| Abstract: | We examined the Motivational Trait Questionnaire (MTQ) in a goal‐setting situation to determine the capability of motivational traits to predict task performance and core variables associated with goal‐setting: self‐efficacy, personal goals, and goal commitment. The MTQ measures individual differences in motivation to perform tasks utilizing 6 underlying scales that reflect the 3 traits of personal mastery, competitive excellence, and motivation related to anxiety. Generally consistent with hypotheses, we found that higher levels of the desire to learn, mastery, other‐referenced goals, competitiveness, and emotionality scales were predictive of personal goals, self‐efficacy, and practice, or postgoal performance of an idea‐generation task. Our findings led us to believe that the MTQ is a reliable and useful way of measuring stable motivational constructs, particularly in a goal‐setting situation. |
