Predictors and consequences of achievement goals in the college classroom: Maintaining interest and making the grade.

The authors investigated personality predictors of achievement goals in an introductory psychology class, as well as the consequences of these goals for the motivation and performance of 311 undergraduates. Two dimensions of achievement motivation (workmastery and competitive orientations; J. T. Spence & R. L. Helmreich, 1983) predicted the goals endorsed. Individuals high in workmastery were more likely to adopt mastery goals and less likely to adopt work avoidance goals, whereas competitive individuals were more likely to endorse performance and work avoidance goals. Students adopting mastery goals were more interested in the class, but students adopting performance goals achieved higher levels of performance. These results suggest that both mastery and performance goals can lead to important positive outcomes in college classes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting success in college: A longitudinal study of achievement goals and ability measures as predictors of interest and performance from freshman year through graduation.

The authors examined the role of achievement goals, ability, and high school performance in predicting academic success over students' college careers. First, the authors examined which variables predicted students' interest and performance in an introductory psychology course taken their first semester in college. Then, the authors followed students until they graduated to examine continued interest in psychology and performance in subsequent classes. Achievement goals, ability measures, and prior high school performance each contributed unique variance in predicting initial and long-term outcomes, but these predictors were linked to different educational outcomes. Mastery goals predicted continued interest, whereas performance-approach goals predicted performance. Ability measures and prior high school performance predicted academic performance but not interest. The findings support a multiple goals perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of achievement goals in the development of interest: Reciprocal relations between achievement goals, interest, and performance.

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) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Regulation of Achievement Goals: The Role of Competence Feedback.

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) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contrast effects in attitude judgment: An examination of the accentuation hypothesis.

A common finding in attitude judgment is that attitude positions discrepant from an extreme judge's own position are judged as more discrepant than in fact they are. The 2 studies in this article suggest that these contrast effects may be due to accentuation phenomena, as outlined by H. Tajfel (see record 1958-04920-001). Judges may make more polarized pro/anti judgments if they perceive the attitude positions as also differing on an agree/disagree (peripheral) dimension and if the judgment dimension and the peripheral dimension are correlated. In Study 1, a survey was conducted of 290 members of the National Organization for Women and the Massachusetts Federation of Republican Women to test the hypothesis. Strong support was found for the accentuation explanation of contrast effects. To rule out an individual difference alternative explanation for these results, Study 2 with 44 undergraduates experimentally manipulated the salience of the agree/disagree peripheral dimension. Greater contrast was found when the dimension was salient. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing goals, task interest, and the mood–performance relationship: A mediational analysis.

The authors examined the role of intrinsic interest in mediating the relationship among mood, processing goals, and task performance. Participants in induced happy, neutral, or sad moods generated similarities and differences between TV shows using performance-based, enjoyment-based, or no stop rule (cf. L. L. Martin, D. W. Ward, J. W. Achee, & R. S. Wyer, 1993). Pretask interest and both quantitative (time spent, number generated) and qualitative (creativity) performance were assessed. Happy participants spent more time and generated more items than other participants when using an enjoyment-based stop rule but spent less time and generated fewer items when using a performance-based stop rule. Happy participants also expressed greater pretask interest and were more creative than other participants regardless of stop rule. Regression-based path analyses indicated that pretask interest partially mediated the effects of mood on quantitative performance but not on creativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The effects of cooperation and competition on intrinsic motivation and performance": Correction to Tauer and Harackiewicz (2004).

Reports an error in "The Effects of Cooperation and Competition on Intrinsic Motivation and Performance" by John M. Tauer and Judith M. Harackiewicz (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2004[Jun], Vol 86[6], 849-861). The article contained two errors. On page 853, in Table 1, Study 4, in the Task enjoyment row, the mean for the pure coop-4 condition, which is missing, should be 3.65, and the mean for the individual condition, shown as 3.65, should be 3.63. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2004-14304-005.) The authors examined the effects of competition and cooperation on intrinsic motivation and performance in 4 studies. Across 3 behavioral studies that involved shooting a basketball, no differences were observed between competition and cooperation on task enjoyment or performance. However, the combination of competition and cooperation (intergroup competition) consistently led to higher levels of intrinsic motivation, and in 2 of the 3 studies, performance. In a questionnaire study, the authors replicated the positive effects of intergroup competition on enjoyment and examined process measures that might account for these effects. These findings suggest that competition and cooperation both have positive aspects and that structuring recreational activities to include both can facilitate high levels of both intrinsic motivation and performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Effects of Cooperation and Competition on Intrinsic Motivation and Performance.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 87(2) of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (see record 2007-16905-001). The article contained two errors. On page 853, in Table 1, Study 4, in the Task enjoyment row, the mean for the pure coop-4 condition, which is missing, should be 3.65, and the mean for the individual condition, shown as 3.65, should be 3.63.] The authors examined the effects of competition and cooperation on intrinsic motivation and performance in 4 studies. Across 3 behavioral studies that involved shooting a basketball, no differences were observed between competition and cooperation on task enjoyment or performance. However, the combination of competition and cooperation (intergroup competition) consistently led to higher levels of intrinsic motivation, and in 2 of the 3 studies, performance. In a questionnaire study, the authors replicated the positive effects of intergroup competition on enjoyment and examined process measures that might account for these effects. These findings suggest that competition and cooperation both have positive aspects and that structuring recreational activities to include both can facilitate high levels of both intrinsic motivation and performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The RCS of a microstrip antenna on an in-plane biased ferritesubstrate

The numerical solutions for the RCS of a microstrip patch on an in-plane biased ferrite substrate are presented. The peaks in the RCS can be moved with respect to frequency by changing the magnetic bias field. We consider a monostatic RCS with various incident angles and examine all four elements of the cross-section matrix. For the case of an unmagnetized ferrite substrate the cross-polarized RCS components are zero. When the ferrite is magnetized, the cross-polarized RCS components become as significant as do the copolarized RCS components. It is also shown that a loaded patch has the effect of significantly reducing RCS at resonances. The analysis used is based on a full-wave moment method with the exact spectral-domain Green's function     

Self-handicapping and intrinsic motivation: Buffering intrinsic motivation from the threat of failure.

High and low self-handicappers (as measured by E. E. Jones & F. Rhodewalt's [1982] Self-Handicapping Scale) were asked to play a game of pinball (in a competitive or noncompetitive setting) after they had practiced as much as they wanted on a related task (thus, not practicing could have served as a self-handicap). High self-handicappers who did not practice much became more involved in the game and subsequently reported enjoying the game more than high self-handicappers who practiced a lot. Furthermore, the effects on enjoyment were mediated by task involvement, suggesting that the protection afforded by self-handicapping affects intrinsic motivation by allowing the individual to become absorbed in the activity instead of focusing on performance concerns. Individuals who self-handicap may be providing themselves with the "breathing room" they need to become absorbed in an activity and to experience the activity as enjoyable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)