Exploring Facet-Based Personality Trait Clusters and Achievement Goal Orientations among Filipino College Students

Achievement goal orientations (AGOs) have long been regarded as central to understanding students’ motivation in achievement settings. But despite the extensive work done in examining the construct, existing literature has commonly positioned AGOs as predictors or mediators, primarily driven by questions of what AGOs lead to rather than what gives rise to them. Consequently, studies that examine antecedent-focused research on AGOs have emphasized that personality traits may be linked to how students pursue achievement in school settings because personality traits reflect individual differences in how goals are generated, pursued, and adjusted. But research on personality-AGO relations has predominantly adopted the Big Five dimensional, variable-centered approach, where personality is conceptualized through the five broad trait domains: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness to Experience and Conscientiousness. This approach assumes that each domain is statistically independent, thereby focusing on how traits vary across individuals, while overlooking the extent to which trait configurations may meaningfully operate within individuals. The growing interest towards using person-centered approaches has likely contributed to recognizing such limitations in contemporary personality research, particularly through the use of cluster analysis. Cluster analysis not only allows traits to be clustered using broad trait domains but also using narrower personality components called facets. This method emphasizes that traits can co-occur in meaningful patterns, allowing them to simultaneously come together to be transformed into discrete, interpretable clusters. This method may advance antecedent-focused research on AGOs and provide a more detailed description of an individual’s personality by shifting the analytical focus on facets. Thus, this present study aims to explore the hypothesized relationship between facet-based personality trait clusters and AGOs. The findings of this study may be used to design learning environments or guidance strategies that align with students’ distinct personality configuration, support their engagement, and enhance their overall academic motivation and performance.