Testing a Dynamic Perspective of Goal Orientation During Complex Skill Acquisition and Adaptation to Unforeseen Change

Abstract

In the context of learning a dynamic task involving cognitive and perceptual-motor demands, this laboratory study contributed to a multilevel perspective of goal orientation and performance by examining adaptation to a novel and unforeseen change. Repeated measures and discontinuous mixed-effects growth modeling were used to disentangle within- from between-person effects of mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goal orientation dimensions on performance. At the within-person level, this study failed to replicate previous findings of goal orientation effects corresponding to resource allocation theory. At the between-person level, results were consistent with prior research such that mastery-approach and performance-approach facilitated performance, whereas performance-avoidance hindered it. A positive effect of mastery-avoidance on performance was also found. There were no interactions between goal orientation and adaptation trajectories, suggesting that main effects of goal orientation are stable across changes in task demand. This research contributes toward theories of self-regulation and active learning, and questions the extent to which a dynamic approach for understanding the effects of goal orientation is necessary.