Patterns of Motivation Beliefs: Combining Achievement Goal and Expectancy-Value Perspectives

A person-centered approach integrated achievement goal and expectancy-value perspectives and identified patterns of mastery and performance-achievement goals (developing vs. demonstrating competence), task values (beliefs about interest, utility, importance, or opportunity costs), and competence beliefs. Cluster analysis classified 1,870 students (primarily Vietnamese and Latino) taught by 40 teachers in 148 math classrooms in 7 urban middle schools. Seven patterns were identified. In one adaptive pattern, students reported moderate interest in math and a sole focus on mastery goals of developing competence, supporting a traditional perspective on how goals operate. In another, students focused on both developing and demonstrating competence, supporting a multiple goals perspective. Achievement and affect did not differ significantly between these 2 groups, though both fared better than a 3rd cluster focused also on avoiding the demonstration of incompetence. Across all clusters, cost value differentiated more- and less-adaptive patterns of motivation. Integrating goal and value constructs improved prediction of affect and achievement and indicated that linear models may mask complex interactions.