expectancy-value beliefs, HRQOL, and PA among elementary children. A secondary purpose was to test whether expectancy-value beliefs mediate the relationship between motivational climate and HRQOL as well as between motivational climate and PA (self-reported PA and pedometer-based PA, respectively).Methods: Participants were 336 elementary children recruited from three public schools in the southeastern USA (Mage = 9.87; 179 girls, 157 boys). The majority of the participants (53.3%) were White students and the remainder (46.7%) including African-American (37.4%), Asian-American (1.5%), Hispanic-American (1.8%) and others (5.9%). Students completed a previously validated questionnaire assessing expectancy-related beliefs and task values toward PE. The 23-item pediatric QOL inventory generic core scale (PedsQLTM 4.0) was used to assess participants’ HRQOL. Children's PA levels were assessed by using a self-reported survey (Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children) and three-day pedometer counts (steps/min during PE).Analysis/Results: Correlational analyses showed that expectancy-related beliefs and task values were positively related to PA and HRQOL. Regression analyses indicated that both mastery and performance motivational climate had a positive effect on children's expectancy beliefs and task values. Mediational analyses were used to evaluate the potential mediational relationships among motivational climate (independent variables: mastery and performance climates), expectancy-value beliefs (mediator: expectancy-value beliefs), and HRQOL and PA (dependent variables: total HRQOL score, self-reported PA and steps/min), respectively.Conclusions: A mastery motivational climate together with high expectancy beliefs has a positive association with HRQOL, which in turn could produce health benefits in the future. Results suggest that a performance motivational climate could be associated with less activity (i.e. lower steps/min) even when students view PE as interesting, important, and useful. One important implication of the study is that by promoting mastery climates and expectancy-value beliefs in PE practitioners can encourage children to engage in PA both in and outside of school, and consequently may influence their quality of life.

Motivational Factors in Young Spanish Athletes: A Qualitative Focus Drawing From Self-Determination Theory and Achievement Goal Perspectives

This study qualitatively examined how athletes perceive their coach’s support for autonomy, as well as athletes’ motivation, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework of young Spanish athletes. Fifteen Spanish athletes (six females and nine males) between 13 and 16 years of age were interviewed from various sporting contexts. Content analysis of the interviews revealed: the coexistence of various types of motivation for the practice of these sports by the athletes that were interviewed; the presence of integrated regulation among some of these young athletes; the importance of autonomy support and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs for motivation and athletic commitment. The results are discussed on the basis of self-determination and achievement goal theory. Strategies are proposed for improving motivation and adherence to athletic practice in young athletes.

The advantages of task-based and other-based achievement goals as standards of competence

This study investigated aspects of validity in a Norwegian version of the 3×2 achievement goal framework, which is a recent development of the achievement goal construct based on task- self- and other-based standards of competence. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the expected 3×2 factor structure of this model. Correlational and multivariate analyses showed that these factors were differentially related to aspects of motivation and learning strategies in terms of achievement motives (motive for success and motive to avoid failure), self-efficacy, value, learning strategies (deep, surface and strategic), and academic achievement. In general, task-based and other-based approach goals were related to more functional aspects of the abovementioned motivational variables. Conversely, self-based goals (both approach and avoidance) showed an opposite pattern of relations to these variables. In conclusion, contrasting a current state with a possible outcome is effective when using task- and other-based standards of evaluation, but not when using self-based standards.

Four Personal Achievement Goals and Self-Reported Cheating Behavior

The objective of the present study was to investigate the predictive utility of the four personal achievement goals included in the 2x2 achievement goal framework with reference to self-reported cheating behavior exhibited by female first-year University students when they were attending an Ancient Greek Language and Literature class in the last year of their Secondary Education studies. Correlation analyses revealed that performance-approach, performance-avoidance, and mastery-avoidance goals were not predictive variables of self-reported cheating behavior, while mastery-approach goals were negative predictors. The findings underline the role played by masteryapproach goals in deterring cheating behavior in academic settings. Sophocles (496-406 B.C.) was one of classical Athens’ three great tragic playwrights. In his tragedy “PHILOCTETES” (94-95), which has survived up to date in its complete form, he put the following words in the mouth of young Neoptolemos, the honest son of Achilleas, during an argumentation with cunning Odysseas: “Still I prefer, my king, to fail when doing what is honorable than to be victorious in a dishonorable manner” (Sophocles, 409 B.C.). One of the central themes of this play was the conflict between the ethics of deception and fraud and the ethics of integrity and fairness.

Potential-based achievement goals.

Self-based achievement goals use one's own intrapersonal trajectory as a standard of evaluation, and this intrapersonal trajectory may be grounded in one's past (past-based goals) or one's future potential (potential-based goals). Potential-based goals have been overlooked in the literature to date. The primary aim of the present research was to address this oversight within the context of the 3 × 2 achievement goal framework. The Study 1 sample was 381 US undergraduates; the Study 2 sample was 310 US undergraduates. In Study 1, we developed scales to assess potential-approach and potential-avoidance goals and tested their factorial validity with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. In Study 2, we used confirmatory factor analysis to test both the separability of past-based and potential-based goals and their higher order integration within the self-based category. Study 1 supported the factorial validity of the potential-approach and potential-avoidance goal scales. Study 2 supported the separability of past-based and potential-based goals, as well as their higher order integration within the self-based category. This research documents the utility of the proposed distinction and paves the way for subsequent work on antecedent and consequences of potential-approach and potential-avoidance goals. It highlights the importance of focusing on distinct types of growth-based goals in the achievement goal literature.

Extending hierarchical achievement motivation models: The role of motivational needs for achievement goals and academic performance

In the current study, we investigated the role of three basic motivational needs (need for power, affiliation, achievement) as antecedents of goals within the 2×2 achievement goal framework, and examined their combined predictive validity with regard to academic performance in a sample of 120 university students. Structural equation modeling analysis largely supported our postulated model, linking motivational needs indirectly to course grades through goals. Achievement goals were formed by a combination of different motives: need for achievement was a positive predictor of all four achievement goals, and need for affiliation was negatively related to performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals. Additionally, need for power was a positive predictor of performance-avoidance goals. Performance-approach goals had a direct (positive) effect on performance outcomes. In sum, our results integrate basic motivational needs with the achievement goals literature and extend therefore hierarchical achievement motivation models, by showing how basic human motives of achievement, affiliation, and power are related to goal striving motivation and performance outcomes in an academic setting.

An Empirical Validation of Achievement Goals: A 2x2 Framework Study within the Context of Saudi University Learning

The achievement goal framework has undergone a number of evolutio ns over the past three decades. The2× 2 model of achievement goals[1,2] in particular, has been researched extensively, with a recent articulation and revision of measurements that emphasize four different goal types. The focus of our study, similarly, involves a validation in structures of achievement goals, taking into cons ideration the importance of the

The conceptual and empirical foundations of Empowering Coaching™: Setting the stage for the PAPA project

This article describes the evolution and key features of a training programme, Empowering Coaching™, which pulls from both the achievement goal frameworks and self-determination theory and related research. This programme takes into account that there are key dimensions of the social psychological environments created by significant others (such as coaches) and central motivational processes that are pertinent to sustained and optimal engagement in activities (such as sport). Also presented is information on how and why Empowering Coaching™ was implemented within the European-wide “Promoting Adolescent Physical Activity” project (www.projectpapa.org), which aimed to provide an evidence-based intervention approach to facilitating “healthy sport experiences for healthier kids”.

Predicting Precompetitive State Anxiety: Using the 2 × 2 Achievement Goal Framework

The goal was to examine the predictiveness of achievement goals for self-confidence, cognitive anxiety, and somatic anxiety using a prospective design. 160 high school athletes completed the 2 x 2 Achievement Goals Questionnaire for Sport after daily practice and the Revised Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 before an official competition. Using hierarchical regression analyses, mastery-approach goals were found as positive predictors of self-confidence and negative predictors of cognitive and somatic anxiety. In contrast, performance- and mastery-avoidance goals positively predicted cognitive and somatic anxiety. Also, performance-avoidance goals negatively predicted self-confidence. Generally, athletes who pursued task mastery and improvement of competence were less physically and cognitively anxious and more self-confident. However, athletes felt tense, worried, and had lower confidence when they endorsed avoidance forms of achievement goals.

The Influence of Avoidance Temperament and Avoidance‐Based Achievement Goals on Flow

In the present research, we conducted two studies designed to examine the joint influence of avoidance temperament and avoidance-based achievement goals on the experience of flow on a creativity task. In both a laboratory study (N = 101; M(age) = 22.61, SD(age) = 4.03; 74.3% female) and a naturalistic study (N = 102; M(age) = 16.23, SD(age) = 1.13; 48% female), participants high in avoidance temperament were shown to experience greater flow when performance-avoidance goals were induced; no differences were found in any of the other three achievement goal conditions from the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework. These findings reveal a short-term benefit for a disposition-goal match grounded in avoidance motivation, and point to the need for more research on both avoidance-based matches and the short-term versus long-term implications of such matches.

Big Five personality profiles of context-specific achievement goals

Over the past decade, an increasing body of literature supports the validity and utility of the 2×2 achievement goal framework (Elliot & McGregor, 2001). From this foundation, researchers have begun to investigate the complex antecedents and consequences underlying achievement goal pursuit. In the current studies, we investigated the relations between the Big Five personality traits and context-specific achievement goals in two different contexts (school and work). The results across both studies showed three sets of anticipated, consistent, and specific trait-goal relations. First, conscientiousness was strongly and positively related to mastery-approach goals. Second, agreeableness was positively related to mastery-approach goals and negatively related to performance-approach goals. Third, both avoidance goals and both performance goals were positively related to neuroticism.

Mastering One’s Destiny

We used an achievement goal framework to enhance identity-threatened individuals' motivation and performance by way of an understudied mechanism, namely, challenge appraisals. In three experiments, women were given a mastery goal (focus on building skills) or a performance goal (perform well, avoid errors) before a mock job interview. Women who focused on mastery rather than performance felt more challenged and less threatened when anticipating an identity-threatening interview; goals did not affect appraisals of a nonthreatening interview (Experiment 1). Mastery relative to performance goals enhanced women's intention to be assertive (Experiment 2) and their actual face-to-face performance during the job interview (Experiment 3); challenge appraisals (but not threat appraisals) served as a mediator for these effects. Whereas a great deal of prior work has alleviated identity threat by altering construals of one's identity, the current research uses an alternative strategy--modifying appraisals of the situation, leaving one's self-concept intact.

Using the 2 × 2 framework of achievement goals to predict achievement emotions and academic performance

Previous work has established how achievement emotions are related to the trichotomous model of achievement goals, and how they predict academic performance. In our study we examine relations using an additional, mastery-avoidance goal, and whether outcome-focused emotions are predicted by mastery as well as performance goals. Results showed that outcome-focused emotions were predicted by mastery approach/avoidance, and performance-avoidance goals, whereas activity-focused emotions were predicted by mastery approach/avoidance goals only. Two achievement emotions, pride and hope, mediated relations between achievement goals and academic performance. These findings show that it is important to consider the hierarchical nature of achievement goals, that is, the distinction between goals and reasons. If students use grades as a basis on which to judge their task and intrapersonal competence, then mastery goals can predict outcome-focused emotions.