MALADAPTIVE ACHIEVEMENT PATTERNS - A TEST OF A DIATHESIS-STRESS ANALYSIS OF HELPLESSNESS

The present study tested the assumptions, derived from a diathesis-str ess model, that students' perceptions of autonomy-support in their cla ssroom produce a relatively intrinsic as opposed to extrinsic motivati onal approach to academic tasks and that this approach, in turn, predi cts qualitatively different responses to uncontrollable events. It was further assumed that students' motivational orientation would be more reliable than attributional style or perceptions of competence in pre dicting achievement patterns, including performance level after failur e, use of adaptive attributions, and overall achievement scores. Resul ts supported these predictions and further demonstrated, in longitudin al analyses, that motivational orientation may contribute to the forma tion of perceptions of competence and attributional style in students.