2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Correlation between Achievement Goal Orientation and Need for Cognitive Closure among Undergraduate Engineering Students

This study aims to investigate the association between the need for cognitive closure and achievement goal orientation among engineering students and their impact on student engagement in problem-based learning. To address the diverse cognitive and motivational learning needs of the students, understanding how these two concepts interact and significantly influence students’ cognitive engagement and learning outcomes is vital. The need for cognitive closure construct that reflects an individual’s desire for a firm answer on a given topic, any answer, and ambiguity aversion will be examined through five facets: order, predictability, decisiveness, discomfort with ambiguity, and close-mindedness, while achievement goal orientation includes performance-driven and mastery-oriented goals. The existing literature in psychological research suggests there is a theoretical link between the need for cognitive closure and achievement goal orientation, while limited research on this relation exists in the engineering discipline. The students with high cognitive closure struggle with mastery objectives as they tend to avoid uncertain and ambiguous situations. This can limit their learning as they are more concerned with dispelling doubts than mastering the learning material.
The primary objective of this research is to explore how the five facets of the need for cognitive closure correlate with the different types of goal orientation (mastery or performance). As part of a larger mixed-methods study, this research seeks to uncover how the need for cognitive closure influences engineering students’ adoption of achievement goal orientation by answering the research question: How is engineering students’ need for cognitive closure associated with achievement goals in problem-based learning? Correlation and regression analysis were used to find the relationship between the five facets of the need for cognitive closure and types of achievement goal orientation. Understanding this relation has implications for designing instructional approaches to better support student learning based on their cognitive preferences and goal orientations, and provides valuable insights into learning outcomes and student engagement. This research provides the grounding for completing a more extensive study.
Keywords: need for cognitive closure, achievement goal orientation, mastery goal orientation, performance goal orientation

Authors

Zain ul Abideen Utah State University [biography]

Zain ul Abideen is a Graduate Research Assistant and Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Engineering Education at Utah State University. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering and a Master’s in Engineering, bringing over 12 years of teaching experience with undergraduate engineering students. He actively contributes to various technical committees and serves as a reviewer for prestigious journals and international conferences. Currently, his research focuses on his Ph.D. dissertation, where he investigates the role of cognitive and motivational factors in problem-solving and cognitive engagement among engineering students. His work aims to enhance understanding of how these factors impact student learning and success in engineering education. His dedication to advancing education, combined with his extensive academic and professional experience, establishes him as a distinguished researcher in engineering education.
Dr. Oenardi Lawanto Utah State University [biography]

Dr. Oenardi Lawanto is a professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Utah State University, USA. He received his B.S.E.E. from Iowa State University, his M.S.E.E. from the University of Dayton, and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Lawanto has a combination of expertise in engineering and education and has more than 30 and 15 years of experience teaching engineering and cognitive-related topics courses for his doctoral students, respectively. He also has extensive experience in working collaboratively with several universities in Asia, the World Bank Institute, and USAID to design and conduct workshops promoting active-learning and life-long learning that is sustainable and scalable. Dr. Lawanto’s research interests include cognition, learning, and instruction, and online learning.
Dr. Angela Minichiello P.E. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4545-9355 Utah State University [biography]

Angela (Angie) Minichiello, PhD is a military veteran, licensed mechanical engineer, and associate professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Utah State University. Her research examines issues of access, inclusion, and identity in the formation of engineers and a diverse 21st century engineering workforce. Angie received an NSF CAREER award in 2021 for her work with student veterans and service members in engineering.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

For those interested in:

engineering
Faculty
undergraduate