The effects of behavioural outcome goals, learning goals, and urging people to do their best on an individual's teamwork behaviour in a group problem-solving task.

States that research has shown that learning goals are superior to outcome goals on complex tasks. The effectiveness of behavioral outcome goals (set using behavioral observation scales), learning goals, and urging people to do their best was examined in the context of a training program designed to improve an individual's teamwork behavior in a group problem-solving task. 50 participants (mean age 25.3 yrs) who set behavioral or learning goals had higher self-efficacy relative to those urged to "do their best". Self-efficacy correlated positively with teamwork behavior and goal commitment. Behavioral goals were superior to learning goals and being urged to "do your best" in bringing about teamwork behavior. These findings suggest that behavioral outcome goals may mitigate the need for learning goals on complex tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)