Performance Avoid

What is it?

Students who show an interest in what they are learning then the behaviors can be explained on how much better they do in there work by examining their interests and the support that they get. Students who show interest in a certain subject will do better in their goals.

Causes?

Performance avoidance is the only negative motivational style in AGT. It has similar causes to the other two but different effects. One of the leading causes is avoiding failure and the self-worth theory. "More challenging tasks offer a greater risk of failure" (Ames C. + Archer J. (1988)). When students feel pressured to look smart, they may be challenged. This can cause them to think that they should fail without trying rather than fail with trying hard, in order to make them not seem dumb. They want to look good and avoid looking unintelligent in the class, working to "appear smart" at any cost, even if that means failing on purpose.

Another major cause is teacher and home influence. As mentioned under the "mastery" tab, teachers may fill a student's paper with a "sea of red" and mark things wrong without telling them how to improve. If a student has a big enough fear of this "sea of red," they will go one of two paths: work to do this through work to avoid it (Performance approach) or self-handicapping to avoid looking dumb (performance avoidance)

Influence on Learning?

When students have a Performance Avoidant motivational style, they are more likely to self handicap their learning. Self Handicapping is creating a deterrent to one's performance as an excuse for if they fail. Some ways a student might do this is procrastinating and setting unachievable goals. The main reasons people use these strategies are because of their fear of possibly failing and more fear of finding out (Covington). 

What can teachers do?

Teachers should see how important it is to get students interested in work so they can do better and get more out of it than completing the work. Many of the approaches that a teacher can take to promote this approach include making students feel as though they have a sense of control in their educational experience. If a student focuses on self-improvement rather than their grades they can also start the development of skills there skills rather than comparing themselves to others and doing better in school.