The Effect of Self-Set Grade Goals and Core Self-Evaluations on Academic Performance: A Diary Study

Abstract

The aim of this diary study was to examine the eff ect of self-set grade goals and core self-evaluations on academic performance. Data were collected among 59 university students (M age = 18.4 yr., SD = 0.8) In a 2-wk. exam period on up to five exam days. Multilevel analyses revealed that the individual grade goals students set for their exams were positively related to the grades they obtained for these exams. However, the goal–performance relationship only applied to students scoring high on core self-evaluations. The results of this study contribute to the understanding of the effect of self-set grade goals and core self-evaluations on academic performance and imply important practical applications to enhance academic performance.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aiken

L. S.

West

S. G.

(1991) Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Bowling

N. A.

Wang

H. Y.

(2012) The moderating effect of core self-evaluations on the relationships between job attitudes and organizational citizenship behavior. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 61(1), 91–113.

Chang

Ferris

D. L.

Johnson

R. E.

Rosen

C. C.

Tan

J. A.

(2012) Core self-evaluations: A review and evaluation of the literature. Journal of Management, 38(1), 81–128.

Chen

Gully

S. M.

Whiteman

J. A.

Kilcullen

R. N.

(2000) Examination of relationships among trait-like individual differences, state-like individual differences, and learning performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(6), 835–847.

de Pater

I. E.

Schinkel

Nijstad

B. A.

(2007) Validatie van de Nederlandstalige core self-evaluations vragenlijst [Validation of the Dutch Core Self-Evaluations Scale]. Gedrag en Organisatie [Behavior and Organization], 20(1), 82–100. [In Dutch]

Donovan

J. J.

Williams

K. J.

(2003) Missing the mark: Effects of time and causal attributions on goal revision in response to goal-performance discrepancies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(3), 379.

Enders

C. K.

Tofighi

(2007) Centering predictor variables in cross-sectional multilevel models: A new look at an old issue. Psychological Methods, 12, 121–138.

Erez

Judge

T. A.

(2001) Relationship of core self-evaluation to goal setting, motivation, and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(6), 1270–1279.

Fishbach

Finkelstein

S. R.

(2012) How feedback influences persistence, disengagement, and change In goal pursuit. In Aarts

Elliot

A. J.

(Eds.), Goal-directed behavior. New York: Psychology Press. Pp. 203–230.

10.

Grant

A. M.

Wrzesniewski

(2010) I won't let you down… or will I? Core self-evaluations, other-orientation, anticipated guilt and gratitude, and job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 108–121.

11.

Hiller

N. J.

Hambrick

D. C.

(2005) Conceptualizing executive hubris: The role of (hyper-)core self-evaluations In strategic decision-making. Strategic Management Journal, 26, 297–319.

12.

Holt

D. T.

Jung

H-H.

(2008) Development of a Korean version of a core self-evaluations scale. Psychological Reports, 103, 415–425.

13.

Judge

T. A.

Erez

Bono

J. E.

(1998) The power of being positive: The relation between positive self-concept and job performance. Human Performance, 11(2/3), 167–187.

14.

Judge

T. A.

Erez

Bono

J. E.

Thoresen

C. J.

(2002) Are measures of self-esteem, neuroticism, locus of control, and generalized self-efficacy indicators of a common core construct? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(3), 693–710.

15.

Judge

T. A.

Erez

Bono

J. E.

Thoresen

C. J.

(2003) The Core Self-Evaluations Scale: Development of a measure. Personnel Psychology, 56, 303–331.

16.

Judge

T. A.

Locke

E. A.

Durham

C. C.

(1997) The dispositional causes of job satisfaction: A core evaluations approach. Research in Organizational Behavior, 19, 151–188.

17.

Judge

T. A.

van Vianen

A. E. M.

de Pater

I. E.

(2004) Emotional stability, core self-evaluations, and job outcomes: A review of the evidence and an agenda for future research. Human Performance, 17(3), 325–346.

18.

Kim

K. S.

I-S.

Chiaburu

D. S.

Brown

K. G.

(2012) Does positive perception of oneself boost learning motivation and performance? International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 20(3), 257–271.

19.

Klein

H. J.

Cooper

J. T.

Monahan

C. A.

(2013) Goal commitment. In Locke

E. A.

Latham

G. P.

(Eds.), New developments In goal setting and task performance. New York: Routledge. Pp. 65–89.

20.

Klein

H. J.

Lee

(2006) The effects of personality on learning: The mediating role of goal setting. Human Performance, 19(1), 43–66.

21.

Locke

E. A.

(1980) Latham versus Komaki: A tale of two paradigms. Journal of Applied Psychology, 65(1), 16–23.

22.

Locke

E. A.

Bryan

J. F.

(1968) Grade goals as determinants of academic achievement. Journal of General Psychology, 79, 217–228.

23.

Locke

E. A.

Frederick

Lee

Bobko

(1984) Effects of self-efficacy, goals, and task strategies on task performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69, 241–251.

24.

Locke

E. A.

Latham

G. P.

(1990) A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

25.

Locke

E. A.

Latham

G. P.

(2002) Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705–717.

26.

Locke

E. A.

Latham

G. P.

(Eds.) (2013) New developments in goal setting and task performance. New York: Routledge.

27.

Luke

D. A.

(2004) Multilevel modeling. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

28.

Miller

B. K.

Nicols

K. M.

(2011) A domain-specific validation of the Core Self-Evaluations Scale. Psychological Reports, 109, 603–625.

29.

Morisano

Hirsh

J. B.

Peterson

J. B.

Pihl

R. O.

Shore

B. M.

(2010) Setting, elaborating, and reflecting on personal goals improves academic performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(2), 255–264.

30.

Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education (Nuffic,). (2013) Grading systems in The Netherlands, the United States and the United Kingdom: Suggestions for grade conversion. Retrieved from http://www.nuffic.nl/en/education-promotion/about-dutch-higher-education.

31.

Poropat

(2011) The Eysenckian personality factors and their correlations with academic performance. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 81(1), 41–58.

32.

Rasbash

Steele

Browne

W. J.

Goldstein

(2009) A user's guide to MLwiN, v2.10. Centre for Multilevel Modeling, Univer. of Bristol. Retrieved from http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cmm/software/mlwin/download/manuals.html.

33.

Rosopa

P. J.

Schroeder

A. N.

(2009) Core self-evaluations interact with cognitive ability to predict academic achievement. Personality and Individual Differences 47(8), 1003–1006.

34.

Schinkel

van Dierendonck

Anderson

(2004) The impact of selection encounters on applicants: An experimental study into feedback effects after negative selection decisions. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 12, 197–205.

35.

Sitzmann

Ely

(2011) A meta-analysis of self-regulated learning in work-related training and educational attainment: What we know and where we need to go. Psychological Bulletin, 173(3), 421–442.

36.

Vancouver

J. B.

Kendall

L. N.

(2006) When self efficacy negatively relates to motivation and performance in a learning context. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(5), 1146–1153.

37.

Vancouver

J. B.

Thompson

C. M.

Tischner

E. C.

Putka

D. J.

(2002) Two studies examining the negative effect of self-efficacy on performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(3), 506.

38.

Vandewalle

Cron

W. L.

Slocum

J. W.

(2001) The role of goal orientation following performance feedback. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(4), 629–640.