Motivation and Emotion - Call for Papers: Advances in Achievement Goal Theory – Theoretical Integration, Multiple Goal Pursuit, and Goal Complexes
Guest editors: Gregory Arief D. Liem (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore), Corwin Senko (State University of New York, New Paltz, USA)
Achievement goal theory has been a leading theory of achievement motivation since the 1980s, with its applications in both academic and non-academic settings (Elliot & Hulleman, 2017). Its core thrust has always been to contrast mastery goals (striving to learn and improve) and performance goals (striving to demonstrate ability relative to peers).
Theoretical Integration & Multiple Goals
In the past two decades, we have seen growing interest in integrating achievement goals and companion theories of motivation (e.g., expectancy-value and self-determination theories). Such studies have mostly taken one of two tracks. The first treats one motivation construct (e.g., expectancies) as the antecedent to another (e.g., achievement goals) within a path analysis. The second tries to connect goals with other motivational constructs by measuring them together and using a profile analysis to see which constructs cluster together. Both strategies have helped advanced goal theory. Yet they are also methodologically constrained because each focuses solely on the correlations between constructs: path models link the constructs sequentially based on those correlations, and profile analysis clusters the constructs based on those correlations. Each tells us only about the strength of ties between different theories’ constructs. They tell us little about how the constructs actually fit together (see Liem & Senko, 2022 for a critical analysis and potential solution). For example, how do people perceive and experience the connection between an achievement goal and other motivational constructs? How do other motivational constructs inform the meaning of the goal? What boundaries do they put on how the goal’s pursuit is experienced or the consequences the goal produces? Conversely, how do goals do the same for other motivation theories’ constructs? These types of questions will be necessary to answer for any genuine integration of theories.
Multiple goals research offers an illustrative example. People often pursue multiple goals in achievement situations – not just their achievement goal(s) but also other goals, such as social goals (e.g., to fit in or please family), well-being goals, or career goals. Although this has long been acknowledged in the field, the research on multiple goals has been largely limited to tests of which achievement goals covary with which social goals, or the additive vs. interactive effects that they have on outcomes. They rely heavily on either regression models (e.g., path analysis) or person-centered models (e.g., latent profile analysis) to identify the “best” combination of goals, typically judged based on the outcomes predicted by each combination. We still know fairly little about how achievement goals fit with other goals. Do people perceive multiple goals as compatible, independent, or opposing? If they do perceive them as compatible, what strategies do they use to coordinate them, and which strategies are most effective? Do they pursue achievement goals and social goals concurrently or sequentially over time? Those answers will likely require adopting a hierarchical and systems-oriented conception of goals that integrates achievement goals within the person’s broader set of personal goals (e.g., Hofer & Fries, 2016; Kruglanski et al., 2015; Kung & Scholer, 2021; Liem & Senko, 2022; Neal et al., 2017).
Achievement Goal Complexes
Integrating theories and delving into multiple goals will require creative methods and new frameworks. While there may be many possible approaches, the goal complex model seems especially well-suited to these questions. First introduced by Elliot (Elliot & Thrash, 2001; Thrash & Elliot, 2001), the goal complex model is designed to integrate achievement goals within the broader hierarchical system of motivational constructs. It defines achievement goals as the specific competence-based endpoints (the ‘what’ of motivation) that individuals strive to attain, whether relative to others (performance goals) or relative to one’s own prior performance or task-based standards (mastery goals). It also recognizes that those goals are energized and catalyzed by underlying reasons (the ‘why’ of motivation). Accordingly, the model offers two provocative assumptions that depart from traditional achievement goal theory. First, an achievement goal can be pursued for numerous different reasons (e.g., for personal pride, for enjoyment, to please parents, to secure a good future). The goal and reason bind into a unique “goal complex,” a gestalt marriage that is more than the sum of its parts. The goal complex, thus, takes the following structural form: “I AM PURSUING [academic achievement goal] BECAUSE [reason]” (Elliot, 2023; Liem & Elliot, 2018). Second, each goal’s effects depend partly on those underlying reasons. The same performance goal, for example, can take on different meanings and produce different outcomes based on the reasons it is being pursued (Senko & Tropiano, 2016).
Identifying the reasons for goal pursuit is the first step for any goal complex study. As “the psychological starting point for action” (Elliot & Thrash, 2001, pp. 143-144), goal pursuit reasons may include conscious cognitive motives or relatively nonconscious affective motives (Sommet, Elliot, & Sheldon, 2021) – features that allow constructs such as needs, concerns, desires, higher-order goals, personal strivings, interests, and wishes, for example, to be considered as reasons (Thrash & Elliot, 2001). To date, however, nearly all studies have adopted self-determination theory for this purpose, their findings generally showing that achievement goals are more adaptive if pursued for autonomous reasons than controlled reasons (for reviews, see Senko, Liem et al., 2023; Sommet et al., 2021; Vansteenkiste et al., 2014). Researchers have barely begun to consider other motivation constructs for the goal pursuit reasons role, such as promotion vs. prevention regulatory focus (Świątkowski & Dompnier, 2020), social desirability vs. social utility (Świątkowski & Dompnier, 2021), or various social goals like the aims to please parents vs. be a good class citizen (Liem & Senko, 2022). Identifying and testing other possible goal pursuit reasons remains an important yet underexplored topic. In so doing, this model can help integrate achievement goal theory with other motivation theories by placing constructs from each at different points in the motivational hierarchy (Elliot, 2023; Elliot & Sommet, 2023).
Such work can also examine multiple goals pursuit questions related to pursuing achievement goals alongside other personal goals (Liem & Senko, 2022; Senko et al., 2023). For example, it can clarify the issues of equifinality (e.g., how pursuing different achievement goals helps attaining the social goal of seeking others’ approval) or multifinality (how pursuing a particular achievement goal serves as a way to attain broader goals such as to become an educated person, have a good future, and realize one’s potential) in multiple goals pursuit.
Special Issue Papers
The aim of this Special Issue is to focus more attention on the processes involved in achievement goal pursuit, recognizing that any goal is pursued within a broader landscape that can include many goals or other motivational constructs. We invite motivation researchers to submit high quality empirical papers that meet one or more of the following features: (a) bridge achievement goal theory with other companion motivational theories; (b) examine the processes involved in pursuing achievement goals alongside other personal goals; (c) identify and compare under-explored achievement goal pursuit reasons; or (d) adopt novel methodologies to study achievement goal theory integration, multiple goals pursuit, or goal complexes.
Timeline and submission instructions
Initial proposals for your planned papers are due on December 31st, 2023. Please submit a brief (2 pages, double spaced) proposal for a manuscript, making clear the goals of your paper, how it contributes to goal complex research, and how it addresses the visions and objectives of the Special Issue.
When asked whether your submission is for a Special Issue, please select ‘Yes’ and select ‘SI: Advances in Achievement Goal Theory.’ In the abstract field, enter “N/A”. Each proposal will be evaluated for its relevance and fit with the topic of the Special Issue, theoretical innovation, and methodological rigor.
Feedback and full manuscript invitations will be sent by January 31st, 2024 . Invited manuscripts will be subject to peer-review and the publication standards of Motivation and Emotion. Please follow the Motivation and Emotion guidelines. Submission of full manuscripts will be due by July 31st, 2024. Manuscript reviews will be provided by October 31st, 2024. Revised manuscripts will be due by January 31st, 2025. Second reviews will be provided by April 30th, 2025. Final manuscripts are due by June 30th, 2025. Publication of Special Issue is in Fall 2025.
References
Elliot, A. J. (2023). Energization and direction are both essential parts of motivation. In M. Bong, J. Reeve, & S.-I. Kim (Eds.), Motivation science: Controversies and insights. Oxford University Press.
Elliot, A. J., & Hulleman, C. S. (2017). Achievement goals. In A. J. Elliot, C. S. Dweck, & D. S. Yeager (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation: Theory and application (pp. 43-60). The Guilford Press.
Elliot, A. J., & Thrash, T. M. (2001). Achievement goals and the hierarchical model of achievement motivation. Educational Psychology Review, 12, 139–156.
Elliot, A. J., & Sommet, N. (2023). Integration in the achievement motivation literature and the hierarchical model of achievement motivation. Educational Psychology Review. Advance online publication https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09785-7
Hofer, M., & Fries, S. (2016). A multiple goals perspective on academic motivation. In K. R. Wentzel & D. B. Miele (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (2nd ed., pp. 440–458). Routledge.
Kruglanski, A. W, Chernikova, M., Babush, M., Dugas, M., & Schumpe, B. M. (2015). The architecture of goal systems: Multifinality, equifinality, and counterfinality in means-end relations. In A. J. Elliot (Ed.), Advances in motivation science (pp. 69-98). Academic Press.
Kung, F. Y. H., & Scholer, A. A. (2021). Moving beyond two goals: An integrative review and framework for the study of multiple goals. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 25(2), 130–158.
Liem, G. A. D., & Elliot, A. J. (2018) Sociocultural influences on achievement goal adoption and regulation: A goal complex perspective. In G. A. D. Liem & D. M. McInerney (Eds.), Big theories revisited 2 – Research on sociocultural influences on learning and motivation (Vol. 12, pp. 41–67). Information Age Publishing.
Liem, A., & Senko, C. (2022). Goal complexes: A new approach to studying the coordination, consequences, and social contexts of pursuing multiple goals. Educational Psychology Review, 34, 2167-2195.
Neal, A., Ballard, T., & Vancouver, J. B. (2017). Dynamic self-regulation and multiple-goal pursuit. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, 401–423.
Senko, C., & Liem, G. A. D., Lerdpornkulrat, T., & Poondej, C. (2023). Why do students strive to outperform classmates? Unpacking their reasons for pursuing performance goals. Contemporary Educational Psychology, Article 102178.
Senko, C. & Tropiano, K. (2016). Comparing three models of achievement goals: Goal orientations, goal standards, and goal complexes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108, 1178–1192.
Sommet, N., Elliot, A. J., & Sheldon, K. M. (2021). Achievement goal complexes: Integrating the “what” and the “why” of achievement motivation. In O. P. John, & R. W. Robins (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 104–121). The Guilford Press.
Świątkowski, W., & Dompnier, B. (2020). A regulatory focus perspective on performance goals' effects on achievement: A small-scale meta-analytical approach. Learning and Individual Differences, 78, Article 101840.
Świątkowski, W., & Dompnier, B. (2021). When pursuing bad goals for good reasons makes it even worse: a social value approach to performance–avoidance goal pursuit. Social Psychology of Education, 24, 653–677.
Thrash, T. M., & Elliot, A. J. (2001). Delimiting and integrating the goal and motive constructs in achievement motivation. In A. Efklides, J. Kuhl, & R. Sorrentino (Eds.), Trends and prospects in motivation research (pp. 3–21). Amsterdam: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., Elliot, A.J., Soenens, B., & Mouratidis, A. (2014). Moving the achievement goal approach one step forward: Toward a systematic examination of the autonomous and controlled reasons underlying achievement goals. Educational Psychologist, 49, 153-174.