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The use of grades to motivate constitutes an unresolved theoretical controversy. In 2 experiments carried out with different age groups and academic tracks a standard grade condition was compared with a condition in which differential scoring engendered higher grades and with a no grade condition. The relative power of task performance and task autonomy to explain differences in subsequent intrinsic motivation (self report task interest and continuing motivation for the task) was assessed. Results show that compared with the standard grade condition both high grade and no grade conditions enhanced the 2 forms of subsequent intrinsic motivation. However although task performance explained higher levels of task interest in the high grade condition it failed to explain higher levels of continuing motivation for the task. Task autonomy conversely explained the higher levels of both task interest and continuing motivation for the task experienced in the nongraded condition. Results are discussed in the light of an integrative model that differentiates the mediational role of task performance and autonomy 2 traditional major explanations of the link between grades and intrinsic motivation. (Indirectly related)

Evaluation is an inescapable feature of academic life with regular grading and performance appraisals at school and at university. Although previous research has indicated that evaluation and grading in particular are likely to have a substantial impact on motivational processes little attention has been paid to the relationship between grading and approach versus avoidance achievement goals 2 fundamental concerns whenever evaluation is at stake. Three experiments carried out in professional schools revealed that expectation of a grade for a task compared with no grade consistently induced greater adoption of performance avoidance but not performance approach goals. Experiments 2 and 3 revealed that expectation of a grade compared with no grade consistently induced greater adoption of performanceavoidance goals even when grading was accompanied by a formative comment. Furthermore Experiment 3 showed that reduced autonomous motivation measured after having completed a task for a grade versus no grade mediated the relationship between grading and adoption of performance avoidance goals in a subsequent task. Results are discussed in the light of achievement goal and self determination theory. (Indirectly related)

Régner, Escribe, and Dupeyrat (2007) recently demonstrated that not only performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals (respectively, the desire to outperform others and not to be outperformed by others) but also mastery goals (the desire to acquire knowledge) were related to social comparison orientation (SCO, the tendency to search for social comparison information). In the present article, the possibility of a link between mastery goals and social comparison that depends on the level of performance-approach goals-a possibility supported by a multiple-goal perspective-was tested by examining the interaction effect between mastery and performance-approach goals. This is an important endeavor, as educational settings are rarely free from performance-approach goals, even when mastery goals are promoted. In Study 1, we tested self-set achievement goals (mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals) as predictors of SCO; the interaction between mastery goals and performance-approach goals indicated that the higher the performance-approach goal endorsement, the stronger the link between mastery goals and SCO. In Study 2, we manipulated goal conditions; mastery goals predicted interest in social comparison in the performance-approach goal condition only. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of multiple-goal pursuit in academic settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)