The present study examines the influence of achievement goal states on working memory under varying executive load. Seventy-six undergraduate students were randomly assigned to either a mastery-approach condition (goal was to develop selfreferential competence), a performance-approach condition (goal was to demonstrate normative competence) or a control condition (no goal assigned) prior to com...

Research on achievement goals has demonstrated that mastery goals positively impact achievement-related outcomes, but paradoxically hold an inconsistent relation with academic achievement. We hypothesized that this relationship depends on the reason why students endorse mastery goals--namely, to garner teachers' appreciation (social desirability) or to succeed at university (social utility). Fi...

Background Students’ motivation is known to influence academic outcomes. However there is a paucity of research showing the relative influences of motivational factors on short-term and long-term outcomes. Purpose The study investigates the relative influences of motivational factors— mastery goal orientation, value of schooling, and academic self-concepts (perceived competence in and affect to...

The present research examined the role of working memory in the pursuit of qualitatively different achievement goals. Pursuit of a mastery-approach goal entails a focus on developing self-referential competence while a performance-approach goal entails a focus on demonstrating normative competence. Across two experiments it was found that, when working memory is loaded, individuals pursuing a m...

test anxiety as a common disorder is a physiological condition in which students experience extreme stress, anxiety and discomfort during and/or before taking a test. this kind of anxiety results from the sense of threats like fear of failure, lack of confidence and setting unattainable goals in learning and wishing to be perfect in academic situation. resulting anxiety disrupts attention, memo...

The main goal of this study is to investigate social influences of adolescent smoking and drinking. These social influences include social motives, parental attitudes, communal mastery and peers' substance use patterns. Literature suggests that communal mastery (as a form of social competence) may be related to adolescent substance use. In addition, gender differences may be hypothesized in the...

This study examined the relations among Hong Kong students’ perceived classroom environment, achievement goals, and strategy use. A total of 1522 Grade 5 students from six primary schools and Grade 7 students from six secondary schools in Hong Kong voluntarily responded to a questionnaire that measured these three sets of variables. Consistent with previous studies on goal orientation theory, f...

We studied how specific motivational processes are related to the salience of mastery and performance goals in actual classroom settings. One hundred seventy-six students attending a junior high/high school for academically advanced students were randomly selected from one of their classes and responded to a questionnaire on their perceptions of the classroom goal orientation, use of effective ...