Autonomous and controlling reasons underlying achievement goals during task engagement: their relation to intrinsic motivation and cheating

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation of autonomous and controlling reasons underlying an endorsed achievement goal to intrinsic motivation and cheating. The endorsement of the achievement goal was ensured by involving 212 (Mage = 19.24, SD = .97) freshman students in a spatial task and asking them to report their most important achievement goal, as well as the reasons for adopting the goal, during the task. Results from a hierarchical regression analysis revealed that independent of the achievement goal the students adopted, the autonomous reasons for the endorsed goal were positively related to the indices of intrinsic motivation. Furthermore, the autonomous reasons underlying either performance or mastery-avoidance goals were negatively related to cheating. Alternatively, the controlling reasons for the endorsed goal were positively related to pressure and tension. The importance of considering both the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ aspect of achievement motivation are discussed.