Journal of Education and Psychology

Abstract

The present study examined the roles of Taiwanese upper elementary school students’ implicit theories of intelligence and achievement goal orientations in their use of self-handicapping strategies and reluctance to seek-academic help when needed. Four hundred-and-twenty-eight sixth-grade students completed a self-report survey assessing their implicit theories of intelligence, achievement-goal orientations, use of self-handicapping strategies, attitudes toward help avoidance, and help-avoidance behaviors. Path analyses showed that the entity theory of intelligence influenced students’ engagement in handicapping both directly as well as indirectly through the mediation of performance-avoidance goals. In terms of students’ avoidance of help seeking in the classroom context, the incremental theory influenced Taiwanese students’ attitudes toward help avoidance both directly and indirectly through mastery goals. Moreover, the entity theory of intelligence affected children’s help-avoidance behaviors both directly as well as indirectly through performance-avoidance goals. Results also indicated that students’ attitudes toward help avoidance had a positive impact on their behaviors related to avoidance of help seeking. Accordingly, the incremental theory had a negative impact on students’ help-avoidance behaviors indirectly through the mediation of mastery goals as well as their attitudes toward help avoidance. Implications for education and future research are discussed.

_{[Chinese Version | Index | Journal of Education and Psychology | Other Journals | Subscription form | Enquiry ]}

Mail any comments and suggestions to hkier-journal@cuhk.edu.hk .