Achievement goals and life satisfaction: The mediating role of perception of successful agency and the moderating role of emotion reappraisal

Abstract

Achievement goals are cognitive representations that guide behavior to a competence-related future end state. Existing theories and empirical findings suggest that achievement goals are potentially related to life satisfaction. However, the relationship between achievement goals and life satisfaction remains relatively unexplored in the psychology literature. In this study, we examined how, why, and when achievement goals affect life satisfaction using original survey data from China. The results suggest that achievement goals were positively related to life satisfaction (R2 = .20, 90% CI [.11, .26]), that the perception of successful agency fully mediated the relationship between achievement goals and life satisfaction (R2 = .22, 90% CI [.12, .27]), and that emotion reappraisal moderated the relationship between achievement goals and life satisfaction (R2 = .34, 90% CI [.23, .39]). Our study indicates that achievement goals have a positive influence on life satisfaction and help to elucidate the mechanism and boundary condition of this influence.

Full text

R E S E A R C H Open Access
Achievement goals and life satisfaction: the
mediating role of perception of successful
agency and the moderating role of
emotion reappraisal
Wangshuai Wang
1
, Jie Li
2*
, Gong Sun
3
, Zhiming Cheng
4
and Xin-an Zhang
1
Abstract
Achievement goals are cognitive representations that guide behavior to a competence-related future end state.
Existing theories and empirical findings suggest that achievement goals are potentially related to life satisfaction.
However, the relationship between achievement goals and life satisfaction remains relatively unexplored in the
psychology literature. In this study, we examined how, why, and when achievement goals affect life satisfaction
using original survey data from China. The results suggest that achievement goals were positively related to life
satisfaction (R
2
= .20, 90% CI [.11, .26]), that the perception of successful agency fully mediated the relationship
between achievement goals and life satisfaction (R
2
= .22, 90% CI [.12, .27]), and that emotion reappraisal moderated
the relationship between achievement goals and life satisfaction (R
2
= .34, 90% CI [.23, .39]). Our study indicates that
achievement goals have a positive influence on life satisfaction and help to elucidate the mechanism and boundary
condition of this influence.
Keywords: Achievement goals, Perception of successful agency, Emotion reappraisal, Life satisfaction
Background
An achievement goal refers to “a future-focused cognitive
representation that guides behavior to a competence-
related end state that the individual is committed to either
approach or avoid”(Hulleman, Schrager, Bodmann, &
Harackiewicz, 2010, p. 423). In the past three decades,
there has been a large body of literature published on
achievement goals (see Hulleman et al., 2010, for a meta-
analytic review). Existing research shows that individuals
differ in their behaviors and preferences in pursuit of
achievement goals (Harackiewicz & Sansone, 1991). For
example, one may easily recall that in school years, certain
students worked hard and performed well on exams,
demonstrating high achievement goals. In contrast, other
students were not strongly concerned regarding academic
performance, did not study, and had poor performance in
exams, which denoted low motivation for achievement
goals.
One stream of research has identified the antecedents
of achievement goals. For example, age is negatively related
to achievement goals; females have a stronger mastery
of goal orientation than males in an academic setting,
whereas self-efficacy and perceived social environment,
including peer relationships and sense of belonging, are
positive predictors of achievement goals (Ablard &
Lipschultz, 1998; Anderman & Anderman, 1999; Bong,
2009; Phillips & Gully, 1997).
More recently, attention has been directed to the con-
sequences of pursuing achievement goals. For instance,
achievement goals positively predict long-term academic
performance (Harackiewicz, Barron, Tauer, Carter, & Elliot,
2000). Moreover, achievement goals can activate intrinsic
motivation (Cury, Elliot, Sarrazin, Da Fonseca, & Rufo,
2002). Based on this finding, Lee, Sheldon, and Turban
(2003) argue that achievement goals promote academic
enjoyment. In contrast, researchers also find that negative
emotions can be exacerbated by achievement goals due to
high expectations. For example, students aspiring for high
* Correspondence: mgmtli@i.shu.edu.cn
2
Shanghai University, 99 Shangda Road, Shanghai, China
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Psicolo
g
ia: Re
fl
exão e Cr
í
tic
a
© The Author(s). 2017 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to
the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Wang et al. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2017) 30:25
DOI 10.1186/s41155-017-0078-4

achievement goals may experience more anxiety during
tests (Flanagan, Putwain, & Caltabiano, 2015).
The existing literature on life satisfaction shows that
demographic variables, including gender, age, income, and
education level, are associated with life satisfaction (Gannon
& Ranzijn, 2005; Johnson & Krueger, 2006) and that a
person who is more satisfied with life is more diligent,
performs better at his/her job, and has a higher com-
mitment to the organization (Efraty, Sirgy, & Claiborne,
1991; Greenhaus, Bedeian, & Mossholder, 1987). More
recent research finds that expectation and aspiration
are important to job and life satisfaction (Cheng, Wang, &
Smyth, 2014; Gao & Smyth, 2010). Similarly, academic
goal progress is found to influence both academic and life
satisfaction (Ojeda, Flores, & Navarro, 2011; Singley, Lent,
& Sheu, 2010). Furthermore, Keller and Siegrist (2010)
suggest that both goal pursuit and life satisfaction are
psychological resources.
Although these aforementioned studies suggest potential
connections between achievement goals and life satisfac-
tion, few studies have directly tested this relationship.
In particular, it is unclear in the literature whether
achievement goals influence life satisfaction in a positive
or a negative way. On the one hand, individuals with high
achievement goals can be substantially motivated by men-
tal energy in the face of challenge (Grant & Dweck, 2003).
On the other hand, these people also need to make a
concerted effort in the stressful and laborious process of
pursuing their goals (Senko & Harackiewicz, 2005).
People are paying increasing attention to the improve-
ment of the quality of life. Life satisfaction’sfundamental
role and indispensability have been acknowledged by world-
wide respondents (Diener, Oishi, & Lucas, 2003). Therefore,
to help fill the gaps in the literature and to respond to the
practical necessity, this research examines the association
between achievement goals and life satisfaction. We also in-
vestigate why and when achievement goals influence life
satisfaction by examining the underlying mechanism
through perception of successful agency and the boundary
condition of emotion reappraisal. It is also surprising that
little research on achievement goals, successful agency, and
emotional reappraisal have been conducted in non-
Western cultures (e.g., Chinese culture), which leaves a po-
tentially rewarding empirical research area to be explored.
Existing studies suggest that there are significant cultural
differences in positive psychology (e.g., Diener, Diener, &
Diener, 1995; Spencer-Rodgers, Peng, Wang, & Hou,
2004). It is, therefore, very important to examine these
constructs using data drawn from non-Western cultures.
Taken together, in this research, we first answer an
important but unresolved question: what is the rela-
tionship between achievement goals and life satisfaction?
We further advance our study by testing the potential me-
diation and moderation of this relationship. The current
research also has significant practical implications for the
general public—including but not limited to workers and
students—on the means to successfully pursue greater
happiness.
Life satisfaction is a global cognitive judgment across
a broad set of activities concerning one’squalityoflife
(Diener et al., 2003; Matud, Bethencourt, & Ibáñez,
2014). Various factors are related to life satisfaction,
such as finances (Johnson & Krueger, 2006), family and
marital relationships (Adams, King, & King, 1996;
Cheng & Smyth, in press), health conditions (Canha,
Simões, Matos, & Owens, 2016), coping strategies (Nunes,
Melo, Júnior, & Eulálio, 2016), and sexual behaviors
(Cheng & Smyth, 2015).
Although the direct evidence for the link between
achievement goals and life satisfaction is limited, previous re-
search has provided some indirect support. For instance, the
self-determination theory theorizes two forms of motivation,
which are controlled motivation and autonomous motivation
(Ryan & Deci, 2000). Controlled motivation originates either
from self-imposed pressures or from external pressures, such
as pleasing others or complying with demands, both of
which have an externally perceived locus of causality. In con-
trast, autonomous motivation stems from one’s self, thereby
having an internally perceived locus of causality (Weinstein
& Ryan, 2010). Setting high achievement goals, in many
cases, reflects one’s own values; thus, it is internally driven
and inspires autonomous motivation (Cury et al., 2002).
Importantly, literature based on self-determination theory
indicates that autonomous motivation positively contrib-
utes to well-being (Ryan & Deci, 2000).
Moreover, individuals often want to maintain a sense
of control, expecting everything to be in line with their
plans (Park & Baumeister, 2017). However, there are always
discrepancies between expectations and reality. Under
certain circumstances, the experiences of hardships often
demotivate people and make them feel dissatisfied with life.
Achievement goals can provide a person with motivation
(Pintrich, 2000), which serves as mental energy helpful
in overcoming the difficulties and obstacles in life
(Capa, Audiffren, & Ragot, 2008). As a result, people
who set achievement goals for themselves are less
affected by experiences that can have negative effects
on life satisfaction.
Furthermore, researchers find that setting achievement
goals is helpful to one’s educational and occupational
performance, since it results in better grades at school
and upward career mobility (Gould, 1980; Harackiewicz
et al., 2000; Harackiewicz, Barron, Tauer, & Elliot, 2002).
The successes in academic and job domains boost self-
efficacy and self-esteem (Bachman & O’Malley, 1977;
Leary, Tambor, Terdal, & Downs, 1995; Tay, Ang, & Van
Dyne, 2006), both of which can enhance satisfaction
with life (Du, Bernardo, & Yeung, 2015; Joseph, Royse,
Wang et al. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2017) 30:25 Page 2 of 12

Benitez, & Pekmezi, 2014). Therefore, we propose the
following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1: Achievement goals are positively
correlated with life satisfaction.
Perception of successful agency is a sense of determin-
ation to be successful in pursuing goals, by which hope
is fueled (Snyder et al., 1991). Perception of successful
agency is conceptually similar to self-efficacy, and they
are shown to be positively and moderately correlated
(Magaletta & Oliver, 1999). However, successful agency
is more future-oriented than is self-efficacy (Snyder
et al., 1991). Thus, perception of successful agency is
more closely related to achievement goals compared to
self-efficacy.
We hypothesize that achievement goals are positively
related to perception of successful agency. This is be-
cause achievement goals usually lead people to maintain
high standards and strive to accomplish difficult tasks
(Phillips & Gully, 1997). After making every effort to en-
sure success, people are likely to hold positive expecta-
tions towards the outcomes. This notion is supported by
the effort justification theory (Aronson & Mills, 1959),
which states that people’s expectations are in direct pro-
portion to his/her effort. As expectations continue ris-
ing, they tend to attribute an even greater value to an
outcome that they put effort into achieving.
In addition, we propose that perception of successful
agency is positively associated with life satisfaction for
two reasons. First, perception of successful agency
makes one’s life meaningful. Feldman and Snyder (2005)
suggest that perception of successful agency per se is
actually a component of meaning, because factor
analysis shows a single factor underlying the two con-
structs. People who feel that their life is more meaning-
ful also report higher satisfaction with life (Park, Park, &
Peterson, 2010; Steger, Frazier, Oishi, & Kaler, 2006).
Second, according to the notion that hope copes with
obstacles and enhances meaning in life, several empir-
ical research has revealed a positive relationship be-
tween hope and life satisfaction (Bailey, Eng, Frisch, &
Snyder, 2007; Bronk, Hill, Lapsley, Talib, & Finch, 2009;
O’Sullivan, 2011; Przepiorka, 2017). Because perception
of successful agency is one dimension of hope, we ex-
pect its relationship with life satisfaction to be similar.
Based on the above discussion, we hypothesize that:
Hypothesis 2: Perception of successful agency mediates
the relationship between achievement goals and life
satisfaction.
Individuals exert considerable control over their emo-
tions but differ in their use of specific emotion regulation
strategies. Of these, the two most widely used strategies
are reappraisal and suppression (Gross & John, 2003).
Emotion reappraisal is a cognitive change of emotional
impact by construing a potentially emotion-eliciting situ-
ation. For example, people can feel upset or frustrated in a
traffic jam. However, if drivers reevaluate the current situ-
ation and consider a traffic jam as an unexpected oppor-
tunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the road, they
can probably feel better off. This act of recognizing and
changing the pattern of thoughts falls into emotion re-
appraisal. Compared with suppression, reappraisal is a
much more effective regulation strategy (Gross, 1998;
Gross & John, 2003). People who habitually use emotion
reappraisal are less likely to be depressed (Feinberg,
Willer, Antonenko, & John, 2012), experience more posi-
tive emotions and fewer negative emotions, and have bet-
ter social functioning (Gross & John, 2003).
Achievement goals promote one’s expectation of the end
state, which cannot always remain perfect. Failing to meet a
goal means that most of the early efforts become sunk costs,
which leads to decreased self-confidence and increased self-
blame. These negative self-cognitions, in turn, trigger severe
emotional reactions (Brown & Dutton, 1995), such as de-
pression and anxiety (Ellenhorn, 2005; Hewitt & Flett, 1991).
Consequently, when emotion reappraisal is low, the negative
consequences caused by failure are unable to be adjusted in
time, which lowers a person’s perceived quality of life. In this
condition, the positive relationship between achievement
goals and life satisfaction is attenuated. In contrast, when
emotion reappraisal is high, individuals take an optimistic
attitude to negotiate stressful situations and thus become
more immune to the pressure of goal failure (Gross &
John, 2003). As a result, their satisfaction with life remains
positively correlated with achievement goals. Therefore,
we propose the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3: Emotion reappraisal moderates the
positive relationship between achievement goals and
life satisfaction, such that the relationship is stronger
when emotion reappraisal is high rather than low.
Methods
Participants and procedures
Data were collected via a survey from a sample of 225
participants in mainland China in late 2016 using Sojump
(http://www.sojump.com), which is a professional online
survey platform similar to Amazon’s Mechanical Turk.
Sojump has a large, diverse workforce consisting of over
2.6 million users with different demographic backgrounds.
It provides reliable crowdsourcing services and has been
used in previous psychological research (e.g., Chen, Austin,
Miller, & Piercy, 2015; Li, Chen, & Huang, 2015). Respon-
dentsinthecurrentstudywererandomlyrecruitedfrom
Sojump. Before starting the survey, they were told that their
Wang et al. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2017) 30:25 Page 3 of 12

responses would remain confidential. After completing the
survey, they received a monetary reward. Previous research
has documented that giving a monetary reward to partici-
pants can improve their motivation in responding, thus
being beneficial to the quality of survey data (Esterman,
Reagan, Liu, Turner, & DeGutis, 2014). Online studies even
amplify this advantage. A monetary incentive can inspire
participants to respond carefully when researchers are
unable to monitor how the participants fill in the survey,
which is why plenty of psychological studies using online
platforms pay for participation (e.g., Saleem, Anderson, &
Barlett, 2015; Stroessner, Scholer, Marx, & Weisz, 2015).
All of the respondents were adults. Among the respon-
dents, 106 were males, and 119 were females; 73, 23, and
4% of them were 18–35, 36–53, and above 54 years old,
respectively. Forty-one and 42% of the respondents’
monthly salary ranged from 2000 to 4000 yuan and from
4001 to 6000 yuan, respectively. The majority of the sample
was well-educated: 53, 21, and 6% of them held bachelor’s
degrees, master’s degrees, and PhDs as their highest
degrees, respectively. With regard to job tenure, 63% of
the participants had worked in their companies for
more than 4 years, whereas 29 and 8% of them had
worked in their companies for 2 to 3 years and less
than 2 years, respectively.
Measures
We created a Chinese version of a set of measures for
achievement goals, emotion reappraisal, perception of
successful agency, life satisfaction, and social desirability.
To ensure the accuracy of the translation, we followed
Brislin’s (1986) translation and back-translation proce-
dures. Specifically, the items of the scales were first
translated into Chinese by a native Chinese speaker with
excellent knowledge of English. Next, this process was
reversed by a native English speaker with excellent com-
mand of Chinese. For a very small number of items, the
back-translation procedure resulted in inconsistencies.
However, these inconsistencies were resolved by discus-
sion between the two translators and the researchers. To
further validate the translation, we conducted a pretest
involving 20 randomly recruited participants from Sojump
before implementing the formal survey. After the comple-
tion of the pretest survey, participants declared that the
survey questions were easily understood and that there
were no barriers to responding. The participants in the
pilot study were not included in the final sample because
combining two sources of samples may rule in the con-
founding due to different times of data collection. More-
over, we performed another set of statistical analyses with
the participants in both the pilot and formal study. No
significant difference was found compared with the current
results. Therefore, we only reported the analyses in the
formal study.
Achievement goals
Achievement goals were measured by the Achievement
Goal Striving Scale, which is a ten-item scale adapted
from Goldberg’s (1999) International Personality Item
Pool (IPIP). It has been widely used in previous studies and
has proven to have good reliability and validity (Hirschfeld,
Lawson, & Mossholder, 2004). On a seven-point scale
(1 = not at all characteristic;7=very characteristic),
participants rated how characteristic each statement
best described themselves. An example item is “Igo
straight for the goal.”We used Omega to estimate
reliability, because compared to Cronbach’salpha,Omega
provides a better estimate with more appropriate assump-
tions (Crutzen & Peters, 2017; McNeish, in press). All of
the items were averaged to create the score for achievement
goals (Omega = .91).
Emotion reappraisal
Emotion reappraisal was assessed using the reappraisal
subscale of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. This
instrument is a six-item measure developed by Gross
and John (2003). Participants indicated their agreement
with each item on a seven-point scale (1 = strongly disagree;
7=strongly agree). An example item is “Icontrolmy
emotions by changing the way I think about the situation
I’min.”All of the items were averaged to create the score
for emotion reappraisal (Omega = .96).
Perception of successful agency
We measured perception of successful agency using
Snyder et al.’s (1991) Agency subscale of the Hope Scale
(e.g., Chang, 2003; Gallagher & Lopez, 2009), which
consists of four items. Participants were asked to evaluate
the extent to which each item applied to them on a seven-
point scale (1 = definitely false;7=definitely true). An
example item is “I energetically pursue my goals.”All of
the items were averaged to create the score for perception
of successful agency (Omega = .95).
Life satisfaction
We assessed life satisfaction using the five-item Satisfaction
with Life Scale developed by Diener, Emmons, Larsen,
and Griffin (1985). On a seven-point scale (1 = strongly
disagree;7=strongly agree), participants reported the
overall satisfaction with their life under different indicators.
An example item is “In most ways my life is close to my
ideal.”All of the items were averaged to create the score
for life satisfaction (Omega = .94).
Control variables
In the survey, we also collected information on some
important variables that are potentially correlated with
life satisfaction, such as gender, age, income, education
level (Gannon & Ranzijn, 2005; Johnson & Krueger, 2006),
Wang et al. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2017) 30:25 Page 4 of 12

job tenure (Adams et al., 1996), and social desirability bias.
We used the Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale
(Form C) with 13 true-false format items (Reynolds, 1982)
to assess social desirability (Omega = .77). An example
item is “It is sometimes hard for me to go on with my
work.”
Data analysis
We began the analyses by conducting a series of
confirmatory factor analyses using LISREL8.8, to verify
the distinctness of the variables included in our models.
Because our sample size was relatively small, we con-
structed item parcels in these confirmatory factor analyses.
Specifically, four indicators were formed for constructs that
contained more than four items by sequentially grouping
the highest loading items with the lowest loading ones
(Little, Cunningham, Shahar, & Widaman, 2002). After
parceling, the total number of indicators decreased to
16, since the number of parcels for each construct was
four. We assessed the models by comparing four indicators
of fit, including the chi-square/degrees of freedom ratio
(χ
2
/df), comparative fit index (CFI), non-normed fit index
(NNFI), and root mean square error of approximation
(RMSEA). Good fits are obtained when χ
2
/df is less than 5
and RMSEA is less than .10, whereas NNFI and CFI are
greater than or equal to .90 (Bentler, 1990; Steiger, 1990).
Prior to hypothesis testing, we conducted exploratory
factor analyses to ensure that the scales used retained
their intended structure (Crutzen & Peters, 2017). Next,
correlations among study variables were calculated using
Pearson’s correlation coefficients, providing initial sup-
port for the hypotheses. Next, we performed hierarchical
regressions using SPSS for the purpose of hypothesis
testing, in which independent variables were mean-centered
to reduce multicollinearity (Cohen, Cohen, West, & Aiken,
2003). Afterwards, as a robustness check for small samples
(Preacher & Hayes, 2008), we used a bias-corrected and
accelerated bootstrapping procedure (5000 samples were
taken) to further examine the achievement goal–perception
of successful agency–life satisfaction link. Next, simple slope
analysis was applied to probe the nature of the interaction
effect (Aiken & West, 1991). Finally, we employed another
statistical analysis, which included both successful agency
and emotion reappraisal in a single model. Again, we
adopted the bootstrapping method as in Model 5 in
Hayes (2013). As suggested by Cohen (1990), we reported
all effect sizes and confidence intervals in the statistical
analyses. Fisher’szand its 95% confidence intervals were
calculated in the correlational analysis (Rosenthal, 1991).
We chose R
2
as the index of effect sizes for regression
analyses and computed the 90% confidence interval for
each R
2
(Smithson, 2001).
To support disclosure and replication in scientific
research (Peters, Abraham, & Crutzen, 2015) and facilitate
future meta-analyses, the data, syntax and statistical outputs
usedinthepresentstudyareavailable at https://pan.
baidu.com/s/1qXLFvq8.
Results
Exploratory factor analyses
The measurement instruments were in line with their
intended structure, as a single latent variable was observed
for each construct, and all scales used in this research
were unidimensional (Crutzen & Peters, 2017).
Measurement model results
The baseline model contained four factors: achievement
goals, emotion reappraisal, perception of successful agency,
and life satisfaction. We also examined six alternative
models against the baseline model. As shown in Table 1,
the results suggested that the baseline model fits the data
reasonably well (χ
2
(98) = 348.79, CFI = .96, NNFI = .95,
RMSEA = .09). The alternative models all exhibited signifi-
cantly poorer fit than the baseline model. Therefore, we
treated the four variables as distinct constructs in later
analyses.
Descriptive statistics and correlations
All scales met the distributional assumptions with skew-
ness and kurtosis values lower than ±1. More specifically,
the absolute values for skewness (kurtosis) ranged from
.02 to .59 (.19 to .69). The descriptive statistics and correla-
tions among variables are presented in Table 2. Age was
positively related to gender (r=.16,p< .05; Fisher’s
z= .16, 95% CI [.03, .29]) and income (r= .30, p<.01;
Fisher’sz= .31, 95% CI [.18, .44]); education was positively
correlated with income (r= .24, p< .01; Fisher’sz=.24,
95% CI [.11, .37]) and negatively correlated with job tenure
(r=−.26, p<.01;Fisher’sz=−.27, 95% CI [−.14, −.40]).
Consistent with our hypotheses, achievement goals had a
significant positive correlation with life satisfaction
(r=.42,p<.01;Fisher’sz= .45, 95% CI [.32, .58]) and
perception of successful agency (r=.83,p< .01; Fisher’s
z= 1.12, 95% CI [.99, 1.25]). Perception of successful
agency was also significantly related to life satisfaction
(r=.44,p<.01;Fisher’sz= .47, 95% CI [.34, .60]).
Hypotheses test results
Table 3 displays the results of the regression analyses for
testing Hypothesis 1 (achievement goals are positively
related to life satisfaction) and Hypothesis 2 (perception
of successful agency mediates the relationship between
achievement goals and life satisfaction). The results sup-
ported these hypotheses. First, achievement goals were
positively and significantly related to life satisfaction
(β= .42, p< .01; R
2
= .20, 90% CI [.11, .26]), supporting
Wang et al. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2017) 30:25 Page 5 of 12

Hypothesis 1. Second, to test mediation, we followed
Baron and Kenny’s procedure (1986).
In Model 1, we regressed successful agency on the
control variables and achievement goals. In Model 2, we
regressed life satisfaction on the same variables as in
Model 1. In Model 3, we regressed life satisfaction on
the controls, achievement goals, and successful agency.
The results supported Hypothesis 2. First, achievement
goals were significantly related to successful agency
(β= .85, p<.01;R
2
= .71, 90% CI [.65, .74]). Second,
achievement goals were significantly related to life satisfac-
tion (β=.42,p<.01;R
2
= .20, 90% CI [.11, .26]). Third,
successful agency was significantly related to life satisfac-
tion (β=.25,p< .01; R
2
= .22, 90% CI [.12, .27]), even after
achievement goals were controlled for. In addition, the
insignificant coefficient for achievement goals (β=.20,
p> .05) indicated that successful agency completely
mediated the relationship between achievement goals and
life satisfaction. Furthermore, a 5000 resample bootstrap
suggested a significant indirect effect via successful agency
(b= .24, SE = .09, 95% CI [.06, .42]). This finding
again supported Hypothesis 2. Additionally, following
MacKinnon, Lockwood, Hoffman, West, and Sheets (2002),
we calculated the zcoefficient, which results from the
division of the mediated effect by its standard error.
Consistent with prior findings, the calculation yielded a
significant result (zvalue = 2.24, p< .05).
Table 4 presents the results for the tests of Hypothesis 3.
Model 1 contained the control variables only. In Model 2,
achievement goals and emotion reappraisal were added.
In Model 3, the interaction term between achievement
goals and emotion reappraisal was added. In support of
Hypothesis 3, the interaction effect of achievement
goals and emotion reappraisal was statistically significant
Table 1 Comparison of results from the measurement models
Model Description χ
2
df Δχ
2
CFI NNFI RMSEA
Null model All the indicators are independent 7781.41 114 .01 −.05 .54
Baseline model Four factors 348.79 98 .96 .95 .09
Model 1 Three factors: achievement goals and perception of successful agency were
combined into one factor
1078.99 101 730.20** .87 .84 .20
Model 2 Three factors: achievement goals and life satisfaction were combined into one factor 1360.17 101 1011.38** .83 .80 .23
Model 3 Three factors: achievement goals and emotion reappraisal were combined into
one factor
1453.42 101 1104.63** .82 .79 .24
Model 4 Three factors: perception of successful agency and life satisfaction were combined
into one factor
1131.96 101 783.17** .86 .84 .21
Model 5 Three factors: perception of successful agency and emotion reappraisal were
combined into one factor
1434.94 101 1086.15** .82 .79 .24
Model 6 Three factors: emotion reappraisal and life satisfaction were combined into one factor 1409.60 101 1060.81** .82 .79 .24
N= 225; Δχ
2
is the change of χ
2
compared with the baseline model
**p< .01
Table 2 Descriptive statistics, coefficient alphas, and zero-order correlations between variables
MSD1 2345 6 7 8 910
1. Achievement goals 5.08 1.42 (.90)
2. Emotion reappraisal 4.27 1.67 .35** (.95)
3. Perception of successful agency 5.38 1.38 .83** .27** (.95)
4. Life satisfaction 4.55 1.42 .42** .36** .44** (.93)
5. Gender −.17* −.04 −.07 −.02
6. Age 2.25 .50 .03 −.10 .01 .01 .16*
7. Income 2.76 1.14 .12 −.05 .15* .10 −.12 .30**
8. Education 3.44 .76 −.05 −.06 .01 −.05 −.05 .12 .24**
9. Job tenure 2.70 .97 −.05 −.02 .01 .10 .02 .06 −.02 −.26**
10. Social desirability 1.52 .31 .12 .43** .09 .12 .02 −.05 −.07 −.18** .05 (.77)
N= 225; age: 1 = less than 18 years old, 2 = 18–35 years old, 3 = 36–53 years old, 4 = more than 54 years old; (monthly) income: 1= less than 2000 yuan;
2 = 2000–4000 yuan; 3 = 4001–6000 yuan; 4 = more than 6000 yuan; education: 1= high school, 2 = some college, 3 = bachelor’s degree, 4 = master’sdegree,5=doctoral
degree; job tenure: 1 = less than 2 years, 2 = 2–3years,3=4–5 years, 4 = more than 6 years; social desirability: 1 = true, 2 = false
*
p< .05
**
p< .01
Wang et al. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2017) 30:25 Page 6 of 12

(β=.31,p<.01;R
2
= .34, 90% CI [.23, .39]), and there was
a significant change in the multiple squared correlation
coefficient (ΔR
2
).
Figure 1 shows that the effect of the two-way interaction
between achievement goals and emotion reappraisal was
in the expected direction. Following the simple slope
analyses, we found that achievement goals at a high level
of emotion reappraisal were positively related to life satis-
faction (β=1.29,p< .01), whereas achievement goals at a
low level of emotion reappraisal were not significantly
related to life satisfaction (β=.10,p>.30).
Finally, a model that included both successful agency and
emotion reappraisal was tested. Figure 2 illustrates the coef-
ficients (R
2
= .34, 90% CI [.24, .40]). The interaction term
remained significant and the indirect effect of achievement
goals on life satisfaction through successful agency was also
significant (b= .27, SE = .09, 95% CI [.10, .44]). These
results provided convergent support for our hypotheses.
Discussion
This study used original survey data to examine the
influence of achievement goals on life satisfaction, the
mediating role of perception of successful agency, and
the moderating role of emotion reappraisal. Consistent
with our predictions, achievement goals are positively
associated with life satisfaction. Furthermore, we show that
this relationship is mediated by perception of successful
agency. The simple slope analyses reveal that the positive
relationship between achievement goals and life satisfac-
tion holds when emotion reappraisal is high but not when
it is low.
The present research contributes to the literature in
three ways. First, we contribute to the scant literature
on the relationship between achievement goals and
life satisfaction. Our findings help fill this gap by
showing that achievement goals are positively corre-
lated with life satisfaction. The previous literature
provides indirect and mixed evidence for this relationship
(Lee et al., 2003; Senko & Harackiewicz, 2005). We recon-
cile these differences by empirically testing this relation-
ship, thereby adding to the literature investigating the
consequences of achievement goals (e.g., Harackiewicz
et al., 2000; Cury et al., 2002; Lee et al., 2003; Flanagan
et al., 2015). This finding is also in alignment with pre-
vious research documenting the overlap between aspir-
ation and well-being (e.g., Cheng et al., 2014; Gao &
Smyth, 2010). However, aspiration involves positive ex-
pectations regardless of how much effort has been
exerted, which obviously should positively contribute to
happiness. In contrast, the present research shows that
even if considerable effort must be devoted, setting
achievement goals is still beneficial to well-being. There-
fore, this study complements previous findings by going
beyond the aspiration effect.
Table 3 Results for main effect and mediation from hierarchical
regression
Model 1: Perception
of successful agency
Model 2: Life
satisfaction
Model 3: Life
satisfaction
Controls
Gender .08 .06 .04
Age .05 −.04 −.03
Income .07 .07 .06
Education .06 .01 −.01
Job tenure −.05 .12 .10
Social desirability .01 .07 .07
Main effects
Achievement
goals
.85** .42** .20
Perception of
successful agency
.25*
F77.19** 7.94** 7.71**
R
2
.71 .20 .22
Adjusted R
2
.70 .18 .19
ΔR
2
.02**
90% CI [.65, .74] [.11, .26] [.12, .27]
CIs are confidence intervals for effect sizes; N= 225
*
p< .05
**
p< .01
Table 4 Results for moderation from hierarchical regression
Life satisfaction
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
Controls
Gender .00 .06 .07
Age −.02 −.02 −.01
Income .13 .08 .09
Education −.03 −.01 .01
Job tenure .09 .12 .16*
Social desirability .12 −.02 −.04
Main effects
Achievement goals .34** .35**
Moderators
Emotion reappraisal .26** .23**
Interactions
Achievement goals × emotion
reappraisal
.31**
F1.56 9.07** 12.38**
R
2
.04 .25 .34
ΔR
2
.21** .09**
90% CI [.00, .07] [.14, .29] [.23, .39]
CIs are confidence intervals for effect sizes; N= 225
*
p< .05
**
p< .01
Wang et al. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2017) 30:25 Page 7 of 12

Second, we identify the psychological process through
which achievement goals are related to life satisfaction.
Therefore, we shed some light on the role of perception
of successful agency in the relationship between achieve-
ment goals and life satisfaction. This finding is consistent
with the extant literature showing hope as a positive pre-
dictor of life satisfaction (Bailey et al., 2007; Bronk et al.,
2009; O’Sullivan, 2011). Our research further demonstrates
that perception of successful agency, as a dimension of
hope, also contributes to life satisfaction. Given that hope
is a multidimensional construct and that little research has
probed into its sub-dimensions’downstream effects, the
present research serves as a pioneer study.
Third, we examine the moderating role of emotion
reappraisal to provide a richer understanding of the rela-
tionship between achievement goals and life satisfaction.
We show that by cognitively reappraising emotion, people
who set achievement goals live a happier life. This result is
in line with a body of research that elucidates the positive
function of emotion reappraisal in buffering anxiety and
enhancing well-being (Feinberg et al., 2012; Gross &
John, 2003). Moreover, self-determination theory suggests
a positive link between autonomous motivation and well-
being (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Through examining the moder-
ating role of emotion reappraisal, we specify the boundary
condition under which the positive relationship between
achievement goals, a form of autonomous motivation, and
well-being ceases to exist. Thus, our study represents an
important advancement in self-determination theory.
The findings also offer valuable insights into practice.
For example, enhancing employee’s job satisfaction is of
vital importance for many organizations. This research
implies that organizations can boost employee’s job sat-
isfaction by inspiring their motivation for achievement
goals. In addition, we find that if individuals suffer from
failure in the process of goal pursuit, they need to
reappraise their emotions to restore well-being. Emotion
reappraisal can function as a catalyst for well-being when
the situation goes against one’s wishes (Gross & John,
2003). The reason why it helps individuals to be less
affected by negative events is that emotion reappraisal
ccurs early in the emotion-generative process and alters the
trajectory of the emotion before the emotional response is
generated (Gross, 2002). This has direct practical implica-
tions for career development. Consider a scenario in which
an ambitious young man aims high in career development
and spares no effort at work to get a promotion. However,
it turns out that one of his competing colleagues receives
the promotion instead, so he fails to achieve his promotion
goal at present. Under this circumstance, if he leverages the
emotion reappraisal strategy, he may see the competitive
situation as an external force that drives him to become
Fig. 1 Simple slope analyses. Moderating effect of emotion reappraisal on the relationship between achievement goals and life satisfaction. Error
bars represent standard errors
Wang et al. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2017) 30:25 Page 8 of 12

better at work, which is actually beneficial to career devel-
opment in the long run. Consequently, he may feel more
positive instead of frustrated or hopeless. This reappraisal
would re-motivate him to continue working hard and
improving himself until he succeeds.
This research has several limitations that could be solved
in future research. First, caution should be exercised before
generalizing our results based on Chinese data to Western
societies. The meanings of some constructs may be differ-
ent in China than in Western societies. Although there is
no evidence showing the constructs used in the present
study contain inconsistent meanings across different
cultures, the previous literature indicates that some
well-established concepts in Western culture are perceived
in another way in China (e.g., Cheung et al., 2001;
Wang, 2007). Future studies can directly test whether
this difference applies to the study variables in this research.
Second, the study is based on cross-sectional data. There-
fore, our findings may not imply causality. In future studies,
causal inference may be drawn based on experimental
data. Meanwhile, caution should be taken for using cross-
sectional data to test mediation (Kline, 2015; Maxwell,
Cole, & Mitchell, 2011) because cross-sectional analysis
can imply the existence of an indirect effect even when
the true longitudinal indirect effect is zero. Adopting a
longitudinal design in future research would help provide
stronger evidence for the process account. Third, the sam-
ple size is limited in the present study. Future research
can avoid this problem by adopting the sample size esti-
mation approach suggested by Moinester and Gottfried
(2014), which should be done before or at an early stage
of a study. Fourth, we only identify one moderator in our
model. Scholars may investigate other ways through which
the relationship between achievement goals and life
satisfaction is moderated. For example, similar to emotion
reappraisal, psychological resilience refers to the capacity
of positive adaptation in adversity (Ong, Bergeman,
Bisconti, & Wallace, 2006). According to this definition,
it is also a potential moderator between achievement
goals and life satisfaction. Fifth, we do not explore the
relationships between different types of achievement
goals and life satisfaction. Previous research has shown
that different types of achievement goals have competing
effects on performance (Grant & Dweck, 2003), self-
regulation (Lee et al., 2003), and reactions to imperfection
(Stoeber, Stoll, Pescheck, & Otto, 2008); therefore, it is
Fig. 2 Conceptual and statistical diagram. Research model with important coefficients. Effect size R
2
= .34, 90% CI [.24, .40]
Wang et al. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2017) 30:25 Page 9 of 12

essential to further test whether each type of achievement
goal has similar or distinct effects on life satisfaction in
future studies. Finally, we did not collect participants’
information regarding whether they work in urban or rural
environments, which has been shown to be related to
well-being (Liang & Wang, 2014). Future research should
control for this variable.
Conclusions
Through a survey study of 225 participants in China,
we find that achievement goals are positively related to
life satisfaction. Furthermore, the relationship between
achievement goals and life satisfaction is mediated by
perception of successful agency and moderated by emotion
reappraisal. This research provides a comprehensive
understanding of how, why, and when achievement goals
boost life satisfaction, which is theoretically contributive
and practically important.
Abbreviations
CFI: Comparative fit index; CI: Confidence interval; IPIP: International
Personality Item Pool; NNFI: Non-normed fit index; RMSEA: Root mean
square error of approximation; SE: Standard error
Acknowledgements
None
Availability of data and materials
All datasets and materials that were used in this research are available at
https://pan.baidu.com/s/1qXLFvq8.
Authors’contributions
WW and JL conceived and designed the study. GS, ZC, and XZ conducted
the survey. WW, JL, and GS wrote the paper. ZC and XZ reviewed and edited
the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.
Funding
The authors acknowledge the financial support of the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (grant no. 71472123) and the Young College
Teachers’Training Scheme of Shanghai (grant no. ZZSD15094) in the data
collection process.
Ethics approval and consent to participate
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in
accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national
research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later
amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Consent for publication
Not applicable
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Publisher’sNote
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional affiliations.
Author details
1
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, China.
2
Shanghai University, 99 Shangda Road, Shanghai, China.
3
Central University
of Finance and Economics, 39 South College Road, Beijing, China.
4
Macquarie University, Balaclava Road, Sydney, Australia.
Received: 27 July 2017 Accepted: 26 October 2017
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