Do Reasons for Outperforming Others Differ in Degree or Kind? A Person-Centred Analysis
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The achievement goal complex integrates the specific goal an individual pursues with the underlying reasons for that pursuit. Using a person-centered approach, this study identified subgroups of undergraduates differing in their reasons for endorsing a performance-approach goal and examined associations with background factors (gender, prior achievement, faculty) and psychoeducational outcomes (e.g., interest, satisfaction, grades). Participants were 659 Thai undergraduates (27.5% female; M = 19.09, SD = 0.73) from Humanities, Social Sciences, and Management faculties. Latent Profile Analysis revealed four subgroups: Highly Motivated, Moderately Motivated, Minimally Motivated, and Autonomously Motivated. Background characteristics predicted membership, and the Highly and Autonomously Motivated profiles showed higher self-efficacy and lower hopelessness than the other groups. Findings are interpreted through a sociocultural lens, contributing to understanding how different motivational configurations underlie performance-approach striving.