Exploring University Instructors’ Achievement Goals and Discrete Emotions

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Raven Rinas¹  Markus Dresel¹  Julia Hein²  Stefan Janke²  Oliver Dickhäuser²  Martin Daumiller¹ 

[1] Department of Psychology, University of Augsburg;Department of Educational Psychology, University of Mannheim

关键词: higher education;    university instructors;    achievement goals;    discrete emotions;    goal orientation;    motivation;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01484

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Emerging empirical evidence indicates that discrete emotions are associated with teaching practices and professional experiences of university instructors. However, further investigations are necessary given that university instructors often face high job demands and compromised well-being. Achievement goals, which frame achievement-related thoughts and actions, have been found to describe motivational differences in university instructors and are hypothesized to be associated with their discrete emotions. Moreover, as variation exists in how university instructors respond to job demands regarding their emotional experiences, certain goals may moderate this relationship on the basis of framing different interpretations and reactions to stressors. To investigate these links, 439 instructors (46.7% female) from German and Austrian universities completed a survey assessing their achievement goals, discrete emotions (enjoyment, pride, anger, anxiety, shame, and boredom), and job demands. As hypothesized, multiple regression analyses revealed that achievement goals were differentially and meaningfully associated with discrete emotions. Specifically, learning approach goals were positively related to enjoyment and negatively related to anger and boredom, while learning avoidance goals were positively related to anger. Performance (appearance) approach goals were positively related to pride, and performance (appearance) avoidance goals were positively related to anxiety and shame. Lastly, relational goals were positively related to shame and boredom, and work avoidance goals were negatively related to enjoyment and positively related to shame and boredom. Conclusive moderation effects on the relations between job demands and emotions were not found. Future research avenues aimed at further understanding the supportive role that achievement goals can have for university instructors’ emotional experiences and well-being are discussed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY