How do university students feel about statistics?”: Relationships among achievement goals, achievement emotions and learning outcomes

This study examined how university students’ motivations and emotions shape their engagement and success in a social-science statistics course ( N = 376). Drawing on Achievement Goal Theory and Control-Value Theory, we explored three types of goal orientations-mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance-and their connections to achievement emotions, use of learning strategies (help-seeking, cognitive processing), and end-of-semester performance. Data were collected using the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales (PALS), the Achievement Emotion Scale (AES), and the Learning Strategies Questionnaire. Additionally, students’ performance was measured using final semester exams. Findings revealed that students with mastery goals reported greater enjoyment before learning and more frequent use of strategic help-seeking and deep cognitive processing. In contrast, those with performance-avoidance goals experienced more negative emotions after studying and tended to avoid seeking help. Negative emotions emerging after learning were linked to lower performance, whereas positive anticipatory emotions supported engagement. Emotional responses also served as a pathway through which motivations influenced learning behaviors and outcomes. These results highlight the importance of fostering mastery-oriented goals and positive emotional experiences to support effective learning in statistics.