Learning motivation plays a principal role in predicting desirable outcomes such as academic success and engagement in school (Elliot & Dweck, 2005; Spence & Helmreich, 1983). Among several relevant motivational variables, the achievement goal construct currently has received the most research attention in the area of competence-relevant motivation. Theorists are interested in studying achievement goals because goal orientation can influence cognitive processes through key motivational processes and eventually lead to improvement in learning achievement and attitudes (e.g., Ames, 1984; Elliot, 2005). Little is known, however, about regulations in achievement goals over time. In the present study, I want to address this oversight, focusing primarily on the foundational question of how students' achievement goals are changed and the relations between individual goals and perceptions of classroom structures. Based on previous literature, the current quasi-experimental study focused on the research hypothesis that instructional components of a course which are focused on competence (e.g., exam, in-class quiz, writing a paper, in-class activities) influence differentially the adoption or regulation of students' achievement goals in a real classroom. A total of 173 college students from an introductory educational psychology course participated in this study. I adopted five statistical approaches to investigate changes and stability in achievement goals and used multiple regression analyses to verify the relations between achievement goals and perceptions of class goals. Overall, the results of the current study provide clear and consistent evidence for the presence of both stability and change. All achievement goals had high stability for each instructional task through differential and ipsative continuity. Mean-level change analyses showed a considerable decline in the tendency in each individual goal pursuit. Interestingly, students' mastery goals toward an exam increased significantly whereas performance-avoidance goals decreased. Finally, cluster analysis suggested changes in cluster memberships between the pre- and post-measure of achievement goals toward each instructional task and participants' perceptions of classroom goals. The results and findings of the current study provide important implications for both research methodology used to investigate achievement goals and instructional design in the classroom. Limitations of the current investigation and suggestions for future studies are discussed. / text

<p>Current online learning approaches are sometimes criticized for a “one- size- fits -all” approach, low levels of interactivity, and insufficient feedback, which may result in low levels of learning satisfaction and high dropout rates. To mitigate these shortcomings, this study proposed a set of rules to design personalized motivational feedback based on students’ personal achievement goals. The researcher expected this specially designed personalized feedback to be able to improve student motivation and learning outcomes. </p> <p>To examine the effectiveness of such feedback, an explanatory mixed-methods study was implemented, which included two consecutive phases. The first phase was a quasi-experimental study. A 2018 online master’s degree program course offered by a large R-1 University in the U.S. served as the study context. Twenty-eight students were selected as the test group where personalized motivational feedback based on the proposed rules was delivered along with regular instructor feedback. Another forty students were selected as the control group who only received regular instructor feedback. Students’ motivation and perceived satisfaction were measured by using pre and post surveys. Students’ learning performance was measured by using the collected assignment scores after the semester ended. The second phase was a set of post interviews, in which 13 students from the two groups were asked about their perceptions of the impact of the feedback they received and how they used feedback in their learning process during the study.</p> <p>In the first study phase, ANCOVA F test results indicated the post-test scores of learner motivation and perceived satisfaction in the test group were significantly higher than those of the control group. The mean value of the cumulative assignment scores in the test group was somewhat higher than that of the control group, but this difference was not statistically significant based on the results of Wilcoxon Two-Sample test and ANCOVA F test. In the second study phase, the post-interviews showed that students in the test group expressed more consistently and strongly that they had an overall positive perception of the feedback received in the course. The participants from the test group further explained the underlying mechanism of this personalized motivational feedback was that it affected students’ learning positively by helping them set and regulate learning goals, activate self-regulation mechanisms, and adjust their learning behaviors.</p> <p>Based on the results and the features of the study design, the researcher concluded that the personalized feedback designed by following the set of rules proposed in this study has the potential to improve learner motivation in the online learning context. While its effect on learning outcomes was not significant, the researcher speculated that learning outcomes might have been affected by more complex factors, such as ceiling effects and predominant class structures. </p> <p>The researcher suggested online instructors and instructional designers consider students’ achievement goals when conducting learner analysis and creating learner profiles. She also suggested developers of next-generation LMSs include achievement goals in the learner model and include such rules in a personalization mechanism. One primary limitation of this study was that a ceiling effect on learning performance emerged leading to insufficient variation for the researcher to detect a statistically significant difference in learning performance. Therefore, the researcher suggests future researchers in this area replicate this approach by using automated feedback delivery tools and consider employing personalized feedback in different types of classes and using specific instructional approaches, such as problem-based learning and competency-based learning. Future research should also consider achievement goal’s mediating factors, such as students’ self-regulation skills, in learner analysis. </p>

Three experiments integrated insights from achievement goal theory, social identity threat, and stress and coping research, to develop a theory-based strategy individuals can use to navigate social identity threat in high stakes achievement settings. In all experiments women were asked to adopt a mastery goal (focus on learning and building skills) or a performance goal (perform well; avoid errors) before a mock job interview. In Experiment 1, women expected their interviewer to be either sexist (creating identity threatening situation) or not sexist (a non-threatening situation). Women who focused on mastery rather than performance goals felt more challenged and less threatened while anticipating a job interview in an identity threatening situation; goals did not affect their appraisals of a non-threatening interview. Moreover, women who focused on mastery rather than performance intended to be more assertive (Experiment 2) and ultimately performed better in the interview (Experiment 3). Mediational analyses showed that a focus on mastery led women to appraise the identity threatening situation as a challenge they could overcome rather than a threat they were helpless to combat; challenge, in turn, enhanced performance.

This study was designed to compare the effects of the use of worked examples and self-explanation on motivation for male and female students. More specifically, the present study examines whether there are differences between males and females with regards to their achievement goals and if gender plays a role in how students respond to questions about their motivation in the presence of other male or female students. Comparisons of student responses on Achievement Goal Questionnaire-Revised (AGQ-R) and the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales (PALS) were also conducted. Participants were 147 seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade non-honors Algebra I students (82 girls and 65 boys) from three schools and eight classrooms within the same school district on the east cost of the United States of America. Results replicated the finding that females have more mastery goals than males, however no gender differences were found for either performance. In addition, it appears that students respond differently to some questions about their motivation in the presence of other male or female students. Finally, the AGQ-R and the PALS appear to be consistent representations of students' achievement goals. / School Psychology

This study aimed to investigate the antecedents and consequences ofachievement goals. While self efficacy, task value, fear of failure, perceived parents&rsquo / and teachers&rsquo / achievement goals were investigated as antecedents of achievement goals in science, students&rsquo / metacognition and coping strategies were examined as consequences of achievement goals in science. In this investigation, a model of the potential associations among these variables was proposed and tested by using path analysis. 977, 7th grade, elementary students participated in the study. According to the results, students&rsquo / higher levels of task value, perceived parents&rsquo / mastery goals, and perceived teachers&rsquo / mastery goals were positively related to mastery approach goals. Additionally, students&rsquo / higher levels of perceived parents&rsquo / mastery goals, fear of shame and embarrassment, fear of devaluing one&rsquo / s self-estimate were positively related to mastery avoidance goals. Concerning to performance goals, the model suggest that higher levels of self efficacy and perceived parents&rsquo / performance goals were positively related to performance approach goals. Furthermore, students&rsquo / higher level of task value, perceived parents&rsquo / performance goals and fear of upsetting important others were positively related to performance avoidance goals. The path model also suggest that students who adopt mastery approach goals tend to use more adaptive coping strategies, and less maladaptive coping strategies than others. Besides, students who adopt mastery avoidance goals tend to use maladaptive coping strategies when they face an academic failure in science. Moreover, students&rsquo / performance approach goals are related to both adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies. Lastiy students&rsquo / performance avoidance goals positively associated to metacognition.

Tidigare studier har visat att elever på elitidrottsgymnasium med dubbla karriärer har höga krav att prestera inom både idrott och studier. Självmedkänsla har kopplats till positiva utfall inom idrott och innebär att vara stöttande snarare än kritisk och dömande mot sig själv. Studiens syfte var att undersöka om självmedkänsla har ett samband med rädsla för att misslyckas, generell psykisk hälsa och achievement goals samt om dessa faktorer kan predicera psykisk hälsa. Studien bestod av 97 elever från ett elitidrottsgymnasium i åldrarna 16-19 år. Resultatet visar att självmedkänsla har ett samband med samtliga faktorer samt att självmedkänsla och mastery-goals kan predicera elevernas psykiska hälsa. Att öva upp självmedkänsla kan vara av vikt för att öka den psykiska hälsan. Longitudinella studier är önskvärt för att följa utvecklingen hos en elitidrottande ungdomsgrupp över tid. / Previous studies has shown that students at elite high school’s with dual careers are under a lot of pressure to perform in both their sports and academic studies. Self-compassion has been linked to positive outcomes in sports and it involves being supportive rather than critical and judgmental towards oneself. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self-compassion, fear of failure, mental health and achievement goals and if these factors can predict psychological well-being. The study consisted of 97 elite high school students, 16-19 years old. The results shows that self-compassion is associated with all the factors and that self-compassion and Mastery-goals can predict psychological well-being. This indicates that it may be important to practice self-compassion to enhance mental health. Longitudinal studies is desirable to follow the development of youth elite athletes over a longer period of time.

This thesis aimed to develop a measure to investigate the perceived motivational climate in individual sports. In particular, it aimed to address some of the knowledge gaps in the current literature examining motivational climates: by developing a measure whose intended population participate in individual sports; that incorporates the perceived motivational climate created by multiple significant others; and that incorporates the 'impact' or salience of each of these perceptions of the motivational climate. In order to achieve this, the thesis is comprised of four studies.

The Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA), a high-stakes exam mandatory for all Standard 5 students in Trinidad and Tobago, is posited to be anxiety inducing. The purpose of this correlational research was to examine the relationships among the psychological constructs of the achievement goal theory, and students’ test anxiety. The study specifically looked at whether relationships exist among students’ (n= 215) perceptions of their parents’, teachers’, and classroom goals; their own achievement goals; and their cognitive anxiety about the SEA. The results revealed that students’ personal achievement goals were not associated with SEA cognitive anxiety, but their perceptions of parents’, teachers’, and classroom goals were significantly associated. Perceived avoidance goal messages from peers were also significantly associated with students’ cognitive anxiety, and with tendencies to avoid displaying normative incompetence or failure. Results from this study can be useful for future research in the area of social and emotional learning in Trinidad and Tobago by investigating the effect increased social awareness, through empathy development, has on reducing students’ test anxiety and improving task-engagement, peer relationships, and general academic performance. / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of 11th grade Turkish students&rsquo / chemistry self-efficacy for cognitive skills (CSCS), and self-efficacy for chemistry laboratory (SCL), mastery-approach goals, mastery-avoidance goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals to their chemistry achievement. The sample of the study included 604 students (343 females and 261 males) from seven different general public high schools in &Ccedil / ankaya, a district of Ankara. High School Chemistry Self-efficacy Scale which was developed by &Ccedil / apa Aydin and Uzuntiryaki (2009), Achievement Goal Questionnaire which was developed by Elliot and McGregor (2001), and Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) which was developed by the researcher were used to collect the data in the study. The simultaneous multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the data of the study. Results revealed that the students&rsquo / CSCS, mastery-approach goal, performance-approach goal were a positive significant predictors and performance-avoidance goal was a negative significant predictor of their scores on the CAT. Students&rsquo / CSCS had the largest unique contribution to explaining the students&rsquo / chemistry achievement. These four independent variables explained a significant 9.1 % of variance in the students&rsquo / chemistry achievement.

Ce travail de recherche a pour objectif d’identifier le rôle du statut social sur l’adoption des buts d’accomplissement que poursuivent les étudiant-e-s lorsqu’ils-elles réalisent une tâche académique (Dweck, 1986 ; Nicholls, 1984), particulièrement dans un contexte où la sélection du système universitaire est présente (Darnon, Dompnier, Delmas, Pulfrey, & Butera, 2009).Une première série d’études (études 1 à 6) montre que les étudiant-e-s de bas statut social (ceux-celles dont aucun des deux parents n’a obtenu le baccalauréat) adoptent davantage de buts de performance-évitement (les buts renvoyant à la crainte d’échouer) que les étudiant-e-s de haut statut, particulièrement à un haut niveau de compétence académique (réelle ou perçue). Concernant les buts de performance-approche (les buts renvoyant au désir de se montrer plus compétent que les autres), aucune différence n’apparaît entre les étudiant-e-s de haut et bas statut auprès d’étudiant-e-s en psychologie. Néanmoins, dans une filière ou la sélection est particulièrement saillante (les études de médecine), les étudiant-e-s de haut statut adoptent davantage de buts de performance-approche que les étudiant-e-s de bas statut. Dans les études suivantes (études 7 et 8), nous nous sommes intéressés au rôle joué par le contexte de sélection dans la relation entre statut et adoption des buts. Les résultats indiquent (1) que la fonction de sélection du système universitaire oriente les étudiant-e-s, quel que soit leur statut, vers l’adoption de buts de performance-approche, via l’utilité sociale qu’elle leur confère, et, (2) que l’interaction entre le statut et le niveau de compétence sur l’adoption des buts de performance-évitement, apparaît surtout dans un contexte de sélection.Enfin, la dernière étude (étude 9) teste les mêmes hypothèses dans un contexte où la comparaison temporelle (plutôt que la comparaison sociale) est saillante. Les résultats mettent en évidence que la compétition et le statut sont des prédicteurs des buts pertinents dans le contexte, les buts relatifs au soi (focaliser sur le fait de progresser) et non les buts de performance, non pertinents dans ce contexte.Dans l’ensemble, ces résultats confirment qu’au-delà de déterminants individuels, le statut social des étudiant-e-s peut influencer leur adoption de buts d’accomplissement, particulièrement dans un contexte de sélection. / The aim of the present research program is to identify the role of social status as an antecedent of the achievement goals that students pursue when facing an academic task (Dweck, 1986; Nicholls, 1984), in the selective context of University (Darnon, Dompnier, Delmas, Pulfrey, & Butera, 2009).The first series of studies (studies 1 to 6) documents that low-status students (students whose parents did not achieve the baccalauréat) endorse more performance-avoidance goals (try not to perform poorly) than high-status students, particularly at a high level of academic achievement (real or perceived). The studies also showed that high- and low-status Psychology students do not differ in their endorsement of performance-approach goals (trying to perform better than others). Nevertheless, a difference was observed in a more selective academic curriculum (Medical school), such that high-status students endorsed more performance-approach goals than low-status students. In the second series of studies (studies 7 and 8), we focus on how the selection context affects the relation between social status and the endorsement of achievement goals. Results show that (1) the selection function of university leads students - regardless to their social status - to endorse performance-approach goals via the social utility associated to these goals and that (2) the interaction between social status and academic achievement on performance-avoidance goal adoption appears mainly in a context of academic selection.The last study (study 9) seeks to test the same hypotheses in a context that makes salient temporal comparison (rather than social comparison). Results show that competition and status predict self-based goals, more relevant in this context, than performance-based goals.Together, these results confirm that, in addition to individual antecedents, students’ social status can influence achievement goal endorsement - especially in a context of selection.