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There is no question that success is partly determined
by sheer ability (Bornstein, Hahn, & Wolke, 2013). But
as many writers have pointed out, it takes more than talent to succeed-it also takes desire and determinationwhat some experts have ret-erred to as "grit" (Duckworth,
Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly. 2007). Individuais differ in
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the extent to which they strive for success. and this diflbrential striving-which can be measured independently
of ability-helps to account for different clegrees of actual
achievement (Casilas et al., 2012 Mega. Ronconi, &
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De Beni. 2014: Wigfield et a1., 20ll). Two students
may both score equally on an intelligence or aptitude
test, but if one student simply tries much harder than the
other, their actual grades will probably ditf'er. As someone who has been advising undergraduate and graduate
students for more than three decades, I can assure you
that the difference between those who are successful
and those who are not usually has much more to do with
their drive and capacity fbr self'-direction than with their
intelligence-an observation that is bclrne out hy scientific stLrdy (Andersson & Bergman. 201l; Duckrvorth &
Seligman. 2005; Murayama. Peklun, Lichtenf'eld. & vom
Hofe, 2013). As far as success in school or work is concerned, a certain amount of intelligence is necessary. but
it's more important to be hard-working than to be brilliant. Adolescents with greater Inental toughness even
sleep better than their peers. most probably because getting a good night's sleep helps us stay focused (Brand
et a1.. 2014).
In recent years, there has been growing interest in
understanding the social and personality factors that predict success in school and work. especially things like selfcontrol and persistence (Padilla-Walker, Day, Dyer, &
Black, 2013; Valiente, Swanson,
&
Eisenberg, 2012;
Veronneau, Racer, Fosco. & Dishion, 2014). In a classic study conducted nearly 50 years ago. researchers presented prescl'roolers with the choice between receiving a
single marshmallow immediately or waiting 15 minutes
to get two of them. This test measured what psychologists call delay of gratification, the ability to wait longer
to get a larger, better. ol' lrore valuable reward instead
ol
ar less attractive one available immediately. In the
marshmallow study, children who had a stronger ability
to delay gratification -'hen they were just preschoolers
were far more likely than the others to be successful in
school throughout childhood and adolescence, and, as
adults, at work (Mischel. 20 l4). Motivation becornes a
more and more important determinant of success during
adolescence, as individuals increasingly are expected tcr
take charge of their own educational careers. By the time
one enters college, doing well is influenced as much by
conscientiousness as it is by intelligence (Poropat. 2009).
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lndividuols who ore intrinsicolly motivoted strive to ochieve
becouse of the pleosure they get out of leorning ond mostering
the moteriol. Generolly speoking, they perform better in school
thon students who ore extrinsicolly motivoted. A Bananastock/
Age Fotostock RF
.. Fear of
Failure
.
vated 1()
ue
hreve
Beinc rnotii
r:
on
ly
part
delay ol gratl?lcatlon
Even students r.r :- euer, o m.re
who are determined to Suc- ' vaLuable r:w:rcl nst-^acl of a
ceed are sometinres so afraid :i sma ler' le:: attract v"' ot ess
of failing that rheir srrong ;:l::'::,:'; that s ava i:bL;
'
achievement motivation is I
of the story.
of fhilure,
which often creates feelings of anxiety durin-e tests or in
other evaluative situations. can interfere with successful
perfbrmance. When the achievement situation involves
an easy task, and when a little anxiety helps to focus
attention (if, fbr example, the task is borin-u), a nroderate
amount of anxiety may improve perfbrmance by increasing one's concentration. But the anxiety generated by a
strong fear of tailure interferes with successful perfbrmance. This often happens when the task involves learning something new or solving a complex problern-like
many tasks taced by adolescents in school settings.
Studies of adolescents from affluent backgrounds who
are under strong pressure to do well in school find that
it isn't so much parents' pressure to do well that creates
mental health problems. but rather. parents' critie isnr
when erpectations are not achieved (Luthar. Shoum, &
Brown. 2006).
An adolescent's achievement motivation and her or his
f'ear of failure work together to pull the individual toward
(or repel the individual from) achievement situations.
undermined. Fear
323
324
PART
3
Psychosociai Development During Adolescence
Individuals with a relatively strong need for achievement
and a relatively weak fear of failure are more likely to
actively approach challenging achievement situations-
Achievement Goal Orientation Two individuals
by taking more difficult classes, for example-and to
look forward to them. In contrast, those whose fear of
mastery motivation (similar to intrinsic motivation)
and performance motivation (similar to extrinsic moti-
failure is relatively intense and whose need for achievement is relatively weak will dread challenging situations
and do what they can to avoid them. Many students who
have trouble persisting at tasks and who fear failure
become underachieyers-students whose grades are
far lower than one would expect based on their intellectual ability.
vation).Individuals who have a strong mastery orientation strive to achieve because of the pleasure they get
out of learning and mastering the material. Individuals
who are mainly performance oriented strive to achieve
because of the rewards they get for performing well (typically, good grades) and the punishments they receive for
Self-Handicapping Distinguishing between
students
whose[rulerachievement is due mainly to anxiety and
those who underperform for other reasons is important
(Klassen et al., 2009; Midgley, Arunkumar, & Urdan,
1996; Midgley & Urdan, 1995). Some students actually want to appear uninterested in school because in
some contexts this presentation may garner more respect
and admiration from peers than academic success.
Others want to make sure that they have an excuse for
poor performance other than a lack of ability (Nurmi,
Onatsu, & Haavisto, 1995). Still others may downplay
the importance of academics as a response to their poor
performance (Loose, Regner, Morin,
& Dumas,
2012).
These students may use various self-handicapping
strategies-such as joking around in class, procrastination, turning in incomplete homework, or pafiying
excessively the night before a big exam-as a way of
self-protection ("I failed the test because I didn't try
hard, not because I'm stupid") or as a means of enhancing their self-presentation ("I'm too cool to care about
doing well in school").
Although self-handicapping is common among both
males and females, there are sex differences in the ways
in which adolescent girls and
boys undermine their own suc-
underachievers
cess
lndividuals whose actual
schoo performance is lower
than what would be expect,^d
on the basis of objective
measuTes of their aptitude or
inte Irgence.
poor performance to a lack of
effort, whereas girls are more
likely to mention
emotional
problems (Warner & Moore,
2004). A number of writers
have drawn special attention
self-handicapping
Dellberately behaving in ways
that wil likely interfere with
doing weli, in order to have an
excuse for failing.
mastery motivation
Motlvation to succeed based
on the p easure one wi I erper
ence from mastering a task.
in school: Boys who self-
handicap tend to attribute their
.
performance motivation
Motrvation to succeed based
on the rewards one wii receive
for successf ul performance.
to the use of self-handicapping strategies among ethnic
minority youth, who may disengage from school because
they perceive their long-term
prospects as being limited by
discrimination and prejudice
(Mickelson, 1990; R. Taylor,
Casten, Flickinger, Roberts, &
Fulmore, 1994).
can be equally motivated to achieve, but for very different reasons. Psychologists draw a distinction between
performing poorly (1ike parental disapproval).
Individuals with a strong mastery orientation perform
better in school than those whose motivation is mainly
driven by performance goals, because intrinsically motivated individuals are more confident about their ability
and more likely to persist in the face of failure (Eccles
& Roeser, 2011; Yeager et a1., 2014). There is a drop
in students' mastery motivation as they transition from
elementary into secondary school (Bong, 2009; Wang
& Pomerantz, 2AO9), in part because teachers them-
selves become more performance-oriented and less
mastery-oriented during this time (Eccles & Roeser,
201
l). Students who believe that their teachers value and
encourage autonomy are less likely to show this decline
in motivation (Hafen et a1.,2012).
Important adults in the adolescent's life affect the
extent to which an adolescent's achievement motives
are more aimed at mastery or more targeted toward per-
formance (Kim, Schallert, & Kim, 2010; Murayama &
Elliot, 2009). It's valuable for students to have perfectionistic tendencies, but it's essential that this drive to do
well comes from inside, and not from the demands of
others (Bong, Hwang, Noh, & Kim, 2014). When adults
attempt to control an adolescent's achievement behavior
by rewarding good grades (e.g., giving prizes or money),
punishing bad grades (e.g., restricting privileges), or
excessively supervising their performance (e.g., constantly checking up on their homework), adolescents are
more likely to develop a performance orientation and, as
a result, are less likely to do well in school. In contrast,
adolescents whose parents and teachers encourage their
autonomy, provide a cognitively stimulating home environment, and are supportive of school success (without
rewarding it concretely) are more likely to develop a
strong mastery orientation and tend to perform better in
school as a consequence (Dumont, Trautwein, Nagy, &
Nagengast, 2014; Gottfried, Marcoulides, Gottfried, &
Oliver, 2009 ; Kim et al., 2070 ; Mouratidis, Vansteenkiste,
Lens, Michou, & Soenens,2013).
Beliefs About Success and Failure
How we behave in achievement situations is also influenced by our beliefs about our abilities and our chances
for success and failure. You may have a very strong need
Discussion Board 5 - 20 points
Original post DUE by Wednesday
2 Peer Responses DUE by Friday
This week we discuss achievement, risk, and resilience. As we have discussed throughout this
course, teenagers go through a lot! There are endless challenges to overcome and they need
resources and support.
Pick ONE aspect of adolescent life related to achievement or a psychosocial issue and discuss
ways in which someone (a parent, community member, teacher, etc.) can help youth face this
challenge. Write a 300 (or more) word speech in which you briefly introduce the problem/topic
and present at least three specific ways your audience can help. Remember to incorporate at
least one course material (video, article or textbook) and at least one outside credible source.
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Write a cohesive (at least) 300-word response to the prompt above
Include 1 course reference
Include 1 credible, outside source
Include a thought-provoking question
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Include a reference list
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