Prosocial motivation leads to better learning when mastery motivation is high: The synergistic effects of prosocial and mastery goals

The aim of this study was to examine the synergistic effects of prosocial and mastery goals on learning-related outcomes including deep learning, self-regulated learning, and academic achievement. We recruited 8,773 secondary school students from Hong Kong to participate in the study. A longitudinal study design was used. Goals were measured at Time 1, while learning-related outcomes were measured at both Time 1 and 2. Structural equation modeling with latent interaction analysis was conducted. Results partially confirmed our synergistic effects hypothesis. Prosocial goals were associated with optimal learning-related outcomes such as deep learning and self-regulated learning only when mastery goals were also high. However, achievement was only predicted by mastery goals. These effects held despite controlling for the baseline variables. This study provides empirical evidence for the possible synergies between prosocial and mastery goals. A better understanding of student learning might be achieved when both mastery and prosocial motivation are examined.