The Role of Achievement Goals in the Development of Interest: Reciprocal Relations between Achievement Goals, Interest, and Performance

The dynamics of individual and situational interest and academic performance were examined in the college classroom and 7 semesters later in conjunction with achievement goals. At the beginning of an introductory psychology course, participants reported their initial interest in psychology, achievement goals, and situational interest in course lectures. At the end of the semester, participants (N = 858) reported their situational interest in course lectures and psychology. In the short term, relationships emerged among initial interest, achievement goals, situational interest, and class performance. Longitudinally, situational interest during the introductory course, independent of initial interest, predicted subsequent course choices. Results are discussed in terms of S. Hidi and K. A. Renninger's (2006) 4-phase model of interest development and the multiple goals model (J. M. Harackiewicz, K. E. Barron, P. R. Pintrich, A. J. Elliot, & T. M. Thrash, 2002).