Which of the following describes a mastery goal orientation?

Concept: Achievement Goal Theory explains a learner's effort in terms of the goal that drives it. A mastery (task) goal orientation is defined by a focus on developing one's own competence and deepening understanding of the task itself, judged against one's own earlier performance rather than against other people. This contrasts with a performance-approach orientation (demonstrating superiority over peers), extrinsic motivation (chasing an external reward), and a performance-avoidance orientation (avoiding looking incompetent).

Application: The description “focus on improving one’s skills and understanding of a task” names exactly this self-referenced, competence-building focus, with no comparison to other people and no mention of an external reward or of avoiding failure — so it is the description of a mastery goal orientation.

Contrast:

• “focus on achieving a certain level of performance for competing with others” describes a performance-approach goal — success is judged relative to peers, not by the learner's own growth.

• “focus on achieving a high grade for receiving external rewards” describes extrinsic motivation — the target is an external reward (the grade), not competence itself.

• “focus on avoiding failure or punishment for fear of humiliation” describes a performance-avoidance goal — driven by fear of looking incompetent, not by a wish to master the task.