RETHINKING ACHIEVEMENT GOALS - WHEN ARE THEY ADAPTIVE FOR COLLEGE-STUDENTS AND WHY

The types of goals that students adopt in educational settings and the consequences of those goals on 2 important educational outcomes-perfo rmance and intrinsic motivation-are discussed. In the case of performa nce, we briefly review and evaluate a large body of theory and researc h conducted by other investigators. In particular, we consider the pos sibility that some commonly accepted conclusions about the effects of achievement goals are premature. In the case of intrinsic motivation, we describe a theoretical model that has guided our own work on this t opic and provide some recent experimental results. We believe that thi s model and our experimental results can contribute to a more comprehe nsive understanding of goals and optimal motivation. Finally, we retur n to the college classroom environment and examine the consequences of goals for both performance and intrinsic motivation, offering a broad er analysis of success in college courses.