Goal Type, Goal Difficulty, and Affective Values of Goals

Interactions and relationships involving goal attributes and goal types were examined to supplement previous studies of goal types alone. In previous studies, goal attributes such as positive-based incentive values had been found to be higher for intrinsic goals, mastery goals, and more difficult goals. Intrinsic goals and mastery goals were more positive-based than were extrinsic and performance goals unless goals were also perceived as difficult. College students (n.102) completed a booklet in which they rated academic goals in terms of several goal attributes, using a 7-point response scale. In this study, performance-approach goals differed from performance-avoidance goals in several types of incentive value, and contrasts between these two goal types appeared both to be confounded with difficulty level and to interact with it. Results are consistent with goal orientation theories, but also suggest possible elaborations of those theories as new information is obtained about interactions among goal attributes. (Author/SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Goal Type, Goal Difficulty, and Affective Values of Goals Frank W. Wicker, Erin J. McCann, JoyLynn H. Reed University of Texas at Austin Jeannine E. Turner Southwest Educational Development Laboratory and Douglas Hamman Merrimack College Presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association New Orleans, LA April 28, 2000 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement ED CATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as CNI received from the person or organization originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to C) improve reproduction quality. l' Points of view or opinions stated in this CD document do not necessarily represent 2 official OERI position or policy. 1 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY