Are achievement motivation and thinking styles related? A visit among Chinese university students

The present study examined the relationships between thinking styles and achievement motivation among Chinese university students. The Thinking Styles Inventory — Revised (TSI-R; Sternberg, Wagner, & Zhang, 2003) and the Achievement Motives Scale (AMS; Gjesme & Nygard, 1970; Ye & Hagtvet, 1988) were administered to 238 Chinese university students from Shanghai, the People's Republic of China. Results largely supported the hypothesis that the more creativity-generating and complex thinking styles (Type I styles) were positively correlated with achievement motivation to approach success (MS), and negatively correlated with achievement motivation to avoid failure (MF). Results partially supported the hypothesis that the more norm-favoring and simplistic thinking styles (Type II styles) had negative correlation with MS, and positive correlation with MF. The study also found that the situation-/task-dependent thinking styles (Type III styles) were positively correlated with MS, and negatively correlated with MF. Implications for educational practice were discussed.