Testing A Quadripolar Framework Of Achievement Motivation And Its Characteristics Research

In the achievement motivation theory,McClelland put forward two kinds of achievement motivation : pursuing success and avoiding failure.Later,Atkinson combined Lewin and McClelland 's theory,put forward the theory of achievement motivation theory and discuss the relationship between success orientation and failure avoidance.The two fators determined the individual's achievement behaviors.In Atkinson's theory,success orientation and failure avoidance are orthogonal to each other,formed four types.Based on the early work of Atkinson and colleagues,Covington refined quadripolar model provides a two-dimensional framework that represents students on the basis of their combined success orientation and failure avoidance.With this two-dimensional structure,students can be located within one of four broad orientations:(a)optimists(low failure avoidance,high success orientation),(b)overstrivers(high failure avoidance,high success orientation),(c)self-protectors(high failure avoidance,low success orientation),and(d)failure acceptors(low failure avoidance,low success orientation).Although quadripolar framework of achievement motivation has been verified many times in foreign countries,it is still lack of empirical research in the eastern academic situation.In the study of achievement motivation and other related variables,the results showed that achievement motivation has significant correlation with academic self-efficacy,self handicapping,defensive pessimism and test anxiety.However,Most of the study are from the perspective of the degree of achievement motivation,Fewer studies have examined the relationship between quadripolar framework of achievement motivation and the academic self-efficacy,self handicapping,defensive pessimism and test anxiety.Based on previous studies,this study made the use of the person-centered approach,selected 780 high school students to accomplish a questionnaire test,testing the quadripolar framework of achievement motivation and exploring the relationship between quadripolar framework of achievement motivation and the academic self-efficacy,self handicapping,defensive pessimism and test anxiety.The results are as follows:(1)The quadripolar framework of achievement motivation is reasonable,and it can also be applied to Chinese cultural context,the four types of achievement motivation are:optimists(15.8%),overstrivers(27.7%),self-protectors(24.8%),failure acceptors(31.6%).(2)Optimists have high academic self-efficacy,low self handicapping defensive pessimism and test anxiety;overstrivers have high self-efficacy,self handicapping,defensive pessimism and test anxiety;self-protectors have low academic,self-efficacy,high self handicapping,defensive pessimism and test anxiety;failure acceptors have high self-efficacy,self handicapping,defensive pessimism and test anxiety.(3)Self efficacy and test anxiety are more closely related to the four types of achievement motivation.