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Goal orientation is a construct that has been used to explain individuals' focus in achievement situations. Three subcomponents of this construct have been linked to a number of training-related processes and outcomes. Those higher on avoid performance goal orientation withdraw from situations in which they may appear incompetent to others. Those higher on prove performance goal orientation approach situations in which they can demonstrate their competence to others. Finally, those high on learning goal orientation approach situations in which they can continually grow and master new skills. Prior research has consistently found that effective learning strategies and outcomes are positively associated with learning goal orientation and negatively associated with avoid goal orientation. However, the findings with respect to prove goal orientation have been mixed. One possible reason for this is that the effect of prove goal orientation may be dependent on one's concurrent level of learning goal orientation. The present study investigated this notion using participants from an understudied population: unemployed adults. Specifically, data were collected from 188 unemployed females who participated in a training program designed to enhance basic work competencies necessary for most entry-level jobs. Results indicated that those higher on avoid performance goal orientation put forth less effort in voluntary practice activities took longer to complete the training program and learned less than those lower on avoid performance goal orientation. Additionally, prove performance goal orientation interacted with learning goal orientation to predict the amount of time spent practicing and learning. Theoretical and practical implications for training needs analysis, development, and assessment will be discussed.

Firms’ top decision makers cannot possibly know what decisions to make. Rather, decision makers must interpret their situations and make the best possible decision based upon their interpretation of their situations. In this dissertation, I examine decision-makers’ goal orientations as influencing how they interpret their situations and then respond through making decisions in terms of their firms’ entrepreneurial orientations. I also examine whether these decisions influence firm performance. I surveyed top firm decision makers in the Association of Former Students’ database at Texas A and M University. The hypotheses were tested using a structural equation modeling. Using a sample of 273 firms, I find that decision-makers’ goal orientations shape their firm’s entrepreneurial orientations, which in turn influence firm growth, relative performance, and expected future performance. Possessing a learning goal orientation was found to be positively related to innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk taking. A performance prove goal orientation was positively related to innovativeness, whereas a performance avoid goal orientation was negatively related to innovativeness and risk taking. Only a proactive firm posture was found to be positively related to firm performance. The results for this dissertation provide compelling support for upper echelons theory. Decision-makers’ finer-grained personal attributes are found to shape firm-level outcomes. More specifically, decision-makers’ goal orientations are found to shape the firm’s entrepreneurial orientation and, to some extent, performance. Interestingly, coarse-grained personal attributes captured in demographic proxies and used as control variables in the analyses did not provide consistent support for upper echelons theory. The results suggest that scholars need to take a finer-grained perspective of upper echelons theory. A substantial amount of research has established the link between individuals’ goal orientations and how they interpret and respond to their situations. The research here has extended this relationship to the top decision-making context in firms where individuals face strong situational forces caused by uncertainty, complexity, and dynamism. I hope that this research encourages other scholars to (1) examine more complex models of how decision-makers’ personal attributes influence their entrepreneurial decisions in terms of both recognizing and exploiting opportunities, and (2) examine other finer-grained attributes of top decision makers within a finer-grained framework of the decision-making process.

The Study of Relationship among Goal Orientation, Learning Satisfaction, and Learning Performance --Taking Kaohsiung Learning Center Of National Open University as Example Abstract Due to the prevalence of Internet and the emerging of knowledge economics, human being in the 21st century are facing rapid changing with greater impact than ever before. The trend of globalization and knowledge explosion results in significant influence imposed upon both education and learning; in particular, lifelong learning in which adult education plays an important role. This thesis presents the results of studying the inter-relationship and interaction among goal orientation, learning satisfaction, and learning performance. In this research work, the theory on the inter-relationship among goal orientation, learning satisfaction, and learning performance is first constructed. To conduct the quantitative analysis as the investigation through intersection, a questionnaire is developed to take survey on students registered to Kaohsiung Learning Center of National Open University. The objective is to explore the variance, the relationship and the effect imposed, by the goal orientation of these students, upon the learning satisfaction and the learning performance. In addition, an investigation on how the interaction between learning satisfaction and goal orientation affects learning performance is undertaken. Through the analysis, the followings are found: 1. There is significant positive inter-relationship among goal orientation, learning satisfaction, and learning performance. 2. Goal orientation and learning satisfaction impose significant positive effect upon learning performance. 3. Learning orientation was found to have significant moderating effect between learning satisfaction and learning performance. 4. For variables based on gender: female students show greater variance than male students on teaching quality, offered courses, and human relation. 5. For variables based on registration: college students show greater variance than university students of both full registration and partial registration in learning orientation. 6. For variables based on occupations: no significant variance shown in goal orientation, learning satisfaction, and performance orientation. 7. For variables based on study duration: there is considerable variance in avoidance orientation and human relation among students who have studied for 10 years or longer. 8. For variables based on the times of suspension: students who suspended 4 times or more show greater variance in human relation and social capability.

Based on a proposed input-process-output model of team goal, leader goal orientation, team cohesion, and team effectiveness, this study examined the influences of the leader trait goal orientation on the relationships between team goals and team cohesion. Results from 73 five-person teams working on an interdependent command and control simulation game indicated that team learning goal positively relates to team viability. Social cohesion mediates the effects of a team learning goal on team viability. In addition, the leader’s learning orientation moderates the effect of a team learning goal on team task cohesion. Results of supplementary analyses are also presented. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, as well as possible limitations and directions for future research.

In this dissertation, the intersection between emotion and motivation was explored. Participants in this study were given a survey at two time points during the semester. Using this data, the factor structure for the motivation construct as described by Elliot and colleagues were explored using a MTMM model. Leading from the measurement model from the CFA, results indicated that emotion and motivation are highly related, but in different ways depending on if the students have had academic feedback. The academic feedback also may change some students’ motivational orientations, based on their emotional reaction.

The current study investigated the relation between academic rumination and achievement goal orientation using hierarchical regression. One hundred and ninety-six first year undergraduate students completed measures of depressive symptoms (BDI), achievement goal orientation (PALS) and rumination (MDRS). Analysis revealed that participants adopting performance-avoid goals were more likely to engage in brooding and reflective ruminative responses to stressful academic situations, while those reporting adopting mastery goal orientations were more likely to report lower brooding scores in stressful academic situations. Further analysis revealed that the relation between academic rumination and achievement goal orientation extended beyond a shared relationship with depressive symptoms. These findings are a first step in demonstrating a relationship between academic rumination and achievement goal orientations which may help to improve motivational intervention programs that assist students in adopting mastery goals as well as coping with stressful academic situations. / Graduate

The present study explored the impact of the individual difference, goal orientation, on the team intervention, debriefing, thus contributing insight into a previously unexplored component behind debriefing effectiveness. Three sub-dimensions of goal orientation were examined in terms of their influence on debriefing: learning goal orientation, performance-prove goal orientation and performance-avoid goal orientation. The outcomes investigated included elements of a successful debrief: self-correction, self-promotion and speaking up behavior. A sample (N=69) of undergraduate students at the University of Central Florida individually completed a goal orientation self-report measure and participated in a team debriefing session within their three-person teams. The audio-recorded debriefing videos were transcribed and coded line-by-line to indicate the presence of the outcome variables. Hierarchical multiple regressions were utilized to analyze the direct relationships between the specific goal orientation sub-dimensions and hypothesized outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

For over a century, the enigmatic nature of narcissism has been the source of debate across psychological, sociological, and developmental domains. Although much has been written in recent years about narcissism as a generational phenomenon, referencing data collected from university undergraduates, there is little to no applied research and discussion into the implications for teaching and learning with respect to the reciprocal interactions between narcissistic students and traditional undergraduate education. Recognizing this paucity in the literature, the manuscripts within this dissertation draw theoretical and empirical connections between narcissism and learning, highlighting significant relationships between narcissism as a dispositional construct and achievement goal orientation. Through the development of a theoretical Triarchic Model of Dispositional Narcissism and the empirical exploration of its viability, this dissertation is written in accordance with sentiments that suggest educational psychologists seek to improve learning through a more comprehensive recognition of the variables that contribute to cognitive processes. The theoretical design, research, and interpretations within this dissertation seek to provide a heuristic through which educators may develop proactive, interventive instructional models and pedagogies that will encourage all students to improve their learning by engaging in strategies that lead to deeper cognitive and metacognitive processing. / Ph. D.