A Test of Dweck's Model of Achievement Goals as Related to Perceptions of Ability

This study tested Dweck's model of achievement goals as related to perceptions of ability. The relationships between individual differences in achievement goal tendencies and perceived causality were examined. First, it was found that American university students can be described as having three kinds of achievement goal tendencies: one learning goal and two performance goals (one to gain approval and the other to advance in school). Second, it was revealed that although the perceived stability of low ability was negatively related to the learning goal tendency, as Dweck stated, the directions of relationships between the perceived stability and controllability of low ability and the performance goal tendencies were opposite to that expected by Dweck. Furthermore, our results indicated that other causal perceptions (effort and task difficulty) also are predictors of achievement goals.