Motivation and performance following failure: The effortful pursuit of self-defining goals

In this paper, I summarise theory and research, highlighting the role of se lf-defining goals in how individuals react to and try to cope with failure outcomes. I propose that three factors are fundamental to the understanding of whether failure stimulates or impairs motivated behaviour: the relevanc e of failure to a self-definition, the substitutability of tasks in the ser vice of striving for a self-definition, and a person's commitment to pursui ng the respective self-definition. Focusing on students' occupationally dir ected self-definitions, I first review research showing how the interplay a mong these factors is reflected in varied measures of achievement behaviour and then discuss practical implications of the theory.