Predicting Success in College: A Longitudinal Study of Achievement Goals and Ability Measures as Predictors of Interest and Performance From Freshman Year Through Graduation

The authors examined the role of achievement goals, ability, and high school performance in predicting academic success over students' college careers. First, the authors examined which variables predicted students' interest and performance in an introductory psychology course taken their...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of educational psychology 2002-09, Vol.94 (3), p.562-575
Main Authors: Harackiewicz, Judith M, Barron, Kenneth E, Tauer, John M, Elliot, Andrew J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Ability
Academic Achievement
Achievement Motivation
Biological and medical sciences
College Academic Achievement
College Students
Educational Measures
Educational psychology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Goal Orientation
Goals
Higher Education
Human
Male
Outcomes of Education
Prediction
Predictor Variables
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Pupil and student. Academic achievement and failure
Secondary school students
Student Educational Objectives
Student Interests
Studies
Success
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Summary:The authors examined the role of achievement goals, ability, and high school performance in predicting academic success over students' college careers. First, the authors examined which variables predicted students' interest and performance in an introductory psychology course taken their first semester in college. Then, the authors followed students until they graduated to examine continued interest in psychology and performance in subsequent classes. Achievement goals, ability measures, and prior high school performance each contributed unique variance in predicting initial and long-term outcomes, but these predictors were linked to different educational outcomes. Mastery goals predicted continued interest, whereas performance-approach goals predicted performance. Ability measures and prior high school performance predicted academic performance but not interest. The findings support a multiple goals perspective.
ISSN:0022-0663
1939-2176
DOI:10.1037/0022-0663.94.3.562