Buck, D., Wolfe, C., Crocker, J., Liwski, N., Somers, M., Knight, K. (2003, February). Performance oriented classroom goals and school competency as a contingency of worth. Poster presented at the 4th annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychologists, L.A., California.
Past research has found that the type of achievement goals a student has for a class will affect the student’s grade in that class (Harackiewicz, Barron, Carter, Lehto, & Elliot, 1997). Three types of achievement goals are proposed in the Harackiewicz et al. research: performance, in which the goal is to perform well in the class, mastery, in which the goal is to master the material covered in the class, and work avoidance, in which the goal is to get by in the class, while doing as little work as possible. Of the three types of achievement goals examined, possessing performance goals correlates strongest with earning a higher grade for the class.
Contingencies of self-worth are domains in which one bases global self-worth (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001). Crocker and Wolfe assert that different people base their global self-worth on different contingencies. These contingencies may include, for example, domains such as appearance, approval from others, competition, virtue, family support, and school competency. Perceived success or failure in contingent domains will affect global, trait self-esteem. Wolfe & Crocker (2002) argue that, because of the importance of outcomes in contingent domains, people will be driven to succeed in contingent areas. Motivation associated with contingency-related goals will be more potent than motivation associated with goals unrelated to one’s contingencies.
The assertion of the present research is that motivation is required to follow through with specific goals. It is very easy, for instance, to make a New Year’s resolution, but it is much more difficult to stick to it. In other words, one can set a goal for any outcome, but motivation is required to follow the goal through to the desired end. The current studies examine whether the self-relevant motivation derived from basing one’s self-worth on school competency can explain the relationship between performance oriented class goals and higher class grades.
In Study 1, we assessed students’ contingencies of worth, their classroom goals, and their final course grades. We predicted that basing one’s self-worth on school competency would mediate the positive relationship between performance goals and class grade. In Study 2, we explored time spent studying as the behavioral explanation for such mediation.
Study 1
Method
Participants
Participants were psychology students (N = 156; 101 women and 55 men) at a small, Midwestern liberal arts college. Students received extra credit for completing the survey.
Materials & Procedure
Contingencies of Self-Worth. Selected subscales from the contingencies of worth scale (Crocker, Luhtanen, Cooper & Bouvrette, 2002.) were used. The subscale of interest for this study was the school competency scale. The measure of school competency as a basis of worth consisted of 7 items. An example item is: “Doing well in school gives me a sense of self-respect.” Participants indicated the extent to which they endorsed each statement using a 7-point Likert type scale (1=strongly disagree, 7=strongly agree).
Goals. Mastery, performance, and work avoidance goals were measured using a classroom goals scale (Harackiewicz, et al., 1997). The goals scale used a 7-point Likert type scale (1= Not at all, 7=Very Much). Students were asked to answer the questions with respect to their psychology class. The measure of the degree to which mastery goals were held consisted of 7 items. An example is: “I want to learn as much as possible.” The measure of the degree to which performance goals were held consisted of 6 items. An example is: “The best way to succeed in this psychology class is to get a good grade.” The measure of the degree to which work avoidance goals were held consisted of 2 items. An example is: “I want to do as little work as possible.”
Participants also provided their grade point average (GPA) and signed a consent form allowing access to their final psychology class grade.
Results & Discussion
Analysis of the data revealed high means for endorsement of the school competency contingency and possessing mastery goals. The means for possessing performance goals or work avoidance goals were moderate. It is important to note that the mean GPA of our participants was relatively high.
A bivariate correlation showed a positive relationship between the school competency contingency and performance goals (r = .49, p < .001). A hierarchical linear regression was conducted. In the first step of the equation, GPA was entered as a covariate along with each of the three types of classroom goals. All were entered as predictors of students’ final grade (in percentage form). The overall equation was significant (R2 = .417, F(4,142) = 25.37, p < .001). GPA was a significant predictor of final grade (Beta =. 558, t = 8.49, p < .001). Of the three goals, the only significant predictor was performance goals (Beta = .202, t = 3.01, p < .01), replicating previous research.
On the second step of the equation, school competency was added as a predictor variable (R2= .435, F (5,141) = 21.69, p< .001). School competency was a significant predictor (Beta = .162, t = 2.12, p < .05). Consistent with our prediction that school competency would mediate the relationship between performance goals and grade, the beta value for performance goals dropped from the first step to the second step (Beta = .131, t = 1.76, p< .10), with the significance level also dropping below the traditional .05 alpha level. Further, a Sobel Goodman interactive mediation test (Preacher & Leonardelli, 2001) suggests that this partial mediation is statistically significant (Goodman (I) test = 1.98, p = .05).
This work replicates the finding that holding performance goals for a particular class increases one’s grade in that class. We have extended this research by demonstrating that basing worth on doing well in school can, in part, explain the relationship between classroom goals and grades. In order to determine why this mediation relationship might exist, a second study was conducted.
Study 2
Descriptive statistics again revealed high means for the school competency contingency, the importance of academics, and GPA. The amount of time spent studying varied greatly among the participants.
A linear regression was conducted using GPA, school competency, and importance of academics to predict time spent studying. The overall equation was significant (R2 = .332 F(3,65) = 10.75, p < .001). Of the three predictors, school competency was the only significant unique predictor of time spent studying (Beta = .399, t = 2.71, p < .01).
This result suggests that basing worth on school competency provides powerful motivation to engage in a specific behavior that should improve school performance. It is not surprising that one’s worth as a person is a stronger predictor of how hard one works to achieve a goal than simply the importance of that goal. This finding provides a tentative explanation that may explain the mediational finding from Study 1. Basing worth on school competency provides the motivation to study, which is likely to influence the grade you receive for a class. Spending more time studying is typically associated with getting better grades. Thus, students who base self worth on school competency will study longer because their self-worth is contingent on good grades.
General Discussion
As predicted, school competency does appear to mediate the effect of holding performance goals for a particular class, and it is a significant predictor of the amount of time that a student will spend studying. Future studies should investigate to determine if any of the variance in time spent studying can be uniquely explained by performance goals and whether time spent studying mediates the relationship between basing worth on school competency and the final grade for a particular class.
This research also presents an interesting causal question. One might logically argue that one’s contingencies develop slowly over time (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001) and that one’s goals emerge as a means to satisfy relevant contingencies. That logic, however, predicts that performance goals should have mediated the relationship between school competency and grades. There were no significant results for that mediational path. Instead, our current results suggest that the contingency of worth provides the motivational “push” needed to enact one’s performance oriented goals.
Further research needs to be conducted to clarify why we did not find a mediational path supporting the logic stated above. More generally, it will be interesting to see what contingency research reveals with respect to the etiology and development of various contingencies of worth.
References
Crocker, J., Luhtanen, R., Cooper, M. L., & Bouvrette, A. (2002). Contingencies of self-worth in college students: Theory and measurement. Manuscript under review.
Crocker, J., & Wolfe, C. (2001). Contingencies of self-worth: Psychological Review, Vol 108(3), Jul 2001. pp. 593-623.
Harackiewicz, Judith M.; Barron, Kenneth E.; Carter, Suzanne M. (1997). Predictors and consequences of achievement goals in the college classroom: Maintaining interest and making the grade. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, Vol 73(6), Dec 1997. pp. 1284-1295.
Preacher, K., & Leonardelli, G. (2001). Interactive Mediation Tests. [On-line]. Available: http://quantrm2.psy.ohio-state.edu/kris/sobel/sobel.htm
Wolfe, C.T. & Crocker, J. (2002). Contingencies of self-worth and goal directed behavior. In S. J. Spencer, S. Fein, M.P. Zanna, & J.M. Olson (Eds.), Motivated Social Perception: The Ninth Ontario Symposium. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.