Effects of achievement goals on perceptions of competence in conditions of unfavourable social comparisons: The mastery goal advantage effect

Background: Previous prospective studies have documented that mastery-approach goals are adaptive because they facilitate less negative psychological responses to unfavourable social comparisons than performance-approach goals. AIMS: This study aimed to confirm this so-called 'mastery goal adva...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kamarova, Sviatlana, Chatzisarantis, Nikos, Hagger, Martin, Lintunen, T., Hassandra, M., Papaioannou, A.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54823
_version_ 1848759471358083072
author Kamarova, Sviatlana
Chatzisarantis, Nikos
Hagger, Martin
Lintunen, T.
Hassandra, M.
Papaioannou, A.
author_facet Kamarova, Sviatlana
Chatzisarantis, Nikos
Hagger, Martin
Lintunen, T.
Hassandra, M.
Papaioannou, A.
author_sort Kamarova, Sviatlana
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Background: Previous prospective studies have documented that mastery-approach goals are adaptive because they facilitate less negative psychological responses to unfavourable social comparisons than performance-approach goals. AIMS: This study aimed to confirm this so-called 'mastery goal advantage' effect experimentally. Methods: A 2 × 3 design was adopted where achievement goals (mastery vs. performance) and normative information (favourable vs. no-normative information vs. unfavourable) were manipulated as between participant factors. Sample: Participants were 201 undergraduates, 57 males and 144 females, ranging in age from 17 to 55 years (Mage = 22.53, SD = 6.51). Results: Regression analyses pointed out that experimentally induced mastery-approach goals facilitated higher levels of competence and happiness with task performance than experimentally induced performance-approach goals in conditions of unfavourable social comparisons. In contrast, although performance-approach goals yielded the highest levels of happiness with task performance in conditions of favourable social comparisons, this positive effect of performance-approach goals did not extend to perceptions of competence. Conclusion: Current findings broaden understanding of the adaptive nature of mastery-approach goals and suggest that it is possible to modulate aversive responses to unfavourable social comparisons by focusing attention on mastery-approach goals.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T10:00:24Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-54823
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T10:00:24Z
publishDate 2017
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-548232019-06-17T01:14:56Z Effects of achievement goals on perceptions of competence in conditions of unfavourable social comparisons: The mastery goal advantage effect Kamarova, Sviatlana Chatzisarantis, Nikos Hagger, Martin Lintunen, T. Hassandra, M. Papaioannou, A. Background: Previous prospective studies have documented that mastery-approach goals are adaptive because they facilitate less negative psychological responses to unfavourable social comparisons than performance-approach goals. AIMS: This study aimed to confirm this so-called 'mastery goal advantage' effect experimentally. Methods: A 2 × 3 design was adopted where achievement goals (mastery vs. performance) and normative information (favourable vs. no-normative information vs. unfavourable) were manipulated as between participant factors. Sample: Participants were 201 undergraduates, 57 males and 144 females, ranging in age from 17 to 55 years (Mage = 22.53, SD = 6.51). Results: Regression analyses pointed out that experimentally induced mastery-approach goals facilitated higher levels of competence and happiness with task performance than experimentally induced performance-approach goals in conditions of unfavourable social comparisons. In contrast, although performance-approach goals yielded the highest levels of happiness with task performance in conditions of favourable social comparisons, this positive effect of performance-approach goals did not extend to perceptions of competence. Conclusion: Current findings broaden understanding of the adaptive nature of mastery-approach goals and suggest that it is possible to modulate aversive responses to unfavourable social comparisons by focusing attention on mastery-approach goals. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54823 10.1111/bjep.12168 fulltext
spellingShingle Kamarova, Sviatlana
Chatzisarantis, Nikos
Hagger, Martin
Lintunen, T.
Hassandra, M.
Papaioannou, A.
Effects of achievement goals on perceptions of competence in conditions of unfavourable social comparisons: The mastery goal advantage effect
title Effects of achievement goals on perceptions of competence in conditions of unfavourable social comparisons: The mastery goal advantage effect
title_full Effects of achievement goals on perceptions of competence in conditions of unfavourable social comparisons: The mastery goal advantage effect
title_fullStr Effects of achievement goals on perceptions of competence in conditions of unfavourable social comparisons: The mastery goal advantage effect
title_full_unstemmed Effects of achievement goals on perceptions of competence in conditions of unfavourable social comparisons: The mastery goal advantage effect
title_short Effects of achievement goals on perceptions of competence in conditions of unfavourable social comparisons: The mastery goal advantage effect
title_sort effects of achievement goals on perceptions of competence in conditions of unfavourable social comparisons: the mastery goal advantage effect
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54823