Effects of Parent-Child Relationships and Classroom Goal Structures on Motivation, Help-Seeking Avoidance, and Cheating

The author examined predictive relations among South Korean high school studentsʹ (N = 753) perceptions of their social-psychological environments, personal motivational beliefs, and academic behavior in math. Studentsʹ perceptions of their both classroom mastery and performance goal structures predicted their personal mastery goals. Perceptions of parent-child relationships and a classroom performance-goal structure predicted performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals. Studentsʹ personal motivational beliefs functioned as mediators between their perceptions of social-psychological contexts and their academic behavior. Perceptions of parental support, conflict with parents, and a classroom performance-goal structure were common direct and indirect predictors of help-seeking avoidance and cheating via personal performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals, respectively. Self-efficacy mediated all relations between contextual perceptions and academic behavior.