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Autonomous and controlled reasons underlying achievement goals: Implications for the 3 × 2 achievement goal model in educational and work settings

Motivation and Emotion volume 39, pages 858–875 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

The main purpose of the present research was to examine the effects of achievement goals (i.e., task-approach, task-avoidance, self-approach, self-avoidance, other-approach, and other-avoidance) and the autonomous and controlling reasons underlying their pursuit on educational (samples 1 and 2) and work (sample 3) outcomes (i.e., engagement, satisfaction, positive affect, and anxiety). The present results revealed that motivations underlying achievement goals are stronger predictors of subjective well-being than the endorsement of goals themselves. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Aurel Carbunar for his help on an earlier draft of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. EA 2114 Psychologie des Âges de la Vie, FED 4223 Fédération Inter-régionale de Recherches en Sciences du Travail (FIRST), Département de Psychologie, Université François-Rabelais de Tours, UFR Arts et Sciences Humaines, 3 Rue des Tanneurs, 37041, Tours Cedex 1, France

    Nicolas Gillet, Tiphaine Huyghebaert & Evelyne Fouquereau

  2. McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Marc-André K. Lafrenière

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  1. Nicolas Gillet
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  2. Marc-André K. Lafrenière
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Correspondence to Nicolas Gillet.

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Gillet, N., Lafrenière, MA.K., Huyghebaert, T. et al. Autonomous and controlled reasons underlying achievement goals: Implications for the 3 × 2 achievement goal model in educational and work settings. Motiv Emot 39, 858–875 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-015-9505-y

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Keywords

  • Achievement goals
  • Autonomous and controlled motivations
  • Satisfaction
  • Engagement
  • Positive affect
  • Anxiety