Why do students strive to outperform classmates? Unpacking their reasons for pursuing performance goals

Abstract

Achievement goal theory has evolved since introduced about 40 years ago. One of its newer variants is the goal complex model. It assumes that each achievement goal (i.e., performance or mastery) can be pursued for many reasons and, more provocatively, that the goal’s effects depend partly on why it is pursued. Clearly, the first task for this area is to identify likely goal pursuit reasons, develop and validate a measure of reasons, and chart the influence of those reasons. Progress remains limited, however. Nearly all studies have considered only a small set of reasons suggested predominantly by self-determination theory, overlooking several other plausible reasons. Nor is there an established measure of goal pursuit reasons. To overcome those limitations, the current study validated and tested a new goal complex measure that includes several additional goal pursuit reasons, both personal (e.g., pride) and social (e.g., to make close others proud, or to help or serve others) in nature. Two culturally distinct samples of university students – one from the USA (n = 400), the other from Thailand (n = 404) – completed the measure with performance goals in mind and then reported a diverse array of educational outcomes. Their results converge for the most part. In each sample, the new measure proved to have good structural validity and psychometric properties. Several goal complexes, including the new social ones, showed unique and often desirable relationships with outcomes, too. The findings raise several research directions and implications for achievement goal theory.