Situational indexes of achievement motivation, help-seeking, and performance: influences of the learning context and gender differences

Development and Validation of the French Achievement Goals Questionnaire for Sport and Exercise (FAGQSE)

Recently, Elliot and Murayama (2008 ) pointed out a number of theoretical and methodological shortcomings among the instruments assumed to measure achievement goals. This research aimed to develop and validate a French Achievement Goals Questionnaire for Sport and Exercise (FAGQSE). In a first study, factor analyses conducted on a 20-item preliminary version supported the existence of four factors corresponding to the four types of goals of Elliot and McGregor’s (2001 ) framework (mastery-approach, performance-approach, mastery-avoidance, and performance-avoidance). A second study examined a more parsimonious 12-item version of the FAGQSE, which was found to be valid among samples of athletes, exercisers, and physical education students. The temporal stability of the questionnaire was evidenced by a satisfactory test-retest over a 1-month period, and its theoretical validity was supported by correlations between achievement goals and entity/incremental theories of sports ability, perceived sports competence, and sports anxiety. The FAGQSE is a valid and reliable French instrument for achievement goal motivation. This instrument can be used for theoretical and applied purposes in various sports and exercise settings.