Exploring undergraduate students' challenge frameworks: A person-centered approach

Undergraduate STEM students can hold different combinations of positive and negative beliefs about academic challenge—including difficulty, failures, and mistakes. Across two studies (N = 464 and N = 424), we used person-centered analyses to explore patterns of responses in these beliefs. Students in the challenge-as-enhancing profile had adaptive beliefs about challenge; those in the challenge-as-threatening profile viewed challenge as threatening yet instrumental for learning; those in the challenge-as-futile profile viewed challenge as non-instrumental; and one group held average beliefs about challenge. The challenge-as-enhancing profile was associated with the most adaptive correlates. Students in the challenge-as-threatening profile were the most likely to self-handicap, whereas students in the challenge-as-futile profile were least likely to endorse mastery-approach goals and seek out challenge. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the complexity of students' beliefs about challenge and provide insights into how unique patterns of beliefs relate to students' academic outcomes.