No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Achievement Goals in Educational Contexts: A Social Psychology Perspective
Abstract
Research on achievement goals usually defines mastery goals as the desire to acquire knowledge, and performance goals as the desire to outperform (or not to underperform) others. Educational contexts are most of the time social contexts, involving various persons and groups, of various hierarchical positions, and various cultural and ideological contexts. Surprisingly, most research in the achievement goal field has been conducted at an individual level of analysis. In the present paper, we will review the social consequences and antecedents of goal endorsement. This research indicates that goals strongly affect the way one behaves with co-learners. Moreover, it suggests that more than merely individual dispositions, goals reflect the social relation students have with other persons, institutions, and with the society to which they belong. We conclude this paper by setting an agenda for future achievement goal research.
... Performance-orientated goals still focus on performing competently relative to others or on preventing the appearance of being incompetent in comparison to other participants (performance-avoidant) [22]. Although most of the research in this area has focused on the individual, there is beginning to be more interest in the impact on the social context of learning [23]. The social context can orient participants towards a particular goal orientation (e.g., relevant tasks, sharing a group responsibility for improvement, confidential evaluation result) [23,24]. ...
... Although most of the research in this area has focused on the individual, there is beginning to be more interest in the impact on the social context of learning [23]. The social context can orient participants towards a particular goal orientation (e.g., relevant tasks, sharing a group responsibility for improvement, confidential evaluation result) [23,24]. ...
... This was also facilitated by the provision of confidential individual data to allow self-identification of competence [21]. The opportunity to explore the data within a collegial environment [23] ensured understanding of the content which appeared to promote goal setting and a collaborative commitment to change behavior. There has been little exploration in the academic community of the impact of the social context on AGT and the impact on subsequent behavior. ...
Background:
Audit and feedback interventions may be strengthened using social interaction. With this in mind, the Calgary office of the Alberta Physician Learning Program developed a process for audit and group feedback for physician groups. As a part of a larger project to develop a practical approach to the design and implementation of audit and group feedback projects, we explored patterns of physician behavior during facilitated audit and group feedback sessions.
Methods:
Six audit and group feedback sessions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically to derive a conceptual model of physicians' behaviors during audit and group feedback sessions.
Results:
A predictable cycle of behaviors emerged from audit and group feedback sessions. This cycle would repeat with discussion of each new data element: reacting to the data, questioning and understanding the data, justifying and contextualizing, sharing and reflecting on the data and relevant guidelines, and planning for change. "Change cues" that emerged within groups reliably pivoted the discussion towards action planning.
Conclusions:
In audit and group feedback sessions, physicians display a predictable series of behaviors as they move towards commitment to change. Establishing the meaning and credibility of the data is a necessary precursor to reflection. Group reflection leads to "change cues" triggered by group members, which stimulate action planning.
... Jusqu'à présent, les recherches sur l'idéologie méritocratique ont assez peu porté sur le contexte scolaire. Pourtant, nous pensons que cette idéologie prend tout son sens dans le domaine éducatif, contexte où la réussite est très valorisée et détermine, en grande partie, l'accès à des positions sociales différentiées (Croizet, 2008;Darnon, Dompnier, & Poortvliet, 2012 Comme souligné dans le chapitre précédent, la théorie de la justification du système postule que les individus ont besoin de maintenir une image positive du système dans lequel ils évoluent ainsi que de sa hiérarchie sociale (Jost et al., 2004) et ce, dès le plus jeune âge (Baron & Banaji, 2009;Olson et al., 2011). Ce besoin s'exprime au travers de différentes mythes légitimateurs, dont fait partie l'idéologie méritocratique (Jost & Hunyady, 2005;Jost, Pelham, Sheldon, & Ni-Sullivan, 2003). ...
... Dans nos sociétés, obtenir un diplôme facilite effectivement l'insertion sociale ; on observe que le taux de chômage est plus faible et l'accès à l'emploi qualifié est facilité pour les étudiant(e)s détenant des diplômes supérieurs (Calmand & Hallier, 2008). La discussion de l'étude 4 nous a permis de mettre en évidence les deux fonctions du système éducatif, à savoir, une fonction de formation et une fonction de sélection (Autin et al., 2015;Darnon et al., 2009Darnon et al., , 2012Smeding et al., 2013). Les résultats de cette étude nous poussent à nous intéresser plus spécifiquement à cette seconde fonction, la sélection des étudiant(e)s. ...
... Or, d'après plusieurs recherches(Beauvois & Dubois, 1988;Duru-Bellat & Tenret, 2009), faire l'expérience d'une ascension sociale augmenterait l'adhésion à des idées méritocratiques, à savoir, une plus forte responsabilisation des individus vis-à-vis de leurs échecs et de leurs réussites. Les résultats de notre étude peuvent être compris en ce sens puisqu'on observe que, de manière générale, les étudiant(e)s de bas statut ont un degré de CMS plus important que les étudiant(e)s de haut statut.D'autre part, plusieurs auteurs s'accordent à dire que les institutions éducatives ne visent pas seulement à former les apprenant(e)s, c'est-à-dire à développer leurs connaissances et leurs compétences, mais visent également à les sélectionner afin de délivrer les diplômes aux apprenant(e)s considéré(e)s comme les plus méritant(e)s(Autin, Batruch, & Butera, 2015;Darnon, Dompnier, Delmas, Pulfrey, & Butera, 2009;Darnon et al., 2012;Smeding et al., 2013). Cette sélection, telle qu'elle est mise en place en classe puis, lors des examens et des concours, légitime les positions scolaires et sociales des apprenant(e)s qui y sont soumis(es)(Bourdieu & Passeron, 1964). ...
Malgré les politiques en faveur du principe d’égalité des chances, le milieu social dans lequel évoluent les enfants influence fortement leur niveau scolaire (Observatoire des Inégalités, 2011). Ce principe implique une logique méritocratique selon laquelle chaque élève a, a priori, les mêmes chances de réussite scolaire. Or les croyances méritocratiques peuvent avoir des conséquences néfastes chez les membres de groupes défavorisés par le statu quo, notamment sur leur auto-évaluation (Shannon & Major, 2006 ; Jost & Hunyady, 2005 ; Midgley, Feldlaufer, Eccles, 1989 ; Marsh, Köller, Baumert, 2001). Pourtant, les membres de groupes défavorisés ont besoin de croire en la méritocratie pour préserver leur image de soi et/ou de leur groupe d’appartenance (Jost, Banaji, & Nosek, 2004; Kay & Friesen, 2011; Kay et al., 2009; Van Der Toorn, Tyler, & Jost, 2011). L’objectif de ce travail est d’étudier, d’une part, comment la croyance en la méritocratie scolaire peut expliquer, en partie, les inégalités sociales de réussite scolaire auprès d’élèves et d’étudiant(e)s et d’autre part, quels seraient les déterminants de cette croyance auprès d’une population étudiante et plus particulièrement auprès des étudiant(e)s défavorisé(e)s par le statu quo. Les trois premières études ont été réalisées sur des élèves d’école primaire. Une première étude (Étude 1) souligne l’existence d’un processus de médiation du lien entre le statut socioéconomique des élèves et leurs performances scolaires par l’intermédiaire de leur degré de sentiment d’efficacité personnelle (SEP). Les trois études suivantes soulignent comment la croyance en la méritocratie scolaire peut contribuer à creuser les écarts sociaux de réussite et/ou de SEP, principalement dans le domaine des mathématiques, chez des élèves d’école primaire (Études 2 et 3) alors qu’elle inverse l’écart social de sentiment de compétence classiquement observé auprès des étudiant(e)s à l’université (Étude 4). Les résultats d’une cinquième étude (Étude 5) soulignent que dans un contexte sélectif tel que l’université, les étudiant(e)s de filières de sciences non sociales croient plus en la méritocratie scolaire que les étudiant(e)s de sciences sociales mais que cet effet ne s’observe pas pour les étudiant(e)s se percevant de bas statut socioéconomique. Enfin, la dernière étude présentée dans ce travail (Étude 6) souligne que les étudiant(e)s se percevant de bas statut socioéconomique présentent une forte croyance en la méritocratie scolaire dans une condition où la sélection universitaire est rendue saillante (vs. Condition de « Réussite pour tous »), alors que cet effet s’inverse chez les étudiant(e)s se percevant de haut statut socioéconomique. L’ensemble de ces résultats est discuté au regard des définitions de l’idéologie méritocratique et de la polysémie du terme « mérite » et de l’impact de ces spécificités sur la reproduction des inégalités au sein du système éducatif, notamment par l’intermédiaire des processus de sélection.
... According to the functional perspective in sociology of education (Dornbusch et al. 1996), University fulfils two fundamental functions in most Western countries (Darnon et al. , 2012Dornbusch et al. 1996;Jury et al. 2015;Smeding et al. 2013). First, the educational function, which is the most obvious and the official purpose of any educational system, corresponds to the goal of teaching and increasing students' skills and knowledge. ...
... Even if these two functions are both at the core of the University system, the selection function plays a special role in the functioning of Western societies. Indeed, in industrialized, liberal societies, where important social inequalities exist and in which, paradoxically, equality is such an important value, the educational system has traditionally played the role of ''sorting'' people based on merit, namely, assigning pupils to ''the place where they belong'' (Bourdieu et al. 1990;Darnon et al. 2012). In other words, the educational system has the function to identify, through the process of schooling, the best students, that is, those who ''deserve'' higher degrees (and future higher social status), as well as low achieving students, that is, those who ''deserve'' lower degrees (and future lower status). ...
... More generally speaking, the present experiments confirmed that in addition to the role of individual and contextual antecedents of goals endorsement, the role of the larger system should not be ignored (Darnon et al. 2012). Indeed, in addition to other factors including classroom climate (Meece et al. 2006), evaluation practices (Pekrun et al. 2014), or teacher's practices (Nichols et al. 2003;Urdan and Schoenfelder 2006), these results tend to confirm that the educational system and the role this system plays in the society also influence the extent to which students endorse these goals in the classroom. ...
According to the recent research, the educational system fulfills both an educational function (i.e., teaching and training students) and a selection function (i.e., determining students’ future position in the social hierarchy), particularly in higher education. It has been argued that in the university system the selection function provides a social utility value to performance-approach goals (i.e., the goal to demonstrate one’s own competences relative to others), which in turn increases the extent to which students endorse these goals. Two experiments investigated the influence of the salience of the selection function on performance-approach goals’ social value and endorsement. The results showed that the salience of the selection function increased both performance-approach goal endorsement (experiment 1 and 2) and performance-approach goals’ social utility (experiment 2). These goals’ social utility contributes to explain the effect of the salience of the selection function on performance-approach goal endorsement. Limitations of the present experiments and practical implications are discussed.
... In Chapters I and II, our analysis was entirely focused on achievement goals throughout an individual level of analysis (Doise, 1986). In this chapter, we broaden our scope to dive into a social psychological perspective to achievement goal theory (Darnon, Dompnier, & Poortvliet, 2012). Not only such an approach will allow us to get deeper understanding of how achievement goals operate in educational contexts to predict competence-relevant outcomes, but hopefully it will bring some food for thought with respect to the issues and debates currently discussed in achievement goals theory literature. ...
... Although such an inquiry provides a thorough account of how achievement motivational processes operate to predict a wide range of outcomes, it tackles only one particular couche of the phenomenon. Indeed, early research on achievement goals has been especially prolific at an individual level of analysis (see Darnon et al., 2012), which represents only but one among possible outlooks that one can distinguish in social psychology (Doise, 1983). ...
... For instance, Darnon and colleagues' investigation brought useful insights about how achievement goals predict learning outcomes in social situations (see Darnon et al., 2012;Poortvliet & Darnon, 2010, for a review). In terms of interpersonal relations, Darnon and her colleagues studied how students' performance is differently predicted by the adoption of performance and mastery goals where social interactions between learners involve disagreements and create uncertainty (Darnon, Harackiewicz, Butera, Mugny, & Quiamzade, 2007). ...
Drawing from achievement goal theory, this thesis investigates the relationship between the pursuit of performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals and cognitive and academic achievement. Building on a social psychology perspective to achievement goals, the present research proposes to investigate how social value reasons underlying goal endorsement and regulatory focus shape the performance goals’ effects on students’ achievement. Across four lines of research involving 11 studies conducted in Switzerland, France, Belgium and the United States, we assessed the link between performance goals and achievement using four predictive models. The 1st line of research failed to replicate the traditional unconditional positive and negative effects of performance goals on achievement. The 2nd line of research provided strong evidence that endorsing performance-avoidance goals for social utility reasons (i.e. for genuine learning purposes) increased the negative impact of these goals on achievement. Some evidence was also found to suggest that social desirability reasons behind performance-avoidance goals reduce their negative impact on achievement. In the 3rd line of research, performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals’ effects on achievement varied as a function of regulatory focus. Pursuing the former was found to predict higher achievement when students were dominantly oriented toward promotion than prevention focus, while pursuing the latter predicted higher achievement when students were dominantly oriented toward prevention than promotion focus. Finally, the 4th line of research found some first evidence supporting the relevance of integrating both social utility reasons and regulatory focus moderators under a common framework. This thesis contributes to advance current debates on the role played by reasons underlying achievement goal pursuit and on the context of validity of some core predictions of achievement goal theory.
... Des travaux avaient montré des effets négatifs liés à l'adoption des buts de performance-évitement mais ceux-ci étaient de tailles variables (Hulleman et al., 2010;Van Yperen et al., 2014). Récemment, les chercheurs avaient noté l'importance de prendre en compte de potentiels modérateurs tels que la classe sociale des étudiants (Darnon, Dompnier, & Poortvliet, 2012 ;Huang, 2012;Berger et al. 2016). Les résultats de cette étude renforcent cette préconisation dans la mesure où nos résultats montrent que prendre en compte la classe sociale en tant que variable modératrice des buts de performance-évitement, pourrait aider à comprendre pourquoi les travaux portant sur les conséquences négatives de l'adoption des buts de performanceévitement produisent des effets de tailles variables dans la littérature (Hulleman et al., 2010;Van Yperen et al., 2014 (2) cela pourrait concerner ceux qui avaient un bon niveau académique, c'est-à-dire, ceux qui sont les plus enclins à vivre une expérience de mobilité ascendante. ...
... D'après ces résultats, les étudiants de basse classe sociale adoptent plus de buts de performance-évitement que les étudiants de haute classe sociale et pourtant, comme nous l'avons montré dans l'étude 1, ce sont chez eux que les buts de performance-évitement ont des effets délèteres. Ici encore, la classe sociale des étudiants semble être une variable primordiale à prendre en compte afin d'expliquer pourquoi les apprenants n'adoptent pas tous Page | 159 les mêmes buts d'accomplissements et ce, bien que le contexte éducatif soit similaire (e.g., Darnon, Dompnier et al., 2012;Darnon et al., 2017). ...
... Enfin, l'étude 3a permet de dire que c'est lorsque la perspective de mobilité est rendue saillante que les élèves de basse classe sociale adoptent plus de buts de performance- performance-évitement (Darnon et al., 2012;Berger & Archer, 2015). Ces résultats s'accordent avec les travaux qui avaient montré qu'un contexte exogoupe (i.e., lorsqu'un individu est en présence d'un groupe autre que celui auquel l'individu s'identifie et considère comme son groupe d'appartenance) pouvait être menaçant d'un point de vue identitaire pour les groupes dominés (i.e., les étudiants de basse classe sociale à l'université) (Murphy, Steele, & Gross, 2007). ...
Ce travail de thèse ambitionne d’identifier les processus psycho-sociaux impliqués dans le processus de mobilité ascendante. Plus précisément, nous testons dans quelle mesure le processus de mobilité que vivent les étudiants de basse classe sociale peut les amener à adopter des buts de performance-évitement (i.e., peur d’échouer), susceptible d’impacter par la suite négativement leurs performances. Dans la première étude, le lien entre les buts de performance-évitement et la performance a été testé chez les étudiants de basse et de haute classe sociale. Les résultats ont montré que l’adoption des buts de performance-évitement prédisait négativement les performances des étudiants de basse classe sociale (pas celle des étudiants de haute classe sociale) et en particulier s’ils ont de bons résultats académiques (i.e., qu’ils sont susceptibles de vivre une expérience de mobilité). Le but de la deuxième étude était de tester le rôle du processus de mobilité en tant que médiateur du lien entre la classe sociale et l’adoption de buts performance-évitement. Les résultats ont montré que c’est parce que les étudiants de basse classe sociale se sentent en mobilité ascendante, qu’ils adoptent plus de buts de performance-évitement que leurs homologues de haute classe sociale. Enfin, dans les 3 dernières études (études 3a, 3b et 3c), le processus de mobilité a été manipulé afin d’étudier son impact sur l’adoption de buts de performance-évitement et les performances des lycéens. Les résultats de l’étude 3a ont montré que chez les élèves de basse classe sociale, la saillance du processus de mobilité a augmenté l’adoption de buts de performance-évitement et a diminué les performances en mathématiques. Par ailleurs, les buts de performance-évitement semblent être un médiateur de l’effet d’interaction entre la classe sociale et la saillance du processus de mobilité sur les performances en mathématiques, bien que cet effet ne soit pas répliqué dans les études 3b et 3c. Les résultats de la méta-analyse, réalisée sur ces 3 dernières études, tendent à confirmer ces résultats. Dans l’ensemble, ces résultats s’accordent pour dire que la crainte du processus de mobilité serait l’un des mécanismes à l’origine des difficultés rencontrées par les élèves/étudiants de basse classe sociale en contexte académique et susceptibles d’expliquer, ensuite, leurs moindres performances.
... Performance goal orientation denotes concentration on boasting about one's accomplishments while mastery goal orientation denotes the pursuit of one's development and improvement of one's skills (Dweck, 1986;Nicholls, 1984;Turska, 2014). The research carried out so far shows that performance goal orientation, contrary to mastery goal orientation, may have adverse effects on adolescent well-being and their relationships with peers (Darnon, Dompnier & Poortvliet, 2012;Jagacinski & Nicholls, 1987;OECD, 2017), as well as on their learning outcomes and skills (cf. . Therefore, it is important to pinpoint the sources of both types of achievement goal orientations. ...
... Orientacja na wykonanie oznacza, że jednostka w dążeniu do osiągnięć koncentruje się na prezentacji swoich umiejętności i chwaleniu się przed innymi, podczas gdy orientacja na sprawność oznacza dążenie do samorozwoju i doskonalenia swoich umiejętności. Dotychczas przeprowadzone badania wykazują, że orientacja na wykonanie -w przeciwieństwie do orientacji na sprawność -może mieć niekorzystny wpływ na dobrostan nastolatków, ich relacje z rówieśnikami (Darnon, Dompnier i Poortvliet, 2012;Jagacinski i Nicholls, 1987;OECD, 2017) oraz wyniki w nauce (por. Darnon, Butera i Harackiewicz, 2007). ...
... Darnon, C., Dompnier, B., Delmas, F., Pulfrey, C., & Butera, F. (2009). Achievement goal promotion at university: social desirability and social utility of mastery and performance goals. Journal ofPersonality and Social Psychology, 96,[119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128][129][130][131][132][133][134].Darnon, C., Dompnier, B., & Poortvliet, P. M. (2012). Achievement goals in educational contexts: A social psychology perspective. Social and Personality Psychology 10,[760][761][762][763][764][765][766][767][768][769][770][771]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2012.00457.x. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Pl ...
W artykule przedstawiono wyniki badania dotyczącego związków między czynnikami środowiskowymi związanymi z rodziną (tj. materializmem matki, materializmem ojca, statusem socjoekonomicznym rodziny), czynnikami indywidualnymi (materializmem i samooceną nastolatka) i orientacjami na cele osiągnięć-sprawność (mastery goals orientation) i wykonanie (performance goals orientation). Przebadano 120 nastolatków wraz z obojgiem rodziców. Wyniki badania, w którym zastosowano pośredni (niejawny) pomiar orientacji na cele osiągnięć, wykazały, że (1) orientacja na sprawność wiąże się negatywnie z materializmem obojga rodziców, (2) predyktorami orientacji na sprawność są materializm matki i wysoki status socjoekonomiczny rodziny, (3) materializm matki wiąże się z orientacją na sprawność i materializmem nastolatka, (4) orientacja na wykonanie występuje częściej u chłopców. Nie stwierdzono istotnego związku między dwoma typami orientacji na osiągnięcia a materializmem i samooceną nastolatka.
***
The paper presents the results of a study on the relationship between environmental family factors (i.e., mother’s and father’s materialism, and family SES), individual factors (i.e., self-esteem and materialism), and achievement goal orientations: perfor-mance and mastery. 120 teenagers and both their parents were surveyed. The results of the study using indirect (implicit) measurement of achievement orientation showed that (1) mastery orientation is negatively linked with both parents’ materialism and the predictors of mastery orientation are mother’s materialism and high family SES, (2) mother’s materialism is linked with mastery orientation and materialism, (3) per-formance orientation is more common among boys. No significant relationship was observed between the two types of achievement orientation and teenagers’ materialism and self-esteem.
... Comme nous venons de le voir et, comme noté par certains auteurs, les travaux menés sur les antécédents des buts d'accomplissement n'ont que très exceptionnellement investigué le rôle des appartenances groupales sur l'adoption des buts d'accomplissement (Darnon et al., 2012 ;Elliot, 1999 ;Huang, 2012 ...
... Le chapitre 1 a permis de mettre en évidence que dans la littérature sur les buts d'accomplissement, l'influence de variable positionnelle telle que le statut social n'a été que très peu investiguée (Darnon et al., 2012 ;Elliot, 1999 ;Huang 2012). Nous venons de voir que le statut social, à travers notamment le statut socio-économique, avait des conséquences sur de multiples dimensions de la vie de l'individu (performances, jugements) y compris sur les aspects liés à son expérience de la scolarité. ...
... Ces pratiques de sélection n'interviennent pas au même moment du cursus en fonction de la filière (avant l'entrée pour les écoles de commerces, d'ingénieurs ; pendant la première année, faculté de médecine ; après plusieurs années dans le cursus, faculté de psychologie) et ont des conséquences sur les étudiant-e-s (Sommet et al., 2013). Notamment, des travaux récents (Autin, Branscombe, & Croizet, 2013) Darnon et al., 2012 ;Dornbusch, Glasgow, & Lin, 1996 ;Smeding et al., 2013). Au vu des conséquences reliées à l'obtention d'un diplôme sur la vie future, (OCDE, 2012), les enjeux de l'obtention d'un diplôme, donc de faire partie des étudiant-e-s identifié-e-s par le système, sont particulièrement forts. ...
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.
... An extensive body of research has shown that the salience of these achievement goals (due to manipulation in experiments or natural variation in classrooms) affects academic motivation and behavior (Anderman & Wolters, 2006;Linnenbrink-Garcia & Patall, 2016;Wigfield et al., 2016). Relevant to the present study, achievement goals have been found to influence social interactions with peers on academic tasks (Darnon, Dompnier, & Poortvliet, 2012;Levy-Tossman, Kaplan, & Assor, 2007;Levy-Tossman, Kaplan, & Patrick, 2004;Poortvliet & Darnon, 2010). ...
... All of these goals could go together with visible behaviors and explicit comments (e.g., "Yeah I am first compared with all of you!" or "Yeah, I solved this problem myself!"; see Shin & Ryan, 2014b). Indeed, numerous studies and experiments have indicated that achievement goals are outwardly exhibited and can be recognized by specific behaviors and messages referring to these goals (see for instance Darnon et al., 2012, andDarnon, 2010, for an This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. ...
... Social exchanges can serve as an important means by which individuals can obtain their goal of self-improvement, which may enhance an adolescent's willingness to invest in relationship building with potential exchange partners. Indeed, previous research indicated that when mastery goals are salient, students have a higher tendency to reciprocally share valuable information, actively engage in adaptive help-seeking, have constructive discussions and collaborate on academic issues (Darnon et al., 2012;Karabenick, 2003;Ryan & Shim, 2012). Also, mastery goals have been linked to the provision of resources and effort to help team members who are apparently failing to perform well (Porter, 2005). ...
This research investigated whether classroom-based peer norms for achievement goals moderate friendship selection, maintenance and influence processes related to academic achievement in 46 5th and 6th grade classrooms (N = 901, 58.7% 5th grade students, 48.5% boys). A distinction was made between peer norms for mastery (i.e., developing competence) and performance (i.e., demonstrating competence) goals. Peer norms were measured in terms of popularity norms (the within-classroom correlation between student achievement goals and popularity) and descriptive norms (the class-level aggregated average achievement goals). As hypothesized, longitudinal social network analyses revealed that achievement goal popularity norms played a role in friendship processes, rather than achievement goal descriptive norms. Specifically, adolescents formed friendships with similarly achieving peers in classrooms with high performance goal popularity norms but not in classrooms with low performance goal popularity norms. Conversely, adolescents remained friends with similarly achieving peers in classrooms with low performance goal popularity norms but not in classrooms with high performance goal popularity norms. Furthermore, friendship influence on achievement took place in classrooms with high mastery goal popularity norms, but not in classrooms with low mastery goal popularity norms. This study indicates that friendship processes regarding achievement depend upon the extent to which certain achievement goals are made salient by virtue of their association with popularity in classrooms.
... Research results obtained in a laboratory are essential for designing efficient pedagogical practices (Connolly et al., 2018;Dehaene, 2019), and yet the transposition of lab-based results into real classroom contexts is no easy matter (see Sotola & Crede, 2020 for a similar argument). In particular, real classroom contexts are likely to elicit various motivations and goals that can significantly impact how students apprehend the learning situation (Darnon et al., 2012;Huguet & Kuyper, 2008). The very meaning of "tests" in these two contexts is likely to differ, especially since doing well in a test is much more important for students when the test is part of their academic curriculum than when it has no consequences for future pass/fail decisions (Crooks, 1988). ...
... As discussed in this paper, rather than being neutral, classrooms are an evaluative context (Baumeister, 1984;Huguet & Kuyper, 2008), one which is likely to elicit various forms of motivations and goals (Darnon et al., 2009). According to social psychology research, tests are one characteristic likely to increase performance goals, social comparison concerns, and evaluative pressure (Ames, 1992;Darnon et al., 2012;Meece et al., 2006;Pulfrey et al., 2011). In such a context, they are particularly likely to elicit anxiety and threat, with dramatic consequences for learning (Cassady, 2004), particularly among vulnerable students Jury et al., 2015). ...
Long-term memory of a stimulus is likely to be better when individuals are tested on the stimulus than when they merely restudy it. This “testing effect” suggests tests could be used in real classroom contexts to improve students’ academic performance. However, real classroom contexts can be regarded as evaluative contexts which might change the meaning and effects of tests. The present paper reviews existing evidence of the positive effect of testing on learning in real classroom academic settings and on learning material that is part of the curriculum. While underscoring the positive effects testing can have in real classroom contexts, it also highlights features of classroom testing that may be particularly helpful for teachers. The review also points to important challenges that will need to be addressed in future research into the testing effect in real classroom contexts.
... In line with recent conceptualizations in the achievement goal literature (Butler, 2006;Dompnier, Darnon, & Butera, 2009, 2013Dompnier, Darnon, Delmas, & Butera, 2008;Pekrun, Cusack, Murayama, Elliot, & Thomas, 2014), the present results sustain that achievement goals are not stable constructs, but rather dynamic cognitive representations that individuals can adjust depending on the demand of the context (i.e., individuals can modify their achievement of goal endorsement according to the system properties). In addition, by providing empirical evidence supporting a causal relationship between status and performance-based goal orientation-when the status quo is secured-this research strengthens former hypotheses (Elliot, 1999; see also Berger & Archer, 2015;Darnon et al., 2012) as well as previous correlational results (Berger & Archer, 2016;Dekker et al., 2013;Jury, Smeding, Court et al., 2015) according to which status should be considered as a key determinant of achievement goal endorsement. Finally, the moderating effect of the context (i.e., hierarchy stability) suggests that status may actually interact with social mobility opportunities for determining which goals individuals are likely to endorse. ...
... As mentioned in the introduction, individuals strive to demonstrate competence precisely because showing competence can be conceived as a relevant and adaptive strategy to reach or to avoid losing high status (Anderson et al., 2015;Parsons, 1951). As such, the present research calls for more research that would consider the social position individuals occupy in a hierarchical system to understand the goals they pursue (Berger & Archer, 2015;Darnon et al., 2012). In particular, the present findings underscore the vicious circle that lower status individuals may face in societies in which hierarchies are stable. ...
Compared with lower status individuals, higher status individuals are particularly likely to endorse approach (vs. avoidance) forms of motivation—notably, performance-approach goals (e.g., seeking to demonstrate superior competence) rather than performance-avoidance goals (e.g., seeking not to demonstrate inferior competence). In the present paper, we argue that this effect is likely to occur when the hierarchy is stable (i.e., in contexts in which mobility is not expected). Conversely, in unstable systems, pursuing both performance-approach goals and performance-avoidance goals might become relevant strategies, regardless of status. In two studies, performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals were measured and status was manipulated. Perception of hierarchy stability was either measured (Study 1) or manipulated (Study 2). The results of both studies supported that the difference between higher and lower status individuals in terms of performance-based goal orientation only appeared in stable hierarchical systems, sustaining a view of performance-based goals as dynamic processes resulting from the position one occupies in a hierarchical system.
... They also vary as a function of their valence-whether they are directed toward approaching success or avoiding failure. Performance goals, be they approach-or avoidance-oriented, are relevant in competitive situations, especially in educational contexts (Darnon et al., 2012), as they focus on relative competence and seek to position one's competence within a pertinent social hierarchy (i.e., outperform other students vs. being outperformed, respectively). Accordingly, a meta-analysis by Murayama and Elliot COMPETITION IN EDUCATION 24 (2012) has shown that competition-structural, perceived or dispositional-predicts the endorsement of both performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals. ...
... The above debate is mainly concerned with the question of the effect of performanceapproach goals on performance/achievement. Regarding their effects on other important educational outcomes, the picture is more homogeneous. Performance-approach goals have been found to predict surface-rather than deep-study strategies, to impair task interest and resistance to failure, and to promote self-handicapping (for a review, see Darnon et al., 2012). ...
In this chapter we delineate how competition circulates through education. First, we show how competitive ideologies, values and norms are transmitted from society to educational institutions, in particular ideologies and values such as meritocracy, the belief in a fair free market and neoliberalism, as well as norms such as productivism and employability. Second, we review the competitive structures and climates within educational institutions that shape students’ values, goals and behaviors, in particular structures such as normative assessment, tracking and numerus clausus, as well as climates such as classroom climate, goal structures and error climates. Third, we report research that documents the impact of students’ competitive values, goals and behaviors on educational outcomes, from learning and achievement to social relations. Finally, we conclude by reflecting on how such a socialization of students may impact society in a feedback loop, either in terms of maintenance of the status quo or in terms of social change.
... Similarly, it is known that personality traits increase competitiveness. Especially social comparison orientation [11], competitive dispositions [17], and individuals' orientation toward performance goals [5,26] seem to influence competitiveness. Moreover, the personality trait openness to experience (i.e., as defined by the Big Five personality framework [13]) is a potential trait which can influence competitiveness: people that score lower on this trait-and hence are less independent and creative-may be more competitive [3]. ...
... Our study aims to further such theoretical insights via a study design that contrasts interversus intragroup competition in schools [2,4,22,27] and that tests whether teachers as role models can further engagement [1,7,12,20,25,31,32]. Potential moderation of situational factors and personality traits is accounted for [3,5,11,13,17,26]. ...
BACKGROUND
Contemporary mHealth interventions employ various behavior change techniques to encourage healthier lifestyles. Social comparison stands out as one of the techniques that is consensually agreed to be effective at engaging the general population in mHealth interventions. Yet, it is unclear how this strategy is best employed to engage preadolescents, although they are likely to be concerned with social comparison, since they are particularly developing their social skills.
OBJECTIVE
We aim to evaluate how social comparison drives engagement of preadolescents with an mHealth application.
METHODS
We designed a 12-week crossover experiment, in which we studied three approaches to implementing behavior change via social comparison. To leverage naturally existing social structures amongst preadolescents, we hosted this study in their school environment. During the experiment, participants (i.e., both students and teachers) used an mHealth tool that awarded virtual points for performing healthy activities. Participants could read their aggregated score from a leaderboard and compare their performance with others. Particularly these leaderboards were tweaked to implement three flavors of the social comparison technique. The first approach focused on intragroup comparison (i.e., students and teachers competing against each other to obtain the most points), whereas the other two approaches focused on intergroup comparison (i.e., classes of students and their mentoring teachers collaborating to compete against other classes). Additionally, in the third approach, the performance of teachers was highlighted to further increase student’s engagement, through their natural exemplary function. To obtain our results, we used linear modeling techniques to analyze dropout rates and engagement levels for the different approaches. In such analyses, we also considered individual participant traits.
RESULTS
Our sample included 313 participants (i.e., 290 students and 23 teachers). It was found that students tend to dropout especially in the beginning and during holidays. Also, their engagement levels drop over time and decline during holidays. Still, students do seem to monitor the intergroup competitions more closely than the intragroup setting, since they—on average—checked the mHealth application more often when engaged in team-based comparisons. Students on average performed the most unique activities when engaged in the second intergroup setting (i.e., not highlighting teacher’s performance), perhaps because also their teachers were most active in this setting. Moreover, teachers do seem to have an important role in engaging their students, as their relationship with their students influences how engaged their students will be.
CONCLUSIONS
When employing social comparison to engage preadolescents with an mHealth tool, an intergroup setting—rather than an intragroup competition—motivates them to engage with the application, but not necessarily to perform more activities. It seems that the number of unique activities preadolescents perform depends on the activeness of a role model. Moreover, this effect is amplified by a preadolescents’ perception of closeness to that role model.
... Avoidance goals are considered maladaptive as they are associated with inadequate coping and poor psychological well-being. For an individual with a performance avoidance orientation, the prospect of a potential failure is likely to encourage self-protective withdrawal, hinder concentration and task involvement, and ultimately, lead to poor learning outcomes [6,7,14]. Mastery avoidance is associated with maladaptive forms of perfectionism, anxiety during task engagement, procrastination, low interest, and poor achievement [5,[15][16][17][18]. ...
... Elliot and McGregor's 2 × 2 AGT framework [5] further distinguishes four goal orientations: performance approach -the desire to demonstrate competence relative to others; performance avoidance -the desire to avoid demonstrating incompetence relative to others; mastery approach -the desire to improve performance and maximise learning (i.e. to gain new knowledge, improve skills); and mastery avoidance -the desire to avoid incompetence, i.e. to master just enough skills needed to do one's work, often accompanied by a feeling of inability to master all the skills and fear of making mistakes. Because goals represent different ways of pursuing and measuring one's own competence, theorists have posited that goal orientations should promote distinct thoughts, feelings, and behaviour [6,7] and by extension, facilitate or hinder individuals' growth as life-long learners. In the context of the medical profession, life-long learning is a key aspect of professionalism and, according to Veloski and Hojat [8], is a component of excellence, self-regulatory, and accountable behaviour to ensure quality of care. ...
Background and objective: Family physicians regularly encounter clinical uncertainty and ambiguity and thus, are expected to engage in on-going learning to respond to changing needs of family practice. Using Achievement Goal Theory, the objective of this study was to examine motivations for learning of family medicine residents in a competency-based program.
Method: This was a cross-sectional study, employing a survey methodology with family medicine residents at the mid-point of training at a Canadian university. Multivariate analyses of variance and covariance were used to examine residents’ goal orientations (performance approach, mastery approach, performance avoidance, mastery avoidance) for the group as a whole and to test for the effects of residents’ gender and program stream (urban/rural), respectively.
Results: A total of 52 (67%) residents completed the survey. Overall, residents scored highest on mastery approach and lowest on performance avoidance, thus, exhibiting adaptive motivations for learning. Male residents demonstrated higher levels of performance approach, performance avoidance, and mastery avoidance than female residents. No significant differences in goal orientations were found between urban and rural residents.
Conclusions: Family medicine residents trained in the culture of competency-based education appear to be mastery approach oriented. This motivation orientation is critical in the dynamic practice of family medicine and is consistent with the life-long learning mandate of the medical profession.
... Taken together, the results of these two studies contribute to document, in line with recent research, that in psychology universities, one's actual social position and, even more, the social position one is about to reach are important predictors of achievement goal endorsement (Berger & Archer, 2015;Darnon, Dompnier, & Poortvliet, 2012). Interestingly, ...
Background:
Previous research has shown that, when succeeding in higher education, first-generation (FG) students endorse more performance-avoidance goals (i.e., the fear of performing poorly) than continuing-generation (CG) students.
Aims:
In this study, individual mobility is examined as a predictor of performance-avoidance goal endorsement. It is argued that FG students endorse more these goals than CG students because in higher education, the former (but not the latter) experience upward mobility. In addition, CG can also be at risk of endorsing these goals when they are confronted with downward mobility.
Sample(s):
Two studies were conducted with psychology students (N = 143 in Study 1; N = 176 in Study 2).
Methods:
In Study 1, FG and CG students' perceived upward mobility was measured. In Study 2, FG and CG students were provided with a feedback that suggested either upward or downward mobility. In both studies, participants reported their level of performance-avoidance goal endorsement.
Results:
Results from Study 1 supported an indirect effect of status on performance-avoidance goals via a higher perception of upward mobility. Results from Study 2 supported that psychology students who face mobility (i.e., FG students who received better feedback than their usual level of performance, CG students who received worse feedback than their usual level of performance) increased their performance-avoidance goals the most.
Conclusions:
Taken together, the results of these studies support that one's actual social position and, even more, the social position one is about to reach are reliable predictors of performance-avoidance goals.
... When students perceive an emphasis on their own learning and personal mastery, they would have increased interactions with friends around adaptive help-seeking. For example, students are more likely to share information, have constructive discussions, and collaborate on academic work with friends when they perceive higher mastery emphasis (Darnon, Dompnier, & Poortvliet, 2012;Karabenick, 2003), which creates the conditions for friends to be more influential on adaptive help-seeking. In contrast, when students perceive an emphasis on social comparison and demonstrating their own ability, they are less concerned about sharing helpful information with others (Poortvliet, Janssen, Van Yperen, & Van de Vliert, 2007), and less willing to collaborate with peers (Ryan & Shim, 2012), which creates the conditions for friends to be more influential on avoidant help-seeking. ...
... Achievement goals help construct a framework for how people interpret and experience a learning event (Bounoua et al., 2012;Nicholls, 1984), which guides learning efforts toward competence-relevant activities (Bounoua et al., 2012;Elliot, 1999). Two types of achievement goals are typically defined (e.g., Darnon, Dompnier, & Poortvliet, 2012;Hulleman, Schrager, Bodmann, & Harackiewicz, 2010): mastery goals and performance goals. Mastery goals are derived from a belief that ability is malleable and that errors are natural to learning, whereas performance goals are derived from a belief that ability is mostly fixed and that errors signal inabilities (Senko & Tropiano, 2016). ...
Although cultivating creativity is greatly emphasized in elementary school education and that digital games can be a promising tool for improving creativity, little research has been conducted to identify and explore how player-related factors might influence the learning outcomes of digital creativity games. This study identifies 3 individual traits pertaining to digital creativity game playing and examines how these determinants influence self-efficacy and mastery experiences of creativity using structural equation modelling. The participants were 275 4th through 6th graders, and the employed method was inventory investigation. The findings reveal that the participants spend a large proportion of time playing digital games after school. Moreover, the results suggest that motivation for achieving both mastery goals and performance goals is crucial to enhancing self-efficacy and achieving mastery experience in creativity. Additionally, such motivation might enhance mastery experience via two paths: the experience of flow states and the strengthening of self-determination and self-efficacy. The findings of this study shed light on the design of digital games for creativity training.
... Therefore, achievement motivation can be considered as a multidimensional construct composed of different orientations, each one with different antecedents and consequences that can, in turn, account for different attitudes related to competence, achievement, and learning. Given that achievement goals are not considered as personality traits and are viewed as cognitive representations sensitive to socio-contextual aspects and demands (Pintrich, 2000b;Darnon et al., 2012;Bardach et al., 2020;Urdan and Kaplan, 2020), this uncertainty stresses the need to understand why, in each different case, mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, performance-approach, and performanceavoidance goals show certain patterns of relations and, ultimately, why/how each one of them might have a peculiar influence on certain outcomes. ...
In school settings, adolescents recur to different sources of information to create their beliefs about future possibilities. Social comparison processes and personal goals related to achievement play an important role in shaping these beliefs. Drawing upon literature concerning the Big-Fish-Little-Pond effect and the Achievement Goal Theory, the present study aimed at understanding how adolescents attending the last year of secondary school (n = 689; Mage = 18.15; SD = 0.57) perceive their possibilities of potentially having a better future than their classmates. In particular, we sought to understand in what way this perception is influenced by students’ perceived relative position in their class—which accounts for the social comparison process—and its interaction with different types of achievement goals (mastery-approach goals, mastery-avoidance goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals). Results showed that perceived relative position mediated the relationship between the predictors (classmates’ average achievement and individual achievement) and future expectations. Furthermore, analyses of moderated mediation showed that both performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals reduced the impact of a low perceived relative position on future expectations, while mastery-approach and mastery-avoidance goals did not moderate its effect.
... For the growth-oriented teachers, it is not the outcome but the process that is the most important. At the same time, school-based education aims to ensure teaching and learning processes lead to the achievement of certain goals in terms of academic achievement (Rijksoverheid, 1963;Darnon et al., 2012). Therefore the focus of growth-oriented feedback, should include interventions on both process and result. ...
The pedagogical beliefs (e.g., beliefs or “mindsets” concerning the malleability of intelligence) that teachers hold may have a far-reaching impact on their teaching behavior. In general, two basic mindsets can be distinguished with regard to the malleability of intelligence: fixed (entity) and growth (incremental). In this article, we present two studies investigating the associations between teachers' mindset and (1) their appraisal of students' achievements and (2) the feedback they provide. Study 1 focuses on the associations between mindset and appraisal. The findings reveal an association between growth mindset and the appraisal of increasing student achievements. Study 2 investigates the impact of teachers' mindset on the amount and type of oral feedback they provide to their students. Contrarily to expectations, the findings reveal a significant negative correlation between mindset and the amount of feedback.
... Personal factors indicate individual differences and the relevance of the performance dimension (Garcia et al., 2013). An important individual difference, when it comes to social comparison of students, is setting performance goals (Darnon et al., 2012). While one student just wants to pass the exam, another works as hard as possible to get the highest grade possible. ...
Over the last years, the number of students has constantly risen while the number of lecturers remained steady. To the consequence are large-scale classes with often hundreds of students. Large-scale classes have didactical challenges such as providing effective feedback for the students’ learning success. This is in particular problematic, since feedback belongs to the most influential factors for the student learn-ing success. In order to overcome the challenges of providing feedback in large-scale classes, we sug-gest using an IT-based solution we label digital formative learning assessment tool (DFLAT). In this research-in-progress paper, we will show the development of this tool by using the method of action design research (ADR). More precisely, we will concentrate on the first part from the requirements gathering to the alpha-version. In order to collect the requirements, we conducted expert interviews with lecturers and students and also derived requirements from scientific literature. Based on the re-quirements, we will define the key design elements of the first version of DFLAT. The next steps in our research are then the intervention and evaluation of our alpha-version in a large-scale lecture. With our completed research, we aim to contribute to literature by developing a theory of design and action for providing individualized feedback for students in large-scale classes.
... Building a bridge between these two literatures, Study 3's findings reveal that the enabling condition involved in performance goals socialization is analogous to that of any socialization process: High-identifiers under the supervision of a performance-approach-oriented leaders may come to recognize performance-based goals as the social-normative achievement goals and come to integrate it. Another implication of such phenomenon is that clear-sighted subordinates under the supervision of a performance-approach-oriented leader may perceive performance-based goals as socially desirable and endorse them for self-presentation purpose (to gain positive evaluation; see Darnon, Dompnier, & Poortvliet, 2012). Since supervisors often try to secure compliance and conformity via authority (Michel, Wallace, & Rawlings, 2013), but subordinates often genuinely embrace their group-leaders' goals (Tyler, 2006), future research is needed to determine the extent to which performance goals socialization is a manifest or a latent phenomenon (Bender, 1967). ...
How are competitive goals transmitted over time? As most competence-relevant contexts (e.g., school) are hierarchy-relevant (e.g., teacher/students), supervisors’ performance-approach goals (desire to outperform others) should play a major role. We formulated a performance goals socialization hypothesis: The higher a supervisor’s performance-approach goals, the stronger the effects of time on followers’ performance-approach and -avoidance (desire not to be outperformed by others) goals. Study 1, involving coaches and their soccer players, showed that indeed a performance goals socialization phenomenon exists. Study 2, involving thesis supervisors and their Ph.D. students, showed its consequences: performance goals socialization reduced subordinates’ motivation and well-being over time. Study 3, involving video game team leaders and their players, showed its enabling condition: the stronger the subordinates’ identification to their team, the more pronounced the performance goals socialization. Study 4, involving schoolteachers and their pupils, showed its directional moderator: the higher the subordinates’ perceived self-competence, the higher the change in performance-approach goals over time, and the lower that in performance-avoidance goals. It is then crucial to consider social hierarchy when studying goal formation.
... While individuals can be characterized as having relatively weak or strong mastery orientations and, thus, carry a mastery personality that is quite stable, most evidence points in the direction of a situation-specific conceptualization of mastery goals because they are heavily driven by contextual characteristics of the achievement situation. For example, research has shown that the motivational climate at schools and the way performance of students is measured and rewarded serve as drivers for the adoption of specific achievement goals (Darnon et al. 2012). ...
... First, the university's function of "selecting the best students" is one factor that contributes to the psychological barriers faced by low SES students. (Darnon et al., 2009;Darnon, Dompnier, & Poortvliet, 2012;Dornbusch, Glasgow, & Lin, 1996; see also Batruch, Autin, & Butera, 2017). Generally, the educational system serves two distinct functions that can shape university practices. ...
The economic decline of the Great Recession has increased the need for a university degree, which can enhance individuals’ prospects of obtaining employment in a competitive, globalized market. Research in the social sciences has consistently demonstrated that students with low socio-economic status (SES) have fewer opportunities to succeed in university contexts compared to students with high SES. The present paper overviews the psychological barriers faced by low-SES students in higher education compared to high-SES students. Accordingly, the current article first reviews the psychological barriers faced by low-SES students in university contexts (in terms of emotional experiences, identity management, self-perception, and motivation). Second, we highlight the role that university contexts play in producing and reproducing these psychological barriers, as well as the performance gap observed between low- and high-SES students. Finally, we present three examples of psychological interventions that can potentially increase both the academic achievement and the quality of low-SES students’ experience and thus may be considered as methods for change.
... Student motivation at school has long interested educational researchers (Darnon et al., 2012;Hardre´, 2015;Maehr and Zusho, 2009), and there are competing theories about motivation and its relationship to understanding human behaviour (Eccles and Wigfield, 2002). Traditional distinctions between intrinsic motivation (driven by an internal locus of control such as an individual's goals, interests and enjoyment) and extrinsic motivation (driven by an external locus of control such as rewards and punishments) and their respective influence on motivation to achieve, have dominated much of the development of motivation theory (Ryan and Deci, 2000). ...
Although there is extensive literature on the relationship between student motivation and achievement, less is known about how secondary schools create conditions that enable diverse groups of students to do their personal best. This article reports research into the development of school leadership in New Zealand secondary schools to enable Indigenous Māori students to achieve educational success as Māori. Data collection included school goal-setting plans for students, in-class observations, student surveys and interviews. Analyses revealed school goals reflected low expectations for Māori achievement and little evidence of culturally responsive practices in classrooms. Interviews with Māori students highlighted perceptions that their schools had low expectations for them and their learning, while analysis of Māori student surveys indicated lower academic aspirations in comparison with European peers. These results are discussed critically alongside specific recommendations for further research on the multiple influences of mainstream secondary school contexts on educational achievement outcomes for Indigenous students.
... Accordingly, social anxiety is associated with social norms and role expectations, which are related to culture and social class. Social class has far received little attention in education, which is a gap that has been recently highlighted in the field of applied linguistics (Darnon, Dompnier & Poortvliet, 2012;Jury, Smeding, Court & Darnon, 2015).As noted by Grant (2001), political and social scientists define social class as the outcome of orthodox social-stratification models that categorise individuals into an array of hierarchical social categories. "Social class is understood to be embedded in social relations and as emergent in day-to-day activities, even if there is an objective reality of institutions and larger social structures and forces which shape the prospects of individuals acting within them" (Block & Corona, 2014, p. 34). ...
This study investigated the relationships between the social anxiety, social class and listening-test anxiety of students learning English as a foreign language. The aims of the study were to examine the relationship between listening-test anxiety and listening-test performance. The data were collected using an adapted Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale and a newly developed Foreign Language Social Anxiety Scale. The potential correlation between social anxiety and listening-test performance was investigated by the correlation coefficient rxy. A moderate positive correlation was found between students' social class and social anxiety. The results suggest that pedagogical methods suggested to lessen this anxiety were effective. There was also a clear relationship between social anxiety, listening-test anxiety and listening performance. This exploratory research has several pedagogical implications.
... For instance, a teacher may be tempted to set up a dynamic and competitive environment to promote performance goals in order to boost students' performance. However, considering that classes are social environments in which students interact, argue, and potentially disagree with each other (Darnon, Dompnier, & Poortvliet, 2012), such a goal structure in a classroom may very well annihilate the positive effects conflict could have on performance (as shown by . Importantly, the above research suggests that a mastery goal structure would represent a more appropriate environment for the emergence of epistemic conflict regulation and learning . ...
... Frameworks and theories from these fields can help us to understand the factors that influence implementation [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. One widely cited, evidence-based framework is iPARIHS [17], which identifies four key domains that can be used to determine why an intervention may or may not be successful: the innovation, the recipient, the context, and the facilitation [17]. ...
Background
Audit and feedback interventions may be strengthened using social interaction. The Calgary office of the Alberta Physician Learning Program (CPLP) developed a process for audit and group feedback for physicians. This paper extends previous work in which we developed a conceptual model of physician responses to audit and group feedback based on a qualitative analysis of six audit and group feedback sessions. The present study explored the mediating factors for successfully engaging physician groups in change planning through audit and group feedback.
Methods
To understand why some groups were more interactive than others, we completed a comparative case analysis of the six audit and group feedback projects from the prior study. We used framework analysis to build the case studies, triangulated our observations across data sources to validate findings, compared the case studies for similarities and differences that influenced social interaction (mediating factors), and thematically categorized mediating factors into an organizing framework.
Results
Mediating factors for socially interactive AGFS were a pre-existing relationship between the program team and the physician group, projects addressing important, actionable questions, easily interpretable data visualization in the reports, and facilitation of the groups that included reflective questioning. When these factors were in place (cases 1, 2A, 3), the audit and group feedback sessions were dynamic, with physicians sharing and comparing practices, and raising change cues (such as declaring commitments to de-prescribing, planning educational interventions, and improving documentation). In cases 2C–D, the mediating factors were less well established and in these cases, the sessions showed little physician reflection or change planning. We organized the mediating factors into a framework linking the factors for successful sessions to the conceptual model of physician behaviors which these mediating factors drive.
Conclusions
We propose the Calgary Audit and Feedback Framework as a practical tool to help foster socially constructed learning in audit and group feedback sessions. Ensuring that the four factors, relationship, question choice, data visualization, and facilitation, are considered for design and implementation of audit and group feedback will help physicians move from reactions to their data towards planning for change.
... From this perspective, social contagion phenomena can be explained as students' motivated behavior to maintain social relationships. Even for the theories that originally did not incorporate social aspects-for example, theories of achievement goals (Murayama & Elliot, 2018) and causal attribution theory (Weiner, 1985)-recent developments acknowledge the social influence in these motivational constructs (e.g., Darnon, Dompnier, & Marijn Poortvliet, 2012;Juvonen & Weiner, 1993). ...
This article provides an overview of research on social contagion in the context of education. We highlight the importance of students' social interactions in school, considering contagion between peers and contagion from teachers to students, using a motivation perspective. The framework of contagion is introduced broadly, followed by a focused review on social contagion in school environments, both peer and teacher related. Then we introduce methodology for mapping behavior change to networks that are a direct representation of school cohorts. We argue that these different lines of research can be coherently interpreted from a motivation perspective, suggesting the critical role of motivation in social contagion, in the context of education. We highlight the limited amount of research on positive contagion effects and we call for further investigation into ways in which to increase the contagion of positive, academic behaviors. Finally, the neuroscience behind social contagion, both for the mechanisms and the interactions, is discussed.
... Hence, we included them as covariates. Two achievement goals were controlled, mastery goals which pertain to the desire to acquire knowledge for intrapersonal purposes and performance goals, defined as the desire to outperform others (Darnon, Dompnier, & Marijn Poortvliet, 2012;Elliot et al., 1999). ...
Student engagement is a strong predictor of academic achievement and overall school success. Much of the research on engagement has focused on the role of personal psychological antecedents and social factors related to one’s teachers. Relatively fewer studies have focused on the influence of one’s classmates. Drawing on prior work on social contagion, this study aimed to examine whether classmates’ engagement influences one’s engagement. Questionnaires were administered to 848 secondary school students nested within 30 classes. Two waves of data were collected seven months apart. Multilevel modelling showed that a student’s Time 2 engagement was positively predicted by his/her classmates’ engagement at Time 1, providing evidence for the social contagion of engagement. These findings held even after controlling for autoregressor effects and other relevant covariates such as demographic factors and achievement goals. Our results suggest that students’ engagement in school is contagious and could be transmitted among classmates.
... Furthermore, suggestions have begun to emerge from a relatively recent line of research regarding the influence achievement goals may have on social outcomes, in both positive and negative ways (e.g., Barrera & Schuster, 2018;Darnon et al., 2012;Gonçalves et al., 2017;Poortvliet & Darnon, 2010;Shin & Ryan, 2014). For example, students endorsing mastery goals may be perceived by peers as more attractive cooperation partners with a higher social status, while negative peer perceptions have been reported about students endorsing performance-approach goals (Barrera & Schuster, 2018), and students endorsing performance-avoidance goals have had a lower likelihood of being named as a friend by peers (Shin & Ryan, 2014). ...
The purpose of this thesis was to increase understanding about the infuence temperamental reward and punishment sensitivities may exert on motivation in a learning context. Following theory and findings from temperament research, reward sensitivity was viewed as diferentiated into dimensions defined by the source of reward. Accordingly, an instrument
with scales for measuring punishment sensitivity and two main dimensions of reward sensitivity, compiled from items in previous temperament research, was taken into use and validated. Motivation was approached as students’ relatively stable motivational tendencies (i.e., achievement goal orientations), and appraisals of domain- and course-specifc interest, strain, and effort.
The thesis comprises three original articles, reporting research conducted among students of different ages and educational stages. Two of the articles consist of two studies utilising diferent data sets. In Article I, the dimensional structure of temperamental sensitivities was examined among general upper-secondary students (Study 1; N = 157) and university
students (Study 2; N = 506). Further, in Study 2, the predictive effects of reward and punishment sensitivities on achievement goal orientations (mastery-intrinsic, mastery-extrinsic, performance-approach, performance-avoidance, work-avoidance) were also inspected. In Article II, the developmental interrelationships between temperamental sensitivities and achievement goal orientations (mastery, performance-approach, performance-avoidance, work-avoidance) were followed over the first three years of elementary school (N = 212). Finally, in Article III, the impact of temperamental sensitivities on appraisals of interest, strain, and effort was investigated among eighth-graders in the domain of mathematics (Study 1; N = 268), and over the duration of a course in four different subjects among general upper-secondary students (Study 2; N = 155).
Variable-centred methodological approaches revealed the following findings. Firstly, factor analyses confirmed the assumed factorial structure of punishment sensitivity and two main dimensions of reward sensitivity, namely, interindividual reward sensitivity and intraindividual reward sensitivity. Interindividual reward is defined as being derived from other
people’s perceived or actual attitudes and actions, such as attention or praise, whereas the source of intraindividual reward is within the individual, in their own inner states and actions, such as enthusiasm and excitement over one’s own successes, and enjoyment of and seeking out novelty.
Secondly, in all studies, a pattern emerged showing the temperamental sensitivities to be associated with motivation in a consistent fashion, regardless of the age of the participants. Interindividual reward sensitivity was connected with lower mastery strivings, higher concerns over the adequacy of one’s performance respective to others (i.e., performance-approach and performance-avoidance orientations) and work avoidance, as well as with higher psychological strain in the course context. Likewise, punishment sensitivity, although somewhat less related to motivation than expected, showed links with heightened performance concerns and higher experiences of strain in the domain context. In contrast, intraindividual reward sensitivity was found to be associated with higher mastery strivings
as well as higher interest appraisals and willingness to exert effort.
Overall, the findings support considering reward sensitivity as comprising dimensions based on the source of reward, and indicate that temperamental sensitivities have a role in guiding motivation in adaptive and maladaptive ways, academically and as regards well-being. It is
therefore argued that these sensitivities should be taken into account as antecedents to students’ motivation, in both educational research and practice.
... When teachers emphasize that everyone can master tasks through collective and interdependent learning, students may look up to prosocial peers rather than peers who are disruptive and goofing off. In contrast, when teachers do not emphasize classroom mastery goals, students may show distrust of their peers, even their friends, and exhibit negative behaviors, such as withholding helpful academic information from classmates (Darnon et al., 2012;Levy-Tossman et al., 2007;Murdock et al., 2008;Roseth et al., 2008). Similarly, in the absence of a positive structure enforced by the teacher, disruptive behavior might be a tactic students use to stand out among peers and be seen as cool. ...
This study investigated how two aspects of the classroom environment (teachers' emphasis on mastery goals and descriptive norms (i.e., the average student disruptive, prosocial, and achievement-related behavior in a classroom), moderated the relationship between student behaviors and coolness. The sample included 976 students nested in 54 fifth-and sixth-grade classrooms. Students completed peer nominations of coolness and three behaviors (prosocial, disrup-tive, and academic achievement). Students reported on the extent to which their teacher emphasized mastery goals in the classroom. The extent to which each of these three behaviors correlated with coolness varied across classrooms. The variability between classrooms in the behavioral correlates of coolness was not related to descriptive norms but was related to classroom mastery goals. In classrooms with a high-mastery goal emphasis, good grades and prosocial behavior were more likely to be perceived as cool. Our findings also suggest the need for future studies to examine the direct effect of prosocial descriptive norms on nominations of coolness. This study adds to a growing literature on how teaching practices matter for peer relationships in the classroom.
... Moreover, the threatening social comparison that emerges when working on identical information may orient students toward competitive performance goals. Performance goal orientation may render the interaction with others less constructive [84] and enhance the willingness to exploit the partner's knowledge [85]. Of course, these are speculations and future research should design experiments that may directly test these ideas. ...
A partner’s competence should logically favor cooperative learning. However, research in cooperative learning has shown that a partner’s competence may or may not activate a threatening social comparison and yields dual effects: It is beneficial when students work on complementary information while it is detrimental when students work on identical information. Two studies conducted at elementary school (study 1 with 24 fourth graders working on encyclopedic texts, and study 2 with 28 fifth graders working on argumentative texts) replicated that interaction: Information distribution (complementary vs. identical information) moderated the relationship between partner’s competence and pupils’ learning outcomes. The relation between partner’s competence and students’ performances was positive when working on complementary information, but negative when working on identical information. A third study confirmed that working on identical information led to a competitive social comparison whereas complementary information reinforced the pupils’ cooperation perception. Contributions to cooperative learning research are discussed in terms of the competitive comparisons that may arise during cooperative learning at elementary school.
... Notably, neuropsychological research is increasingly recognising sensitivity to social reward (conceptualised as rejection or acceptance feedback and social approval) alongside or instead of tangible incentives, such as monetary rewards (e.g., Kujawa et al., 2014;Flores et al., 2015;Oumeziane et al., 2017), highlighting the importance of individual differences in this sensitivity. Given the social nature of the school environment (Darnon et al., 2012), it appears fruitful to consider the influence of sensitivity to this kind of reward on students' motivational experiences in a learning context. The multidimensional structure of reward sensitivity is theorised as being due to the complex human environment, in which different goals are potentially adaptive, thus giving rise to a "demand" for different, reward-related approach strategies (see, Krupić et al., 2016a). ...
The present research examined the connections between temperament (punishment sensitivity; interindividual reward sensitivity; intraindividual reward sensitivity), students' domain-and course-specific motivational appraisals (interest, strain, effort), and performance, in two studies. Study 1 explored the relationships between temperamental sensitivities, motivational appraisals, and task achievement among secondary students (N = 268) in the domain of mathematics, using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) for the analyses. Study 2 was conducted longitudinally among upper-secondary students (N = 155) during a course in four key school subjects. Subject interest was included alongside the temperamental sensitivities as a predictor of course-specific motivation and course grades, and the data were analysed with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Previous achievement was controlled in both studies. The findings showed temperamental sensitivities to be differentially linked with motivational appraisals. Punishment sensitivity in Study 1, and interindividual reward sensitivity (sensitivity to reward dependent on others' approval or attention) in Study 2 were found to have an effect on psychological strain. In both studies, interest and effort were predicted by intraindividual reward sensitivity (positive responsiveness to novelty and own successes). In Study 2, subject interest was a consistent predictor of higher course interest and lower strain. In both studies, connections were found between strain and lower performance. The findings suggest individual characteristics may predispose students to certain motivational experiences, and contribute to educational outcomes, in both domain and course contexts and across subject content.
... Orientacja na wykonanie oznacza, że jednostka w dążeniu do osiągnięć koncentruje się na prezentacji swoich umiejętności i chwaleniu się przed innymi, podczas gdy orientacja na sprawność oznacza dążenie do samorozwoju i doskonalenia swoich umiejętności. Dotychczas przeprowadzone badania wykazują, że orientacja na wykonanie -w przeciwieństwie do orientacji na sprawność -może mieć niekorzystny wpływ na dobrostan nastolatków, ich relacje z rówieśnikami (Darnon, Dompnier i Poortvliet, 2012;Jagacinski i Nicholls, 1987; oraz wyniki w nauce (por. Darnon, Butera i Harackiewicz, 2007). ...
In social and economic sciences, materialism is considered to be an unambiguously cultural phenomenon. The authors of this paper present the possibility of looking at it in a different way, namely from the evolutionary point of view, which allows to ap-proach materialism in terms of its functionality in satisfying diverse needs. First, the fundamental conceptualisations of materialism are reviewed (the traditional ones by Belk, Richins & Dawson, and Kasser & Ryan, and a new one by Shrum). The descrip-tion of the cultural background of materialism which follows provides a starting point for presenting the proposition that materialism may also have a biological background, which encourages an analysis of the phenomenon through its functions and significance for solving specific problems appearing in the daily lives of humans. To support the proposition, evolutionary concepts and theories are quoted as well as empirical findings explaining the adaptive meaning of materialistic views and behaviors. In the conclusion, the authors discuss the consequences of materialism, presenting them from both the cultural and evolutionary points of view.
... Sementara itu, tujuan merupakan kunci dalam mencapai prestasi (Santrock, 2011). Dibutuh-kan sebuah kompetensi agar individu menghasilkan prestasi yang tinggi dan terbaik dibandingkan orang lain (Darnon, Dompnier, & Poortvliet, 2012). Kompetensi tersebut berguna sebagai standar yang digunakan untuk performa evaluasi individu (Ames, 1988;Elliot & Dweck, 1988;Elliot & McGregor, 2001). ...
Achievement goal orientation (AGO) is the goal orientation to achieve achievement. This study aims to explore information about the achievement goal orientation (AGO) measurement tool. This study combines two AGO measurements (original and revised) developed by Midgley et al (1998, 2000) based on the Manual for the patterns of adaptive learning scales (PALS). In this study only measured two of the three dimensions analyzed, namely AGO performance and AGO mastery. The sample in this study amounted to 544 people from three junior high schools in West Jakarta. Twenty-one items (10 items AGO performance and 11 items AGO mastery) were tested for validity, internal structure, and invariance measurement. The results of the validity of the CFA found that AGO performance and AGO mastery were not appropriate to measure the dimensions of AGO. Based on the results of internal structure analysis, the bifactor model is more valid and appropriate in measuring AGO performance and AGO mastery. The results of the Bifactor AGO performance analysis are divided into factors of "doing your best" and "looking smart" while AGO mastery is divided into "liking the task" and "understanding the task". There are only five AGO performance items and seven unidimensional AGO mastery items. In the inter-gender validity test, it was found that men are oriented towards AGO performance while women are oriented towards AGO mastery. MGCFA analysis results that AGO performance is valid up to the metric invariance stage while AGO mastery is not invariance.
Abstrak
Achievement goal orientation (AGO) adalah orientasi tujuan untuk mencapai prestasi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengeksplorasi informasi mengenai alat ukur achievement goal orientation (AGO). Penelitian ini menggabungkan dua pengukuran AGO (original dan direvisi) yang dikembangkan oleh Midgley et al (1998, 2000) berdasarkan Manual for the patterns of adaptive learning scales (PALS). Pada penelitian ini hanya mengukur dua dari tiga dimensi yang dianalisis yaitu AGO performance dan AGO mastery. Sampel pada penelitian ini berjumlah 544 orang dari tiga sekolah menengah pertama di Jakarta Barat. Keduapuluh satu item (10 item AGO performance dan 11 item AGO mastery) diuji validitas, struktur internal, dan measurement invariance. Hasil validitas CFA ditemukan bahwa AGO performance dan AGO mastery tidak sesuai mengukur dimensi AGO. Berdasarkan hasil analisis struktur internal, model bifaktor lebih valid dan sesuai dalam mengukur AGO performance dan AGO mastery. Hasil analisis bifaktor AGO performance terbagi menjadi faktor “melakukan yang terbaik” dan “terlihat pintar” sedangkan AGO mastery terbagi menjadi “menyukai tugas” dan “memahami tugas”. Hanya terdapat lima item AGO performance dan tujuh item AGO mastery yang bersifat unidimensional. Pada uji validitas antar gender, dihasilkan bahwa laki-laki berorientasi pada AGO performance sedangkan perempuan berorientasi pada AGO mastery. Analisis MGCFA dihasilkan bahwa AGO performance valid sampai tahap metric invariance sedangkan AGO mastery tidak invariance.
... More recent research suggests that endorsing learning (vs. performance) goals also shapes how people behave in interpersonal interactions (for reviews see, Darnon, Dompnier, & Marijn Poortvliet, 2012;Poortvliet & Darnon, 2010). For instance, in uncertain, effortful situations (like interracial interactions), learning (vs. ...
Objective:
Interactions between members of different racial and ethnic groups are often stressful. These interactions are stressful, in part, because they contribute to social identity threat-the fear of being judged or treated negatively based on one's social group membership. Previous work separately suggests that the diversity of an interaction partner's friendship network and the goals that people set for themselves influence social identity threat. Bringing these two bodies of work together, the present research examines whether adopting a learning (vs. performance) goal mitigates identity threat for Black people anticipating an interaction with a White partner who had a racially homogenous (vs. diverse) friendship network (a context previously shown to arouse identity threat).
Method:
Two experimental studies (N = 310) were conducted. Black adults (Mage = 29.66, 64% women) primed with either a performance or learning goal anticipated an interaction with a White partner who had either a racially diverse (Study 1) or racially homogenous (Studies 1 and 2) friendship network. After, we assessed participants' social identity threat and anticipated interaction experiences.
Results:
Black adults primed with learning (vs. performance) goals expected to be perceived more positively by their interaction partner and expected to have more positive interaction experiences when they anticipated an interaction with a White partner who had a racially homogenous network of friends.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that learning goals can mitigate threat among Black individuals within an otherwise identity-threatening interaction context, thus opening the door for positive interracial contact in the future even in the context of challenging interracial interactions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
... Notably, neuropsychological research is increasingly recognising sensitivity to social reward (conceptualised as rejection or acceptance feedback and social approval) alongside or instead of tangible incentives, such as monetary rewards (e.g., Flores, Münte, & Doñamayor, 2015;Kujawa, Arfer, Klein, & Proudfit, 2014;Oumeziane, Schryer-Praga, & Foti, 2017), highlighting the importance of individual differences in this sensitivity. Given the social nature of the school environment (Darnon, Dompnier, & Poortvliet, 2012), it appears fruitful to consider the influence of sensitivity to this kind of reward on students' motivational experiences in a learning context. ...
The present research examined the connections between temperament (punishment sensitivity; interindividual reward sensitivity; intraindividual reward sensitivity), students' domain-and course-specific motivational appraisals (interest, strain, effort), and performance, in two studies. Study 1 explored the relationships between temperamental sensitivities, motivational appraisals, and task achievement among secondary students (N = 268) in the domain of mathematics, using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) for the analyses. Study 2 was conducted longitudinally among upper-secondary students (N = 155) during a course in four key school subjects. Subject interest was included alongside the temperamental sensitivities as a predictor of course-specific motivation and course grades, and the data were analysed with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Previous achievement was controlled in both studies. The findings showed temperamental sensitivities to be differentially linked with motivational appraisals. Punishment sensitivity in Study 1, and interindividual reward sensitivity (sensitivity to reward dependent on others' approval or attention) in Study 2 were found to have an effect on psychological strain. In both studies, interest and effort were predicted by intraindividual reward sensitivity (positive responsiveness to novelty and own successes). In Study 2, subject interest was a consistent predictor of higher course interest and lower strain. In both studies, connections were found between strain and lower performance. The findings suggest individual characteristics may predispose students to certain motivational experiences, and contribute to educational outcomes, in both domain and course contexts and across subject content.
... This result carries out important signifi- cance, given the prominence of performance-approach goals in academic contexts and beyond (Alon, 2009;, as getting access to a high diploma or securing an advantageous job position requires that you distinguish yourself positively from your peers. While the academic evaluative processes are com- monly considered as fair and as providing students with equal opportunities whatever their race, gender, and economic back- ground, a growing body of work reveals how the actual practices of the academic system actually hinder upward social mobility and reproduce social inequalities ( Bourdieu et al., 1990;Darnon, Dompnier, & Poortvliet, 2012;). The present research brings further evidence in favor of this conclusion, by showing the role of one of these practices, competition, in the production of the social class achievement gap, supporting its role in the perpetuation of this arbitrary hierarchy. ...
Recent research has documented the academic disadvantage of low social class students, whose performance is impaired by competitive educational practices. A cross 2 experiments, we examined whether the pursuit of performance-approach goals (aiming to out perform others) favors the emergence of this achievement gap. We first manipulated low versus high relative social class positions; participants then solved a reasoning test, for which they had been incited (or not) to outperform others. In Experiment 1, carried out among French students, participants primed with a low relative social class obtained a lower performance than those primed with a high relative social class-but only when performance-approach goals had been made salient. Results of Experiment 2 replicated this pattern among American participants. These findings reveal that the pursuit of performance-approach goals can fuel the social class achievement gap. We consider the advantages associated with the experimental manipulation of relative social class, and discuss how educational practices and policies may jeopardize-in an invisible way-the potential of lower social class students.
... Exploitation orientation differs from help orientation in that the individual tends to give low-quality information to the other and-at the same time-expects to receive high-quality information (Poortvliet et al. 2007). Importantly, an increase in exploitation orientation is one of the key mechanisms through which performance goals impair interpersonal behaviors (for a review, see Darnon et al. 2012). Simply put, performance goals prompt exploitation orientation, which in turn drives individuals to tactically deceive others or withhold information from them (compared to a mastery goal and a no-goal experimental condition; Poortvliet et al. 2007, Study 1). ...
We adopted an achievement goal complex framework (studying achievement goals and reasons connected to goals) to determine when and why performance goals predict exploitation of others’ knowledge. We hypothesized that: (i) when selective assessment is used (exams aiming to select a limited number of individuals), the link between performance goals and exploitation orientation is stronger; (ii) the reason why is that selective assessment fosters performance goals regulated by controlled reasons. Study 1 (N = 166) supported these hypotheses in a “real world” environment, comparing students enrolled in programs using non-selective versus selective assessment (but having a majority of common courses). Then, an experimental causal-chain-like design was used. In Study 2 (N = 187), presenting an intelligence test as selective (vs. [self-]evaluative) predicted controlled reasons connected to performance goals. In Study 3 (N = 192), inducing performance goals using controlling (vs. autonomy-supportive) language predicted exploitation orientation, indirectly impairing information-sharing behaviors. The results contribute to the understanding of both the structural antecedents and interpersonal consequences of achievement goal complexes.
Although approach forms of achievement goals (mastery and performance goals) have been shown to predict academic achievement in college, recent research underscores that these associations are rather weak and not consistently observed. The present study tests students’ social class (in the present research, generational status) as a moderator of the relationships between both mastery-approach goals and performance-approach goals and final grade. One hundred students (45 first-generation students and 55 continuing-generation students, Mage = 18.9, SD = 1.52) answered an achievement goal scale related to one of their classes at the beginning of the year. Their final grade for this class was obtained three months later. As expected, performance-approach goals positively predicted final grade only for upper-class students, while mastery-approach goals tend to do so for lower-class students, supporting the idea that different kinds of motivation could predict students’ achievement depending on their social class.
The purpose of this study was to identify sixth graders' motivational profiles based on achievement goals and self-efficacy (n = 275) and to examine how these profiles relate to students' attitudes about social interdependence (cooperation, competition) and socio-cognitive conflict regulation (epistemic, competitive-relational, protective-relational). Latent profile analysis identified four profiles—(1) low mastery-approach goals with average other scores (Low Mastery), (2) high scores on all variables (High All), (3) high self-efficacy and mastery-approach goals (High Self-efficacy and Mastery), and (4) average scores on all variables (Average All). As expected, cooperative attitudes predicted greater likelihood of membership into profiles with higher mastery-approach goals and self-efficacy. The High Self-efficacy and Mastery profile showed the lowest level of less adaptive conflict regulation (competitive-relational and protective-relational regulations). Results highlight the importance of promoting students' cooperative attitudes, which are conducive to forging positive motivational profiles and thereby minimizing the use of relational regulation.
Aim: The aim of this work was to evaluate the sensitivity of Pacu fingerlings (Piaractus mesopotamicus) by measuring the effects of median lethal concentration (LC50) of atrazine (ATZ - 28.58 mg/L) after acute exposure (up to 96 h).
Materials and Methods: The fish were exposed to the LC50 of ATZ for 96 h (28.58 mg/L) in a static system. During the experiment, the fingerlings were randomly distributed in four glass tanks (50 L) containing dechlorinated water. Four glass tanks were for the control group, and four were for the ATZ-exposed group (n=4 per glass tank), given a total number of 16 animals tested per group. The genotoxicity was evaluated by micronucleus (MN) test in erythrocytes from peripheral blood. Qualitative and semi-quantitative histopathological analyses, and also ultrastructural study, were applied in liver and kidney samples. Finally, the content of heat shock protein (Hsp70) in the liver was evaluated by the western blotting method.
Results: The morphological alterations in the liver, which was associated with increased expression of Hsp70, included nuclear and cytoplasmic vacuolization, cytoplasmic hyaline inclusions, and necrosis. The kidney presented edema and tubular cell degeneration with cytoplasmic hyaline inclusion. The semi-quantitative histopathological analyses indicated that the liver was more sensitive than kidney to ATZ-induced damage. Ultrastructural analysis showed that ATZ caused membrane alterations in several organelles and increased the number of lysosomes in hepatocytes and kidney proximal tubular cells. Nevertheless, no significant difference was observed in MN frequency in erythrocytes comparing treated and control groups.
Conclusion: These results indicated that ATZ-induced damage to the kidney and liver function, ATZ at the concentration tested did not induce a significant difference in MN frequency in Pacu erythrocytes comparing treated and control groups, and also that Pacu fingerlings may be a good bioindicator for testing freshwater contamination.
Fondée sur les Théories de la Comparaison sociale (Festinger, 1954), de l'Identité Sociale (Tajfel, 1970) et de l'Auto-Catégorisation (Turner, 1987), cette Thèse défend l'idée de l'influence du contexte de comparaison dans la construction des perceptions et des conduites scolaires. Particulièrement, et selon le genre, le niveau d'auto-catégorisation (intergroupe vs intragroupe) modifie le concept de soi scolaire, scientifique et littéraire, le rappel de notes mais aussi les choix d'orientation (Article 1). Les filles s'évaluent comme plus douées en lettres que les garçons et les garçons comme plus doués en sciences que les filles dans un contexte intergroupe par rapport à un contexte intragroupe. Avec des mesures plus « objectives », ce pattern de résultats est identique pour les notes et s'inverse pour les choix d'orientation. Ces différences de genre se retrouvent également pour les sois agentique et relationnel dans un contexte collectif et s'estompent là aussi dans un contexte plus individuel (Article 2). Ainsi, pour des élèves en France, les différences de genre ne sont pas amoindries (Eagly & Wood, 1999), mais perdurent lorsqu'une identité collective est induite. L'auto-stéréotypie ou l'adhésion au stéréotype de l'endogroupe explique alors ces différences de genre sur les concepts de soi agentique et relationnel. De plus, dans cette étude réalisée en école d'ingénieur, la position sociale modifie les auto-perceptions des filles sur un soi scientifique dans un contexte collectif, illustrant des effets de contraste par rapport au groupe d'appartenance. Le soi collectif et non le soi individuel est guide des attitudes d'inégalités envers les groupes sociaux, mesurées par la dominance sociale et le sexisme moderne (Article 2). Les liens entre comparaison sociale et buts d'accomplissement sont alors étudiés et précisent qu'une comparaison intergroupe implique plus l'adoption de buts de performance-approche qu'une comparaison intragroupe alors que l'inverse se produit pour des buts de maîtrise (Article 3). Ces résultats seront enfin discutés au regard des questions entourant l'existence de réelles différences de genre liées au contexte, et d'identités multiples influençant différemment les cognitions et attitudes.
La plupart des discours scolaires insistent davantage sur l’importance de faire des efforts par rapport au fait d’être compétent pour réussir. Nous nous sommes intéressés à la façon dont les enseignants évaluent l’effort et la compétence en milieu scolaire, afin de voir si l’effort permet de réussir. Pour cela, nous nous sommes ancrés dans le modèle de jugement de l’utilité (réussite scolaire) et de la désirabilité sociale (appréciation scolaire), en étudiant l’effort en tant que norme et comportement scolaire. Selon nos hypothèses, l’effort, contrairement à la compétence, aurait une faible valeur d’utilité sociale, tandis qu’il aurait une forte valeur de désirabilité sociale. De plus, l’adhésion à l’idéologie méritocratique modèrerait ces jugements. Nos résultats ont montré que l’effort a une forte valeur en termes de désirabilité sociale, et une valeur assez instable en termes d’utilité sociale, contrairement à la compétence. Par ailleurs, nos résultats ont montré que pour les personnes adhérant à l’idéologie méritocratique, l’effort ne serait pas un moyen de réussir, mais permettrait d’acquérir des compétences pour réussir.
In the educational system, social inequalities are reproduced and legitimated. As a consequence, the implementation of interventions that reduce the SES achievement gap in education may face important ideological barriers. The purpose of the present paper is to test the belief in school meritocracy as one of these barriers. In three studies, participants' willingness to see an equalizing pedagogical intervention implemented in one's own university (Study 1) or in one's own children's school (Studies 2 and 3) and their intention to engage in this implementation were measured. Results indicated that a higher belief in school meritocracy (but not meritocracy endorsement, study 1) predicted lower engagement in the implementation of an equalizing method. This is not observed for inequality-maintaining interventions (Studies 2 and 3), sustaining the role of descriptive school meritocracy in the perpetuation of social inequalities within education.
This survey study conducted in vocational and academic secondary schools investigated the association of 1,060 Thai students’ self-reports of mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goal orientations with the salience and content of their hoped-for possible selves reflecting existence, relatedness, and growth needs. Results of mixed-design MANCOVA indicated mastery orientation to be higher for students identifying possible selves reflecting growth or relatedness needs than existence needs as most salient, and performance-approach orientation to be higher for students identifying possible selves reflecting existence rather than growth needs as most salient. Also, school type interacted with students’ most salient possible selves reflecting existence, relatedness, or growth needs to relate to their achievement goal orientations. The results are discussed in terms of the classic person versus situation approach to the study of achievement goals in schools, and their implications for classroom and school administration.
Extant literature has demonstrated the importance of individual and school-related factors in improving mathematics achievement. Despite this, there is still a gap in research to understand the mediating role of educational aspiration in mathematics achievement. The aim of the present study is to test the relationship between self-efficacy, school resources, positive school climate and mathematics achievement as mediated by learner aspirations. Using a nationally representative sample of 12,514 learners from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and structural equation modelling, we determined the model fit of a mediated relationship between self-efficacy, school resources, positive school climate and mathematics achievement. Findings from the structural equation modelling in addition to good fit indices revealed that self-efficacy, learner aspiration and school resources were positively related to mathematics achievement. However, there was an unexpected negative relationship between positive school climate and achievement. Learner educational aspirations mediated the relationship between positive self-efficacy, positive school climate with achievement. In order to improve educational achievement, interventions must include both the school and individual factors where interactions between positive self-efficacy and aspirations contribute to improved learner achievement.
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.
Background
Contemporary mobile health (mHealth) interventions use various behavior change techniques to promote healthier lifestyles. Social comparison is one of the techniques that is consensually agreed to be effective in engaging the general population in mHealth interventions. However, it is unclear how this strategy can be best used to engage preadolescents. Nevertheless, this strategy has great potential for this target audience, as they are particularly developing their social skills.
Objective
This study aims to evaluate how social comparison drives preadolescents’ engagement with an mHealth app.
Methods
We designed a 12-week crossover experiment in which we studied 3 approaches to implementing behavior change via social comparison. This study was hosted in a school environment to leverage naturally existing social structures among preadolescents. During the experiment, students and teachers used an mHealth tool that awarded points for performing healthy activities. Participants could read their aggregated scores on a leaderboard and compare their performance with others. In particular, these leaderboards were tweaked to implement 3 approaches of the social comparison technique. The first approach focused on intragroup comparison (ie, students and teachers competing against each other to obtain the most points), whereas the other two approaches focused on intergroup comparison (ie, classes of students and their mentoring teachers collaborating to compete against other classes). Additionally, in the third approach, the performance of teachers was highlighted to further increase students’ engagement through teachers’ natural exemplary function. To obtain our results, we used linear modeling techniques to analyze the dropout rates and engagement levels for the different approaches. In such analyses, we also considered individual participant traits.
Results
Our sample included 313 participants—290 students (92.7%) and 23 teachers (7.3%). It was found that student engagement levels dropped over time and declined during holidays. However, students seemed to monitor the intergroup competitions more closely than the intragroup competitions, as they, on average, checked the mHealth app more often when they were engaged in team-based comparisons. Students, on average, performed the most unique activities when they were engaged in the second intergroup setting, perhaps because their teachers were most active in this setting. Moreover, teachers seemed to play an important role in engaging their students, as their relationship with their students influenced the engagement of the students.
Conclusions
When using social comparison to engage preadolescents with an mHealth tool, an intergroup setting, rather than an intragroup competition, motivated them to engage with the app but did not necessarily motivate them to perform more activities. It seems that the number of unique activities that preadolescents perform depends on the activeness of a role model. Moreover, this effect is amplified by preadolescents’ perceptions of closeness to that role model.
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(semes- ter- or class-focused) achievement goal adoption. All three studies consistently found that a cooperative attitude positively predictedmastery-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 notemerge consistentlywas that of an individualistic attitude as a positive predictor ofmastery-avoidance goals.Implications of thepresentwork for future empirical and theoreticaldevel- opment both in the social interdependence and the achievement goal literature are discussed.
Understanding the factors that create and maintain social inequalities is a core question in
social psychology. Research has so far mainly focused on the role of individual stereotyping,
prejudice and discrimination. However, there is growing evidence that, beyond the “biased” acts
of prejudiced individuals, structural factors related to the very functioning of institutions and
organizations can play a role in the reproduction of social inequalities. Indeed, in industrialized
countries, society is structured in a way that reflects the perspective of, is organized by, and
benefits the dominant groups. In this Research Topic, we propose to bring together researchers
who study how institutional ideologies and practices promote norms, rules and opportunities
that favor dominant groups and disadvantage dominated groups. This question can be tackled
by work investigating how institutional practices (e.g., grading, tracking, recruitment, …) and
ideologies (e.g., meritocracy, individualism, protestant work ethic, …) shape the psychological
experience of (dis)advantaged people. Moreover, another interesting venue is represented by
work investigating how the institutional practices and ideologies are enacted by the agents
(e.g., teachers, recruiters, leaders, …). Taking the perspective of agents allows to investigate how
institutional functioning constrains the actual opportunities they provide to (dis)advantaged
individuals. This could also highlight how institutional ideologies and practices are incorporated
by agents, thus revealing mechanisms of change vs. perpetuation of the institutional functioning.
Achievement has been, and remains, a topic of continuing concern for societies, institutions, groups, and the individuals who compose them. Factors that result in achievement are many and varied, but it is widely assumed that one of its primary elements is motivation. Numerous theoretical perspectives on the nature and nurture of motivation exist; one theory that has garnered considerable attention in recent years is achievement goal theory (also referred to as goal orientation theory). We summarize here the major ndings and assumptions, both past and current, of this theoretical perspective and its implications for schooling. We conclude with a commentary on remaining challenges and future directions.
The present study investigated motivational influences on help-seeking behavior in math classrooms, focusing on early adolescents' perceptions of the benefits and threats associated with such behavior. Seventh and 8th graders (N = 203) responded to a questionnaire on perceptions of social and cognitive competence, achievement goals, attitudes, and avoidance of and adaptive help-seeking behavior in math class. Both threats and benefits were important influences on avoidance of help-seeking behavior, whereas only benefits predicted adaptive help seeking. Findings indicated that perceived threats and benefits partially mediated the effects of relative ability goals, task-focused goals, extrinsic goals, and perceptions of cognitive competence on avoidance of help seeking. Perceived benefits partially mediated the effects of task-focused goals on adaptive help seeking. Social competence had an indirect effect on avoidance of help seeking. Results illustrate the importance of linking cognitive, motivational, and social characteristics of students to provide a fuller understanding of adolescent help seeking in math.
Currently, there is a debate about which types of achievement goals promote optimal motivation. A number of theorists argue for a mastery goal perspective focusing on the adaptive consequences of mastery goals and the maladaptive consequences of performance goals. Others endorse a multiple goal perspective in which both mastery and performance goals can be beneficial. The purpose of the present investigation was to review why this debate has emerged and to offer a comprehensive test of the mastery vs. multiple goal perspectives. In Study 1, a correlational approach was employed to identify the optimal goals for college participants to adopt for a learning activity. In Study 2, an experimental approach was employed to identify the optimal goals to assign for the same activity. Each study revealed benefits of both mastery and performance goals, providing support for the multiple goal perspective.
The types of goals that students adopt in educational settings and the consequences of those goals on 2 important educational outcomes - performance and intrinsic motivation - are discussed. In the case of performance, we briefly review and evaluate a large body of theory and research conducted by other investigators. In particular, we consider the possibility that some commonly accepted conclusions about the effects of achievement goals are premature. In the case of intrinsic motivation, we describe a theoretical model that has guided our own work on this topic and provide some recent experimental results. We believe that this model and our experimental results can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of goals and optimal motivation. Finally, we return to the college classroom environment and examine the consequences of goals for both performance and intrinsic motivation, offering a broader analysis of success in college courses.
In this paper, we examine the relations between goal orientation theory (i.e., mastery and performance goals) and academic cheating. After reviewing basic demographic characteristics of students who engage in academic cheating, we examine the relations of achievement goals to cheating. Results generally indicate that mastery goals are related to lesser cheating, whereas performance goals are related to higher incidences of cheating. However, the complex relations between various levels of measurement of goals (i.e., personal goals, classroom goal structures, and schoolwide goal structures) and different types of cheating illustrate that these relations are not always as predictable as one would hope. Implications for future research are discussed.
Most contemporary achievement goal conceptualizations consist of a performance goal versus mastery goal dichotomy. The present research offers an alternative framework by partitioning the performance goal orientation into independent approach and avoidance motivational orientations. Two experiments investigated the predictive utility of the proposed approach-avoidance achievement goal conceptualization in the intrinsic motivation domain. Results from both experiments supported the proposed framework; only performance goals grounded in the avoidance of failure undermined intrinsic motivation. Task involvement was validated as a mediator of the observed effects on intrinsic motivation. Ramifications for the achievement goal approach to achievement motivation and future research avenues are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Socio-Cognitive ConflictTwo Forms of Conflict RegulationsTwo Goals Predicting Conflict RegulationsTwo Functions of Educational OrganisationsConclusions
AcknowledgementsReferences
Classroom practices believed to affect student motivation were assessed for 24 upper elementary school teachers during a unit on fractions. Two groups of mathematics “reform-minded” teachers participated in professional development programs—in either an intensive intervention or an intervention involving primarily teacher support. A 3rd group of teachers implemented traditional, textbased instruction and was not involved in any intervention. For most practices assessed, the 2 reform-minded groups of teachers did not differ significantly from each other, but both differed from the traditional teachers. The reform-minded teachers emphasized effort, mastery, and understanding more; encouraged student autonomy more; and created a psychologically safer environment than the traditional teachers did. The teachers in the intensive intervention, which included training in motivation, made more accurate judgments of students' motivation than the other reform-minded teachers did. There was modest evidence that the teachers who had had only minimal training in reform-minded practices had negative effects on students' motivation (e.g., lower self-confidence and increased concerns about performance).
A meta-analysis of academic motivation focused on the relations between students' achievement goal orientations and societal values and human development indicators. The authors analyzed relevant studies using either A. J. Elliot and M. A. Church's (1997) or M. J. Middleton and C. Midgley's (1997) achievement goal instruments separating mastery, performance approach, and performance avoidance goals, with 36,985 students from 13 societies. Ecological correlation and regression analyses showed that mastery goals are higher in egalitarian societies, whereas performance approach goals are higher in more embedded contexts and in less developed societies. Performance avoidance goals did not strongly relate to societal-level variables. The findings show that achievement goals are rooted within dominant societal values.
The present study aimed to integrate research on mastery and performance goals into research on sociocognitive conflict (confrontation involving divergent points of view). Participants interacted by discussing conflictual issues in a context enhancing either performance goals, mastery goals, or no goals. The amount of disagreement during the interaction was measured. Results indicated that disagreement predicted epistemic conflict regulation (focused on task comprehension) in the mastery goals condition, but relational conflict regulation (focused on affirmation of competence) in the performance goals condition. Results are discussed in terms of their contribution to the conflict regulation framework.
Socioeconomic status (SES) has a small but significantrelationship with self-esteem (d = .15, r = .08) in a meta-analysis of 446 samples (total participant N = 312,940). Higher SES individuals report higher self-esteem. The effect size is very small in young children, increases substantially during young adulthood, continues higher until middle age, and is then smaller for adults over the age of 60. Gender interacts with birth cohort: The effect size increased over time for women but decreased over time for men. Asians and Asian Americans show a higher effect size, and occupation and education produce higher correlations with self-esteem than income does. The results are most consistent with a social indicator or salience model.
Although performance-approach goals are considered as "bad" goals by many researchers and teachers, succeeding at the university requires achieving more than one's counterparts by pursuing performance-approach goals. The present research examines the perceived social value of performance-approach goals at the university. Students were asked to judge a target who strongly/weakly endorsed performance-approach goals from their own perspective and that of their teachers. The results indicated that targets who strongly endorsed performance-approach goals were perceived as lower in social desirability than those who weakly endorsed them, especially when participants answered from their own point of view. However, the former were perceived higher in terms of social utility than the latter, especially when participants answered according to their teachers' points of view. Results are discussed in term of explicit and implicit goals promotion at the university.
This research examined how performance feedback moderates the effects of individuals' achievement goals on information exchange when carrying out a novel and complex task. Experiment 1 demonstrated that mastery goal individuals who received positive performance feedback gave less modified information about their task performance to their exchange partner relative to both mastery goal individuals who received negative feedback and performance goal individuals (who received either negative or positive feedback). In Experiment 2, we found that relative to performance goals, mastery goals led to a stronger reciprocity orientation and a weaker exploitation orientation. Also, mastery goal individuals provided information of higher quality than performance goal individuals, thereby explaining the observed findings in Experiment 1.
The authors examined whether motivational goals influenced the participation and performance of low-achieving students during collaborative problem solving with a high-achieving partner. Thirty-five pairs of 4th- and 5th-grade students were randomly assigned a set of instructions designed to induce students to adopt a learning goal or a performance goal. The following day, the students were individually given a posttest on problems similar to those worked on collaboratively. The low-achieving students given learning-goal instructions performed better on the posttest problems and perceived their partner's competence as more similar to their own than did the low-achieving students given performance-goal instructions. No differences in overall amount or level of low achievers' participation during collaborative problem solving were observed. Implications of the findings for the use of peer learning in heterogeneous classrooms are discussed.
Achievement goal theory has been one of the most prominent theories of motivation in educational research for more than 25 years. It has undergone considerable revision during that span, most notably with the distinction between approach and avoidance goals, debate concerning the critical features of performance goals, and the emergence of a multiple goal perspective that emphasizes the positive potential of performance-approach goals alongside mastery goals. This multiple goal perspective has met several criticisms from theorists taking the traditional perspective that emphasizes mastery goals over performance goals. We review these criticisms and the ongoing debate in light of the relevant research. We then spotlight two areas for future research, with the aim of advancing theory development and bridging these perspectives.
This article uses theoretical concepts from self-efficacy theory, goal theory, expectancy value, and intrinsic motivation theory as a way to organize the vast and largely atheoretical literature on academic cheating. Specifically, it draws on 3 particular questions that students encounter when deciding whether to cheat: (a) What is my purpose?, (b) Can I do this task?, and (c) What are the costs associated with cheating? This article reviews both experimental and nonexperimental evidence related to each of these questions and offers suggestions for future research and instructional practices that will lessen the likelihood of cheating.
This study explored the relationship among (a) individual differences in three motivational or goal orientations and (b) valuing and use of study strategies by eighth graders reading expository passages. Task orientation (the goal of learning or understanding for its own sake) was positively correlated with both perceived value and use of strategies requiring deep processing of information. To a lesser degree, task orientation correlated with valuing and use of strategies requiring only surface-level processing. Ego orientation (the goal of demonstrating high ability relative to others) was positively related to use and perceived value of surface-level strategies only. Work avoidance (academic alienation) was negatively related to use and valuing of both kinds of strategies. A path analysis indicated that task orientation, more than perceived ability or knowledge of the value of deep-processing strategies, predicts the spontaneous use of these strategies. That the prediction held over an interval of 4 to 6 weeks suggests the importance of individual differences in motivational orientation. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for strategy training and teaching practice.
The authors provide an analytic framework for studying the joint influence of personal achievement goals and classroom goal structures on achievement-relevant outcomes. This framework encompasses 3 models (the direct effect model, indirect effect model, and interaction effect model), each of which addresses a different aspect of the joint influence of the 2 goal levels. These 3 models were examined together with a sample of 1,578 Japanese junior high and high school students from 47 classrooms. Results provided support for each of the 3 models: Classroom goal structures were not only direct, but also indirect predictors of intrinsic motivation and academic self-concept, and some cross-level interactions between personal achievement goals and classroom goal structures were observed (indicating both goal match and goal mismatch effects). A call is made for more research that takes into consideration achievement goals at both personal and structural levels of representation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The dynamics of individual and situational interest and academic performance were examined in the college classroom and 7 semesters later in conjunction with achievement goals. At the beginning of an introductory psychology course, participants reported their initial interest in psychology, achievement goals, and situational interest in course lectures. At the end of the semester, participants (N = 858) reported their situational interest in course lectures and psychology. In the short term, relationships emerged among initial interest, achievement goals, situational interest, and class performance. Longitudinally, situational interest during the introductory course, independent of initial interest, predicted subsequent course choices. Results are discussed in terms of S. Hidi and K. A. Renninger's (2006) 4-phase model of interest development and the multiple goals model (J. M. Harackiewicz, K. E. Barron, P. R. Pintrich, A. J. Elliot, & T. M. Thrash, 2002). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
C. Midgley et al. (2001) raised important questions about the effects of performance-approach goals. The present authors disagree with their characterization of the research findings and implications for theory. They discuss 3 reasons to revise goal theory: (a) the importance of separating approach from avoidance strivings, (b) the positive potential of performance-approach goals, and (c) identification of the ways performance-approach goals can combine with mastery goal to promote optimal motivation. The authors review theory and research to substantiate their claim that goal theory is in need of revision, and they endorse a multiple goal perspective. The revision of goal theory is underway and offers a more complex, but necessary, perspective on important issues of motivation, learning, and achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Our goal was to identify how students' perceptions of their parents shape the kind and degree of motivational goal orientations that they adopt in their mathematics classroom, broadening the application of achievement goal orientation theory and self-determination theory to students in Korea. Two groups of students participated, one from a middle school located in a large metropolitan area and the other from a small city high school. Multisample path analysis of data from both groups revealed that Korean students' different goal orientations were predicted by their perceptions of parental goals and motivating styles and by their perceptions of classroom goal structures, mediated by different types of self-regulated motivations. Particularly interesting was the finding that Korean students' degree of mastery goal adoption was associated mostly with identified regulation, not with intrinsic motivation, and predicted by their perceptions of their parents' motivating styles, both autonomy supportive and controlling, in addition to perceptions of parents' mastery goals. Perceptions of classroom goals were stronger predictors of students' own goals than were perceptions of parents' goals and motivating styles. We offer an integration of self-determination theory and achievement goal theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In the present research, a 3 × 2 model of achievement goals is proposed and tested. The model is rooted in the definition and valence components of competence, and encompasses 6 goal constructs: task-approach, task-avoidance, self-approach, self-avoidance, other-approach, and other-avoidance. The results from 2 studies provided strong support for the proposed model, most notably the need to separate task-based and self-based goals. Studies 1 and 2 yielded data establishing the 3 × 2 structure of achievement goals, and Study 2 documented the antecedents and consequences of each of the goals in the 3 × 2 model. Terminological, conceptual, and applied issues pertaining to the 3 × 2 model are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Régner, Escribe, and Dupeyrat (2007) recently demonstrated that not only performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals (respectively, the desire to outperform others and not to be outperformed by others) but also mastery goals (the desire to acquire knowledge) were related to social comparison orientation (SCO, the tendency to search for social comparison information). In the present article, the possibility of a link between mastery goals and social comparison that depends on the level of performance-approach goals—a possibility supported by a multiple-goal perspective—was tested by examining the interaction effect between mastery and performance-approach goals. This is an important endeavor, as educational settings are rarely free from performance-approach goals, even when mastery goals are promoted. In Study 1, we tested self-set achievement goals (mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals) as predictors of SCO; the interaction between mastery goals and performance-approach goals indicated that the higher the performance-approach goal endorsement, the stronger the link between mastery goals and SCO. In Study 2, we manipulated goal conditions; mastery goals predicted interest in social comparison in the performance-approach goal condition only. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of multiple-goal pursuit in academic settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Two studies examined the degree to which pursuit of achievement goals is regulated in response to ongoing competence feedback. In Study 1, conducted in a college classroom, goal pursuit remained largely stable throughout the semester, yet poor exam performance predicted a significant decrease in mastery goal and performance-approach goal pursuit and an increase in performance-avoidance goal pursuit. In Study 2, conducted in a laboratory, negative feedback reduced participants' mastery goal pursuit. In addition, both studies showed unique benefits of 2 goals: The performance-approach goal predicted success on exams (Study 1) and a novel activity (Study 2), and the mastery goal predicted higher interest in both studies. Implications of achievement goal regulation for both theory and research methodology are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Research has demonstrated that working collaboratively can have positive effects on children's learning. While key factors have been identified which influence the quality of these interactions, little research has addressed the influence of children's achievement goals on collaborative behaviour.
This paper investigates the influence of mastery and performance goals on the nature of children's collaborative participation while playing a problem-solving computer game with a peer.
Forty-eight primary schoolchildren aged 8-10 years were divided into two groups: those displaying strong personal goal preferences (dispositional group: N=14) and those whose goal preferences were context-dependent, displaying no consistent bias for either mastery or performance goals (context-dependent: N=34). Children were paired on the basis of same gender, year group, and goal orientation.
Context-dependent pairs were assigned to either a mastery or a performance condition in which they received goal-focused instructions. Dispositional pairs received only the instructions to collaborate given to all groups. Collaborative sessions were videotaped and interactions coded.
Children who were assigned mastery goals engaged in significantly more elaborated problem-solving discussion whilst children who were assigned performance goals engaged in more executive help seeking and displayed lower levels of metacognitive control. Dispositional pairs shared some similar patterns, according to goal orientation, as context-dependent pairs.
Goal-focused instructions can be used to influence the nature and quality of children's paired interactions. Instructing children towards mastery goals appears to promote a more collaborative style of interaction.
This study tested a framework in which goals are proposed to be central determinants of achievement patterns. Learning goals, in which individuals seek to increase their competence, were predicted to promote challenge-seeking and a mastery-oriented response to failure regardless of perceived ability. Performance goals, in which individuals seek to gain favorable judgments of their competence or avoid negative judgments, were predicted to produce challenge-avoidance and learned helplessness when perceived ability was low and to promote certain forms of risk-avoidance even when perceived ability was high. Manipulations of relative goal value (learning vs. performance) and perceived ability (high vs. low) resulted in the predicted differences on measures of task choice, performance during difficulty, and spontaneous verbalizations during difficulty. Particularly striking was the way in which the performance goal-low perceived ability condition produced the same pattern of strategy deterioration, failure attribution, and negative affect found in naturally occurring learned helplessness. Implications for theories of motivation and achievement are discussed.
In the present research we argue that mastery-approach goals may be beneficial in social achievement contexts because these goals lead to constructive exchange relationship building. An examination of three methodologically complementary studies revealed that mastery-approach goals lead to more cooperative and higher-quality exchange relationships than performance-approach goals and are, ultimately, associated with better job outcomes, as well. The results of a questionnaire study demonstrated that mastery-approach goals are more strongly related to cooperative motives and more weakly related to competitive motives than performance-approach goals. Furthermore, an experimental study indicated that mastery-approach driven individuals show a higher concern for others and are more strongly inclined to cooperate with an exchange partner when engaged in a complex reasoning task than performance-approach driven individuals. Finally, an organizational field study showed that team–member exchange mediates the effect of mastery-approach goals on job performance, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment.
The current article presents an overview of recent research into social outcomes that accompany the pursuit of achievement goals. On the basis of investigations in various subdisciplines of psychology, we conclude that mastery goals—striving to improve one’s own performance—lead to investments in exchange relationships, endorsement of reciprocity norms, and active efforts to integrate different opinions. In contrast, performance goals—striving to outperform others—may result in rather maladaptive social behaviors. We point to three promising avenues for future research: Social consequences of achievement goals could be studied from a multiple-goal perspective, different levels of analysis should be taken into account, and the role of status differences should be examined.
This study examined the role of self-construal and classroom goal structure in predicting Singapore secondary students' achievement goals in their English study. Students from 104 classes were administered surveys of achievement goals, classroom goal structure, English self-concept, and self-construal. The results of two-level hierarchical linear modeling showed that after controlling for gender, previous English achievement, and English self-concept, interdependent self-construal significantly predicted mastery approach and avoidance goals, while independent self-construal was associated with performance approach, performance avoidance, and mastery approach goals. Mastery classroom goal structure predicted mastery approach and avoidance goals, whereas performance classroom goal structure predicted performance approach and avoidance goals as well as mastery avoidance goals. In addition, students with interdependent self-construal in classrooms with a performance focus were more likely to endorse mastery approach, mastery avoidance, and performance avoidance goals, while students with independent self-construal in classrooms with a performance focus tended to have performance approach goals. This study provides validation for the 2×2 framework of achievement goals, and advances our knowledge of how students adopt multiple goals. The findings are related to the educational achievement context of Singapore.