To confirm or to conform ? Performance goals as a regulator of conflict with more competent others

International audienceDespite the fact that most competence-relevant settings are socially relevant settings,the interpersonal effects of achievement goals have been understudied. This is all the more surprising in the case of performance goals, for which self-competence is assessed using an other-referenced standard. In the present research, performance-goals are conceived as a social tool for regulating interpersonal behaviors with more competent others. In the confrontation with a more (vs. equally) competent disagreeing partner, performance-approach goals (focus on approaching normative competence) should be associated with more dominant behavior, i.e., competitive conflict regulation, whereas performance-avoidance goals (focus on avoiding normative incompetence) should be associated with more submissive behavior, i.e., protective conflict regulation. Four studies give support to these predictions with self-reported conflict regulation measures (Study 1 and 3), evaluation of models associated to self-confirmation and compliance (Study 2) and conflict regulation behaviors (Study 4). Theoretical contributions to both the literature on achievement goals and that on socio-cognitive conflict, as well as practical implications for the issue of competence asymmetry in educational settings, are discussed

Achievement Goal Promotion at University: Social Desirability and Social Utility of Mastery and Performance Goals

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Improving low achievers' academic performance at university by changing the social value of mastery goals

Recent research has shown that, in a University context, mastery goals are highly valued, and that students may endorse these goals either because they believe in their utility (i.e., social utility), in which case mastery goals are positively linked to achievement, or to create a positive image of themselves (i.e., social desirability), in which case mastery goals do not predict academic achievement. The present two experiments induced high vs. neutral levels of mastery goals' social utility and social desirability. Results confirmed that mastery goals predicted performance only when these goals were presented as socially useful but not socially desirable, especially among low achievers, those who need mastery goals the most to succeed

Assessing does not mean threatening : the purpose of assessment as a key determinant of girls' and boys' performance in a science class

International audienceDans le domaine scientifique, plusieurs travaux pointent les performances plus faibles des filles, en comparaison de celles obtenues par les garçons, surtout lorsque la situation évaluative active le stéréotype négatif supposé à propos de leurs capacités. L'originalité de cette recherche a été de ne pas répliquer un effet de menace du stéréotype, cette étude a testé l'efficacité d'une évaluation orientée vers la maîtrise en gardant le caractère évaluatif de la situation et surtout a permis de prouver que cette situation offrait un environnement d'apprentissage équitable pour les filles et les garçons

The motivation to learn as a self-presentation tool among Swiss high school students : The moderating role of mastery goals' perceived social value on learning

Although it has been assumed that the motivation to learn - or mastery goal endorsement - positively predicts learning achievement, most empirical findings fail to demonstrate this relationship. In the present research, conducted in a Swiss high school, we adopted a social value approach to test the hypothesis that adolescent students' mastery goals do in fact predict learning, but only if these goals are perceived as highly useful for scholarly success (high social utility), and are not endorsed as a means to be appreciated by the teachers (low social desirability), a finding that has previously been observed among college students and on teacher-graded achievement measures only. Results demonstrate that in spite of potential peculiarities of an adolescent population, individual differences in mastery goals' perceived social utility and desirability moderate the mastery goal endorsement-learning achievement relation. Findings are discussed with regard to both theory development and educational practice

Socio-Emotional Competencies and School Performance in Adolescence: What Role for School Adjustment?

There is growing evidence in the literature of positive relationships between socio-emotional competencies and school performance. Several hypotheses have been used to explain how these variables may be related to school performance. In this paper, we explored the role of various school adjustment variables in the relationship between interpersonal socio-emotional competencies and school grades, using a weighted network approach. This network approach allowed us to analyze the structure of interrelations between each variable, pointing to both central and mediatory school and socio-emotional variables within the network. Self-reported data from around 3,400 French vocational high school students were examined. This data included a set of interpersonal socio-emotional competencies (cognitive and affective empathy, socio-emotional behaviors and collective orientation), school adjustment measures (adaptation to the institution, school anxiety, self-regulation at school, and self-perceived competence at school) as well as grades in mathematics and French language. The results showed that self-regulation at school weighted the most strongly on the whole network, and was the most important mediatory pathway. More specifically, self-regulation mediated the relationships between interpersonal socio-emotional competencies and school grades

The paradoxical role of meritocratic selection in the perpetuation of social inequalities at school

The school system is intended to offer all students the same opportunities, but most international surveys reveal an overall lower achievement for students from disadvantaged groups compared with more advantaged students. Recent experimental research in social psychology has demonstrated that schools as institutions contribute with their implicit cultural norms and structure to the production of inequalities. This chapter examines the role that a structural feature of school, namely meritocratic selection, plays in this reproduction of inequalities at school. First, we describe how meritocracy in the educational system can hold paradoxical effects by masking the virtuous/vicious cycles of opportunities created by educational institutions. Second, we present recent research suggesting that selection practices relying on a meritocratic principle—more than other practices—can lead to biased academic decisions hindering disadvantaged students. We propose that inequalities in school might not just result from isolated failures in an otherwise functional meritocratic system, but rather that merit-based selection itself contributes to the perpetuation of inequalities at school

Buts d'accomplissement, stratégies d'étude, et motivation intrinsèque : présentation d'un domaine de recherche et validation française de l'échelle d'Elliot et McGregor (2001)

Summary : Achievement goals, study strategies, and intrinsic motivation : presentation of a research field and validation of the French version of Elliot and McGregor's (2001) scale Research on achievement goals has highlighted four goals orienting students' activities in academic tasks : performance-approach (proving one's own abilities), performance-avoidance (avoiding showing incompetence), mastery-approach (trying to understand and master the task), and mastery-avoidance (avoiding misunderstanding and not mastering the task). These four goals have different effects, especially on studys strategies, and on intrinsic motivation. The first part of the article presents the research field of achievement goals. The second part presents a study validating in French Elliot and McGregor's (2001) achievement goal questionnaire comprising the above four dimensions. The translated scale was completed by 164 second-year psychology students. Factor analyses revealed a four-dimensional structure. Moreover, Cronbach's alphas showed that all sub-scales have good reliability. Finally, regression analyses provided evidence of the good external validity of the scale. Indeed, as expected, the performance-approach goal tended to predict positively surface studying. The performance-avoidance goal predicted negatively deep studying and positively surface studying and disorganization. The mastery-approach goal was a good predictor of deep studying and intrinsic motivation. Finally, the mastery-avoidance goal predicted positively disorganization and negatively intrinsic motivation. In sum, all the results obtained with the English version of the scale are reproduced here with its French version. Key words : scale, achievement goals, study strategies, intrinsic motivation.Résumé Les recherches sur les buts d'accomplissement soulignent l'existence de quatre buts qui peuvent orienter l'attention des étudiants lorsqu'ils réalisent une tâche : le but de performance-approche (démontrer ses compétences), performance-évitement (éviter de montrer ses incompétences), maîtrise-approche (comprendre et maîtriser la tâche) et maîtrise-évitement (éviter la non-maîtrise de la tâche). Ces quatre buts diffèrent quant à leurs effets sur les stratégies d'études et la motivation intrinsèque. La première partie de cet article présente le champ de recherche. La seconde présente une étude qui valide en français l'échelle d'Elliot et McGregor (2001), comprenant ces quatre buts. L'échelle traduite a été soumise à 164 étudiants de deuxième année de psychologie. Les analyses factorielles confirment une structure en quatre dimensions, et les alphas de Cronbach montrent la fiabilité des sous-échelles. Enfin, les analyses de régression démontrent la validité externe de l'échelle. En effet, les deux buts de performance (approche et évitement) prédisent l'étude de surface. Le but de performance-évitement prédit également la désorganisation, et négativement l'étude profonde. Le but de maîtrise-approche prédit l'étude profonde ainsi que la motivation intrinsèque ; le but de maîtrise-évitement la désorganisation et la motivation intrinsèque (négativement). Ces résultats reproduisent donc dans leur intégralité les résultats obtenus avec la version anglaise de l'échelle. Mots clés : échelle, buts d'accomplissement, stratégie d'étude, motivation intrinsèque.Darnon B., Butera F. Buts d'accomplissement, stratégies d'étude, et motivation intrinsèque : présentation d'un domaine de recherche et validation française de l'échelle d'Elliot et McGregor (2001). In: L'année psychologique. 2005 vol. 105, n°1. pp. 105-131