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Related Experiment Videos

Achievement goals, task performance, and interest: why perceived goal difficulty matters.

Corwin Senko1, Judith M Harackiewicz

  • 1Mississippi State University, USA. senko@angpsy.unizh.ch

Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|October 29, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Mastery goals boost interest, while performance-approach goals enhance performance. Goal difficulty perceptions explain these effects, influencing task interest and pressure, especially for those with lower achievement orientation.

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Area of Science:

  • Educational Psychology
  • Motivation Science
  • Goal Setting Theory

Background:

  • Mastery goals (skill development) often increase task interest but not performance.
  • Performance-approach goals (outperforming others) often increase performance but not interest.
  • Distinct goal effects may stem from perceived goal difficulty.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test if perceived goal difficulty mediates the differential effects of mastery and performance-approach goals on interest and performance.
  • To investigate the role of performance pressure in goal pursuit.
  • To examine how manipulating goal difficulty impacts goal pursuit outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments were conducted with participants assigned to either mastery or performance-approach goals.

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  • Participants' perceptions of goal difficulty and performance pressure were measured.
  • Dispositional achievement orientation was assessed to explore individual differences.
  • A manipulated mastery goal condition was introduced to further examine goal difficulty effects.

    • Main Results:

    • Performance-approach goals were perceived as harder, leading to greater performance pressure compared to mastery goals.
    • Lower task interest was observed for performance-approach goals among individuals low in achievement orientation.
    • Performance-approach goals led to better performance, though not mediated by perceived difficulty.
    • A difficult mastery goal mimicked the performance and interest outcomes of performance-approach goals.

    Conclusions:

    • Perceived goal difficulty and resulting performance pressure are key factors differentiating mastery and performance-approach goals.
    • Performance-approach goals can enhance performance, particularly when perceived as challenging.
    • Manipulating goal difficulty offers a potential avenue to align goal pursuit with desired outcomes.