Performance-avoidance Orientation Research Articles

Academic self-handicapping as a mediator of the relation between imposterism and academic goal orientation: testing invariance by gender and underrepresented status

Objective: Imposterism and academic self-handicapping (ASH) are related to negative outcomes in college students. We examined whether the relationship between imposterism and academic goal orientations is mediated by ASH across men and women and for students who are underrepresented on campus. Participants: Participants were 852 undergraduates (29.1% men, 26.1% first-generation, and 22.1% from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups at the predominantly white institution (PWI) where data was gathered). Methods: Participants completed self-report scales assessing imposterism, ASH, and academic goal orientation. Results: ASH partially mediated the relationship of imposterism to mastery and performance approach academic goal orientations. High imposterism was directly related to high performance-avoidance orientation. Our model was invariant to gender; while it did not appear to be invariant to underrepresented status, this was accounted for by first-generation student status. Conclusions: Results have implications for the classroom and creation of interventions to minimize ASH and imposterism and their impact on student success.

Maintaining life satisfaction when faced with multiple crisis episodes: the role of entrepreneurs’ goal orientation

PurposeThe aim is to understand how goal orientation may help entrepreneurs maintain life satisfaction when faced with multiple crisis episodes. To do so, the authors study the early impact of COVID-19 on the life satisfaction of entrepreneurs who were previously faced with venture distress.Design/methodology/approachData on 164 Belgian entrepreneurs, who were faced with previous venture distress, are used. The analysis is quantitative, and uses survey data, in combination with databases. The survey was administered in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (June 2020).FindingsEntrepreneurs high in learning goal orientation are less likely, and those high in performance-avoidance orientation are more likely to experience a decline in life satisfaction. Additionally, the time span between the two crises moderates the relationship between learning goal orientation and life satisfaction. Particularly, entrepreneurs high in learning goal orientation are less likely to experience a decline in life satisfaction if more time has passed between venture distress and the COVID-19 crisis.Practical implicationsOften, entrepreneurs are faced with multiple episodes of distress. The authors study entrepreneurs who have been in venture distress before and are then confronted with the COVID-19 crisis. The study shows that goal orientation, which is a type of self-regulation, plays an important role in how entrepreneurs’ life satisfaction is affected. Also, the authors find that the time between distress events matters. These are important insights for practitioners, including entrepreneurs and support providers.Originality/valueThe study adds to the emerging discussion on the impact of crises on entrepreneurs. It studies life satisfaction (a measure of well-being) and complements studies that examine the impact of crises, on entrepreneurs’ actions and firm performance.

Dimensionalized goal orientation, innovation climate, and knowledge sharing behavior in higher education research teams

Knowledge sharing behavior (KSB) in the work process is governed by achievement goals and organizational environments. It is of great value to focus on whether achievement goal orientation can effectively predict the employees knowledge sharing in the context of team innovation climate. On the basis of the data from 29 scientific research teams in China's higher education, a multi-layer linear model is constructed to investigate the cross-level relationship. The study finds that learning goal orientation (LGO) and performance proof orientation (PPO) contribute to knowledge sharing, performance avoidance orientation (PAO) tends to be knowledge hiding, and their political skills (PS) consolidate the connections. Team innovation climate not only promotes knowledge sharing behavior, but also activates the traits related to individuals' shared behavior in performance proof orientation, which has enhanced the relationship between achievement goal orientation and knowledge sharing, but has no effect on learning goal orientation and performance avoidance orientation.

The Relationship Between Achievement Goal Orientation and Academic Buoyancy in Mathematics among Secondary School Students in FELDA Areas, Malaysia

Multiple studies have found a correlation between achievement goal orientation and academic buoyancy, which is the ability of students to overcome academic setbacks. Nevertheless, there is a lack of reference on achievement goal orientation for academic buoyancy among students in Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) areas of Malaysia, especially for future workforce development. Hence, this study aims to examine the relationship between achievement goal orientation and academic buoyancy in mathematics achievement among FELDA students. This study employed a correlational research design to collect quantitative data via questionnaires from 462 students. The descriptive statistics indicated that the average academic buoyancy value was moderate. In addition, avoidance of mastery and performance had higher descriptive mean values than mastery approach and performance approach. Academic buoyancy was also found to be moderately positively associated with the mastery approach (r = 0.538), the performance approach (r = 0.411), and the performance avoidance orientation (r = 0.381). Mastery avoidance orientation exhibited the weakest positive relationship (r = 0.184). These findings shed light on how to foster students' achievement goal orientation in their ability to overcome academic setbacks. A sign of mastery avoidance had informed a need to focus on mastery of content for increasing academic buoyancy.

Examining the Relationship Between Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and Subordinate Achievement Goal Orientations

ABSTRACT To date, organizational behavior and leadership scholars have placed a considerable amount of effort into understanding and expanding upon the LMX framework. One way that scholars have attempted to expand upon the LMX framework has been to examine whether certain moderators qualify the LMX process. This manuscript proposes that organizational members’ achievement orientations (i.e. mastery, performance-avoidance, and performance-approach orientations) constitute one likely set of member characteristics that qualify the effects of LMX. In testing this general proposition, a sample (N = 818) of organizational members from myriad organizations were sampled. Regression analyses suggested that those with mastery orientations perform exceedingly better in high-quality LMX relationships, whereas those with performance-approach orientations perform exceedingly worse. Alternatively, the effects of performance-avoidance orientations are direct and negative. Implications, future directions, and limitations are discussed.

The role of individual goal orientations in shaping skill utilization over time: a four-year longitudinal study

ABSTRACT Skill utilization is a critically important enacted job characteristic that is assumed to change over time. Building on work design process theory, we investigate the role of goal orientations (performance-approach, performance-avoid, and learning orientation) in gradually shaping job performance change patterns through their impact on skill utilization change trajectories. We tested our hypotheses using a 3-wave longitudinal study from 238 nurses collected over a four-year observation period. Using latent growth curve modelling, our results showed that performance-approach orientation positively predicted growth in skill utilization. In contrast, performance-avoid orientation negatively predicted skill utilization trajectories. Over time, skill utilization trajectories were also associated with job performance trajectories. Learning orientation was associated with higher initial levels of skill utilization, but unexpectedly, these high levels were not maintained over time. Our results help to provide a more nuanced understanding of the influence of goal orientations on temporal trajectories of skill utilization and performance. We discuss implications for designing effective, targeted interventions for providing opportunities to apply skills in nursing and health-related contexts.

Gender differences in future time perspectives and risk of being not in employment, education, or training: the mediating role of achievement goal motivations.

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between future time perspectives (FTP) and risk of being not in employment, education, or training (NEET) with the mediating role of achievement goal motivations among undergraduate students in Vietnam. It revealed that FTP was negatively related to NEET risk, indicating students who focused on their future seemed more likely to decrease the risk of being NEET. Among achievement goals, mastery-approach orientation and performance-avoidance orientation played mediating roles in the FTP and NEET risk relationship. Precisely, mastery-approach orientation played a complete mediating effect in the female sample while performance-avoidance orientation acted as a partial mediator in the male sample (explained by the social role theory). The findings enrich the understanding of NEET risk and its relevant factors, as well as contribute to the educational field regarding undergraduates' future planning and intervention to enhance motivation across genders. The implications and limitations of these findings were discussed.

The impact of graduate student goal orientation on design projects

Many universities offer courses in which students from various disciplines form teams to work on complex design challenges. Despite the importance of such teams for engineering design education, very little is known about them. This study explores the impact of graduate student goal orientations (mastery, performance-proof, and performance-avoidance) on course performance (team performance and peer assessment) via functional team member selection. The study examined 122 teams and found that students with performance-proof and performance-avoidance orientations are more likely to form functionally homogenous teams. However, there is no significant relationship between a mastery goal orientation and functional team diversity. Furthermore, the results indicate that functional team diversity is a double-edged sword for course performance, insofar as it has a positive impact on team performance, but also a negative effect on peer assessment. In addition, both performance goal orientations (performance-proof and performance-avoidance) have a negative effect via functional diversity on team performance and a positive effect on peer assessment. The findings advance our understanding of team member selection by graduate students and the effect thereof on course performance. Hence they may assist in developing future tools and processes to enhance learning by engineering design students in interdisciplinary design projects.

INVESTIGATION OF SOME PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ATHLETES DEALING WITH WATER SPORTS

Background: It is known that many factors can cause pressure for the athlete in sports performed on water rather than any outdoor sports. In this context, it is important to train athletes' cognitive abilities and skills with a strong mindset and to increase their awareness of their psychological characteristics. Aim: The aim of the study is to examine the psychological characteristics of athletes engaged in water sports regarding locus of control, motivation and achievement orientation and to determine possible relationships between them. Appropriate sampling, one of the non-probabilistic sampling methods, was used in determining the participants, and the study was carried out with a correlational survey model. A total of 147 licensed athletes (34 females and 113 males), including 48 windsurfers, 36 individual sails, 37 sets of sails, 26 kitesurf, participated in the study. Material and methods: The participants were administered the “Revised Locus of Control Scale”, “Sports Motivation Scale II” and “2x2 Achievement Orientation Scale”. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation analysis were used in the analysis of the data. Results: According to the analysis results, it was determined that there are statistically significant differences between national and non-national athletes in all sub-dimensions of the achievement orientation scale and that all athletes have a positive orientation towards learning. The average scores of the performance-approach sub-dimension of athletes aged 20 and under and the amotivated sub-dimension of individuals with sports age 9 and over were found to be significantly higher. In addition, a moderately significant positive correlation was found between performance-avoidance achievement orientation and the integrated regulation motivation dimension, and between intrinsic regulation and learning-approach orientation. Conclusion: As a result, it is thought that individuals dealing with water sports can develop different strategies according to their psychological characteristics on the way to success and the findings will contribute to the field of sports psychology.

The Relationship between Achievement Goal Orientations and Language Performance of Secondary School EFL Learners in China

Research in second and foreign language teaching and learning has indicated that there are many factors that influence language performance. These factors can be broadly divided into internal and external factors. This study investigated the impact of one internal factor, namely achievement goal orientations. It explored four types of achievement goal orientations namely mastery approach orientation, mastery avoidance orientation, performance approach orientation and performance avoidance orientation. This non-experimental quantitative study involved 360 Grade Eight Secondary school students from five randomly selected schools located in the Tongcheng County in Hubei Province, China. Data were collected using a survey questionnaire and the findings were analyzed using SPPS version 27. The findings indicated that there was a significant and positive relationship between achievement goal orientations and language performance. Mastery approach orientation, and mastery avoidance orientation however showed a significant, moderate and positive relationship, performance approach orientation showed a significant, low and positive relationship and performance avoidance orientation showed a very low and negative relationship with language performance. Overall, these findings imply that achievement goal orientations should be further explored as potential factors influencing language performance in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms.

A longitudinal examination of the reciprocal relationship between goal orientation and performance: The mediating role of self-efficacy

Goal orientation has been considered as a relatively stable but malleable antecedent of performance. Yet, the reciprocal role of performance on goal orientation has been largely overlooked. Drawing from social cognitive theory, this study examines the reciprocal relationship between goal orientation and performance using a six-wave longitudinal design. It also examines self-efficacy as a mediator of the reciprocal relationship. The findings reveal positive reciprocal relationships between most dimensions of goal orientation and performance. Importantly, the impact of previous performance on goal orientation dimensions is at least as strong as and more persistent than that of goal orientation on subsequent performance. Most of the reciprocal relationships are mediated by self-efficacy. Although some findings are consistent with the literature, others are not expected based on the existing framework, especially regarding performance avoidance orientation. Implications for future goal orientation research are discussed.

Relationship of Classroom Goal Structures to Chinese Miao and Han Students’ Goal Orientations and Mathematics Achievement

This study examines the relationship between classroom goal structures, student goal orientations, and mathematics achievement in China and compare the pattern of relationship between Chinese Miao and Han students. Data on 532 Chinese students (including 211 Han and 321 Miao students) were analyzed using structural equation models. The results of this study generally support the ethnic similarities between the Miao and Han groups. For both samples, mastery orientation positively predicted mathematics achievement, while performance-approach and performance-avoidance orientations had non-significant relationship with mathematics achievement. Regarding classroom goal structure, mastery goal structure was a positive predictor of mastery goal orientation and mathematics achievement, while performance goal structure positively linked to performance-approach and performance-avoidance goal orientations. Despite the similarities, performance goal structure had positive association with mastery goal orientation among Han students, but not among Miao students. The findings extend our understanding of how classroom goal structures relate to Chinese students’ achievement motivation and mathematics achievement and reveal cross-ethnic similarities and differences in the relationship. The possible reasons of the results and directions for future research are discussed.

Achievement goal orientation: A predictor of student engagement in higher education

Achievement goal orientation has been studied within education for many years, but the practical implications are frequently focused on K-12 students and classrooms and less often applied to established concepts within higher education. Prior research has connected the construct to student achievement, along with stress and anxiety that accompany the learning of challenging new material. This study uses achievement goal orientation as a context for exploring student engagement in postsecondary education, joining constructs from educational psychology and higher education. Data were drawn from over 8500 first-year and senior college students across 15 higher education institutions participating in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Using a series of ordinary least squares regression analyses, results indicate that students who employ a mastery-approach orientation are more likely to partake in a variety of engagement indicators, such as reflective and integrative learning, higher-order learning, quantitative reasoning, and student–faculty interaction. Performance-avoidance orientation generally showed a negative relationship with engagement indicators, while results for the performance-approach orientation were more mixed.

The Influence of Creative Personality and Goal Orientation on Innovation Performance.

The complexity and challenges of the external environment accelerate the awakening of the new generation of enterprise employees’ self-consciousness. Facing the continuous expansion of the information-based work mode, the traditional management mechanism of enterprises has a more limited impact on employee performance. Based on the goal-oriented theory, developing and excavating the creative personality traits of employees, making full use of goal-oriented behavior to improve their own innovation performance management path, are expected to become a new path to continuously enhance the innovation ability of enterprises. In this study, we take the employees of high-tech enterprises as samples to explore the influence mechanism of creative personality traits, goal orientation and employee innovation performance. The results show that goal orientation significantly moderates the relationship between creative personality traits and innovation performance. The mediating effects of learning goal orientation, performance certification orientation, and performance avoidance orientation are all significant.

University Students’ Perfectionistic Profiles: Do They Predict Achievement Goal Orientations and Coping Strategies?

The present study aimed at investigating the effect of different perfectionistic latent profiles on university students’ personal goal orientation and coping strategies. Four hundred thirty nine university students (82.5% females) from various departments (38.5% freshmen) participated in the study. Students were asked to complete anonymously three self-report questionnaires in groups in their university classes: (a) the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised was used for measuring perfectionism as a multidimensional construct, (b) the Personal Achievement Goals questionnaire for measuring achievement goal orientation (mastery orientation, performance-approach orientation, and performance-avoidance orientation), and (c) the R-COPE questionnaire for measuring adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies for everyday problems. Latent class analysis was conducted in order to create categorical perfectionistic profiles. The data support the three-group model of adaptive and maladaptive perfectionists and non-perfectionists. The adaptive and maladaptive perfectionistic profiles differ in the level of discrepancy between personal standards and accomplishments and significantly predicted adaptive and maladaptive achievement motivation and coping, respectively.

Achievement goal orientations of students studying instrument education as predictors of their learning approaches

ABSTRACTThe purpose of the study being reported here set out to examine the achievement goal orientations of students majoring in Music Education as predictors of their learning approaches. Set in Turkey, the study group consisted of music education majors (n = 240) in a variety of higher education settings (n = 5). The study results revealed that the learning approach orientation scores positively predicted the deep motive scores of students studying instrument learning, whereas the performance-avoidance orientation scores negatively predicted the deep motive scores of the same students. In addition, while the learning-approach and learning-avoidance orientation scores positively predicted students’ deep strategy scores, performance-avoidance scores negatively predicted the same scores. Furthermore, the learning approach scores negatively predicted students’ surface motive and surface strategy scores, whereas the performance-avoidance scores positively predicted the same scores. The study results showed that vocational music education students’ achievement goal orientations mediate the explanation of their learning approaches (surface or deep). In line with these results, it can be considered that the positive changes that can be achieved in the direction of achievement goal orientation of university music students will have a positive effect on their approaches in instrument learning.

Validation d’une mesure d’orientations envers les buts au travail auprès de participants à une évaluation du potentiel et des compétences

IntroductionGoal orientations are a characteristic of the personality explaining different reactions in achievement and learning situations. So far, no French instrument exists to measure this variable in a professional context. ObjectiveThe purpose of this article is to validate a French translation of the VandeWalle instrument (1997) measuring goal orientation at work, with a sample of workers participating in a potential and skills assessment (PSA). MethodThe instrument has been translated using the parallel-blind method suggested by Usunier (1992) and adapted by Lauzier and Haccoun (2010). Confirmatory factorial analyses were conducted to verify the factor structure of the translated version and correlational analyses were performed to assess its nomological validity. The study was conducted with workers (n=263) from various organizational backgrounds who were subjected to a PSA. ResultsThe three-dimensional factor structure of the Work Goal Orientation Scale (WGOS), consistent with the one proposed by VandeWalle (1997), shows a good fit to the data. The learning, performance-approach and performance-avoidance orientations mainly show the expected associations with three correlates: self-esteem, the anticipated benefits of the PSA and the intention to develop one's skills following the feedback. ConclusionThe measure has a satisfactory nomological validity and can be used to study people's reactions towards learning situations in the workplace.

Longitudinal predictions between temperamental sensitivities and achievement goal orientations in the early school years

Students’ goal strivings are known to be connected with important outcomes, both academically and with regard to individual well-being. In spite of their importance, our knowledge of factors contributing to their early development is rather limited. In this longitudinal study on school beginners (N = 212), we focused on the interrelationships between achievement goal orientations (mastery; performance-approach; performance-avoidance; work-avoidance) and two temperamental sensitivities that appear relevant for the developing sense of mastery and performance in the school setting: interindividual reward sensitivity (reward derived from social approval and attention) and sensitivity to punishment (propensity to perceive cues of potential threat in the environment, and react with withdrawal and avoidance). The data were collected over the first three school years, from grade 1 (7–8 years) to grade 3 (9–10 years), and analysed using PLS-SEM. As expected, both temperamental sensitivities and achievement goal orientations remained relatively stable over time. Interindividual reward sensitivity was related negatively with mastery and positively with performance-approach and performance-avoidance orientations, from the first through to the third year. Punishment sensitivity had a positive effect on performance-avoidance orientation, and indirect, reciprocal, negative effects with performance-approach orientation. The findings provide new knowledge on early relationships between temperament and goal strivings. Interindividual reward sensitivity appears consistently associated with performance concerns and decreased mastery strivings. Such connections may have long-standing negative influence on students’ educational trajectories, and point to the importance of acknowledging individual differences in temperament and their role in motivation and learning.

Improving Motivation in Translator Training: Achievement Goal Orientations of Translation Studies Students

In order to improve the student
 motivation, this study aims to determine the opinions of Translation Studies
 students about achievement goal orientations in terms of variables such as
 gender, department, class and perception of academic achievement. Research is
 based on the relational screening model and the research data was collected by
 using the Goal Orientations Scale adapted to Turkish by Akın & Çetin
 (2007). During the academic year 2017-2018, 242 students studying in the
 German, French and English Translation Studies Departments at a state
 university participated in the research. As a result, it was observed that learning
 orientation, one of the three sub-dimensions of achievement goal orientations,
 varies significantly by gender and perception of academic achievement; and
 performance-approach orientation, other sub-dimension, by department and
 gender. No statistically significant relationship was found between variables
 and performance-avoidance orientation, the third sub-dimension.

Effects of Parenting Style on Students' Achievement Goal Orientation: A Study on High School Students

This study intends to determine the effects of parenting styles, as perceived by parents, on high school students’ achievement goal orientations. The study was conducted on 497 students and their parents selected via simple cluster sampling from public high schools of the Ministry of Education in Amasya, a city in Turkey. Data were collected by means of a personal information form prepared by the researcher, the Parents Attitude Scale (PAS) and the 2x2 Achievement Goal Orientation Scale. Data analysis includes multiple regression analysis, as well as descriptive statistics. Based on research findings, parenting styles perceived by parents can be listed as democratic, overprotective, permissive and authoritarian. Students’ achievement goal orientation follows the order of learning-approach, learning-avoidance, performance-approach and performance-avoidance. Another finding obtained in the study shows a positive and medium level relationship between parenting style and learning approach orientation and a positive and low level relationship between parenting style and learning avoidance orientation. Democratic and overprotective parenting styles were found to have the strongest and most significant impact on learning approach orientation whereas overprotective and permissive parenting styles had the most significant impact on learning avoidance orientation. Parenting style was found to have a low level positive relationship with performance approach and performance avoidance orientation. Analyses show that authoritarian and overprotective parenting styles had the most significant impact on both orientations.