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 Self-Set Goals on Task Performance

Locke & Latham (1990a) report that specific, difficult goals lead to better performance than "do-your-best" instructions, whether the goals are self-set or are set by an external source. However, in Experiment I, as well as in previous research (White, Kjelgaard, & Harkins, 1995), we did not find self-set goal effects. A meta-analysis showed that self-set goal effects can be produced if two conditions are met: Prior to setting their goals, participants take part in a pretest that is equal in duration to the experimental task; and the experimenter has access to the participants' goals and the performances. Experiment 2 confirmed these meta-analytic findings by showing that when these two conditions were met, goals stringent enough to produce the effects were set, and goal-setting effects were obtained.     

Effects of goal-setting and feedback on memory performance and beliefs among older and younger adults

This research examined the impact of goal-setting conditions on memory beliefs and performance among older and younger adults. After baseline recall and assessment of beliefs, participants were assigned to goal-setting, goals plus feedback, or control. Then, additional recall trials were followed by repeated memory beliefs assessments. For both younger and older adults, performance, motivation, and self-efficacy were affected positively by goal-setting. The impact of goals plus feedback was mixed and varied as a function of age and dependent measure. Success rates for reaching memory goals, which were low for the older adults, may have been a factor in these results. Adults' self-set recall goals were predicted initially by baseline performance and self-efficacy. On the final trial, goals were predicted by last trial performance, self-efficacy, and control beliefs.     

Using Judgmental Anchors to Establish Challenging Self-Set Goals Without Jeopardizing Commitment

We applied the decision-making literature on judgmental anchors to develop a strategy for establishing challenging self-set goals. In experiments involving the generation of uses for common objects, we demonstrated that introducing an arbitrary and unreasonably high anchor significantly increased the value selected as a self-set goal. Self-efficacy and task performance also increased subsequent to the introduction of a high anchor. These results of anchoring goals occurred without reducing the goal commitment that is associated with self-set goals. Moreover, when anchored self-set goals were compared to assigned goals, they were found to have similar levels of performance and greater goal commitment. Discussion focused on the implications of anchoring goals for the processes and outcomes related to assigned and self-set goal-setting situations.     

Examining the Unique Effects of Multiple Motivational Sources on Task Performance

This paper examines whether multiple motivational sources uniquely influence task performance. Using the established framework in the goal-setting literature that suggests a pattern of mediated relationships, we test the relationship between assigned goals, incentives, and intrinsic motivation and task performance. The results show that assigned goals, incentives, and intrinsic motivation each positively influence task performance. However, the magnitude of the relationship varies considerably. The relationship for assigned goals was fully mediated by self-efficacy and self-set goals, whereas only a direct relationship emerged for incentives. The data reveal both direct and indirect relationships associated with intrinsic motivation.     

Age differences in self-set goal effects for memory

Research has shown that goal setting leads to gains in memory performance and memory self-efficacy across adulthood when goals are set by experimenters and accompanied by positive feedback. However, self-set memory goals have had less consistent impact. This research extended past studies on aging and memory goals to examine the impact of self-set goals using anchors to guide goal selection. Two trials of name, text, and list recall were administered to younger and older adults, comparing goal and no-goal groups. After baseline, participants assigned to the goal group set personal goals for memory gain on a second, post-goal trial for each of the three tasks. Anchoring for goal-setting was used to encourage the selection of realistic, yet challenging goals. Younger and older participants set comparable goals. Only younger adults showed a motivational response (higher gains across trials for goals than no goals), even though older adults reported being just as committed to their personal goals. Older adults may have failed to show reliable goal-related gains because no positive feedback was offered or because they were unable to activate effective strategies for improved performance.     

Effects of goal difficulty, self-set goals, and monetary rewards on dual task performance

The present study tests the effects of goal difficulty, goal origin (self-set vs assigned), and monetary rewards (present vs absent) on the simultaneous performance of two tasks (dual-task paradigm). Participants were 32 students working simultaneously on a computerized task of letter typing with the right hand and digit classification with the left hand. A 2 (self-set vs assigned goals) × 2 (present vs absent contingent monetary rewards) × 3 (easy, moderate, and difficult goals) factorial design with goal difficulty as the repeated factor was employed. Each task element was performed under easy, moderate, and difficult goals, which appeared in six consecutive trials of varied order within each experimental condition. Results indicate that self-set goals without monetary rewards led to the highest performance levels, whereas the combination of self-set goals and monetary rewards was detrimental to performance. These findings occurred (except in one case) only when goals were of either moderate Or high difficulty.     

Self-handicapping: The interplay between self-set and assigned achievement goals

This study examined the combined impact of self-set goals and manipulated goal contexts on self-handicapping to better understand how self-set goals affect responses to different performance-oriented achievement contexts. Participants reported their self-set goals and later completed an achievement task in a goal-context condition (performance-approach, performance-avoidance, no-goal). Before the task, participants had the opportunity to self-handicap (behaviorally and claimed). The results showed that self-set performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals positively predicted behavioral self-handicapping, but only in a performance-avoidance context. Additionally, self-set mastery-avoidance goals were found to predict claimed self-handicapping, regardless of the context condition. These results show that self-set achievement goals shape individuals behaviors associated with threat and promise in achievement situations.     

Type A behavior pattern and goal setting under different conditions of choice

This study examined the effects of the Type A behavior pattern on performance, goal acceptance, goal commitment, and expectancy of success under goal-setting conditions. Participants were assigned to one of four groups, assigned goal/assigned strategy, assigned goal/self-set strategy, self-set goal/assigned strategy, or self-set goal/self-set strategy. Results suggested that Type A persons were more likely to accept a difficult goal and remain committed to that goal, and that they had a higher expectancy of success than their Type B counterparts regardless of goal/strategy condition. With respect to performance, participants in the assigned goal/assigned strategy condition outperformed all other groups. A three-way interaction indicated that Type A persons performed better in the self-set goal/self-set strategy than Type B individuals. Implications of the findings regarding Type A and goal setting are discussed.     

Examination of the Roles of Action-State Orientation and Goal Orientation in the Goal-Setting and Performance Process

This investigation examined the roles of action-state orientation and goal orientation in predicting task-specific motivation and performance in an academic context. Results showed that action-state orientation predicted performance independent of goal orientation, cognitive ability, self-efficacy and self-set goals. Goal orientation primarily related to self-efficacy beliefs, which predicted goals and performance. Although action-state orientation and goal orientation were correlated, they had independent relationships with task-specific goal-setting and performance variables.     

Implicit Theories versus the Social Construal of Ability in Self-Regulation and Performance on a Complex Task

The present experiment examined the relative impacts of implicit theories and the social construal of ability as either a fixed entity or an incremental skill on self-efficacy, affective reactions, self-set goals, and performance on a complex group-management task. It was also a novel task for participants. Participants who had an implicit theory that group-management ability is an incremental skill that can be acquired with experience developed stronger self-efficacy, maintained more positive affect, and set themselves more challenging goals across multiple trials. They also outperformed participants with a fixed-entity theory of group-management ability. Some of the motivational benefits of an incremental-skill conception were lost when the social construal of managerial ability emphasized a fixed-entity conception. However, the negative motivational effects of a fixed-entity theory of ability were not ameliorated by the social construal of managerial ability as an incremental skill. The effects of conceptions of ability were fully mediated by the self-regulatory responses of participants. The hypothesis that self-efficacy moderates the impact of ability conceptions on self-set goal challenges was not supported.     

Effects of shifts in goal origin on goal acceptance and attainment

Current models of goal setting often fail to consider the potential negative effects of goal programs. Control over goal difficulty levels may be an important source of personal control in the workplace and psychological reactance may result from a shift in control over the setting of goals. The present experiment examined the effects of initial goal origin (assigned or self-set) and shifted goal origin (shifted or not shifted) on goal acceptance and attainment over two trial blocks of a verbal task. Several hypotheses based on psychological reactance theory were tested in a laboratory experiment with 160 college undergraduates. Overall analyses revealed significant interactions for goal acceptance and goal attainment over trial blocks. Simple effect analyses isolated this interaction for both dependent variables in a disordinal crossover pattern for the shifted origin groups over trial blocks, as expected. The discussion focuses on fitting these results into the current program guiding goal-setting research and on suggesting future avenues of research. Some implications for the application of goal setting are also discussed.     

The Effects of Choice and Incentives on the Overestimation of Future Performance

Two studies were designed to investigate factors hypothesized to influence the accuracy of performance-related statements (both performance predictions and self-set goals). In Experiment 1, subjects were either allowed to choose a specific version of the performance task or were assigned a version of the task prior to making performance-related statements. In Experiment 2, monetary incentives were manipulated prior to requests for either estimates or self-set goals. Results indicate significant sex-by-choice and sex-by-incentives interactions on both predictions and goals. In general, males responded to incentives and choice by becoming more extreme in their performance predictions and goals. However, females did not respond to incentives and choice as would be predicted by general principles such as "wishful thinking" (Slovic, 1966) and "illusion of control" (Langer, 1975). These results are discussed in the context of gender research in achievement settings and organizational theories of motivation.     

Enhancing the Effects of Sexual Orientation Diversity Training: The Effects of Setting Goals and Training Mentors on Attitudes and Behaviors

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of goal-setting theory (Locke, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 3, 157–189, 1968; Locke and Latham, 1990, A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; Locke and Latham, American Psychologist, 57, 705–717, 2002) within a diversity training context to enhance training outcomes. In particular, the training focused on an understudied group—gay men and lesbians—and examined both the short- and long-term outcomes associated with diversity training.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Using experimental methods in a field setting, participants (college students) were randomly assigned to a 2(goal-setting condition: self-set goals and no goals) × 2(mentor goal condition: mentor goals and no mentor goals) factorial design, where behavioral and attitudinal data were collected at two points in time: 3 months and 8 months subsequent to training.

Findings

Participants who developed sexual orientation supportive goals reported more supportive behaviors and attitudes toward gay and lesbian individuals than those who did not. Sexual orientation supportive behaviors mediated the relationship between goal-setting and sexual orientation attitudes.

Implications

The pattern of results suggests that time was the key for participants to meet the goals that were set during the diversity training. Both behaviors and attitudes were influenced by the goal setting at 8 months, but not after 3 months. This study demonstrates the importance of measuring both behaviors and attitudes in assessing diversity training.

Originality/Value

This is one of the first studies to integrate goal-setting theory (Locke and Latham, 1990, A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; Locke and Latham, American Psychologist, 57, 705–717, 2002) into the area of diversity training in an experimental field setting. We used a longitudinal design, addressing limitations of past research that usually examine short-term reactions to diversity training.     

How Children’s Cognitive and Affective Responses to a Novel Task Relate to the Dimensions of Perfectionism

The current study examined how the Maladaptive Evaluative Concerns (MEC) versus Positive Achievement Striving (PAS) dimensions of perfectionism relate to anxiety, goal-setting, and cognitive appraisal in third-grade to sixth-grade students who completed an object-naming task under three goal-demand conditions: self-set goals, and low and high experimenter goals. The results indicated that children high on a measure of socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP; a measure of MEC) experienced more anxiety across all conditions than children low in SPP. Children scoring high on SPP also rated performing well on the task as more important and were more likely to say they should have performed better than their low SPP counterparts, despite no significant differences in performance or standard-setting. The PAS component of perfectionism was unrelated to children??s responses. These results are consistent with Beck??s cognitive theory and support the utility of the maladaptive evaluative concerns dimension of perfectionism in predicting children??s cognitive and affective responses to new tasks.     

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.     

Performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals: when uncertainty makes a difference

Performance-avoidance goals (the desire to avoid performing more poorly than others do) have been shown to have consistently deleterious effects on performance but the effects of performance-approach goals (trying to outperform others) are more complex. Two studies examine uncertainty as a moderator of the effect of performance-approach goals on performance. Experiment 1 shows that manipulated performance-approach goals lead to better performance than do performance-avoidance goals in the absence of uncertainty about performance but when participants learn that a coactor disagreed with them about problem solutions, creating uncertainty, performance-approach goals do not differ from performance-avoidance goals in their effect on performance. Experiment 2 shows that uncertainty also moderates the effects of self-set performance-approach goals. Moreover, the same dynamic occurs with another kind of uncertainty: negative competence feedback.     

A Conceptualization and Test of the Influences of Individual Differences in Goal-Setting Situations1

This research tests a hypothesized model of the relationships among several individual differences and variables associated with the setting of goals. Participants were randomly assigned to a self-set goal condition, or to moderately or very-difficult assigned-goal conditions. By aggregating scores of performance, personal goals, ratings of self-efficacy, and goal commitment over multiple goal-setting and task-performance occasions, the overall relationships among these variables and need for achievement, self-esteem, and locus of control were determined. Results provide strong support for Locke and Latham's (1990a, 1990b) model of the goal-performance relation, but fail to support the hypothesized role of individual differences. The implications of these findings and individual differences in goal-setting situations are discussed.     

Managing time: the effects of personal goal setting on resource allocation strategy and task performance.

One key to understanding motivated behavior is examining the behavior of individuals as they work on multiple tasks under a time constraint. This article is an exploration of the influence of self-set goals on subsequent resource allocation to different tasks. Participants were given a variety of tasks from which they were to choose how to allocate their time and effort. Results indicated that the use of self-set goals structured the work pattern, with less switching between tasks relative to the work pattern of a group of participants who did not set goals. In addition, those who set goals reported less task-related cognitive interference, indicating that they were not as distracted while they worked. Participants who did not set goals, however, performed at a higher level on some of the tasks. It is suggested that self-set goals may often be chosen at an easily attainable level, creating a structured and focused work environment but not necessarily eliciting the motivational properties typically associated with goal setting.