Content-specific achievement motives

The assessment of achievement motives has mostly been realised in a broad manner, disregarding potential differences between content-specific achievement motives (e.g., regarding different school subjects). A sample of N = 1084 German high-school students (grades 9 and 10, mean age: 15 years) responded to a questionnaire in which the achievement motives “hope of success” and “fear of failure” were assessed (a) in general and (b) more specifically tied to different school subjects (mathematics, physics, German, English). Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the two achievement motive facets (i.e., hope of success, fear of failure) on a general level and within each subject. Analysing the school subject-specific achievement motives, four school subject-specific factors indicated separate content factors within each achievement motive facet. Model comparisons of the specific achievement motive items documented the importance of considering both aspects simultaneously: achievement motive facets and school subjects. Differential relationships between school subject-specific achievement motives and achievement (grades) revealed evidence regarding convergent and discriminant validity.