When competence and love are at stake: Achievement goals and perceived closeness to parents in an achievement context

In two studies, college students’ achievement goals were linked to their perceptions of closeness to their parents following an exam. In Study 1, mastery-approach goals positively predicted perceived closeness immediately after an exam, prior to receiving feedback. In Study 2, mastery-approach goals again positively predicted perceived closeness, but performance–avoidance goals interacted with exam performance in predicting closeness. Specifically, poor exam performance predicted feeling distant from parents among those high in performance–avoidance goals but not among those low in performance–avoidance goals. This suggests that parental attachment may be involved in the achievement strivings of adults.