The purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of preparatory training for mentors and proteges with respect to relationship processes and outcomes. Specifically, it was proposed that training provided to mentors and their proteges should foster a high learning goal orientation and a low avoid goal orientation. The former is associated with learning for the sake of continuous improvement and the latter is associated with a willingness to be perceived by others as having failed at a task. It was hypothesized that mentors and proteges who received goal orientation training prior to beginning their formal mentoring sessions would engage in greater feedback-seeking and would be more willing to self-disclose potentially ego-threatening information. Moreover, it was expected that training would also lead participants to expect such behaviors from their partners and as a result respond more positively when the desired behaviors were demonstrated. Eighty (i.e., first and second semester freshmen) were paired with eighty mentors (i.e., college juniors and seniors with a minimum grade point average of 3.0), resulting in a total of 160 study participants. All participants received one hour of preparatory training. A two by two factorial design was employed whereby mentors and proteges each received either goal orientation training or training simply designed to orient them to computer-mediated communication. After training, mentors and proteges met with one another using online chat for four, 30-minute weekly chat sessions. Results indicated that a) proteges in a high state of avoid goal orientation felt they received less psychosocial support the more their mentor disclosed his/her own personal downfalls, b) mentors who received goal orientation training felt they had provided greater career support the more their proteges sought feedback but the reverse was true for mentors who did not receive goal orientation training, c) mentor self-disclosure was more strongly related to their protege's self-disclosure if the protege had received goal orientation training, and finally d) mentor and protege perceptions of the psychosocial and career support that had been provided/received during online sessions were more strongly correlated if the two had received the same type of preparatory training (especially if both received goal orientation training).

The push to further the use of technology in learning has broadened the attempts of many to find innovated ways to aid the new, technologically savvy generation of learners, in acquiring the knowledge needed for their education and training. A critical component to the success of these initiatives is the proper application of the science of learning (Cannon-Bowers and Bowers, 2009). One technological initiative that can benefit from this application is the use of synthetic learning environments (SLEs). SLEs are instructional systems embedded within virtual worlds. These worlds can be simulations of some task, for instance a simulation that may be completed as part of a military training to mimic specific situations, or they could be in the form of a video game, for example, a game designed to maintain the attention of school children while teaching mathematics. The important components to SLEs are a connection to the underlying task being trained and a set of goals for which to strive toward. SLEs have many unique characteristics which separate them from other forms of education. Two of the most salient characteristics are the instructorless nature of SLEs (most of the learning from SLEs happens without instructor interaction) and the fact that in many cases SLEs are actually fun and engaging, thus motivating the learner to participate more and allowing them to experience a more immersive interaction. Incorporating the latter of these characteristics into a model originally introduced by Davis (1989) and adapted by Yi and Hwang (2003) for use with web applications, an expanded model to predict the effects of enjoyment, goal orientation, ease of use, and several other factors on the overall use of SLEs has been created. Adapting the Davis and Yi and Hwang models for the specific use of SLEs provides a basis understanding how each of the critical input variables effect the use and thus effectiveness of learning tools based on SLEs. In particular, performance goal orientation has been added to the existing models to more accurately reflect the performance characteristics present in games. Results of this study have shown that, in fact, performance goal orientation is a significant factor in the SLE Use and Learning model. However, within the model it is important to distinguish that the two varieties of performance goal orientation (prove and avoid) play different roles. Prove performance goal orientation has been shown to have significant relationships with several other critical factors while avoid performance goal orientation is only accounted for in its significant correlation with prove performance goal orientation. With this understanding, training developers can now have a better understanding of where their resources should be spent to promote more efficient and effective learning. The results of this study allow developers to move forward with confidence in the fact that their new learning environments will be effective in a number of realms, not only limited to classroom, business, or military training.

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Regulatory fit (Higgins 2000) has, thus far, only been tested using regulatory focus theory (Cesario, Higgins, & Scholer, 2008); this study contributes to the current literature by testing the generality of the fit principle using goal orientation. I will test the effect of fit on corrective feedback utilization. I predict that experiencing regulatory fit between goal orientation and goal pursuit strategies will lead to: 1) higher behavioral utilization of feedback, and 2) feedback recall. Self-monitoring will be included as an exploratory variable to assess whether level of self-monitoring will affect the aforementioned outcomes. Results indicated that individuals experiencing regulatory fit between goal orientation and feedback framing exhibited greater variety and frequency of feedback recommended behaviors overall. No fit effects were found for feedback recall. Self-monitoring was not impacted by goal orientation or feedback framing. / Master of Science

This research examined the validity of the 2-factor (e.g., Button, Mathieu, and Zajac, 1996) and 3-factor (e.g., VandeWalle, 1997) models of goal orientation. These models differ in specifying the dimensionality, measurement, and nomological network for learning goal orientation and performance goal orientation constructs. This study specifically tested the factorial and nomological validity of each model of goal orientation. The factorial validity was examined through a series of nested models and evaluating model fit parameters. The nomological validity of goal orientation was examined testing theoretically-derived relationships with the self-concept traits (e.g., core self-evaluations) of self-esteem, internal locus of control, generalized self-efficacy, and emotional stability. In addition, goal orientation relationships with need for achievement, fear of negative evaluation, and social desirability were also examined. Results of this study yielded mixed findings for the a priori models. Data from a student sample (N=314) and an employee sample (N=114) resulted in mixed findings across models and across samples. Although there was general support for both factor structures, several psychometric weaknesses were noted in the scales including low factor loadings, low factor variances, and low inter-item correlations. Additionally, results of the test-retest stability of goal orientation constructs were lower than desired across both models. Results of the hypothesized relationships found consistent support for learning goal orientation relationships, while the results for performance goal orientation were mixed. Learning goal orientation reflected positive and moderate levels of associations (i.e., r >.20) with self-esteem, internal locus of control, generalized self-efficacy, emotional stability, need for achievement and negatively related to fear of negative evaluation. Learning goal orientation also reflected positive but smaller levels of association with social desirability. Hypothesized relationships were supported for VandeWalle's (1997) performance avoid goal orientation reflecting negative relationships with the same correlates, except for a positive association with fear of negative evaluation. In general, the hypothesized relationships for Button et al.'s (1996) performance goal orientation and VandeWalle's (1997) performance prove goal orientation were not supported. These relationships resulted in near zero-correlations. Implications for future research addressing the conceptual framework, measurement and nomological relationships for goal orientation are discussed. / Ph. D.

Very little empirical evidence exists linking the motivational traits portion of the motivational traits and skills framework to goal setting processes. The present study explored relationships between motivational traits, task-specific self-efficacy and self-set goal level during a computer-based task. Along with direct assessment of these relationships, we assessed whether task-specific self-efficacy mediates relationships between motivational traits and self-set goal level. In the current study, we also examined the ability of motivational traits to provide an increment in the prediction of motivational outcomes over currently accepted goal orientation constructs. Analyses suggest that the motivational traits personal mastery and motivation related to anxiety are consistent predictors of task-specific self-efficacy but inconsistent predictors of self-set goal level while competitive excellence entirely unrelated to motivational outcomes. Motivational traits failed to provide any significant increment in the prediction of task-specific self-efficacy over respective goal orientation constructs. Implications and future directions are discussed. / Master of Science

Despite the growing popularity of goal orientation research, three questions remain largely unanswered: (1) are there 3 factors of goal orientation or only 2; (2) what predicts goal orientation; and (3) is goal orientation domain specific? To help answer these questions, 177 undergraduates were given a questionnaire assessing, in both the academic and athletic domains, (a) learning, prove, and avoid goals, (b) self-perceived ability, ability, and implicit theories, and (c) high-school grade point average, intrinsic motivation, internal motivation, self-efficacy, locus of control, need for achievement, desire to win, and fear of negative evaluation. The results suggest that learning, prove, and avoid goals can be empirically distinguished, that they are domain specific, but that they are not predicted well by ability, self-perceived ability, or implicit theories. Discussion centers on the need for a pattern approach to the prediction of goal orientation and stresses the importance of examining the interactions among learning, prove, and avoid goals. The overriding conclusion, however, is that goal orientation is not a useful construct. / Master of Science

The purpose of the present study was to expand researchers' understanding of work motivation by taking a pattern approach to the examination of the dimensions of goal orientation. To explore the differential behavior of people who possess different goal orientation patterns, the present study sought to verify the existence of optimal and least optimal patterns using two important motivational outcome variables: self-efficacy and exerted effort. In addition, the role of the performance-approach goal orientation (PGO) dimension within the context of goal orientation patterns was examined. Data was collected from a sample of college students who were asked to perform a puzzle solving task and complete scales assessing their effort exerted and self-efficacy related to this task. Three hundred and seventy one participants were classified into 8 patterns. The results confirmed the existence of an optimal and a least optimal pattern of goal orientation for self efficacy and partially confirmed the existence of such patterns for exerted effort. The findings also suggested that PGO is better understood when it is examined in the context of goal orientation patterns. Specifically, PGO exhibited adaptive behaviors when paired with a strong learning goal orientation (LGO) and weak performance-avoid goal orientation (AGO), and maladaptive behaviors when paired with a strong AGO and low LGO. Taken as a whole, the results indicated that the use of goal orientation patterns produces findings that have not been previously demonstrated by traditional variable-oriented approaches. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed. / Ph. D.