o Learning orientation relates to trying to increase ability or competence in a task. People with a learning orientation believe that training success is defined as showing improvement and making progress, prefer trainers who are more interested in how trainees are learning than in how they are performing, and view errors and mistakes as part of the learning process.

o Performance orientation refers to learners who focus on task performance and how they compare to others. Persons with a performance orientation define success as high performance relative to others, value high ability more than learning, and find that errors and mistakes cause anxiety and want to avoid them.

o Learners with a high learning orientation will direct greater attention to the task and learn for the sake of learning, as opposed to learners with a performance orientation. Learners with a performance orientation will direct more attention to performing well and less effort to learning.

Trainers should strive to promote a learning orientation among trainees. Accordingly, they should set goals around learning and experimenting with new ways of having trainees perform trained tasks. They should also deemphasize competition among trainees, create a community of learning, and allow trainees to make errors. When trainees make mistakes, trainers should provide constructive feedback and avoid making trainees look incompetent.