MOTIVATIONAL BELIEFS, GOALS AND PATTERNS

MOTIVATIONAL BELIEFS, GOALS AND PATTERNS Damon Burton University of Idaho

GOAL MODEL OF MOTIVATION (Antecedents) (Consequences) Beliefs about Goal Motivational Talent Orientations Patterns • Capacity Ego-Involved Success- & or Outcome Failure-Oriented • Learning Task-Involved Performance- or Performance Oriented

BELIEFS ABOUT TALENT & INTELLIGENCE • Capacity beliefs – intelligence and sport ability are fixed and unchangeable. • The worst thing is to look dumb or incompetent • Talent is measured now and far into the future. • Learning beliefs – intelligence and talent are changeable and controllable. • The worst thing is to not learn. • Talent is measured for the present but not for the future.

ROLE OF EFFORT IN TALENT BELIEFS • Capacity beliefs – high ability means you shouldn’t have to work hard. • They feel smart when others struggle. • They perceive a negative relationship between effort and performance. • Learning beliefs – hard work always is necessary to reach your potential. • They feel smart when they help others or bring out the best in others. • They perceive a positive relationship between effort and performance. • Effort will get your somewhere better as long as you work hard.

BELIEFS-GOAL RELATIONSHIPS Outcome Goals Outcome Goals Performance Goals Low Challenge High Challenge High Challenge Capacity 50% 32% 18% Learning 10% 29% 61%

BELIEFS PREDICT JUNIOR HIGH TRANSITION • 7th grade important transition that is stressful to adolescents because • work gets suddenly harder, • workload becomes greater, • grading is more stringent, • grades become more important and • instruction is less personalized.

HENDERSON & DWECK (1990) • Predicted that capacity belief kids would show helpless responses to new environment • Doubt their intellectual ability in the face of failure, • More anxiety about schoolwork • Achieve at a lower level compared to peers

HENDERSON & DWECK (1990) • Capacity belief kids showed a marked decline in class standing. • High achievers in 6th grade were now low achievers • Learning belief kids showed the most impressive gains in class standing, particularly those with low confidence in their intelligence

IMPACT OF BELIEFS ON FAILURE RESPONSES Learning Capacity Depressed Group GroupGroup Global Self-Putdown 2 7 6 Intellectual Blame 3 8 7 Negative Affect 4 8 8.5

ROBINS & PALS (1998) • Beliefs did predict goals valued. • Capacity belief students blamed their failure on low ability, felt distressed and ashamed about their GPAs and gave up in challenging situations. • Beliefs were stable across 3 years (r = .64)

ARONSON (1998) • “Stereotype threat” is when members of a stigmatized group feel threatened when they think they’re in danger of confirming a negative group stereotype. • When students believe the ability in question is malleable, or when they are trained to have learning beliefs, the harmful effects of stereotype threat are reduced.

HOW ARE BELIEFS DEVELOPED? • Feedback patterns have a major impact on beliefs. • If feedback focuses on traits (e.g., you’re very talented) to explain success or lack of talent to explain failure, capacity beliefs develop. • If feedback focuses on effort and strategy as the keys to success and failure, learning beliefs develop

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MOTIVATIONAL BELIEFS, GOALS AND PATTERNS