An Investigation of the Relationship between Metacognition and Goal-Orientation

One of the salient subjects in educational psychology is the understanding of the relationship between cognition, metacognition, emotion, motivation and motivational processes. Most of the investigators believe that emotion is a continuous dynamical process composing cognition, feeling and motivational processes and integrates them with the learning processes. In this line, the purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between metacognition and goal orientation. Participants in this research included 167 (female and male) students of Shiraz University were selected through cluster random sampling. The metacognition questionnaire (MCQ-30) (Wells, 1995) and goal orientation (Elliot & Mcgerigor, 2001) were used. Factor analysis method was used to verify the validity, and the Cronbach alpha was calculated to determine the reliability of the questionnaires. The resulting coefficients confirm the reliability of the scales. Results of multiple regression showed that the negative beliefs about the controllability of thoughts and corresponding danger predicates the avoidance-performance orientation. Also the meta-cognitive processes were found to be predictor of the approach-mastery orientation and the positive belief about worry showed to be predictor of the approach-performance orientation. The negative beliefs about thoughts in general are predictor of the avoidance-mastery orientation too.