Testing Mastery-Avoidance Goals From the Achievement Goal Questionnaire for Sports: A Meta-Analytic Confirmatory Factor Analysis

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Achievement Goals, Classroom Goal Structures, and Their Associations With Other Motivational Beliefs and Behaviors

Abstract

Over time, achievement goal theory has been revised by many theorists. Controversy remains about the theory, particularly about mastery-avoidance goals, and theorists have not yet reached a consensus. As a follow up to Strunk et al. (2021), the present study investigated mastery-avoidance goals in the athletic setting using the Achievement Goal Questionnaire for Sport (AGQ-S). The results indicated that the 2x2 model with mastery-avoidance goals was a slightly better fit at present than the three-factor model in which mastery-avoidance goals were excluded, though the two models were essentially equivalent in most fit indices. Based on our results, the validity of the mastery-avoidance goals appears to be context-specific, with it being better supported in athletic contexts.

Authors

• Hyun Sung Jang, Auburn University

• Yan Dai, Auburn University

• Kamden Strunk, Auburn University