Achievement goal patterns: Relationships with self-efficacy, persistence, causal attribution and affect in a sample of Italian students

The study examined achievement goal patterns in relation to some motivational and affective dimensions linked to learning in a sample of Italian students. Taking into account both achievement goal theory and multiple goal theory, we explored which of the two could better explain the above relationships. The most adaptive consequences for learning are linked exclusively to mastery goals (MG) in the first approach, and to a combination of mastery and performance-approach goals (PAPG) in the second. Via a self-report questionnaire administered to 464 students (11, 13 and 17 years old), this study aimed to identify whether and how students endorsed achievement goals, and how potential patterns could be related to motivational (in terms of self-efficacy, persistence, and causal attribution) and affective (in terms of positive and negative affect, and attentional status due to affect) dimensions. Three goal patterns were identified, characterized by (1) high MG, moderate PAPG, high performance-avoidance goals (PAVG); (2) high MG, low PAPG, moderate PAVG; (3) moderate MG, low PAPG, moderate PAVG. Main results indicate that adopting multiple goals rather than single MG is more adaptive for some dimensions, as it is associated to higher persistence and influence of affect on attentional status, and less adaptive for others, as it is linked to higher negative affect. Complexity of relationships between motivational and affective variables emerges, leading to conclude that the way in which different goals combine varies according to the outcome considered.