Kenneth E. Barron

Testing Moderator and Mediator Effects in Counseling Psychology Research.

The goals of this article are to (a) describe differences between moderator and mediator effects; (b) provide nontechnical descriptions of how to examine each type of effect, including study design, analysis, and interpretation of results; (c) demonstrate how to analyze each type of effect; and (d) provide suggestions for further reading. The authors focus on the use of multiple regression because it is an accessible data-analytic technique contained in major statistical packages. When appropriate, they also note limitations of using regression to detect moderator and mediator effects and describe alternative procedures, particularly structural equation modeling. Finally, to illustrate areas of confusion in counseling psychology research, they review research testing moderation and mediation that was published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology during 2001.

Revision of achievement goal theory: Necessary and illuminating.

C. Midgley et al. (2001) raised important questions about the effects of performance-approach goals. The present authors disagree with their characterization of the research findings and implications for theory. They discuss 3 reasons to revise goal theory: (a) the importance of separating approach from avoidance strivings, (b) the positive potential of performance-approach goals, and (c) identification of the ways performance-approach goals can combine with mastery goals to promote optimal motivation. The authors review theory and research to substantiate their claim that goal theory is in need of revision, and they endorse a multiple goal perspective. The revision of goal theory is underway and offers a more complex, but necessary, perspective on important issues of motivation, learning, and achievement. In tins response. the authors dispel interpretation of their critical review of research on performance-approach goals as support for a dichotomous perspective of achievement goal theory. Second, the authors challenge the suggestion that accepting recent research findings and adopting a multiple goals perspective constitutes a theoretical revision of the assumption that mastery goals are always good and performance goals are always bad (J. M. Harackiewicz. K. E. Barron, P. R. Pintrich, P. R. Elliot, & T. M. Thrash. 2002, p. 643). The authors make a distinction between developments that contribute to the explanatory power of the theory and value-laden interpretations of theory and research. The authors argue that phrasing the latter in terms of the former is misleading and that it masks the necessity for a critical discussion over the desired purposes in different types of achievement contexts.

Achievement goals and optimal motivation: testing multiple goal models.

Currently, there is a debate about which types of achievement goals promote optimal motivation. A number of theorists argue for a mastery goal perspective focusing on the adaptive consequences of mastery goals and the maladaptive consequences of performance goals. Others endorse a multiple goal perspective in which both mastery and performance goals can be beneficial. The purpose of the present investigation was to review why this debate has emerged and to offer a critical test of the mastery versus multiple goal perspectives. In Study 1, a correlational approach was used to identify the optimal goals for college participants to adopt for a learning activity. In Study 2, an experimental approach was used to identify the optimal goals to assign for the same activity. Each study revealed benefits of both mastery and performance goals, providing support for the multiple goal perspective.

Predicting Success in College: A Longitudinal Study of Achievement Goals and Ability Measures as Predictors of Interest and Performance From Freshman Year Through Graduation

The authors examined the role of achievement goals, ability, and high school performance in predicting academic success over students’ college careers. First, the authors examined which variables predicted students’ interest and performance in an introductory psychology course taken their first semester in college. Then, the authors followed students until they graduated to examine continued interest in psychology and performance in subsequent classes. Achievement goals, ability measures, and prior high school performance each contributed unique variance in predicting initial and long-term outcomes, but these predictors were linked to different educational outcomes. Mastery goals predicted continued interest, whereas performance-approach goals predicted performance. Ability measures and prior high school performance predicted academic performance but not interest. The findings support a multiple goals perspective.

The Role of Achievement Goals in the Development of Interest: Reciprocal Relations Between Achievement Goals, Interest, and Performance

The dynamics of individual and situational interest and academic performance were examined in the college classroom and 7 semesters later in conjunction with achievement goals. At the beginning of an introductory psychology course, participants reported their initial interest in psychology, achievement goals, and situational interest in course lectures. At the end of the semester, participants (N = 858) reported their situational interest in course lectures and psychology. In the short term, relationships emerged among initial interest, achievement goals, situational interest, and class performance. Longitudinally, situational interest during the introductory course, independent of initial interest, predicted subsequent course choices. Results are discussed in terms of S. Hidi and K. A. Renningers (2006) 4-phase model of interest development and the multiple goals model (J. M. Harackiewicz, K. E. Barron, P. R. Pintrich, A. J. Elliot, & T. M. Thrash, 2002).

Examining the Psychometric Properties of the Achievement Goal Questionnaire in a General Academic Context

The psychometric properties of the Achievement Goal Questionnaire (AGQ), when modified for a general academic context, were examined. Previous research has found evidence of a four-factor structure of achievement goal orientation when this measure was used in a course-specific context. This study is an important addition to goal orientation research for the following two reasons: (a) It provides additional support for four distinct factors of goal orientation, and (b) it answers the call for examining achievement goal orientation measures at different levels of specificity. The authors found that the four-factor structure of goal orientation replicated when used in a general academic context.

Measuring situational interest in academic domains

Three studies were conducted to develop and validate scores on a new measure appropriate for assessing adolescents’ situational interest (SI) across various academic settings. In Study 1 (n = 858), a self-report questionnaire was administered to undergraduates in introductory psychology. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) supported a three-factor model that differentiated between interest generated by (a) the presentation of course material that grabbed students’ attention (triggered-SI), (b) the extent to which the material itself was enjoyable and engaging (maintained-SI-feeling), and (c) whether the material was viewed as important and valuable (maintained-SI-value). CFA analyses in Study 2 (n = 284) and Study 3 (n = 246) also supported the three-factor situational interest model for middle and high school students in mathematics. Moreover, situational interest was shown to be distinct from individual interest and was a statistically significant predictor of change in individual interest across the school year.

Achievement goals and optimal motivation: A multiple goals approach

Publisher Summary This chapter addresses the question of optimal motivation using an achievement goal approach. In general, goals can be defined as cognitive representations of what is hoped to be accomplished, and they give direction and energy to behavior. They also can vary in their level of specificity, ranging from concrete and task-specific goals to more general and broad goals. One particular class of goals, achievement goals, has emerged as the dominant framework for studying achievement motivation. Achievement goals reflect the purpose or reason for an individuals achievement pursuits in a particular situation, and theorists have converged on two general types of achievement goals. The chapter also reviews experimental work that reveals some of the conditions under which performance goals promote intrinsic motivation, as well as correlational work that reveals a positive association between performance goals and academic performance. Achievement goal theorists have reexamined the performance goal construct and argued that it confounds theoretically distinct components. The chapter describes a theoretical model that has guided experimental work on this topic and then presents experimental results that support the model. Following this, it presents some of the recent correlational work in classroom settings. The chapter then demonstrates how the findings, whether experimental or correlational, support a multiple goal perspective rather than the mastery goal perspective. Finally, it describes a set of studies designed to bridge existing experimental and correlational work and outlines four ways in which mastery and performance goals can work in concert to promote optimal motivation.Publisher Summary This chapter addresses the question of optimal motivation using an achievement goal approach. In general, goals can be defined as cognitive representations of what is hoped to be accomplished, and they give direction and energy to behavior. They also can vary in their level of specificity, ranging from concrete and task-specific goals to more general and broad goals. One particular class of goals, achievement goals, has emerged as the dominant framework for studying achievement motivation. Achievement goals reflect the purpose or reason for an individuals achievement pursuits in a particular situation, and theorists have converged on two general types of achievement goals. The chapter also reviews experimental work that reveals some of the conditions under which performance goals promote intrinsic motivation, as well as correlational work that reveals a positive association between performance goals and academic performance. Achievement goal theorists have reexamined the performance goal construct and argued that it confounds theoretically distinct components. The chapter describes a theoretical model that has guided experimental work on this topic and then presents experimental results that support the model. Following this, it presents some of the recent correlational work in classroom settings. The chapter then demonstrates how the findings, whether experimental or correlational, support a multiple goal perspective rather than the mastery goal perspective. Finally, it describes a set of studies designed to bridge existing experimental and correlational work and outlines four ways in which mastery and performance goals can work in concert to promote optimal motivation.

Measuring Goal Orientation in a Work Domain: Construct Validity Evidence for the 2×2 Framework

The current research extended the three-factor (mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance) measure of achievement goals in a work domain to the four-factor conceptualization (in a 2 × 2 framework) by adding items to represent mastery-avoidance goals. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on two independent samples to evaluate the dimensionality of scores. Results from both samples indicated that after dropping 5 problematic mastery-avoidance items, responses to a reduced 18-item version of the instrument fit a four-factor model well. In addition, initial support for each of the four goal orientations having a unique relationship to theoretically related external criteria was found.

Expectancy-Value-Cost Model of Motivation

Abstract Expectancy-Value models recognize the important role of two components in promoting overall motivation: having an expectancy of being successful in a task and having a value for engaging in the task. In this article, we highlight the additional role that the cost of engaging in an activity plays in influencing motivation and propose a revised Expectancy-Value-Cost model of motivation. Because cost has been less researched and written about, we pay particular attention to its past, present, and future role in an overall model of motivation.