Increasingly miserable students with a decreasing sense of mastery: progression from the first to second year of studying undergraduate research methods in Psychology

This study follows-up an earlier project examining the relations between achievement goals, assessment-related emotions and academic performance in a sample of first year undergraduate students. The data presented in this paper concerns the changes in achievement goals and assessment-related emotions between the first and second year of undergraduate study. Self-reported data for the assessment-related emotions and achievement goals associated with research methods modules were collected from a sample of n = 61 psychology undergraduate students at the end of their first and second years of study. Results showed a decline in pleasant emotions, with the exception of relief, which increased, and no changes in unpleasant emotions with the exception of anxiety which increased. Mastery goal scores declined, but no changes were observed for performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals. Pleasant and unpleasant emotions were inversely related with each other and a performance-avoidance goal inversely related with pleasant emotions, and positively related with unpleasant emotions. Furthermore, the relations between several pleasant and unpleasant assessment-related emotions became stronger in the second year of undergraduate study. These findings paint a rather disheartening picture of students becoming less happy and motivated by mastery in their research methods modules as their undergraduate studies progress. This may reflect, in part, the inevitability of moving to more difficult and higher stakes assessments in the second year of undergraduate, however may also promote reflection among those involved in the design and delivery of the undergraduate curriculum over how a smoother and more successful transition could be effected.