Different goals, different pathways to success: Performance-approach goals as direct and mastery-approach goals as indirect predictors of grades in mathematics

Learning and Individual Differences

Volumn 61, Issue , 2018, Pages 127-135

  Mouratidis, Athanasios ^a   Michou, Aikaterini ^b   Demircioğlu, Ayşe Nur ^c   Sayil, Melike ^a  

^a TED UNIVERSITY   (Turkey)

^b BILKENT UNIVERSITY   (Turkey)

^c ANKARA UNIVERSITY   (Turkey)

Author keywords

Academic performance; Achievement goals; Adolescence; Challenge seeking; Learning environment; Mathematics

Indexed keywords

EID: 85035792111     PISSN: 10416080     EISSN: 18733425     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.lindif.2017.11.017     Document Type: Article

References (78)

1. Abuhamdeh, S., Csikszentmihalyi, M., The importance of challenge for the enjoyment of intrinsically motivated, goal-directed activities. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 38 (2012), 317–330, 10.1177/0146167211427147.
2. Ames, C., Clasrroms: Goals, structures, and student motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology 84 (1992), 261–271, 10.1037/0022-0663.84.3.261.
3. Ames, C., Archer, J., Achievement goals in the classroom: Students' learning strategies and motivation processes. Journal of Educational Psychology 80 (1988), 260–267, 10.1037//0022-0663.80.3.260.
4. Baker, L., Wigfield, A., Dimensions of children's motivation for reading and their relations to reading activity and reading achievement. Reading Research Quarterly 34 (1999), 452–477, 10.1598/rrq.34.4.4.
5. Barron, K.E., Harackiewicz, J.M., Revisiting the benefits of performance-approach goals in the college classroom: Exploring the role of goals in advanced college courses. International Journal of Educational Research 39 (2003), 357–374, 10.1016/j.ijer.2004.06.004.
6. Bipp, T., van Dam, K., Extending hierarchical achievement motivation models: The role of motivational needs for achievement goals and academic performance. Personality and Individual Differences 64 (2014), 157–162, 10.1016/j.paid.2014.02.039.
7. Brophy, J., Goal theorists should move on from performance goals. Educational Psychologist 40 (2005), 167–176, 10.1207/s15326985ep4003_3.
8. Bugler, M., McGeown, S.P., St Clair-Thompson, H., Gender differences in adolescents' academic motivation and classroom behaviour. Educational Psychology 35 (2015), 541–556, 10.1080/01443410.2013.849325.
9. Chen, W.-W., The relations between perceived parenting styles and academic achievement in Hong Kong: The mediating role of students' goal orientations. Learning and Individual Differences 37 (2015), 48–54, 10.1016/j.lindif.2014.11.021.
10. Church, M.A., Elliot, A.J., Gable, S.L., Perceptions of classroom environment, achievement goals, and achievement outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology 93 (2001), 43–54, 10.1037//0022-0663.93.1.43.
11. Daniels, L.M., Stupnisky, R.H., Pekrun, R., Haynes, T.L., Perry, R.P., Newall, N.E., A longitudinal analysis of achievement goals: From affective antecedents to emotional effects and achievement outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology 101 (2009), 948–963, 10.1037/a0016096.
12. Darnon, C., Dompnier, B., Delmas, F., Pulfrey, C., Butera, F., Achievement goal promotion at university: Social desirability and social utility of mastery and performance goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 96 (2009), 119–134, 10.1037/a0012824.
13. Dettmers, S., Trautwein, U., Lüdtke, O., Kunter, M., Baumert, J., Homework works if homework quality is high: Using multilevel modeling to predict the development of achievement in mathematics. Journal of Educational Psychology 102 (2010), 467–482, 10.1037/a0018453.
14. Dinger, F.C., Dickhauser, O., Spinath, B., Steinmayr, R., Antecedents and consequences of students' achievement goals: A mediation analysis. Learning and Individual Differences 28 (2013), 90–101, 10.1016/j.lindif.2013.09.005.
15. Donnellan, M.B., A psychometric evaluation of two achievement goal inventories. Educational and Psychological Measurement 68 (2008), 643–658, 10.1177/0013164407310125.
16. Durik, A.M., Lovejoy, C.M., Johnson, S.J., A longitudinal study of achievement goals for college in general: Predicting cumulative GPA and diversity in course selection. Contemporary Educational Psychology 34 (2009), 113–119, 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2008.11.002.
17. Dweck, C.S., Motivational processes affecting learning. American Psychologist 41 (1986), 1040–1048, 10.1037//0003-066x.41.10.1040.
18. Dweck, C.S., Leggett, E.L., A social cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review 95 (1988), 256–273, 10.1037//0033-295x.95.2.256.
19. Elliot, A.J., A conceptual history of the achievement goal construct. Elliot, A.J., Dweck, C.S., (eds.) Handbook of competence and motivation, 2005, Guilford, New York, 52–72.
20. Elliot, A.J., Church, M.A., A hierarchical model of approach and avoidance achievement motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 72 (1997), 218–232, 10.1037/0022-3514.72.1.218.
21. Elliot, A.J., Harackiewicz, J.M., Goal setting, achievement orientation, and intrinsic motivation: A mediational analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 66 (1994), 968–980, 10.1037/0022-3514.66.5.968.
22. Elliot, A.J., McGregor, H.A., A 2 × 2 achievement goal framework. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 80 (2001), 501–519, 10.1037//0022-3514.80.3.501.
23. Elliot, A.J., McGregor, H.A., Gable, S., Achievement goals, study strategies, and exam performance: A mediational analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology 91 (1999), 549–563, 10.1037/0022-0663.91.3.549.
24. Elliot, A.J., Murayama, K., On the measurement of achievement goals: Critique, illustration, and application. Journal of Educational Psychology 100 (2008), 613–628, 10.1037/0022-0663.100.3.613.
25. Grant, H., Dweck, C.S., Clarifying achievement goals and their impact. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 85 (2003), 541–553, 10.1037/0022-3514.85.3.541.
26. Hambleton, R.K., De Jong, J.H.A.L., Advances in translating and adapting educational and psychological tests. Language Testing 20 (2003), 127–134, 10.1191/0265532203lt247xx.
27. Harackiewicz, J.M., Barron, K.E., Pintrich, P.R., Elliot, A.J., Thrash, T.M., Revision of achievement goal theory: Necessary and illuminating. Journal of Educational Psychology 94 (2002), 638–645, 10.1037//0022-0663.94.3.638.
28. Harackiewicz, J.M., Barron, K.E., Tauer, J.M., Carter, S.M., Elliot, A.J., Short-term and long-term consequences of achievement goals: Predicting interest and performance over time. Journal of Educational Psychology 92 (2000), 316–330, 10.1037//0022-0663.92.2.316.
29. Harackiewicz, J.M., Durik, A.M., Barron, K.E., Linnenbrink-Garcia, L., Tauer, J.M., The role of achievement goals in the development of interest: Reciprocal relations between achievement goals, interest, and performance. Journal of Educational Psychology 100 (2008), 105–122, 10.1037/0022-0663.100.1.105.
30. Hayes, A.F., Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis. 2013, Guilford, New York.
31. Hox, J., Multilevel analysis: Techniques and applications. 2nd ed., 2010, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ.
32. Hulleman, C.S., Schrager, S.M., Bodmann, S.M., Harackiewicz, J.M., A meta-analytic review of achievement goal measures: Different labels for the same constructs or different constructs with similar labels?. Psychological Bulletin 136 (2010), 422–449, 10.1037/a0018947.
33. Hulleman, C.S., Senko, C., Up around the bend: Forecasts for achievement goal theory and research in 2020. Urdan, T.C., Karabenick, S., (eds.) Advances in motivation and achievement, vol. 16, 2010, Emerald, Bingley, UK, 71–104.
34. Jagacinski, C.M., Kumar, S., Kokkinou, I., Challenge seeking: The relationship of achievement goals to choice of task difficulty level in ego-involving and neutral conditions. Motivation and Emotion 32 (2008), 310–322, 10.1007/s11031-008-9103-3.
35. Kaplan, A., Maehr, M.L., The contributions and prospects of goal orientation theory. Educational Psychology Review 19 (2007), 141–184, 10.1007/s10648-006-9012-5.
36. Kaplan, A., Middleton, M.J., Should childhood be a journey of a race? Response to Harackiewicz et al. (2002). Journal of Educational Psychology 94 (2002), 646–648, 10.1037/0022-0663.94.3.646.
37. Kenney-Benson, G.A., Pomerantz, E.M., Ryan, A.M., Patrick, H., Sex differences in math performance: The role of children's approach to schoolwork. Developmental Psychology 42 (2006), 11–26, 10.1037/0012-1649.42.1.11.
38. Keys, T.D., Conley, A.M., Duncan, G.J., Domina, T., The role of goal orientations for adolescent mathematics achievement. Contemporary Educational Psychology 37 (2012), 47–54, 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2011.09.002.
39. Lau, S., Nie, Y., Interplay between personal goals and classroom goal structures in predicting student outcomes: A multilevel analysis of person-context interactions. Journal of Educational Psychology 100 (2008), 15–29, 10.1037/0022-0663.100.1.15.
40. Lee, W., Kim, S.I., Effects of achievement goals on challenge seeking and feedback processing: Behavioral and fMRI evidence. PLoS One, 9, 2014, 10.1371/journal.pone.0107254.
41. Lepper, M.R., Corpus, J.H., Iyengar, S.S., Intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations in the classroom: Age differences and academic correlates. Journal of Educational Psychology 97 (2005), 184–196, 10.1037/0022-0663.97.2.184.
42. Linnenbrink, E.A., The dilemma of performance-approach goals: The use of multiple goal contexts to promote students' motivation and learning. Journal of Educational Psychology 97 (2005), 197–213, 10.1037/0022-0663.97.2.197.
43. MacKinnon, D.P., Lockwood, C.M., Hoffman, J.M., West, S.G., Sheets, V., A comparison of methods to test mediation and other intervening variable effects. Psychological Methods 7 (2002), 83–104, 10.1037/1082-989X.7.1.83.
44. Matos, L., Lens, W., Vansteenkiste, M., Mouratidis, A., Optimal motivation in Peruvian high schools: Should learners pursue and teachers promote mastery goals, performance-approach goals or both?. Learning and Individual Differences 55 (2017), 87–96, 10.1016/j.lindif.2017.02.003.
45. Meece, J.L., Anderman, E.M., Anderman, L.H., Classroom goal structure, student motivation, and academic achievement. Annual Review of Psychology 57 (2006), 487–503, 10.1146/annurev.psych.56.091103.070258.
46. Meece, J.L., Glienke, B.B., Burg, S., Gender and motivation. Journal of School Psychology 44 (2006), 351–373, 10.1016/j.jsp.2006.04.004.
47. Meyer, D.K., Turner, J.C., Spencer, C.A., Challenge in a mathematics classroom: Students' motivation and strategies in project-based learning. The Elementary School Journal 97 (1997), 501–521, 10.1086/461878.
48. Michou, A., Vansteenkiste, M., Mouratidis, A., Lens, W., Enriching the hierarchical model of achievement motivation: Autonomous and controlling reasons underlying achievement goals. British Journal of Educational Psychology 84 (2014), 650–666.
49. Midgley, C., Kaplan, A., Middleton, M., Performance-approach goals: Good for what, for whom, under what circumstances, and at what cost?. Journal of Educational Psychology 93 (2001), 77–86, 10.1037//0022-0663.93.1.77.
50. Midgley, C., Maehr, M.L., Hruda, L.Z., Anderman, E., Anderman, L.H., Freeman, E.C., Urdan, T.C., Manual for the patterns of adaptive Learcning scales. 2000, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
51. Murayama, K., Elliot, A.J., The joint influence of personal achievement goals and classroom goal structures on achievement-relevant outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology 101 (2009), 432–447, 10.1037/a0014221.
52. Nicholls, J.G., Achievement motivation: Conceptions of ability, subjective experience, task choice, and performance. Psychological Review 91 (1984), 328–346, 10.1037/0033-295x.91.3.328.
53. Nickerson, R.S., Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology 2 (1998), 175–220, 10.1037/1089-2680.2.2.175.
54. Niepel, C., Brunner, M., Preckel, F., Achievement goals, academic self-concept, and school grades in mathematics: Longitudinal reciprocal relations in above average ability secondary school students. Contemporary Educational Psychology 39 (2014), 301–313, 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2014.07.002.
55. Nolen, S.B., Haladyna, T.M., Personal and environmental influences on students' beliefs about effective study strategies. Contemporary Educational Psychology 15 (1990), 116–130, 10.1016/0361-476X(90)90011-0.
56. OECD, Equity and Quality in Education: Supporting Disadvantaged Students and Schools. Retrieved from, 2012, 10.1787/9789264130852-en.
57. Pintrich, P.R., Multiple goals, multiple pathways: The role of goal orientation in learning and achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology 92 (2000), 544–555, 10.1037/0022-0663.92.3.544.
58. Plenty, S., Heubeck, B.G., A multidimensional analysis of changes in mathematics motivation and engagement during high school. Educational Psychology 33 (2013), 14–30, 10.1080/01443410.2012.740199.
59. Preacher, K.J., Hayes, A.F., SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 36 (2004), 717–731, 10.3758/Bf03206553.
60. Putwain, D.W., Nicholson, L.J., Nakhla, G., Reece, M., Porter, B., Liversidge, A., Fear appeals prior to a high-stakes examination can have a positive or negative impact on engagement depending on how the message is appraised. Contemporary Educational Psychology 44 (2016), 21–31, 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2015.12.001.
61. Rolland, R.G., Synthesizing the evidence on classroom goal structures in middle and secondary schools: A meta-analysis and narrative review. Review of Educational Research 82 (2012), 396–435, 10.3102/0034654312464909.
62. Roseth, C.J., Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., Promoting early adolescents' achievement and peer relationships: The effects of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic goal structures. Psychological Bulletin 134 (2008), 223–246, 10.1037/0033-2909.134.2.223.
63. Rosseel, Y., Lavaan: An R package for structural equation modeling. Journal of Statistical Software 48 (2012), 1–36.
64. Schenke, K., Lam, A.C., Conley, A.M., Karabenick, S.A., Adolescents' help seeking in mathematics classrooms: Relations between achievement and perceived classroom environmental influences over one school year. Contemporary Educational Psychology 41 (2015), 133–146, 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2015.01.003.
65. Senko, C., Hama, H., Belmonte, K., Achievement goals, study strategies, and achievement: A test of the “learning agenda” framework. Learning and Individual Differences 24 (2013), 1–10, 10.1016/j.lindif.2012.11.003.
66. Senko, C., Hulleman, C.S., Harackiewicz, J.M., Achievement goal theory at the crossroads: Old controversies, current challenges, and new directions. Educational Psychologist 46 (2011), 26–47, 10.1080/00461520.2011.538646.
67. Senko, C., Tropiano, K.L., Comparing three models of achievement goals: Goal orientations, goal standards, and goal complexes. Journal of Educational Psychology 108 (2016), 1178–1192, 10.1037/edu0000114.
68. Shim, S., Ryan, A., Changes in self-efficacy, challenge avoidance, and intrinsic value in response to grades: The role of achievement goals. Journal of Experimental Education 73 (2005), 333–349, 10.3200/Jexe.73.4.333-349.
69. Shim, S.S., Ryan, A.M., Anderson, C.J., Achievement goals and achievement during early adolescence: Examining time-varying predictor and outcome variables in growth-curve analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology 100 (2008), 655–671, 10.1037/0022-0663.100.3.655.
70. Song, J., Bong, M., Lee, K., Kim, S.-i., Longitudinal investigation into the role of perceived social support in adolescents' academic motivation and achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology 107 (2015), 821–841, 10.1037/edu0000016.
71. Strati, A.D., Schmidt, J.A., Maier, K.S., Perceived challenge, teacher support, and teacher obstruction as predictors of student engagement. Journal of Educational Psychology 109 (2017), 131–147 https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000108.
72. Turkish Statistical Institute (2017). Retrieved from http://www.turkstat.gov.tr/PreTablo.do?alt_id=101 on November 06, 2017.
73. Turner, J.C., Thorpe, P.K., Meyer, D.K., Students' reports of motivation and negative affect: A theoretical and empirical analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology 90 (1998), 758–771, 10.1037/0022-0663.90.4.758.
74. Urdan, T., Predictors of academic self-handicapping and achievement: Examining achievement goals, classroom goal structures, and culture. Journal of Educational Psychology 96 (2004), 251–264, 10.1037/0022-0663.96.2.251.
75. Van Yperen, N.W., Blaga, M., Postmes, T., A meta-analysis of the impact of situationally induced achievement goals on task performance. Human Performance 28 (2015), 165–182, 10.1080/08959285.2015.1006772.
76. Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., Elliot, A., Soenens, B., Mouratidis, A., Moving the achievement goal approach one step forward: Toward a systematic examination of the autonomous and controlled reasons underlying achievement goals. Educational Psychologist 49 (2014), 153–174, 10.1080/00461520.2014.928598.
77. Wolters, C.A., Advancing achievement goal theory: Using goal structures and goal orientations to predict students' motivation, cognition, and achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology 96 (2004), 236–250, 10.1037/0022-0663.96.2.236.
78. Yeung, A.S., Lau, S., Nie, Y., Primary and secondary students' motivation in learning English: Grade and gender differences. Contemporary Educational Psychology 36 (2011), 246–256, 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2011.03.001.