Achievement Goals: A Social Influence Cycle.

Achievement goals have been defined as the purpose of competence-relevant behavior. In this respect they connect one of the basic human needs, i.e.

The role of causal attributions in determining behavioral consequences: A meta-analysis from an intrapersonal attributional perspective in achievement contexts.

A large body of research has documented Weiner's theory as it applies to achievement contexts, highlighting the role of the causal dimensions (locus of causality, stability, and controllability) as antecedents of specific emotional, cognitive, and behavioral reactions. The aim of this article is to address important, and as yet unanswered questions, by focusing on the relationship between these causal dimensions and their cognitive and behavioral consequences, and by meta-analyzing research using the direct-rating method to measure the causal dimensions identified by Weiner (1985, 2005). 43 studies using direct-rating measures of causal dimensions, reporting 57 correlation matrices involving 15,213 participants were included in this meta-analysis.

When pursuing bad goals for good reasons makes it even worse: a social value approach to performance-avoidance goal pursuit.

Consistently in achievement goal research, pursuing performance-avoidance goals has been associated with a decrease in achievement. Less is known to what extent this effect depends on the reasons underlying these goals' endorsement. The present research uses a social value approach to assess how do performance-avoidance goals' effects on achievement depend on the reasons anchored in social utility (goal endorsed in order to succeed) and in social desirability (goal endorsed in order to please one's teachers).

A multilevel account of social value-related reasons behind mastery goals.

Background: A growing literature focuses on reasons behind achievement goal endorsement, and mastery-approach goals (MG) specifically, and how these reasons influence academic performance. Past research provides evidence that student-level social value-related reasons behind MG moderate the MG-performance link in adolescents and young adults. However, we ignore whether this moderation is best conceived of as a student-level effect (i.

Of Nice and Mean: The Personal Relevance of Others' Competence Drives Perceptions of Warmth.

Past research shows that when forming an impression of an interdependent person, perceivers are motivated to look for information relevant to their goals and interests. The present experiments examined what happens after this information-seeking stage and showed that the relevance of the target's attributes for one's goals and interests drives warmth impressions. Using both a scenario (Experiment 1) and realistic methodologies (Experiment 3), we showed that when the perceiver had to collaborate with a target, the more competent the target, the more perceivers anticipated success and the more the target came across as warm.

'Where there is a will, there is a way': Belief in school meritocracy and the social-class achievement gap.

Meritocratic ideology can promote system justification and the perpetuation of inequalities. The present research tests whether priming merit in the school context enhances the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on school achievement. French fifth graders read a text priming either school merit or a neutral content, reported their French and mathematics self-efficacy as well as their belief in school meritocracy (BSM), and then took French and mathematics tests.

The feminization of school hypothesis called into question among junior and high school students.

Background: The feminization of school hypothesis suggests that boys underachieve in school compared to girls because school rewards feminine characteristics that are at odds with boys' masculine features.

Aims: The feminization of school hypothesis lacks empirical evidence. The aim of this study was to test this hypothesis by examining the extent to which school demands are actually associated with female more than male students.

When performance-approach goals predict academic achievement and when they do not: a social value approach.

Research on achievement goal promotion at University has shown that performance-approach goals are perceived as a means to succeed at University (high social utility) but are not appreciated (low social desirability). We argue that such a paradox could explain why research has detected that performance-approach goals consistently predict academic grades. First-year psychology students answered a performance-approach goal scale with standard, social desirability and social utility instructions.

Performance goals in conflictual social interactions: towards the distinction between two modes of relational conflict regulation.

Socio-cognitive conflict has been defined as a situation of confrontation with a disagreeing other. Previous research suggests that individuals can regulate conflict in a relational way, namely by focusing on social comparison between relative levels of competences. Relational conflict regulation has been described as yielding particularly negative effects on social interactions and learning, but has been understudied.

Faking the desire to learn: a clarification of the link between mastery goals and academic achievement.

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). First-year psychology students completed a mastery-goal scale in a standard format, with social-desirability instructions and social-utility instructions.

Achievement goal promotion at university: social desirability and social utility of mastery and performance goals.

The present research examines the ambivalence of achievement goal promotion at university, and more specifically in the psychology curriculum. On the one hand, psychology teachers explicitly encourage mastery but not performance (neither approach nor avoidance) goals. On the other hand, the selection process encourages the endorsement of not only mastery but also performance-approach goals.