Research indicates that dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is important for pursuing goals, and areas of DLPFC are differentially involved in approach and avoidance motivation. Given the complexity of the processes involved in goal pursuit, DLPFC is likely part of a network that includes orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), cingulate, amygdala, and basal ganglia. This hypothesis was tested with rega...

The present research used correlational and experimental methods and two well-established social comparison paradigms to integrate and extend prior research from the achievement goal and social comparison literatures. In Study 1, a general disposition to engage in social comparison was positively correlated with each type of goal in the 2 × 2 model of achievement goals, suggesting that the desi...

The hierarchical model of achievement motivation proposes that, in addition to need achievement, fear of failure (FF) energizes achievement behaviour and predisposes individuals to adopt particular types of achievement goals. An impressive volume of cross-sectional support for this model has emerged, however, the causal assumptions of the model have never been tested. College students (N /356) ...

It is well-acknowledged that organizational sustainability largely depends on employees’ innovative behavior, which the same case with higher education institutions. This study aimed to explore characteristics of and relationships between faculty members’ mastery goals behavior under framework achievement goal theory in research context. Results from an anonymous questionnaire survey 621 Chines...

The present research examined the role of approach and avoidance motivation in models of personality. Specifically, it examined the hypothesis that approach and avoidance temperaments represent the foundation of several basic dimensions espoused in the trait adjective, affective disposition, and motivational system approaches to personality. Factor analytic support for the hypothesis was obtain...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to investigate the pursuit of achievement goals in medical students and to assess the relationship between achievement goals, learning strategy, and motivation. METHODS Two hundred seventy freshman and sophomore premedical students and sophomore medical school students participated in this study, which used the Achievement Goals Scale and the Self-Regulate...

University instructors’ goals for teaching are important quality. However, studies examining factors that shape goal adoption lacking. Using data from 785 instructors, we investigated whether implicit theories (ITs) about the malleability of intelligence constitute one such factor. Following achievement theory (AGT) and Dweck’s motivation framework, analysed differences in attributable to ITs, ...

Relapse prevention (RP) plays a major role in the vast number of treatment programs for sexual offenders. However, despite its widespread application, questions have been raised regarding the uncritical adoption of the approach (R. K. Hanson, 1996). More specifically, the way in which it is presented to sexual offenders has been criticized for being unhelpfully negative in focus (Mann, 2000) an...