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An intercultural research project on achievement motivation was originated based on a multifaceted approach. The objective of this study was to analyze the structure of the achievement motive domain for samples from five countries: the United States, the Netherlands, Israel, Hungary, and Japan. We hypothesized that data collected from the various samples will reflect the basic facets suggested by the definitional framework of achievement motivation. In addition, it was hypothesized that the individualistic and collectivistic cultural orientations will have an effect on motive strength. Results from 1868 respondents supported the hypotheses. The three basic facets of the definition of achievement motive: behavior modality (instrumental, affective, or cognitive), type of confrontation (confronting oneself or matching solutions to challenges), and time perspective relative to task performance (before, during, or after performance), were reflected as major determinants of the data. Achievement tendencies were highest for U.S.A. respondents (individualistic culture) and lowest for the Japanese and the Hungarian respondents (collectivistic societies). Theoretical implications as well as suggestions for further research were outlined.

This study investigated the effects of approach and avoidance achievement motives (the motive to achieve success and the motive to avoid failure) on three goal orientations (mastery, performance-approach, performance-avoidance goals) and the effects of goal orientations on intrinsic interest in learning and academic achievement for 157 tenth and 135 eleventh grade students of a Japanese girls' high school. Structural equation modeling indicated that mastery goals arose mainly from the motive to achieve success; however, the positive relation between the motive to avoid failure and mastery goals was also found. Performance-approach goals were related both the motive to achieve success and the motive to avoid failure. Performance-avoidance goals arouse mainly from the motive to avoid failure; however, the positive relation between the motive to achieve success and these goals was found. Mastery goals positively correlated with intrinsic interest and academic achievement, and scores on both performance-approach goals and performance-avoidance goals had no significant effects on either intrinsic or academic achievement.

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This study was designed to investigate relations among autonomy, self-referenced beliefs, and self-regulated learning for 356 elementary school children (180 boys and 176 girls) from Grades 5 and 6. They were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to measure four types of motivation, self-esteem, strategy beliefs, capacity beliefs, control beliefs, and values, three types of goal orientations, and three types of learning strategies. Four types of motivation (external, introjected, identified, and intrinsic regulations) were shown to conform to a simplex structure or ordered correlational structure. Correlations among scores on autonomy (four kinds of regulation) and on self-regulated learning and between scores on self-referenced beliefs and on self-regulated learning were examined. Finally, canonical correlation was used to investigate the relations between autonomy and learning and between beliefs and learning. Implications of the findings for the relations were discussed.