Nonconscious Activation of Achievement Goals

2009 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 193-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Engeser

In a series of experiments, Bargh, Gollwitzer, Lee-Chai, Barndollar, and Trötschel (2001) documented that achievement goals can be activated outside of awareness and can then operate nonconsciously in order to guide self-regulated behavior effectively. In three experiments (N = 69, N = 71, N = 56), two potential moderators of the achievement goal priming effect were explored. All three experiments showed small but consistent effects of the nonconscious activation of the achievement goal, though word class did not moderate the priming effect. There was no support for the hypothesis that the explicit achievement motive moderates the priming effect. Implications are addressed in the light of other recent studies in this domain and further research questions are outlined.

2004 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
pp. 975-980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masanori Oikawa

The aim of this study was to test the assumption that nonconscious goal pursuit guides behavior more efficiently and produces better performance, only when the conscious monitoring of the task is low. Some studies have documented that goals can be activated and guide behaviors outside of awareness. 66 students, 22 men and 44 women with a mean age of 18.3 yr. ( SD = 0.9) years, were randomly assigned to Achievement Goal Priming or Neutral Priming conditions. In the Achievement Goal Priming condition, concepts associated with high performance were activated outside of their awareness via a scrambled sentence task. All participants were then given a calculation task to complete. To manipulate conscious monitoring, half of the participants were presented the task as a fun filler task, and the rest were presented the task as a measure of ability and were encouraged to monitor their performance on the task consciously. Analysis showed, among participants who were presented the task as a fun filler task, the Achievement Goal Priming group completed more tasks relative to the Neutral Priming group. Those who were encouraged to monitor their performance consciously did not benefit from Achievement Goal priming. The results implied that consciously monitored behavior might be counterproductive.


2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-250
Author(s):  
Iain Greenlees ◽  
Sean Figgins ◽  
Philip Kearney

Abstract This study examined whether achievement goal priming effects would be observed within an overtly competitive setting. Male soccer players (N = 66) volunteered to participate in a soccer penalty-kick taking competition during which they took 20 penalty-kicks on 2 occasions. Following a pretest, participants were allocated to 1 of 5 priming conditions. Immediately prior to the posttest, participants in the priming conditions were asked to complete what was presented as an ostensibly unrelated task that took the form of either a computer task (subliminal priming) or wordsearch task (supraliminal priming). Results revealed that priming had no significant influence on performance.


Author(s):  
Marc Lochbaum ◽  
Thaís Zanatta ◽  
Zişan Kazak

Approach-avoidance achievement goals are studied extensively in the context of competitive sports and physical activity, including leisure and physical education. Building upon past meta-analyses, the purpose of this quantitative review was to provide basic descriptive data, estimated means for testing of several research questions (i.e., context, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status), and meta-analyzing outcome correlates (i.e., self-determination constructs, affect, effort, and physical activity). A total of 116 studies up to 1 December 2018, met inclusion criteria. These 116 studies, totaling a sample size of 43,133 participants (M sample size = 347.85 + 359.36), from 22 countries with 92.7% of samples, are drawn from participants less than 30 years of mean age. From the 116 unique studies, nearly half (49.6%) were from a sport context and the rest from leisure-time physical activity (PA) (19.4%) and physical education (PE) (31.0%) contexts. A number of different analyses were conducted to examine our research questions. Support was found for several of our research questions: The mastery-approach goal was endorsed more than all the other goals, while sport participants endorsed the performance-approach goal more than PA and PE groups; females endorsed the mastery-avoidance goal more than males; more culturally individualistic countries endorsed the mastery-approach goal; and countries from lower socioeconomic and interdependent countries endorsed the mastery-avoidance goal than higher socioeconomic and independent countries. Concerning, the meta-analyzed correlates, most relationships were hypothesized through the performance-approach goal, and both avoidance goals appeared to be too similar in relationships with the correlates raising theoretical concerns. Overall, the mastery-approach goals had the most meaningful biased corrected effect size values (rc) with the outcome correlates, such as relative autonomy (0.47), intrinsic motivation (0.52), effort (0.40), positive affect (0.42), physical activity intent (0.38). Based on the present and past meta-analytic results, the 2 × 2 achievement goals as currently measured was questioned. Future research suggestions included fundamental questionnaire issues, the need for latent profile analysis or other more advanced statistics, and whether the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework is the most appropriate framework in physical activity contexts.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 695-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Carmen Parafita Couto ◽  
Marianne Gullberg

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: This study aims to improve our understanding of common switching patterns by examining determiner–noun–adjective complexes in code-switching (CS) in three language pairs (Welsh–English, Spanish–English and Papiamento–Dutch). The languages differ in gender and noun–adjective word order in the noun phrase (NP): (a) Spanish, Welsh, and Dutch have gender; English and Papiamento do not; (b) Spanish, Welsh, and Papiamento prefer post-nominal adjectives; Dutch and English, prenominal ones. We test predictions on determiner language and adjective order derived from generativist accounts and the Matrix Language Frame (MLF) approach. Design/methodology/approach: We draw on three publicly available spoken corpora. For the purposes of these analyses, we re-coded all three datasets identically. From the three re-coded corpora we extracted all monolingual and mixed simplex NPs (DetN) and complex NPs with determiners (determiner–adjective–noun (DetAN/NA)). We then examined the surrounding clause for each to determine the matrix language based on the finite verb. Data and analysis: We analysed the data using a linear regression model in R statistical software to examine the distribution of languages across word class and word order in the corpora. Findings/conclusions: Overall, the generativist predictions are borne out regarding adjective positions but not determiners and the MLF accounts for more of the data. We explore extra-linguistic explanations for the patterns observed. Originality: The current study has provided new empirical data on nominal CS from language pairs not previously considered. Significance/implications: This study has revealed robust patterns across three corpora and taken a step towards disentangling two theoretical accounts. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of comparing multiple language pairs using similar coding.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Daumiller ◽  
Stefan Janke ◽  
Raven Rinas ◽  
Oliver Dickhäuser ◽  
Markus Dresel

Previous research has successfully used basic psychological need and achievement goal ap-proaches for describing the motivations of university faculty for teaching and for explaining differences in faculty experiences, success, and learning. However, the interplay between these motivational constructs has been largely ignored, with only faculty from specific educational contexts being studied—neglecting those from other higher education systems and institution types that potentially differ in the configurations, levels, and effects of their motivations. As combining both approaches and examining multiple educational contexts is essential for a comprehensive theoretical understanding of faculty motivation and generalizable results, we conducted an international study including 1,410 university faculty members from German, In-dian, and US-American teaching and research universities. Aside from need satisfaction and achievement goals, we measured their positive affect, teaching quality, and professional learn-ing. Results attested measurement invariance of basic need and achievement goal scales regard-ing language, higher education context, and institution type. We found small differences in mo-tivations between the three higher education contexts and negligible differences between institu-tion types. Task, learning, and relational goals were positively, and work avoidance goals were negatively linked to the outcome variables. Need satisfaction sensibly explained differences in pursuit of these goals, and—directly and indirectly through the goals—also the outcome varia-bles. Taken together, these results provide international evidence for the importance of faculty motivation for teaching and illuminate how need satisfaction is relevant for goal pursuit, while both motivation approaches uniquely matter for faculty experiences, success, and learning.


2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria E. Warburton ◽  
Christopher M. Spray

The purpose of this study was to examine the temporal pattern of pupils’ approach-avoidance achievement goal adoption in physical education across Key Stage 3 of secondary school. Moreover, we determined the predictive utility of implicit theories of ability and perceived competence in explaining change in achievement goals, along with the moderating influence of pupils’ year group. On four occasions, over a 9-month period, 511 pupils in Years 7, 8, and 9 completed measures of perceived competence, incremental and entity beliefs, and approach-avoidance goals. Mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, and performance-avoidance goals exhibited a linear decline over time, whereas performance-approach goals showed no significant change. Theoretical propositions regarding the antecedents of approach-avoidance goal adoption were supported. Year group was found to moderate a number of these antecedent-goal relationships. Results suggest that Year 7 is a critical time for adolescents’ motivation in school physical education.


2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (13) ◽  
pp. 1471-1482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikos Ntoumanis ◽  
Cecilie Th⊘gersen-Ntoumani ◽  
Alison L. Smith

Author(s):  
Ching-Lun Wei ◽  
Wei-Jen Chen ◽  
Michael Tian-Shyug Lee ◽  
Tsung-Kuo Tien-Liu ◽  
◽  
...  

Objectives: This study aimed to validate the application of the 3 × 2 achievement goal model in sports. Motivations: In order to offer new perspectives on achievement goals, this study explores 3 × 2 achievement goals used in competitive sports, and the prediction of passion and psychological well-being for sports. Methods: The study sample consists of 406 college and university athletes, including 230 males and 176 females. Average age of the subjects was 20.34 years. Average length of years of sports participation was 8.23 years. Data were collected with a questionnaire that incorporated a 3 × 2 achievement goal scale, a sports passion scale, and the Psychological Well-Being Scale. Statistical Methods: Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics for fuzzy data, fuzzy correlation coefficients, and fuzzy regression models. Finding: 1. There was a correlation between every two of task-approach, task-avoidance, self-approach, self-avoidance, other-approach, other-avoidance, harmonious passion, obsessive passion, and psychological well-being. 2. Among college and university athletes, task-approach and self-approach positively influence harmonious passion; task-approach, self-approach, other-approach, and other-avoidance positively influence obsessive passion; task-avoidance negatively influences obsessive passion; task-approach and self-approach positively influence psychological well-being, and task-avoidance negatively influences psychological well-being. Innovations: Use of the 3 × 2 achievement goal scale is applicable to college sportsmen in Taiwan, and the research method uses fuzzy statistical analysis, which breaks through the barriers of traditional psychological survey methods, and will improve the research quality of the sample survey. This study provides new techniques for research on psychological trends in sports. Value: In the future, coaches and athletes should focus on task-approach and self-approach goals in order to enhance the college or university athletes’ harmonious passion for a positive impact on their psychological well-being when they engage in sports through their own free will.


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