The influence of achievement goals and perceptions of online help on its actual use in an interactive learning environment

This study explored the influence of achievement goals and perceptions of help-seeking on a learner's actual use of help in an interactive learning environment. After being shown a web site on statistics, 49 psychology students answered a questionnaire on achievement goals and their perceptions of help-seeking. They were then asked to solve statistics problems in an interactive learning environment. In this environment, they were allowed to use instrumental and executive help. The results showed that high mastery goals were related to a high perception of a threat to the learner's autonomy but not to the use of help. Performance goals were positively related to a perception of threat of not being considered competent and negatively related to the use of help and especially instrumental help. The implications of these results for future research on the help-seeking process in an interactive learning environment are discussed particularly in relation to the Technology Acceptance Model of the use of help. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.