Parental Effort and Outcome Goals_Preprint

Abstract

In many East Asian societies, both Confucian emphasis on effortful learning and the instrumental value of academic grades for attaining social privilege have greatly impacted people’s achievement goals. In this study, we examined whether perceived parental effort goals and outcome goals would function independently from the often noted mastery and performance goals in prior Western literature in explaining East Asian college students’ academic dedication and self-handicapping. The reliability and the construct, concurrent, and incremental validity of newly developed scales for perceived parental effort goals and outcome goals were tested using two samples of Taiwanese students (Ns = 252, 269; 47.6% and 61.7% female; mean age = 20.44, 19.33 years). Results of confirmatory factor analyses supported the four-factor model of effort, outcome, mastery, and performance goals being distinct goal constructs. Hierarchical regression for examining the incremental validity of effort goals and outcome goals indicated that, above and beyond the influence of perceived parental mastery and performance goals, perceived parental effort goals predicted greater self-handicapping behaviors. The inverse effect of perceived parental effort goals in predicting academic adjustment may be explained by students’ sense of academic helplessness, which can be cultivated by prolonged exposure to such parental goals. The regression analyses also found perceived paternal, but not maternal, outcome goals predicted stronger academic dedication, suggesting that East Asian students may interpret paternal interest in test scores as concern for children’s future social and economic wellbeing and perceive similar maternal interest with apprehension.