Predicting student task motivation: the role of endorsed achievement goals and personal characteristics

Abstract

This study is a quantitative experimental design that investigates the relationship between students’ achievement outcomes (i.e., undesired outcomes, such as cheating behaviors and desired outcomes such as intrinsic motivation) and their achievement goals that were adapted for autonomous and controlling reasons. Additionally, this investigation considered students’ individual values and their dispositional motives that are related to the need for achievement and to the fear of failure. In this research, 219 students participated and completed a set of questionnaires that were written in their native language (Turkish). The study was conducted in the School of English Language within a private non-profit university in Ankara, Turkey. The study had six conditions that encouraged students to adopt one out of three achievement goals (i.e., performance-approach, intrapersonal-approach and intrapersonal-avoidance) for two motivational reasons (i.e., autonomous and controlling). A controlling neutral condition was also conducted (i.e., no induced goal nor underlying reason.). Both the need for achievement and fear of failure predicted autonomous reasons that were underlying the endorsement of intrapersonal-approach goal. On the other hand, neither the need for achievement nor fear of failure predicted autonomous reasons underlying the endorsement of either performance-approach or intrapersonal-avoidance goal. Furthermore, students who have endorsed a value to pursue their own interest (i.e., self-enhancement value) are less likely to endorse the goal to improve themselves (intrapersonal-approach goal) during a particular task. The study concludes with recommendations and implications for the findings.