Achievement goals, perceived ability and active search for information

authors

• Cury François
• Sarrazin Philippe
• Famose Jean-Pierre

keywords

• Achievement goals
• Perceived ability
• Search for information

document type

abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to test the predictive value of the achievement goals theory on voluntary information selection. In a first study, 86 subjects could assess their performance after a motor test. The results showed that ego-oriented subjects chose normative information if they had a high perceived ability, and rejected information if they had a low one; task-oriented subjects chose objective information regardless of their perceived ability. In a second study, 108 subjects could use information during a training period. Data confirmed the prior results for ego-oriented subjects, and showed that task-oriented subjects preferred task information if they had a low perceived ability and objective information if they had a high one.

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