Should childhood be a journey or a race? Response to Harackiewicz et al. (2002)

In this response, the authors dispel interpretation of their critical review of research on performance-approach goals as support for a dichotomous perspective of achievement goal theory. Second, the authors challenge the suggestion that accepting recent research findings and adopting a multiple goals perspective constitutes a theoretical revision of the assumption that "mastery goals are always good and performance goals are always bad" (J. M. Harackiewicz, K. E. Barron, P. R. Pintrich, P. R. Elliot, & T. M. Thrash, 2002, p. 643). The authors make a distinction between developments that contribute to the explanatory power of the theory and value-laden interpretations of theory and research. The authors argue that phrasing the latter in terms of the former is misleading and that it masks the necessity for a critical discussion over the desired purposes in different types of achievement contexts.