The role of success expectation and task-avoidance in academic performance and satisfaction: Three studies on antecedents, consequences and correlates

Abstract To investigate the prospective relationships between individuals’ success expectation and task-avoidance, and their academic achievement and satisfaction, 231 students were examined yearly throughout their university careers in Study 1. It was found that students’ success expectation predicted academic achievement and satisfaction; which, in turn, increased their subsequent success expectation. Moreover, task-avoidance predicted low academic achievement and dissatisfaction, which again was predictive of subsequent task-avoidance. In Study 2, the task-avoidant behavior, and pre-examination anxiety, of 198 students who had participated in Study 1 were examined, and compared with thei…