Corwin Senko
My primary research examines student motivation and experience. Using achievement goal theory as the guiding framework, I investigate how mastery goals (to strive to learn and master course material) and performance goals (to strive to outperform peers) affect students' interest in the material, the study strategies they use, their overall course performance, how they evaluate their teachers, and so forth.
Another recent line of research examines the motivational obstacles impeding academic success for first-generation college students.
Primary Interests:
- Applied Social Psychology
- Interpersonal Processes
- Life Satisfaction, Well-Being
- Motivation, Goal Setting
- Personality, Individual Differences
Journal Articles:
- Liem, G. A. D., & Senko, C. (2022). Goal complexes: A new appraoch to studying the coordination, consequences, and social contexts of pursuing multiple goals. Educational Psychology Review, 34, 2167-2195.
- Meurlin, R. T., & Senko, C. (2025). Whom are you trying to iimpress? Pursuing performance goals for parents, teachers, or classmates. Journal of Educational Psychology, 177, 663-678.
- Senko, C, & Hulleman, C. S. (2013). The role of goal attainment expectancies in achievement goal pursuit. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105, 504-521.
- Senko, C. (2019). When do mastery and performance goals facilitate academic achievement? Contemporary Educational Psychology, 59.
- Senko, C., & Dawson, B. (2017). Performance-approach goal effects depend on how they are defined: Meta-analytic evidence from multiple outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 109, 574-598.
- Senko, C., & Freund, A. M. (2015). Are mastery-avoidance goals always detrimental? An adult development perspective. Motivation and Emotion, 39, 477-488.
- Senko, C., & Fyffe, V. (2010). An evolutionary perspective on effective vs. ineffective pick-up lines. Journal of Social Psychology, 150, 648-667.
- Senko, C., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2002). Performance goals: The moderating role of context, achievement orientation, and feedback. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 603-610.
- Senko, C., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2005). Achievement goals, task performance, and interest: Why perceived goal difficulty matters. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 1739-1753.
- Senko, C., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2005). Regulation of achievement goals: The role of competence feedback. Journal of Educational Psychology, 97, 320-336.
- Senko, C., & Liem, G. A. D.., Lerdpornkulrat, T., & Poondej, C. (2023). Why do students strive to outperform classmates? Unpacking their reasons for pursuing performance goals. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 102178.
- Senko, C., & Miles, K. M. (2008). Pursuing their own learning agenda: How mastery-oriented students’ jeopardize their class performance. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 33, 561-583.
- Senko, C., & Tropiano, K. L. (2016). Comparing three models of achievement goals: Goal orientations, goal standards, and goal complexes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108, 1178-1192.
- Senko, C., Belmonte, K., & Yakhkind, A. (2012). How students’ achievement goals shape their beliefs about effective teaching: A “Build-A-Professor” study. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 420-435.
- Senko, C., Durik, A. M., Patel, L., Lovejoy, C. M., & Valentiner, D. (2013). Performance-approach goal effects on achievement under low versus high challenge conditions. Learning & Instruction, 23, 60-68.
- Senko, C., Hama, H., & Belmonte, K. (2013). Achievement goals, study strategies, and achievement: A test of the “learning agenda” framework. Learning and Individual Differences, 24, 1-10.
- Senko, C., Hulleman, C. S, & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2011). Achievement goal theory at the crossroads: Old controversies, current challenges, and new directions. Educational Psychologist, 46, 26-47.
- Senko, C., Perry, A. H., & Greiser, M. (2022). Does triggering learners' interest make them overconfident? Journal of Educational Psychology, 114, 482-497.
Other Publications:
- Hulleman, C. S., & Senko, C. (2010). Up around the bend: Forecasts for achievement goal theory and research in 2020. In Urdan & Karabenick (Eds.), Advances in Motivation and Achievement, (Vol. 16). United Kingdom: Emerald Group Publishing, LTD.
- Senko, C. (2016). Achievement goal theory: A story of early promises, eventual discords, and future possibilties. In K. Wentzel & D. Miele (Eds.), Handbook of Motivation at School, Vol. 2.
- Senko, C., Durik, A. M., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2008). Historical perspectives and new directions in achievement goal theory: Understanding the effects of mastery and performance-approach goals. In J. Y Shah & W. Gardner (Eds.), Handbook of Motivational Science. New York: Guilford.
Corwin Senko
Department of Psychology
SUNY New Paltz
600 Hawk Drive
New Paltz, New York 12561
United States of America
- Phone: (845) 257-3602