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Performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals: when uncertainty makes a difference.

Céline Darnon1, Judith M Harackiewicz, Fabrizio Butera

  • 1Université Pierre Mendès France, Grenoble. celine.darnon@univ-bpclermont.fr

Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|May 10, 2007
PubMed
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Performance-approach goals can boost performance, but only when individuals are confident. Uncertainty about performance, such as disagreement or negative feedback, negates this advantage, making performance-avoidance goals equally effective.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Motivation

Background:

  • Performance-avoidance goals consistently harm performance.
  • Performance-approach goals have complex effects on achievement outcomes.
  • Uncertainty may influence the effectiveness of performance-approach goals.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate uncertainty as a moderator of performance-approach goals.
  • To compare the effects of performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals under varying uncertainty conditions.

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments were conducted.
  • Experiment 1 manipulated performance-approach goals and introduced uncertainty via coactor disagreement.
  • Experiment 2 examined self-set performance-approach goals and uncertainty from negative competence feedback.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • In the absence of uncertainty, performance-approach goals improved performance compared to performance-avoidance goals.
  • Uncertainty, whether from coactor disagreement or negative feedback, eliminated the advantage of performance-approach goals.
  • Performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals had similar effects on performance when uncertainty was present.

Conclusions:

  • Uncertainty is a critical moderator of performance-approach goal effects.
  • The motivational benefits of performance-approach goals are contingent on perceived certainty.
  • Understanding uncertainty's role is key to optimizing achievement motivation strategies.