Individual Versus Group Decision Making: Social Comparison in Goals for Individual Task Performance

This experiment compares the decisions of individuals and groups on goals for the performance expected from individuals on a problem-solving or an error-checking task. For both tasks, two versions were constructed to reflect low and high levels of task difficulty. Predictions from two different social comparison of abilities approaches were formulated, with the social comparison based on success approach predicting that group goals would be easier than individual goals, while social comparison based on performance predicted the opposite pattern. Consistent with the social comparison based on success predictions, group goals were observed to be significantly less difficult than individual goals for both tasks, both levels of task difficulty, and for both an initial and a second goal-setting occasion. Of particular interest was a finding that the easier group goals reflected group member preferences for easy goals in anticipation of group decision making. It is proposed that social factors such as evaluation apprehension and social comparison may be responsible for the differences observed in group and individual goal decisions, and that social factors may have an important role in a variety of goal-setting situations.     

Group and Individual Decision Making for Task Performance Goals: Processes in the Establishment of Goals:in Groups1

The study examines the processes by which goals in groups are established. Performance goals and preferences for goals were stated by individuals acting alone, by groups deciding in unison, and by group members. All subjects performed a card-sorting task as individuals, and self-set goals were selected for expected levels of individual performance. Groups selected goals that were less difficult than individual goals on several occasions of goal setting. Analysis of the group goal decisions suggests that a success-based social comparison process occurs that implies groups select a goal slightly lower than the average of the member preferences so that the group members may appear successful. Analyses also indicated that the lower group goals arose quickly in the group interaction, and that group members readily adopted the lower goals as appropriate levels of performance. Discussion focuses on the observed differences among group, group member, and individual performance goals, and the ability of the success-based social comparison process to account for these differences.     

Goal Setting by Groups Performing an Additive Task: A Comparison With Individual Goal Setting1

This article compares goal levels and task performance of groups and individuals that are assigned or self-set goals. Groups performed an additive task that allowed for direct comparison with individuals' i]ndependent performance of the task. Consistent with predictions, groups and individuals selected goals that were less difficult than assigned goals which required only a modest increase in performance. Group members and individuals who were assigned goals attained higher levels of performance than self-set or no goal condition subjects. The prediction that group members and individuals who self-set their goals would have more positive affective reactions to the goal-setting situation than participants in assigned condition was supported. The results of this study are consistent with the existing literature on groups and individuals regarding effects of goals, performance, and affective reactions. Analyses also indicate that the group goal decision process involves a compensatory strategy in which an average of group member preferences for the goal was used to reach a group goal decision. Discussion focuses on the similarities and differences between the findings of self-set and assigned goal-setting situations for groups and individuals, with particular reference to goal choice strategies, goal expectancies, and efficacy.     

The Effects of Social Identity on the Self-Set Goals and Task Performance of High and Low Self-Esteem Individuals

Social identification with co-workers was examined as a moderator of the frequently inscrutable link between worker self-esteem and goal setting. Weak or strong social identity was created in groups comprised of either high or low self-esteem persons. As expected, strengthening social identity increased perceived similarity to ingroup members regardless of self-esteem. Furthermore, only high self-esteem individuals with a strong social identity set higher goals for themselves, and achieved better performance, compared to high esteem/weak identity individuals or low self-esteem persons in either social identity condition. Increments in the goals and performance of high self-esteem individuals were associated with perceived similarity to ingroup members, and performance was attributed to personal ability. In contrast, the goals and performance of low self-esteem individuals were associated with certainty of goal achievement, and performance was attributed to perceptions of task difficulty. Asymmetrical effects of social identification are discussed in relation to group member personalities.     

Processes That Mediate the Relationship Between a Group Goal and Group Member Performance

The impact of a group goal on the performance of anonymous and nonin- teracting group members performing an additive group task was tested. Pro- cesses believed to mediate the effect, the role of self-set individual goals, the impact of information about the group's previous performance on the task (group knowledge of results; GRPKR) on goal commitment, and the motiva- tional basis of the goal were also assessed. Seventeen groups of three to five people performed two trials of an idea generation task. In the GOAL/GRPKR condition, group members were assigned a group goal for Session 2 and received information about the group's performance for Session 1. In the goal without knowledge of results (GOAL/NOKR) condition, group mem- bers were assigned a group goal for Session 2 without GRPKR. In the NO- GOAL condition, group members worked without a goal and without GRPKR. In each condition, group members worked on the task without talk- ing to other group members and individual contributions to the group prod- uct were unknown to others. Self-reports of effort, changes in individual performance strategies from Rial 1 to Rial 2, self-set individual goals, goal commitment, and personal challenge were collected. Results showed that (a) group members working toward a performance goal outperformed those working without a goal, b) information about the group's previous perfor- mance on the task did not influence commitment to the goal or performance, (c) changes in individual performance strategies mediated the group goal ef- fect but self-reports of effort invested in the task did not, (d) g m ~ p members working toward a group goal felt more personal challenge than group mem- bers working without a goal, and (e) self-set individual goals can not account for the group goal effect. The implications of these results for models of group goals and group performance are discussed.     

A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Situationally Induced Achievement Goals on Task Performance

The purpose of this research was to meta-analyze studies which experimentally induced an achievement goal state to examine its causal effect on the individual’s performance at the task at hand, and to investigate the moderator effects of feedback anticipation and time pressure. The data set comprised 19 papers, 79 individual effect sizes, and 3,482 participants. Performance measures represented task performance across a variety of tasks. The findings indicate that relative to avoidance goals (either performance-avoidance goals or mastery-avoidance goals), approach goals (either mastery-approach goals or performance-approach goals) enhance task performance. Furthermore, relative to performance-approach goals, mastery-approach goals lead to better performance, particularly when individuals do not anticipate feedback and when there is no time pressure. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.     

The role of goal specificity in the goal-setting process

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between goal specificity and task performance, with specificity operationalized as a continuous quantitative variable reflecting the range of performance levels individuals chose as their personal goals. It was hypothesized that, controlling for goal difficulty, specific personal goals would be associated with higher levels of task performance. It was also hypothesized that task strategy would mediate the relationship between goal specificity and performance and that specific goals would be associated with smaller goal-performance discrepancies. The results from a sample of 162 college students working on an eye-hand coordination task supported the hypothesis concerning goal-performance discrepancies. They hypotheses regarding task strategy and the relationship between goal specificity and performance were supported only on the second of two trials.     

Impact du type de buts et du sentiment d'auto-efficaciaté sur l'autorégulation et la performance dans une tâche cognitive

The aim of this study was to examine two hypotheses derived from theoretical models of the role of learning and performance goals in cognitive functioning. The first predicts that being highly focused on performance goals leads students to develop lower levels of self-efficacy than those who are less focused on performance. The second hypothesis predicts that the combination of high performance goals and low self-efficacy will have a negative impact on students' self-regulation and performance in a new task. After having filled out a questionnaire assessing their goals, 128 female students were met individually and asked to solve a verbal concept formation task. Self-efficacy was assessed prior to the resolution of the task during which self-regulation and performance were observed. Contrary to the first hypothesis, students having high performance goals were found to have higher self-efficacy than those having low goals. In addition, no interaction between self-efficacy and performance goals was found on self-regulation and performance on the task. The results showed that whatever students' goals, self-efficacy is a powerful determinant of self-regulation and performance. The discussion emphasizes the role of self-efficacy and the value of a motivational profile combining high concern for both performance and learning goals in cognitive functioning.     

The interactive effects of achievement goals and task complexity on enjoyment,mental focus,and effort

Several empirical studies have suggested that achievement goal researchers should put a greater emphasis on identifying factors that may moderate the effects of achievement goals on motivation and related outcomes. In line with this recommendation, the current study sought to examine how one task characteristics (task complexity) may moderate the impact of achievement goals on the motivational outcomes of task enjoyment, mental focus, and exerted effort. Consistent with both the theoretical foundations of achievement goals and the existing research literature, we hypothesized that achievement goals would interact with task complexity in their effects on motivation such that the positive effects of mastery goals would be stronger for complex tasks, the positive effects of performance‐approach goals would be stronger for simple tasks, and the negative effects of performance‐avoidance goals would be weaker for simple tasks. Data collected from 347 undergraduate students assigned to simple or complex task conditions when performing a puzzle‐based task supported these hypotheses. Under complex task conditions, the positive effects of mastery goals were amplified, whereas simple task conditions enhanced the positive effects of performance‐approach goals and minimized the negative impact of performance‐avoidance goals. Future directions for research on achievement goals are discussed, along with potential practical implications of the results of this study.     

Impact of comparisons with out‐group members on women's self‐esteem: Role of the stereotypical connotation of the performance context

Although upward comparisons may threaten people's self‐esteem, research has argued that this is not the case if the comparison other is an out‐group member. To protect their self‐esteem individuals would dismiss upward comparison information involving out‐group members as not being self‐relevant. We suggest that use of this self‐protective strategy is dependent on the stereotypical connotation of the performance context. Women's self‐esteem would suffer from upward out‐group comparisons on a male‐labelled task but not on a female one because the assumed expertise of women in the latter domain would allow them to reject the comparison information. To test this hypothesis, female participants were led to believe that they were Z‐types group members in comparison with X‐types group members. After doing a test presumably designed to assess either their verbal‐spatial ability (male‐labelled task) or their sociorelational expressiveness (female‐labelled task), they were exposed to bogus information on the performance of three other individuals who were always described as X‐types group members (out‐group members). These out‐group members had performed either better (upward comparison) or worse (downward comparison) than the participants themselves. Supporting the hypothesis, women who had been confronted with the superior performance of out‐group members on the male‐labelled task reported lower self‐esteem than those confronted with the superior performance of out‐group members on the female‐labelled task. When women perform a stereotypically female task, upward comparisons with out‐group members do not decrease their self‐esteem, suggesting that women are in a position to protect their self‐esteem by dismissing the self‐relevance of such comparisons. The assumed expertise of women as a function of the stereotypical gender connotation of the performance context could explain such results. The influence of the social division of gender roles on women's social identity is discussed. La littérature suggère que les comparaisons ascendantes menacent L'estime de soi des individus, sauf lorsque ces comparaisons se déroulent avec des membres d'un exogroupe. En effet, les individus se protègeraient de telles comparaisons en ne les estimant pas pertinentes. Toutefois, nous suggérons que L'utilisation d'une telle stratégie d'auto‐protection dépend de la connotation stéréotypique du contexte de performance. Ainsi, L'estime de soi des femmes serait affaiblie par des comparaisons ascendantes avec des membres d'un exogroupe uniquement si ces dernières portent sur un domaine stéréotypiquement perçu comme masculin et non sur un domaine stéréotypiquement perçu comme féminin. Pour tester cette hypothèse, des participantes sont conduites à croire qu'en tant que membres du groupe des types‐Z elles vont être comparées aux membres du groupe des types‐X. Après avoir réalisé un test supposé évaluer soit leur capacité spatio‐verbale (tâche à connotation masculine) soit leur expressivité socio‐relationnelle (tâche à connotation féminine), elles reçoivent de L'information fictive sur la performance de trois autres individus, toujours présentés comme des membres du groupe des types‐X (exogroupe). Ces trois personnes ont soit mieux réussi (comparaisons ascendantes) soit moins bien réussi (comparaisons descendantes) que les participantes. Conformément à L'hypothèse, les femmes confrontées à de meilleures performances des membres de L'exogroupe présentent une estime de soi plus faible uniquement lorsqu'elles ont réalisé une tâche à connotation masculine. Quand les femmes réalisent une tâche stéréotypiquement féminine, les comparaisons ascendantes avec des membres de L'exogroupe ne diminuent pas leur estime de soi, ce qui suggère que les femmes sont alors capables de protéger leur estime de soi en rejetant ces comparaisons comme non‐pertinentes. L'expertise supposée des femmes en fonction de la connotation sexuelle stéréotypique du contexte de performance pourrait expliquer de tels résultats. La discussion porte ainsi sur L'influence de la division sociale des rôles de genre sur L'identité sociale des femmes. La literatura de investigación sugiere que las comparaciones ascendentes amenazan la auto estima de las personas, a menos que con quien se comparen no sea miembro de su mismo grupo. Para proteger su auto estima, los individuos rechazarían las comparaciones ascendentes con personas ajenas a su grupo por considerarlas irrelevantes para sí mismos. Se sugiere que el uso de esta estrategia de auto protección depende de la connotación estereotipada del contexto en el que se desempeñe la persona. La auto estima de las mujeres sufrirá sólo si se comparan ascendentemente contra alguien, perteneciente a un grupo ajeno al propio, que se desempeñe en un dominio percibido como masculino, pero no en dominios percibidos como femeninos. Para someter a prueba esta hipótesis, se hizo creer a las participantes que eran miembros de un grupo tipo Z que se comparaba con los miembros de un grupo tipo X. Una vez que se habían sometido a una prueba presuntamente diseñada para evaluar, ya fuera la habilidad verbal‐espacial (tarea percibida como masculina) o su expresividad en las relaciones sociales (tarea percibida como femenina), se expusieron a información falsa acerca del rendimiento de otros tres individuos a quienes se describía como miembros del grupo tipo X (grupo ajeno al propio). Estos miembros externos al grupo de la participante habían tenido un rendimiento, ya fuera mejor (comparación ascendente) o peor (comparación descendente) que ésta. La hipótesis recibió apoyo, las mujeres confrontadas con un rendimiento superior de miembros ajenos a su grupo en la tarea percibida como masculina manifestaron menor auto estima que aquéllas confrontadas con un rendimiento superior de miembros ajenos a su grupo en la tarea percibida como femenina. Cuando las mujeres desempeñan una tarea percibida como femenina, las comparaciones ascendentes con miembros de grupos ajenos no disminuyen su auto estima, lo que sugiere que se protegen al rechazar la importancia de tales comparaciones. La supuesta pericia de las mujeres en función de la connotación sexual estereotipada del contexto en el que se desempeñan podría explicar tales resultados. Se discute la influencia de la división social de los roles de género sobre la identidad social de las mujeres.     

Effort in the face of difference: Feeling like a non‐prototypical group member motivates effort

Three studies examined the relationship between individuals' perceived “prototypicality” in a group, their subsequent self‐presentation goals, and individual effort in that group. Consistent with the finding that feelings of marginal ingroup membership status elicit a desire to seek stronger social connections within ingroups, we predicted that non‐prototypical group members will have more salient self‐presentation goals than prototypical members, and as such will exert more individual effort to exhibit the value of their membership to the group. Correlational Study 1 confirmed that non‐prototypical group members may be more likely than prototypical members to volunteer for activities that would benefit their group. Two experimental studies were then conducted to test the causal influence of feelings of prototypicality while also identifying theoretically relevant moderating conditions of perceived task efficacy (Study 2) and public versus private task performance (Study 3). These findings suggest that effortful performance in groups is partly motivated by the desire to foster social ties. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Are mastery and ability goals both adaptive? Evaluation,initial goal construction and the quality of task engagement

Aims. The aims of this research were to examine the predictions that (a) the kind of evaluation pupils anticipate will influence their initial achievement goals and, as a result, the quality and consequences of task engagement; and (b) initial mastery goals will promote new learning and intrinsic motivation and initial ability goals will promote entity beliefs that ability is fixed. Sample. Participants were 312 secondary school pupils at ages 13–15. Methods. Pupils expected to receive normative evaluation, temporal evaluation (scores over time) or no evaluation. Mastery and ability goals were measured before pupils worked on challenging problems; intrinsic motivation and entity beliefs were measured after task completion. Results. Anticipation of temporal evaluation enhanced initial mastery goals, anticipation of normative evaluation enhanced ability goals and the no‐evaluation condition undermined both. Anticipation of temporal evaluation enhanced new learning (strategy acquisition and performance gains) and intrinsic motivation both directly and by enhancing initial mastery goals; anticipation of normative evaluation enhanced entity beliefs by enhancing ability goals. Conclusions. Results confirmed that evaluation conveys potent cues as to the goals of activity. They also challenged claims that both mastery and ability goals can be adaptive by demonstrating that these were differentially associated with positive versus negative processes and outcomes. Results have theoretical and applied implications for understanding and improving evaluative practices and student motivation.     

Learning to play golf under different goal conditions: their effects on irrelevant thoughts and on subsequent control strategies

Volitional and self‐handicapping theories suggest that individuals use various strategies to energize the maintenance and the enactment of goals. We placed 32 golfers (16 men and 16 women) alternately in four golf proficiency conditions using a randomized complete block design: task involvement, learning, achievement, and one‐on‐one competition goals. As expected, the path analysis showed that one‐on‐one competition goals generate irrelevant thoughts (anxiety, threat to self‐esteem, distraction) as well as the subsequent bringing into play of control strategies (emotional control, attentional control, self‐handicapping strategies). Conversely, task involvement goals not only exclude intrusive thoughts but hinder the implementation of control strategies. These results are discussed in terms of the attentional processes induced by motivational goals and their subsequent volitional and self‐handicapping strategies. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perception in consequences of free riding

This study examined the relationships between perceptions of group members' free riding and group outcomes using Mulvey and Klein's 1998 perceived free riding scale. In a laboratory study, three free riding conditions were created (no free riding, free riding, free riding with justification) in which 97 college students performed two short number-finding tasks as members of temporary ad hoc three-person groups. 55% of the students were male and the average age was 22.9 yr. (SD= 3.0). Participants' perceptions of free riding were negatively related to commitment to the assigned group goal, task performance, and goals for group performance and individual performance. In the condition wherein free riding was justified by low ability, participants set lower goals for their future task performance than did those in the other two conditions.     

Similarity in Gender and Self‐Esteem for Supportive Peer Relationships: The Mediating Role of Cooperative Goals1

The present study investigated whether cooperative goals mediate the relationship between similarity in gender and self‐esteem and social support and relationship quality in ongoing peer dyads. Based on data collected from 209 student dyads, the findings largely support the mediating role of cooperative goals. However, the study found that gender similarity was positively related while self‐esteem similarity was negatively related to cooperative goals and relationship quality of peer dyad members.     

When the pressure is up: The assessment of social identity threat in low and high status groups

The hypothesis was tested that whereas members of a low status group show a physiological threat response when evaluating a performance situation on the basis of the status quo, members of high status groups show a physiological threat response when evaluating a possible change of the status quo. Participants were categorized in minimal groups, after which they performed a task on which group-level feedback was given (group status manipulation). Later on during the experiment, a second round of this task was unexpectedly announced (implying a possible change in the group’s status). In line with expectations, participants in the low status condition showed higher blood pressure directly after the status feedback, whereas participants in the high status condition showed a similar response in anticipation of the second round of the task. Results are discussed in terms of social identity theory, and the physiological assessment of threats to social identity.     

Brainstorming and task performance in groups constrained by evidence

Group brainstorming is usually considered a task of divergent thinking, and the ideas produced in most research on brainstorming are counted and scored for creativity but put to no further use. We studied brainstorming by embedding it in a rule induction task that initially requires divergent thinking but increasingly requires convergent thinking as evidence accumulates across trials. We also tested whether brainstorming facilitated performance on the induction task itself. The experimental design was a 2 (nominal or interacting groups) × 3 (brainstorming early in the task, late in the task, or none) factorial. For brainstorming performance, nominal groups of 4 individuals outperformed face-to-face groups of 4 individuals. But as predicted from an analysis of the effects of constraining hypotheses by evidence, the advantage for nominal groups declined when brainstorming took place late in the task where there was a large amount of accumulated evidence to consider. Brainstorming did not generally affect performance on the induction task, although early group brainstorming resulted in more correct hypotheses than late group brainstorming. Group brainstorming was perceived as more effective than individual brainstorming by both interacting and nominal group members, a finding that extends the illusion of group productivity in brainstorming to tasks of convergent thinking.     

Goal congruence in project teams: does the fit between members' personal mastery and performance goals matter?

Research on team goals rarely considers the impact of congruence in perceptions of personal goals of self versus other members. In this study of 324 members of 64 short-term project teams, polynomial regression analysis was used to explore how congruence in personal and perceived team mastery and performance goals affected individual outcomes. Results indicated that congruence in perceived performance goals elicited greater individual satisfaction and contributions, regardless of goal strength (i.e.. high or low personal performance goals). Conversely, perceived team mastery goals had a greater effect on individual outcomes than did perceived congruence in self-other mastery goals. Congruent self-actual team goals showed weaker but similar relationships to individual outcomes, but contrary to hypotheses, this effect was not mediated by congruence in perceived self-other goals.     

Social Comparison in the Setting of Goals for Own and Others' Performance

This research examines social factors implicated by social comparison theory to be involved in the setting of task performance goals. Participants conducted an error-checking task and selected performance goals for themselves, their roommates, and unknown others. In addition, participants made judgments regarding their relative ability on the task as well as stating their confidence in attaining the goals. Consistent with predictions, participants rated themselves as above average in ability, had more confidence in their own abilities, and set lower goals for others than for themselves. In addition, individuals had more confidence in the abilities of their roommates than unknown others, and consequently chose goals for their roommates that were more similar to their own goals. The results and implications of this study are discussed within the context of social comparison theory and the better-than-average effect.     

Differential access to information and anticipated group interaction: impact on individual reasoning

Two studies examined the impact of relative differences in access to information and anticipated group interaction on individual reasoning. On 2 different reasoning tasks (P. C. Wason's [1966] selection task and D. Kahneman & A. Tversky's [1973] lawyer-engineer problem), participants sensing that they knew more in anticipation of group interaction or knew less when not anticipating interaction were less susceptible to typical cognitive biases demonstrated by these tasks. Study 2 also showed that the effect of these social contexts was contingent on the task presentation format. Thus, knowing more in anticipation of group interaction and knowing less when not anticipating group interaction seemingly compensated for task features that enhance suboptimal reasoning strategies. These results illustrate the importance of the social context in which reasoning is situated and are discussed in terms of cognitive tuning, social comparison, and social motivations.