Motivational Orientations and Cognitive Abilities: An Empirical Investigation in Primary School

In an empirical investigation with fourth grade students, the correlation between motivational orientation and cognitive abilities was placed under examination. Outcome variables were performance, confidence in one’s own abilities and anxiety. Cognitive abilities and learning goal orientation both correlated positively with favorable expressions of the outcome variables. Performance goals, however, proved to be maladaptive in our study. From a theoretical perspective we find two points to be of basic importance: first, although almost all conceptions of giftedness accord high motivation levels a great deal of importance for achievement excellence, motivation itself is conceived in rather simplistic terms. Our study confirmed that high motivation can also be detrimental and that the exact form of motivation is consequential. Second, it could be demonstrated that motivation and cognitive abilities interact. This implies that findings made in motivation research cannot be simply transferred to the gifted. From a pedagogic perspective, a learning goal orientation seems worth encouraging, while, in contrast to opinions often expressed in the literature, a goal orientation approach seems to be affiliated with hazards for the learning processes of gifted individuals.