Rethinking achievement goals: When are they adaptive for college students and why?

The types of goals that students adopt in educational settings and the consequences of those goals on 2 important educational outcomes-performance and intrinsic motivation-are discussed. In the case of performance, we briefly review and evaluate a large body of theory and research conducted by other investigators. In particular, we consider the possibility that some commonly accepted conclusions about the effects of achievement goals are premature. In the case of intrinsic motivation, we describe a theoretical model that has guided our own work on this topic and provide some recent experimental results. We believe that this model and our experimental results can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of goals and optimal motivation. Finally, we return to the college classroom environment and examine the consequences of goals for both performance and intrinsic motivation, offering a broader analysis of success in college courses.