Motivation, behavior, and performance: A closer examination of goal setting and monetary incentives.

Some experimenters often test predictions from theories of motivation using performance outcomes as dependent variables. It is argued that observable behaviors that are likely to be affected by motivation manipulations should be used in combination with performance outcomes. Such procedures would be sensitive to differential effects of manipulations on various behaviors and would allow for investigation of relationships among behaviors and performance outcomes. For this experiment, 60 17–23 yr olds were hired to work individually on a 2-hr construction task. Ss were assigned to 1 of 2 pay conditions (piece-rate vs hourly) and 1 of 3 goal-setting conditions (no goal, quantity, or quality) resulting in a 2?×?3 crossed analysis of variance design. Dependent variables included 3 measures of effort, 3 measures of direction of behavior, and both quantity and quality performance. Method of payment affected quantity performance and effort. Goal setting affected quantity and quality performance and direction of behavior. Implications for designing and testing work motivation systems are discussed. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of leader behaviors on subordinate performance and satisfaction: A laboratory experiment with student employees.

Four groups of 12 participants were hired to code videotaped group interactions using the Bales coding system (R. F. Bales, 1950). Each of the 4 groups experienced different leader behaviors of either high or low consideration in conjunction with either high or low initiating structure. Results indicate that subordinates did not perceive the leader manipulations as different but that these manipulations caused differences in quantity and quality of work. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Task planning and energy expended: Exploration of how goals influence performance": Correction to Earley et al.

Reports an error in "Task planning and energy expended: Exploration of how goals influence performance" by P. Christopher Earley, Pauline Wojnaroski and William Prest (Journal of Applied Psychology, 1987[Feb], Vol 72[1], 107-114). Table 1 on page 109 appeared with reversed labels for the high and low conditions. The corrected Table 1 is provided in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1987-17299-001.) Although many studies demonstrate the effectiveness of goal setting in organizations, it is unclear how goals actually influence performance. The present studies examined the effect of assigned goals and task information on performance, energy expended, and task planning or organizing. In Study 1, a 2×2 (Information×Goal) design was used. Subjects were 72 undergraduates working on a business simulation. In Study 2, 129 male and female workers from a service organization and a moving company responded to a survey assessing an individual's goal setting, job training, energy expended during a typical task performance, and task planning undertaken prior to performance. The results of both studies demonstrated that goal setting and task training influenced the dependent variables. In addition to influencing an individual's energy expended (effort and persistence), a specific goal led an individual to plan and organize more than did an individual given a general goal (i.e., "do your best"). The results of both studies suggest that goal setting and task-relevant information influence performance, in part, through their influence on energy expended and planning. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Between-subjects expectancy theory research: A statistical review of studies predicting effort and performance.

A large number of between-Ss expectancy theory studies have correlated measures of employee motivation (force) to perform with measures of effort and performance. The results of these studies vary considerably. A statistical review of the studies was conducted to determine the extent to which the variance explained (the dependent variable) was a function of various characteristics of the effort and performance and of the force-to-perform measures (the independent variables). There were 160 observations, derived from 32 studies. With the use of multiple regression analysis it was found that variance explained in these studies was greater when (a) self-report or quantitative measures of effort and performance were used rather than evaluations of these variables by someone other than the S; (b) 10–25 outcomes were included in the force measure rather than a greater or smaller number of outcomes; (c) outcome valence was numerically scaled with positive numbers only, and the scale values were described in terms of desirability rather than importance; and (d) the force measure contained either no assessment of expectancy or an assessment that confounded expectancy and instrumentality. These variables accounted for 42% of the variance in the results obtained in the studies reviewed. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Responsiveness of children with attention deficit–hyperactivity disorder to reward and response cost: Differential impact on performance and motivation.

Using a within-subject design and both high- and low-interest tasks, this study examined the effects of reward (R), response cost (RC), and no contingency (NR) on performance and motivation of 22 children with attention deficit–hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 22 controls. Dependent variables included performance measures, self-rated performance and motivation, and a new measure of behavioral motivation based on a 2-min postcontingency task. Both contingencies benefited some aspects of the performance of ADHD children; relative to R, RC showed stronger effects but at the expense of decreased self-rated motivation on the low-interest task. The performance of controls did not differ across tasks, whereas ADHD children performed relatively better on the high-interest task. Neither contingency decreased motivation measures relative to NR for either group. For ADHD children, motivational effects appeared to be influenced by self-perceptions of performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An integration–theoretical analysis of cultural and developmental differences in attribution of performance.

R. Singh et al (see record 1980-32377-001) proposed that American and Indian college students differ in their beliefs on how motivation and ability determine performance. Americans follow a multiplying rule, which implies that effort will be more effective with persons of high than of low ability. In contrast, Indians follow an equal-weight averaging, which implies that effort will be equally effective with persons of low and high ability. The present study tested this cultural-difference hypothesis using 120 Ss from 5 age groups: children 6–7, 8–9, 10–11, and 12–23 yrs old and college students 17–29 yrs old. As predicted, the Ss averaged information about past performance, motivation, and ability when predicting student performance. There was no support for the American finding that Performance?=?Motivation?×?Ability. Developmental differences appeared at the level of integrational capacity. These results illustrate the potential power of information integration theory for cross-cultural and cross-age comparisons in social perception and cognition. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The relationship between the discourse knowledge and the writing performance of elementary-grade students": Correction to Olinghouse and Graham (2009).

Reports an error in "The relationship between the discourse knowledge and the writing performance of elementary-grade students" by Natalie G. Olinghouse and Steve Graham (Journal of Educational Psychology, 2009[Feb], Vol 101[1], 37-50). The DOI published was incorrect. The correct DOI for this article is provided in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-01936-013.) This study examined whether discourse knowledge about various forms of writing predicted young developing writers' (Grade 2 and Grade 4 students) story writing performance once 4 writing (handwriting fluency, spelling, attitude toward writing, advanced planning) and 3 nonwriting (grade, gender, basic reading skills) variables were controlled. It also examined whether Grade 4 students (18 boys, 14 girls) possessed more discourse knowledge than Grade 2 students (18 boys, 14 girls). Students wrote a story and responded to a series of questions designed to elicit their declarative and procedural knowledge about the characteristics of good writing in general and stories in particular as well as their knowledge about how to write. Five aspects of this discourse knowledge (substantive, production, motivation, story elements, and irrelevant) together made a unique and significant contribution to the prediction of story quality, length, and vocabulary diversity beyond the 7 control variables. In addition, older students possessed greater knowledge about the role of substantive processes, motivation, and abilities in writing. Findings support the theoretical propositions that discourse knowledge is an important element in early writing development and that such knowledge is an integral part of the knowledge-telling approach to writing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The motivational components of goal setting.

Examined the relationships among goal setting, monetary incentives, 2 indexes of motivation (i.e., effort and direction of behavior), and performance. 60 17-19 yr olds were hired to work on a 1-wk job in a simulated company. Results suggest that goal setting and monetary incentives were related independently to measures of motivation and performance. Incentives, however, had no impact on whether or not Ss set performance goals. The importance of identifying the processes surrounding the effects of stated task goals and monetary incentives on performance is discussed. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The effect of motivation of judgment depends on the difficulty of the judgment": Correction.

Reports an error in the original article by B. W. Pelham and E. Neter (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1995[Apr], Vol 68[4], 581–594). The title of the article reported on page 581 was incorrect; however, the title was correct in the table of contents. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1995-24088-001.) Three studies tested the hypothesis that high levels of motivation facilitate accurate judgments when judgments are relatively easy but debilitate judgments when judgments are relatively difficult. Each study focused on a different judgmental heuristic, and each made use of different motivation and task difficulty manipulations. In all 3 studies, high levels of motivation increased judgmental accuracy in the case of easy judgments and decreased judgmental accuracy in the case of difficult judgments. Theoretical implications and ecological limitations of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of positive affect on the components of expectancy motivation.

The influence of positive affect on expectancy motivation was investigated in 2 studies. The results of Study 1 indicated that positive affect improved people's performance and affected their perceptions of expectancy and valence. In Study 1, in which outcomes depended on chance, positive affect did not influence people's perceptions of instrumentality. In Study 2, in which the link between performance and outcomes was specified, positive affect influenced all 3 components of expectancy motivation. Together, the results of Studies 1 and 2 indicated that positive affect interacts with task conditions in influencing motivation and that its influence on motivation occurs not through general effects, such as response bias or general activation, but rather through its influence on the cognitive processes involved in motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental test of the valence-instrumentality relationship in job performance.

Tested expectancy-valence models of work motivation which postulate an interactive relationship between valence of outcomes and performance-outcome instrumentality. Ss were 60 college-age respondents to an ad for part-time clerical work. Valence of job outcomes was set at 2 levels (high and low) by establishing 2 different pay rates; performance-outcome instrumentality was determined by paying wages hourly (low instrumentality) or by the piece (high instrumentality). It was hypothesized that these variables would combine interactively to affect task performance and effort. While main effects for both performance-outcome instrumentality and valence of job outcomes were observed, the predicted interaction did not appear. Results suggest that the typical conceptualization of valence as the importance an individual attaches to an outcome may be inappropriate. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The alternative-outcomes effect.

Distributions of possible scenario outcomes were manipulated without changing the probabilities of focal outcomes (e.g., you hold 3 raffle tickets and 7 other people each hold 1 vs. you hold 3 and another person holds 7). Participants' probability estimates confirmed that beliefs about the objective likelihood of the focal outcomes were largely unaffected by the manipulations. As expected, however, nonnumeric certainty estimates (Studies 1–3), feelings of concern (Study 4), and choice behaviors (Study 5) revealed that the manipulations did affect subjective certainty. The consistent direction of this alternative-outcomes effect and findings from Study 6 suggest that comparisons between the focal outcome and the strongest alternative have an important influence on subjective certainty. A potential function for these comparison processes is described, and their similarities with social comparison and social judgment processes are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"A finite mixture model of growth trajectories of adolescent alcohol use: Predictors and consequences": Correction to Colder et al. (2002).

Reports an error in "A finite mixture model of growth trajectories of adolescent alcohol use: Predictors and consequences" by Craig R. Colder, Richard T. Campbell, Erin Ruel, Jean L. Richardson and Brian R. Flay (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2002[Aug], Vol 70[4], 976-985). On p. 979 of this article, there was an error in the formula presented in Footnote 1. This erratum provides the correct formula. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2002-17393-012.) The current study sought to identify classes of growth trajectories of adolescent alcohol use and to examine the predictors and outcomes associated with the classes. Alcohol use was assessed from Grades 7 to 12 in a school-based sample. Latent growth mixture modeling was used, and results indicated 5 discrete longitudinal drinking patterns. The 2 most common drinking patterns included occasional very light drinking from Grades 7 to 12 and moderate escalation in both quantity and frequency of alcohol use. One group drank infrequently but at high levels throughout the study period. Another group exhibited rapid escalation in both quantity and frequency. The final group started at high levels of frequency and quantity in Grade 7 and showed rapid de-escalation in frequency. Emotional distress and risk taking distinguished the classes, and all classes, particularly rapid escalators, showed elevated levels of alcohol-related problems relative to occasional very light drinkers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational and performance deficits in interpersonal settings: The effect of attributional style.

Tested an attributional model of motivation and performance following failure. 63 college students were preselected on the basis of their attributional styles for interpersonal failures, as measured by the Attributional Style Assessment Test. Ss in the 2 preselected groups (character-style vs behavioral-style attributors) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 experimental manipulations of attributions for failure at an interpersonal persuasion task: (a) no manipulation, (b) ability/trait manipulation (which parallels the character-style), or (c) strategy/effort manipulation (which parallels the behavior style). Subsequently, Ss engaged in a blood drive task over the telephone, trying to persuade other students to donate blood. Success expectancies, motivation, and actual performance were assessed. As predicted, Ss who made strategy-/effort-type attributions, whether by experimental manipulation or by preselection, expected more success, expected more improvement with practice, displayed higher levels of motivation, and performed better at the task than did Ss who made ability-/trait-type attributions. Implications for the treatment of such clinical symptoms as loneliness and depression are discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of goals and microlevel work processes to performance on a multipath manual task.

This laboratory experiment used real-time observation to examine the relationships among goals, work processes, and quantity and quality outcomes using a simple multipath assembly task. Trained observers were able to reliably and accurately document work processes used to perform the task, supporting the use of real-time observation for documenting microlevel task strategies. Results show that (a) work processes were affected by goal content (quantity vs. quality); (b) goal form (gradually difficult vs. fixed and difficult) did not influence outcomes or processes used; (c) work processes and personal goals completely mediated the prediction of quantity outcomes and partially mediated quality outcomes; (d) process-only goals produced a greater number of process changes than outcome goals but led to poorer performance; and (e) outcome goals had a lagged effect on performance. The implications for goal-setting theory are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploration and play: Resume and redirection.

In an effort to stimulate and guide research on exploration and play, a brief review and outline of the concepts "exploration" and "play" is presented. A broadly conceived discussion (including various organisms, ages, and disciplines) considers future research direction. It is concluded that exploration and play behaviors lend themselves to simple observations, manipulations, experimental designs, and methods of analysis. Real understanding of these behaviors may be based on consideration of (a) a wider diversity of behavioral manifestations of exploration and play, (b) a multivariate set of determinants, and (c) their association with internal mental and affective states. (31/2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Optimal Use of Simulation: Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by Joseph Weitz and Seymour Adler (Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol. 58(2) Oct 1973, 219-224). A sentence on page 223 was incorrectly set. The corrected sentence is provided. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1974-12088-001.) Investigated the problem of when to stop training on a simulator and the disadvantages of simulator fidelity. 50 male and 50 female undergraduates were either overtrained, not overtrained, or not trained at all (controls) in a collating task with 3 or 5 racks. Results were not significant, but the hypothesized outcomes were in the predicted direction: (a) for males, overtraining on collating either 3 or 5 racks led to slightly poorer performance on the real task (collating 8 racks) than for the comparable groups with no overtraining; and (b) for females, overtraining on both the 3- and 5-rack tasks improved real task performance over the control condition, but only in the overtrained condition. A paradigm for further investigations is suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of valence, instrumentality, and expectancy on effort and performance.

Used survey methodology to test an expectancy-valence model of work motivation with 70 male and 76 female Post Office employees in a training program to sort mail. The model predicted self-reported effort fairly well, but correlations with supervisory ratings of effort and performance were lower. Of the 3 components of the model, valence of job outcomes was by far the best single predictor. Support was given to 1 of the 2 multiplicative relationships posited by the model. Implications for future testing of expectancy-valence models with survey methodology are discussed, especially for the measurement of instrumentality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An empirical examination of Weiner's critique of attribution research.

Evaluates 3 of the allegations of error made by B. Weiner (see record 1983-32685-001) about methodological pitfalls in attributional research. The present authors (see record 1985-15804-001) contend that failure to confirm Weiner's predictions occurred because of theoretical shortcomings inherent in his model rather than because of procedural limitations in testing it. The path analysis of the cognitive model of achievement motivation study of the present authors (see record 1981-01260-001) was replicated using undergraduates dissatisfied by their midterm examinations. The time interval for retest was lengthened from 2 days to 3 wks. Results show that disconfirmation of Weiner's prediction occurred irrespective of which expectancy measure (expectancy or expectancy change) or which behavioral criterion was employed. Expansion of the cognitive model to include additional affective variables (humiliation, guilt, and shame reactions) were useful in understanding the role of effort cognitions in eliciting failure-induced affect. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)