Goal orientation and task demand effects on motivation, affect, and performance

Two studies tested the joint effects of goal orientation and task demands on motivation, affect, and performance, examining different factors affecting task demands. In Study 1 (N = 199), task difficulty was found to moderate the effect of goal orientation on performance and affect (i.e., satisfaction with performance). In Study 2 (N = 189), task consistency was found to moderate the effect of goal orientation on self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation. Results are discussed in relation to self-regulatory processes cued by goal orientations, attentional resource demands, and the need to match goal orientations to the nature of the task.     

Goal orientation: effects on backing up behavior, performance, efficacy, and commitment in teams

The author examined the predictive validity of goal orientation in teams on both team process and outcome variables. Results indicate that when mean goal orientation scores were used as a way of describing team members' inputs, learning orientation was related to backing up behavior, efficacy, and commitment. The relationships between performance orientation and efficacy and commitment, however, were more complex and were clarified when task performance was also taken into account. Performance orientation had a negative effect on efficacy when task performance was low and a positive effect on commitment when task performance was high. The implications of these findings for theory and research on goal orientation in teams and team staffing are discussed.     

Goal orientation and performance adaptation: A meta-analysis

The relationship between goal orientation and performance adaptation across studies was assessed in the present article. The relevance of performance adaptation can be exemplified by the desire to optimize performance and mitigate the negative effects of change in organizational and educational contexts (i.e. new co-workers, new software, emergencies). Three-level meta-analyses were conducted for learning goal orientation (LGO) and performance goal orientation (PGO). Furthermore, within PGO a distinction between avoid performance goal orientation (APGO) and prove performance goal orientation (PPGO) could be made. In moderator analyses the influence of measurement method of performance adaptation (subjective ratings vs objective scores) was assessed amongst others. Although significant effects were found they were primarily visible for subjective ratings and not objective scores.     

Goal orientation and self-efficacy in relation to memory in adulthood

The achievement goal framework (Dweck, 1986, American Psychologist, 41, 1040) has been well-established in children and college-students, but has rarely been examined empirically with older adults. The current study, including younger and older adults, examined the effects of memory self-efficacy, learning goals (focusing on skill mastery over time) and performance goals (focusing on performance outcome evaluations) on memory performance. Questionnaires measured memory self-efficacy and general orientation toward learning and performance goals; free and cued recall was assessed in a subsequent telephone interview. As expected, age was negatively related and education was positively related to memory self-efficacy, and memory self-efficacy was positively related to memory, in a structural equation model. Age was also negatively related to memory performance. Results supported the positive impact of learning goals and the negative impact of performance goals on memory self-efficacy. There was no significant direct effect of learning or performance goals on memory performance; their impact occurred via their effect on memory self-efficacy. The present study supports past research suggesting that learning goals are beneficial, and performance goals are maladaptive, for self-efficacy and learning, and validates the achievement goal framework in a sample including older adults.     

Goal orientation of team leaders: Its effects on performance and group interaction in software development projects

Abstract

Goal orientation is an action style implying the development of long-range and precise goals, and persistent pursuit of these goals. Goal orientation is not only important for a person's own performance but also for the performance of others in a co-operative work setting. This applies particularly to team leaders, whose goal orientation was predicted to correlate with both team performance and quality of group interaction within the team. In a sample of 44 team leaders and 141 other team members of software development projects it was found that team leaders' goal orientation is related to the quality of the development process, the quality of the final product, and the interaction within the team. This is true both for team leaders' estimates of the dependent variables and for aggregated scores of the team members' estimates. Interaction effects between team members' and team leaders' goal orientation were also found.     

Goal orientation profiles and task performance growth trajectories

Goal orientation theories were used to generate predictions regarding the moderating effect of goal orientation profiles on task performance growth trajectories. Participants were given multiple trials of practice on an air traffic control task. Analyses were conducted using growth curve modeling. As expected, individuals with high performance-approach orientation improved their task performance scores faster than their counterparts. The interaction between mastery and performance-avoid orientations moderated the performance growth curve such that individuals with high mastery and low performance-avoid orientation improved their performance at the fastest rate. The interaction between performance-approach and performance-avoid orientations also moderated the performance growth curve. Individuals with low performance-approach and high performance-avoid orientation improved their performance at the slowest rate. These findings contribute to theory and practice by elucidating how various combinations of goal orientations influence the rate of skill acquisition.

A multilevel analysis of effort, practice, and performance: effects; of ability, conscientiousness, and goal orientation

This article examines the relationship between motivation and performance during skill acquisition. The authors used multilevel analysis to investigate relationships at within- and between-person levels of analysis. Participants were given multiple trials of practice on an air traffic control task. Measures of effort intensity and performance were taken at repeated intervals. As expected, the relationship between effort and performance increased with practice. Furthermore, the rate at which this effect strengthened was faster for individuals with high-ability or low-performance orientation. There was also an interaction between learning and performance orientations that only emerged after practice. By the end of practice, the negative effects of performance orientation were stronger for individuals with high learning orientation. Results highlight the importance of adopting a multilevel framework to enhance understanding of the link between motivation and performance.     

Mastery goal orientation and cognitive ability effects on performance in learner‐guided training

To conserve resources, organizations are increasingly turning to learner‐guided training methods in which workers are given control over when, how, and what they cover in the learning process. However, the impact of individual differences such as goal orientation and cognitive ability has not been adequately addressed in learner‐guided training. This study seeks to advance our knowledge of how these differences affect performance through previously unexplored pathways. Specifically, we examined the indirect effects of mastery goal orientation and cognitive ability on post‐training performance in a learner‐directed training context. Findings indicate that off‐task thoughts mediate the positive effect of mastery goal orientation on post‐training performance, while declarative knowledge mediates the positive effect of cognitive ability on post‐training performance.     

Main and interactive effects of controllability and generalisability attributions upon self-efficacy

ObjectivesThis study examined main effects of controllability and interactive effects of controllability and generalisability attributions upon self-efficacy.DesignA cross-sectional study design was employed with pre-competition self-efficacy assessed at least one week prior to attributions and subsequent self-efficacy.MethodParticipants (N=360; mean age 21.64, SD=6.96 years) completed measures of pre-competition self-efficacy (1 h prior to competition 1), attributions (1 h after competition 1) and subsequent self-efficacy (at least one week following competition 1 and 1 h prior to competition 2). All measures were completed in reference to sport competitions.ResultsDemographic variables and pre-competition self-efficacy were entered as control variables in moderated hierarchical regression analyses. Results demonstrated that individuals who perceived performance as more successful, had higher subsequent self-efficacy when they generalised (ΔR²=.34, p<.01) causes of performance across time (stability: b=.44, p<.01), and/or across situations (globality: b=.47, p<.01), and/or perceived causes to be unique to themselves (universality: b=−.45, p<.01). Individuals who perceived performance as less successful, had higher subsequent self-efficacy when they viewed causes of performance as controllable (ΔR²=.08, b=.23, p<.01); an interaction (ΔR²=.06, p<.05) for controllability and globality (b=.20, p<.01) demonstrated that if causes were perceived to be global, higher levels of controllability were associated with higher levels of subsequent self-efficacy.ConclusionThis study provides evidence, following more successful performances, that attributions to generalisability (stability, globality and universality) affect self-efficacy; following less successful performances, globality (a generalisability dimension) moderates the effect of controllability upon self-efficacy.     

Cognitive ability,cognitive aptitudes,job knowledge,and job performance

This paper reviews the hundreds of studies showing that general cognitive ability predicts job performance in all jobs. The first section shows that general cognitive ability predicts supervisor ratings and training success. The second section shows that general cognitive ability predicts objective, rigorously content valid work sample performance with even higher validity. Path analysis shows that much of this predictive power stems from the fact that general cognitive ability predicts job knowledge (r = .80 for civilian jobs) and job knowledge predicts job performance (r = .80). However, cognitive ability predicts performance beyond this value (r = .75 versus r = [.80][.80] = .64) verifying job analyses showing that most major cognitive skills are used in everyday work. The third section of the paper briefly reviews evidence showing that it is general cognitive ability and not specific cognitive aptitudes that predict performance.     

Role ambiguity and self-efficacy: The moderating effects of goal orientation and procedural justice

The present study investigated variables that moderated the relationship between role ambiguity and self-efficacy. Results of a field study found support for the moderating role of learning goal orientation, such that the relationship between role ambiguity and self-efficacy was weaker when learning goal orientation was high. In addition, we found that procedural justice moderated the role ambiguity—self-efficacy relationship, such that the relationship was stronger when procedural justice was high. However, contrary to our prediction, avoiding goal orientation did not interact with role ambiguity to predict self-efficacy. Implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.     

Role ambiguity and self-efficacy: The moderating effects of goal orientation and procedural justice

The present study investigated variables that moderated the relationship between role ambiguity and self-efficacy. Results of a field study found support for the moderating role of learning goal orientation, such that the relationship between role ambiguity and self-efficacy was weaker when learning goal orientation was high. In addition, we found that procedural justice moderated the role ambiguity—self-efficacy relationship, such that the relationship was stronger when procedural justice was high. However, contrary to our prediction, avoiding goal orientation did not interact with role ambiguity to predict self-efficacy. Implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.     

Perceived control and emotions: interactive effects on performance in achievement settings

Individual differences in cognitions and emotions play a critical role in difficult academic situations, such as the transition into college, a period infused with uncertainty. Perceived academic control (low vs. high) and emotions (course boredom, anxiety, and enjoyment) were examined to determine how they jointly predicted 620 first-year students’ achievement and attrition over an entire academic year. It was expected that students’ emotions would moderate the effects of high perceived control on achievement (final psychology grade, cumulative GPA) and attrition (overall course credits dropped). Regression results revealed several Perceived Control  ×  Emotion interactions that supported this moderation hypothesis: negative emotions impeded the benefits of high control (i.e., boredom and anxiety predicted worse performance in high-control students); positive emotions enhanced the benefits of high control (i.e., enjoyment predicted better performance in high-control students). Conversely, achievement emotions did not predict performance among low-control students. Together, these findings indicate that for a high level of perceived control to enhance students’ academic achievement and inhibit attrition, “adaptive” levels of emotions (lower boredom, lower anxiety, or higher enjoyment) are required. Implications for maximizing academic success among both low- and high-control students are discussed.

Goal orientation dispositions and performance trajectories: The roles of supplementary and complementary situational inducements

Integrating goal orientation theory with interactionist approaches, this experimental study (N = 104) tested the unique and interactive effects of individual differences in goal orientations and situational goal orientation inducements on performance trajectories during skill acquisition. Results indicated that learning goal orientation predicted performance trajectories more positively when coupled with one situational inducement that captures a complementary feature (a performance, as opposed to a learning, goal frame), and when jointed with a situational inducement that captures a supplementary feature (self-referenced vs. normative-based performance feedback). There was also a complementary-like interaction between the two situational inducements, such that a learning goal frame led to more positive performance trajectories when coupled with normative, as opposed to self-referent, feedback. Implications for the motivation and skill acquisition literatures are discussed.     

The interactive effects of conscientiousness and agreeableness on job performance

The authors hypothesized that the relationship between conscientiousness and job performance would be stronger for persons high in agreeableness than for those low in agreeableness. Results of hierarchical moderated regression analyses for 7 independent samples of employees across diverse occupations provided support for the hypothesis in 5 of the samples. In samples supporting the hypothesis, among the highly conscientious workers, those low in agreeableness were found to receive lower ratings of job performance than workers high in agreeableness. One explanation for lack of an interaction between conscientiousness and agreeableness in the other 2 samples is that those jobs were not characterized by frequent, cooperative interactions with others. Overall, the results show that highly conscientious workers who lack interpersonal sensitivity may be ineffective, particularly in jobs requiring cooperative interchange with others.     

Goal orientation, task difficulty, and task interest: A multilevel analysis

We studied whether goal orientation affects the relationships that task difficulty and interest have with self-set goals. Using a sample of 499 undergraduate students who listed grade goals for their classes, we employed Hierarchical Linear Modeling to explain differences in the extent to which difficulty and interest related to goals. Higher goals were set for more interesting and easier classes, and for individuals higher in mastery goal orientation and for those lower in performance-avoidance orientation (at average levels of interest and difficulty). Furthermore, performance-approach and performance-avoidance orientations reduced and strengthened (respectively) the effects of task difficulty on self-set goals, and the buffering effect of mastery orientation was marginally significant. Portions of this paper were presented at the 19^th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Chicago, IL, in April 2004.     

Cognitive ability and motivational interventions: Their effects on performance outcomes

A laboratory experiment was conducted to examine the effects of cognitive ability, task interests, goal setting, and feedback on perceived competence, intrinsic motivation, performance, and satisfaction with performance. Data were collected from 90 introductory psychology students performing one of two computer-based tasks. Results indicated that the motivational interventions interacted with cognitive ability in relation to intrinsic motivation, perceived competence, and satisfaction with performance. Implications are discussed within the framework of cognitive resources theory and goal-setting theory.     

The interactive effects of conscientiousness, work effort, and psychological climate on job performance

Historically, conscientiousness-performance relationships have been modest, suggesting the need to examine theoretically-relevant moderating variables. Based on theory and empirical research suggesting that performance variance is maximally predicted in the presence of person and situation variables, we examined the moderating potential of work effort and psychological climate on the conscientiousness-performance relationship. Data gathered from 139 predominately part-time restaurant employees revealed that conscientiousness predicted performance in the simultaneous presence of high levels of work effort and positive psychological climate. Conversely, conscientiousness had no empirical association with performance when coupled with other combinations (e.g., high-negative; low-positive; low-negative) of work effort and psychological climate. Implications for research, strengths, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.     

The effects of self-efficacy on physical and cognitive performance: An analysis of meta-certainty

In the present research, we analyzed the effects of self-efficacy (SE) on physical and cognitive performance in real-world settings as a function of the metacognitive certainty in SE. In three studies, participants completed a measure of SE, which asked them to report how sure they were that they can achieve several specific results on various athletic and academic tasks. Moreover, general certainty in their own SE (i.e., SEC) was measured (Studies 1 and 3) or manipulated to be high versus low (Study 2). Relevantly, our studies aimed to obtain a high level of ecological validity by including athletes in natural, real-world settings (i.e., gymnasiums). Furthermore, we sought to extend the findings beyond physical performance by analyzing university students’ cognitive performance in their actual academic setting (i.e., classrooms). Specifically, physical performance was assessed with pull-ups (Study 1) and vertical jump tests (Study 2), and cognitive performance was measured with grades on exams (Study 3). As expected, SE was positively related to performance. Most importantly, we predicted and found an interaction between SE and SEC on performance. That is, the effect of SE on physical and cognitive performance was greater for participants with higher (vs. lower) metacognitive certainty in their SE. In conclusion, to increase the explanatory and predictive power of efficacy beliefs across different domains, we propose that the assessment of SE should also include measures of one’s metacognitive certainty in SE. In addition, we suggest that interventions on SE could benefit from the use of certainty inductions when including these inductions is possible and convenient.