Identity Status, Achievement Goal Orientation, and Academic Engagement

Research has found that a person’s identity status and achievement goals are correlated (identity achieved with mastery goals, and foreclosure with performance goals; Chorba, Was, & Isaacson, 2012; Was et al., 2009). The present study examined these associations and how they, in turn, predict academic engagement and self-efficacy. Autonomy was included as a possible mediator. 75 participants (76.9% females, 23.1% males) ages 18 to 39 (M= 19.79, SD= 4.01), were recruited from King’s University College psychology classes. Online, participants completed a demographic questionnaire, followed by seven questionnaires measuring these variables. Results showed that achieved academic identity status was positively related to academic self-efficacy, and that foreclosed academic identity status was negatively related to mastery goal orientation, academic engagement, and intrinsic motivation. This suggests that identity issues should be considered when seeking to understand young adults’ academic issues, and that working through identity issues before making a commitment is beneficial. IDENTITY, GOAL ORIENTATION & ENGAGEMENT 3 Identity Status, Achievement Goal Orientation, and Academic Engagement The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between identity status and achievement goal orientations, and the effect of these on outcome variables such as academic engagement, academic self-efficacy, and life satisfaction. Past research found that achievement goal orientations reflect different strategies that have consequences in both academic and general life spheres (Fan, Meng, Billings, Litchfield, & Kaplan, 2008; Flum & Kaplan, 2006; Sideridis & Kaplan, 2011). This research is generally conducted on samples of adolescents and early adults who are likely to be dealing with issues of identity (Erikson, 1984). The present study therefore examined identity status as it relates to achievement goal orientations, as well as academic and life outcomes. Investigation into how an individual’s identity status relates to the achievement goal orientation they adopt is relatively new (Was, Al-Harthy, Stack-Oden, & Isaacson, 2009). The present study combined this with the earlier research on achievement goals, examining identity status, achievement goals, and academic outcomes in the same study. The present study also examined the role of autonomy as a possible link between identity status and achievement goals. Finally, given the potential importance of these issues for students, a measure of general psychological well-being was included to investigate how these issues impact on student’s overall psychological health. Achievement Goal Orientation Achievement goal theory has been widely investigated as an important topic in motivation and achievement research. It proposes that individuals adopt a goal orientation which in turn provides a framework for interpreting task information, and determines a pattern of strategies used to pursue tasks (Elliot & Church, 1997). The goal orientations have been divided IDENTITY, GOAL ORIENTATION & ENGAGEMENT 4 into a mastery orientation, and two performance orientations, approach and avoid. Individuals with a mastery goal orientation attempt to master tasks and develop competence, with task completion being more intrinsically motivated and enjoyable (Elliot & Church, 1997; Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996). Mastery goals are associated with deeper learning, increased effort in task completion, and seeking out more challenging tasks (Elliot & Church, 1997; Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996; Hejazi, Lavasani, Amani, & Was, 2012). As such, individuals with a mastery goal orientation use cognitive and behavioural strategies to promote success and are not hindered by a fear of failure. In contrast, individuals with a performance goal orientation are largely concerned with demonstrating their ability in comparison to others. The performance goal orientation has been further divided into a performance-approach orientation and a performance-avoid orientation (Elliot & Church, 1997; Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996). Individuals with a performance-approach orientation aim to demonstrate high ability and competence relative to others, whereas those with a performance-avoid orientation wish to avoid demonstrating lower ability than others. In other words, those with a performance-approach orientation want to look good, while those with a performance-avoid orientation want to avoid looking bad (Elliot & Church, 1997; Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996; Was et al., 2009). In addition, performance-avoidance goals are associated with decreased engagement, increased anxiety, and low self-efficacy, while performanceapproach goals are associated with some positive outcomes, including increased self-efficacy and higher grades (Sideridis & Kaplan, 2011). As a result, mastery goals are consistently expected to be associated with better achievement outcomes than performance-avoid goals, but do not always predict better outcomes than performance-approach goals. IDENTITY, GOAL ORIENTATION & ENGAGEMENT 5 Due to the associated cognitive and behavioural strategies, a mastery goal orientation has been linked to many positive outcomes in previous research. Sideridis and Kaplan (2011) investigated the effects of achievement goal orientations on a behavioural measure of academic engagement and found that students with a mastery goal orientation showed significantly more persistence and engagement in academic tasks than those with a performance goal orientation. In addition, they found that students with a mastery goal orientation showed positive emotional affect towards the task, whereas those with a performance goal orientation showed more negative affect and frustration (Sideridis & Kaplan, 2001). Further research has confirmed the positive associations between mastery goal orientations and student engagement, such that when students aim to master tasks in an area they find challenging and enjoyable, they become more deeply engaged in the task (Flum & Kaplan, 2006). Mastery goal orientation has been associated with additional positive outcomes, such as student self-efficacy, and improved performance on midterm grades (Fan et al., 2008). Overall, research has suggested that the mastery goal orientation is associated with positive outcomes in academic contexts. However, more research is needed to determine factors that promote a mastery goal orientation in students, and thus, increase the positive outcomes associated with the goal orientation. Given the age group of emerging adults, one plausible factor is how they are dealing with issues of identity development. Identity Status The study of identity status is dominated by Marcia’s (1987) identity status theory, developed to clarify and validate Erikson’s (1984) fifth stage of psychosocial development. Erikson predicted that many face a crisis of identity vs. confusion during adolescence. While Erikson’s (1984) theory of development provided an important base for future research, the IDENTITY, GOAL ORIENTATION & ENGAGEMENT 6 concepts remained difficult to test empirically. As a result, Marcia (1966; 1987) developed the identity status theory to allow for direct measurement of these concepts. According to Marcia (1966; 1987), an individual has one of four identity statuses based on the combination of two factors: identity exploration and commitment. Identity exploration, also known as a crisis, refers to the degree to which an individual has explored possible options and alternatives for their values, beliefs, and other identity aspects. Commitment refers to how much an individual has settled on a specific identity, such as a career choice (Marcia, 1966; Was et al., 2009). The four identity status groups are identity achieved, foreclosed, moratorium, and diffused. Identity achievement occurs when an individual has experienced a crisis and freely explored alternatives prior to commitment. Identity foreclosure occurs when an individual has committed to life choices without experiencing a crisis or exploring possible alternatives, effectively being assigned an identity by others. Identity moratorium occurs when an individual is currently experiencing a crisis and exploring options, but has not yet made any commitments. Identity diffusion occurs when an individual has not experienced a crisis or explored any options, and has not made a commitment to any options (Marcia, 1966; Marcia, 1987). Given the psychological distress that can be associated with uncertainty, particularly regarding one’s identity, the model predicts some negative emotional consequences associated with being in crisis (identity moratorium). An interesting hypothesis following from Erikson’s theory is that facing and resolving various crises that arise at different life stages creates a stronger and better developed “ego”. It therefore follows that people who experience an identity crisis prior to commitment (identity achieved) will be better off psychologically than those who attained commitment without experiencing the “identity crisis” (foreclosed). A number of studies IDENTITY, GOAL ORIENTATION & ENGAGEMENT 7 have found support for these predictions with respect to emotion and well-being (Schwartz et al., 2011; Waterman, 2007). A few studies have examined identity status specifically in relation to academic achievement. Cross and Allen (1970) conducted early research in this area and found that identity achieved students had a higher GPA than students with the other identity statuses. More broadly, they concluded that individuals with a strongly developed identity performed better in school. Consistent with these findings, Streitmatter (1989) found that in comparison to the other identity statuses, individuals with an achieved identity had higher math scores. In addition to higher academic performance, identity achieved individuals have been found to be more engaged in academic tasks and activities. Waterman and Waterma