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Task Experience, Assigned Goals, And Performance Norms As Determinants Of Goal Choice And Performance, Jon Shanahan

Student Work

A cognitive mediation model of goal setting (Garland, 1985; Meyer & Gellatly, 1988) is explored from a perspective that combines the social information processing, expectancy-valence, and control systems literatures. Assigned goals, performance norms, and task experience are viewed as information sources that influence goal choice, and therefore effort and performance, through performance expectancy (expectancy of success) and performance valence (anticipated satisfaction with any given performance level). Subjects were 100 introductory psychology and sociology students who participated in exchange for extra credit. Subjects performed a card sorting task and were assigned to one of five treatment conditions. Each experimental subject was …

The Effects Of Locus Of Control And Method Of Goal Setting On Task Motivation, Paula Coburn

Student Work

Motivation is a central issue in academics. Previous research has shown that goal setting is one method of increasing motivation, with specific goals being more motivating than nonspecific, do your best goals. Research has also shown that self-selected goals increase motivation more than externally imposed goals. The present study examined the effects of self-selected, externally imposed, and do your best goals on task motivation when the personality factor locus of control was controlled by blocking subject groups. It was shown that an interaction exists between method of goal setting and locus of control. It was also found that method of …

A Longitudinal Test Of A Proposed Vie Theoretic Control Systems Model Of Self-Regulated Human Performance, Vernon A. Peterson

Student Work

Research by Campion and Lord (1982) suggested that the goal-setting process could be explicated by a control systems model of self-regulated behavior. However, as noted by Campion and Lord (1982), the model did not specify the process performers used to select their standards. To address this deficiency and to further specify the control process, I proposed an expanded model of human performance: an integration of VIE theory (Vroom, 1964) and control systems theory (Carver & Scheier, 1981). The model posited that performers select standards of performance based on their motivational force. It also specified when cognitive or behavioral control responses …

Levels And Conditions Of Goal Acceptance, Kim James Kohlhepp

Student Work

The role of goal acceptance in goal setting theory was investigated through the application of Reiman's theory of social influence and multilevel models of goal acceptance. Subjects were 144 undergraduate students. A 2X2X2 factorial design was employed. The three factors were: (a) antecedents of compliance (reward versus no reward), (b) antecedents of internalization (high value relevance versus low value relevance), and (c) goal specificity (specified goals versus non-specified goals). Three measures of goal acceptance were differentially affected by the manipulations: (a) A measure of intention to complete was uniformly high and not affected by the manipulations. (b) Perceived effort toward …

The Impact Of Assigned, Conflicting Goals On Task Performance, Daniel P. Whitenak

Student Work

Previous research has strongly supported Locke's theory of goal-setting: given specific, difficult, accepted goals with proper feedback, individual performance w ill improve relative to others not given a goal. A possible exception to this theory might be the setting of goals that conflict or require widely different strategies for task completion. The present study employed a 2 x 2 factorial design (presence/absence of a quantity and a quality goal) to investigate the impact of conflicting goals on task performance. Results showed that assigned, conflicting goals do not provide an exception to the goal-setting/performance relationship since significan t main effects were …

The Relationship Of Goal Setting, Extrinsic Motivation And Performance Outcome To Expectancies, Causal Attributions, And Goal Acceptance And Commitment, Nelson Adrian

Student Work

Locke’s (1968) theory of goal setting stipulates that specific, hard goals, if accepted, lead to better performance than do less difficult goals. Locke suggests that conscious intentions are the underlying determinants of performance. However, Locke was more concerned with testing the results of these conscious intentions (goals) than with understanding the cognitions and motivation behind them. While some research has begun to consider the motivational components of goal setting (e.g., Terborg, 1976) very little attention has been given to the factors which determine goal acceptance.

Recently, Mento, Cartledge, and Locke (1980) have suggested that Valence-Instrumentality-Expectancy (VIE) theory may provide a …

Effects Of Participation In Goal Setting When Task Ability And Goal Difficulty Are Held Constant, Melvin G. Cash

Student Work

Undergraduate psychology students (N = 60) were randomly assigned to do-your-best, assigned, or participative goal-setting conditions. The sample was split at the mean on the basis of scores received on a clerical test, resulting in low- and high-ability groups. Specific Goals led to higher performance than did the do-your-best goals. With task ability and goal difficulty held, constant, there was no significant difference between the assigned and participative conditions on goal attainment, goal acceptance, or performance.

When the groups were split on ability, only the low ability group performed significantly better than the do-your-best group. Two reasons are suggested to …

The Effects Of Participation In Goal Setting And Methods Selection, James G. Jones

Student Work

Eighty undergraduate students who were enrolled in introductory psychology classes were used to determine the effects which participation in decision-making on a goal directed task has on performance and attitudes. The Ss were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups, defined by type of participation in decision-making. The Ss were either permitted to select or were assigned performance goals and were either permitted to select or were assigned a sequence in which to perform an arithmetic task.

The results of the study suggest that type of participation in decision-making can under certain circumstances have significant effects on performance attitudes …