2022 Volume 30 Issue 3 Pages 186-198
In the 2×2 achievement goal model, there is no apparent difference between mastery-avoidance goals and mastery-approach goals in their effects on behavioral indicators. This study aimed to use the Wisconsin card sorting task to examine whether people who pursue mastery-avoidance goals delay reaction times only after giving a wrong answer. Participants included 140 university and post-graduate students. We prepared four conditions in which instructions manipulated mastery-avoidance goals, mastery-approach goals, performance-avoidance goals, and control. We examined the effects of manipulated achievement goals, including correct and incorrect responses before one trial on reaction times using the generalized linear mixed model postulated on the ex-Gaussian distribution for reaction times. Results showed that participants assigned the mastery-avoidance goals condition delayed their reaction times only when they answered incorrectly. Such a delay in reaction time was not present under any other condition.
