CC BY 4.0Achievement motivation and performance at school are reciprocally related, however,
empirical studies report a large variability of findings and, in some cases, weaker than
expected associations between these constructs. To further our understanding of the
motivation–performance link, we examined typical patterns of motivation and performance
and their correlates, in two cohorts of 8th-grade students (N1 = 998, N2 = 441). As expected,
we identified both concordant and discordant patterns of achievement motivation and
performance. In two subgroups, specifically, those characterized by low motivation and
low performance (34% of the sample) and those characterized by high motivation and
high performance (18% of the sample), the levels of motivation were highly concordant
with scores on math and reading tests. In contrast, the other two profiles—weak motivation
with elevated performance (38% of all sample) and high motivation with low performance
(9% of the sample) had divergent patterns of motivation and performance. The subgroups
also differed on student socio-economic background, special educational needs, gender,
as well as perceptions of classroom climate. Overall, our findings reveal context-dependent
patterns of the relationship between aspects of achievement motivation and performance