PERFORMANCE-APPROACH GOALS AND SOCIAL VALUE Accepted for publication in: British Journal of Social Psychology When Performance-Approach Goals Predict Academic Achievement and When They Do Not: A Social Value Approach

Research on achievement goal promotion at University has shown that performanceapproach goals are perceived as a means to succeed at University (high social utility) but are not appreciated (low social desirability). We argue that such a paradox could explain why research has detected that performance-approach goals consistently predict academic grades. First-year psychology students answered a performance-approach goal scale with standard, social desirability and social utility instructions. Participants' grades were recorded at the end of the semester. Results showed that the relationship between performance-approach goals and grades was inhibited by the increase of these goals' social desirability and facilitated by the increase of their social utility, revealing that the predictive validity of performanceapproach goals depend on social value.