Effects of task difficulty, goal setting, and strategy on performance of a heuristic task.

Investigated the relative contribution of goal setting and task difficulty to performance on a heuristic computer task with 128 undergraduates who attempted to solve either easy or difficult maze puzzles. Each S was assigned either an easy, moderate, or difficult goal or told to do his/her best. One month prior to the experiment, Ss responded to the Neuroticism scale of the Eysenck Personality Inventory to collect data on arousal. Data were also collected on acceptance, commitment, task complexity, and performance. Results show that both goals and task difficulty affected task performance, arousal, and perceptions of task complexity. A linear, rather than curvilinear, relationship was found between task arousal and performance. Contrary to prior research by G. A. Bassett (see record 1980-33518-001), results also show that, when the task was difficult, the setting of a difficult goal led to significantly lower performance. The decrease in performance in the difficult goal condition was attributed to the variation in performance strategy employed by these Ss as opposed to other Ss. It is argued that the setting of difficult goals may not be an effective motivational strategy when a heuristic, rather than algorithmic, solution is needed. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of goal difficulty on physiological arousal, cognition, and task performance.

Conducted 2 laboratory experiments with 117 undergraduates to examine (1) the effect of assigned goal difficulty on arousal (self-report and heart rate), cognition (perceived norm, self-efficacy strength, and personal goal), and behavioral (task performance) measures and (2) the role of heart rate as a mediator of the goal-difficulty–performance relation. All Ss performed a task requiring cognitive and physical responses. Results of both experiments demonstrate that assigned goal difficulty affected heart rate, cognition, and task performance and that heart rate change was positively related to the cognitive and behavioral measures. Regression analyses suggested that a cognitive–affective mechanism may mediate the goal-difficulty–performance relation. Discussion is focused on the theoretical and practical implications of integrating an arousal concept within goal-setting theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Importance of participative goal setting and anticipated rewards on goal difficulty and job performance.

In Study 1, 76 engineers/scientists either participated in the setting of, or were assigned, specific behavioral goals during their performance appraisal. Participative goal setting resulted in more difficult goals being set than was the case when the goals were assigned. Perceptions of goal difficulty, however, were not significantly different in the 2 goal-setting conditions. In Study 2, the analysis of the performance data collected 6 mo later on 132 engineers/scientists revealed main effects for both goal setting and anticipated rewards. Only participative goal setting led to significantly higher performance than a "do your best" and a control group condition. There was no significant difference between the performance of the latter 2 conditions despite the fact that the individuals in the do-your-best group received knowledge of results. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of task importance and publicness on the relation between goal difficulty and performance.

In a laboratory study using undergraduate students (N?=?200), perceived task importance was found to moderate the relationship between goal level and performance. Moreover, participants performed better when both the goal and performance were public rather than anonymous. These findings suggest that by manipulating task importance and publicness of performance, it is possible to influence the impact that the difficulty of specific goals have on performance. The results are consistent with our hypotheses that the motivation to preserve one's self-image and the motivation to preserve one's public-image are two factors that determine effort and persistence devoted to assigned goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of learning goal difficulty level and cognitive ability on performance.

The relationship between the difficulty level of a learning goal and a person's (N = 146) performance on a task that required the acquisition of knowledge to perform effectively was examined. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the higher the learning goal, the higher the person's performance. Cognitive ability and goal commitment also positively affected performance. The results showed that the person's cognitive ability moderated the learning goal-performance relationship. Contrary to previous research findings on performance goals for tasks that are straightforward for people, the performance of individuals lower in cognitive ability was more positively affected by the setting of a difficult learning goal than was the case for people higher in cognitive ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of goal acceptance on the relationship of goal difficulty to performance.

Tested the hypotheses that goal acceptance moderates the relationship of goal difficulty to task performance as follows: (a) The relationship is positive and linear for accepted goals; (b) it is negative and linear if the goal is rejected; and thus, (c) slope reversal from positively to negatively linear relationships is associated with transition from positive to negative values of goal acceptance. The experiment was a within-S design, allowing for high variance in acceptance, with technicians and engineers (21–50 yrs of age) divided at random into a 2-phase experimental condition (n?=?104) with specific goal difficulty gradually increasing from Trial 1 to 7 and a control group (n?=?36) with the general instructions to "do your best." Instructions for Phase 2 differed from Phase 1 in that Ss were instructed to reassess their acceptance of difficult goals. The task consisted of determining, within 2-min trials, how many digits or letters in a row were the same as the circled one to the left of each row. Results support the hypotheses. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Explaining performance variability: Contributions of goal setting, task characteristics, and evaluative contexts.

263 undergraduates participated in a factorial design consisting of 4 goal conditions (no goal, do your best, easy goal, and difficult goal)?×?3 evaluative contexts (control, peer evaluation, and compliance)?×?2 task characteristics (low and high variety)?×?2 (order of task presentation); all Ss worked on 2 tasks (manual and cognitive). Univariate MANOVAs revealed that performance on the cognitive task was significantly affected by type of goal, task variety, and evaluative context. Performance on the manual task was affected by task variety and evaluative context but not by type of goal. For both tasks, satisfaction was adversely affected by the presence of goals but was unaffected by evaluative contexts. For the cognitive task only, satisfaction was significantly higher in the low-variety condition. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of goal setting on performance and job satisfaction.

Conducted a field experiment to compare participative, assigned, and no-training (comparison) goal setting groups. 37 sales personnel were trained in participative goal setting, and 41 were trained in assigned goal setting. A 3rd group of 44 served as a comparison unit. Mean age range of Ss was 34.3-36.4 yrs. Measures of 4 performance and 2 satisfaction criteria were collected at 4 data points: baseline (before training), and 6, 9, and 12 mo after training. Analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple-range test results indicate that for at least 9 mo both participative and assigned goal setting Ss were more effective in improving performance and satisfaction. The improvements, however, were generally not found 12 mo after training. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Goals, strategy development, and task performance: Some limits on the efficacy of goal setting.

Specific, difficult goals enhance performance in many tasks. We hypothesize, however, that this effect disappears or reverses for novel tasks that allow multiple alternative strategies. We report findings from three laboratory experiments using a stock market prediction task with these characteristics. In the first study, 34 students made predictions concerning the value of 100 companies' stock based on three manipulated cues after receiving either a "do your best" or a specific, difficult goal concerning the accuracy of their predictions. In the second study, 88 students making stock market predictions received one of the following goals: do your best, specific-easy, specific-moderate, specific-hard, or a tapering, specific goal. The third study (n?=?30) replicated the first study by using a different prediction algorithm for the stock market simulation. Repeated measures multivariate analyses of variance conducted on indexes of prediction accuracy and predictor weightings supported the hypothesis that specific, difficult goals (prediction accuracy) increase an individual's strategy search activity and reduce prediction accuracy for the stock predictions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Help that works: The effects of aid on subsequent task performance.

Explored the interactive effects of aid, situational "demandingness" (i.e., task difficulty and threatening aspects of the helper's behavior), and help-recipients' self-esteem on recipients' postaid task performance. Based on the threat-to-self-esteem model of reactions to help (J. D. Fisher, in press), and past research (H. Sigall and R. Gould; see record 1977-25438-001) of reactions to help, it was predicted that if aid is threatening or challenging, then only high self-esteem Ss will respond with especially competent postaid task performance. Aspects of the helping context that exacerbate the threat or highlight the challenge posed by aid will further accentuate the difference in performance between high and low self-esteem Ss. Overall, these predictions were confirmed by data generated from 35 low and 43 high self-esteem (Self-Esteem Inventory) female undergraduates. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of goal setting and group size on performance in a social dilemma.

Examined the effect of self-set personal and assigned group goal setting on an individual's behavior in 3- and 7-person groups confronted with a social dilemma. 274 Ss earned between $1.82 and $4.94 by investing money in either a personal account or a group account. Self-set personal goals that were compatible with an assigned group goal led to higher group performance than self-set incompatibly high ("greedy") personal goals. Collective-efficacy in making money, outcome expectancies that cooperation with others leads to the attainment of the group's goal, and group goal commitment correlated positively with group performance. Ss in 7-person groups (N?=?28) were less cooperative than those in 3-person groups (N?=?26). Ss in 7-person groups had lower collective-efficacy, lower outcome expectancies, and lower commitment to the group goal than did Ss in 3-person groups. Furthermore, individual performance in 7-person groups was significantly lower than individual performance in 3-person groups. A social dilemma appears to be a boundary condition for the normally positive effect of group goal setting on group performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of aging and task difficulty on divided attention performance.

We report two experiments that compare the performance of young and older adults on perceptual-motor tasks involving division of attention. Previous studies have shown older people to be especially penalized by divided attention situations, but the generality of this finding was recently challenged by Somberg and Salthouse (1982). The present study was conducted to investigate the possibility that age differences in dual-task performance are amplified by an increase in the difficulty of the constituent tasks, where difficulty was manipulated by varying the central, cognitive nature of the tasks (Experiment 1) or the degree of choice involved (Experiment 2). With the present tasks, strong evidence was found for an age-related decrement in divided attention performance. Contrary to our original expectations, however, it does not seem that division of attention presents some especial difficulty to older people. Rather, division of attention is one of several equivalent ways to increase overall task complexity. In turn, age differences are exaggerated as tasks are made more complex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intrinsic motivation as influenced by task interdependence and goal setting.

The effects of task interdependence and goal setting on intrinsic motivation were examined using a laboratory, resource allocation task. A total of 64 managers worked on two tasks, one involving pooled interdependence, and the other, reciprocal interdependence. Results showed an interaction between task interdependence and goal setting affecting intrinsic motivation. In particular, for the task involving pooled interdependence, assigning specific, difficult goals increased intrinsic motivation above that experienced by subjects who were assigned a general goal. However, for the task involving reciprocal interdependence, assigning specific, difficult goals decreased intrinsic motivation below that experienced by subjects who were assigned a general goal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived performance norm as a mediator in the effect of assigned goal on personal goal and task performance.

We conducted two experiments to test the hypothesis that assigned goals affect personal goals and task performance, in part, by providing normative information about the task. Normative information inferred from the goal was expected to influence performance expectancy and performance valence, which, in turn, would affect personal goal and, ultimately, performance. In Experiment 1, 60 undergraduate students were assigned performance goals of varying difficulty on a brainstorming task, and measures of perceived norm, performance expectancy, performance valence, personal goal, and task performance were obtained. Results of analyses of covariance and path analysis were generally consistent with the proposed cognitive mediation model. In Experiment 2, information about the performance norm was manipulated independently of goal difficulty for 135 undergraduates working on the same brainstorming task. Results of similar analyses revealed that (a) the effects of goal difficulty observed in Experiment 1 were attenuated by the presentation of normative information and (b) performance norm had significant effects on all of the dependent variables. The findings have implications for the integration of motivation theories and for the use of goal setting as a motivational technique. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Joint effects of assigned goal level and incentive structure on task performance: A laboratory study.

Tested the effects of goal level and type of incentive system on the task performance of 124 undergraduates in an arithmetic task. The assigned goal level was either easy, moderately difficult, or difficult to reach. ANOVA results supported the hypothesis that in high goal conditions, Ss' performance would be differentially affected by the type of incentive structure. In the piece-rate incentive system, Ss' performance was significantly higher in high goal conditions than in moderate or low goal conditions. Conversely, in the bonus incentive system, performance in high goal conditions was lower than in moderate or low goal conditions. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relative task difficulty and transfer of training in skilled performance.

Summarized and analyzed critically are recent studies dealing directly or indirectly with the influence of the relative difficulty of initial and final tasks on transfer of training in skilled performance. Methods used to vary task difficulty are discussed under stimulus variations, response variations, and variations in control-display linkage. Task difficulty is examined in terms of the isolation and control of task variables, of task difficulty and performance standards, and of the U (shaped curve) hypothesis. 23 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of task difficulty and anxiety on hesitations in speech.

Investigated effects of cognitive and emotional-motivational variables on measures of verbal output, verbal rate, and speech hesitations. Speakers (24 male undergraduates) differing in audience sensitivity and n-exhibition (an attention-seeking disposition) were presented under relatively nonstressful conditions with 3 verbal tasks of varying difficulty. This procedure was repeated in a 2nd session. All dependent measures were affected by the task difficulty variable, the relationship generally being linear and positive. In addition, self-ratings of concurrent anxiety were found to relate positively to task difficulty. Predispositional anxiety (audience sensitivity) was related to the unfilled pause data, verbal rate, and verbal output. Intraindividual, intersession stabilities of the dependent measures were substantially high. Interrelationships between the dependent variables were also examined. (French summary) (24 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving job performance through training in goal setting.

Examined the generality of goal-setting theory to an industrial setting. 20 pulpwood-logging operators were matched and randomly assigned to either a 1-day training program in goal setting or a control group. Measures of production, turnover, absenteeism, and injuries were collected for 12 consecutive wks. Analyses of variance indicated that goal setting can lead to an increase in production and a decrease in absenteeism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conscientiousness and performance of sales representatives: Test of the mediating effects of goal setting.

Used 91 sales representatives to test a process model that assessed the relationship of conscientiousness to job performance through mediating motivational (goal-setting) variables. Linear structural equation modeling showed that sales representatives high in conscientiousness are more likely to set goals and are more likely to be committed to goals, which in turn is associated with greater sales volume and higher supervisory ratings of job performance. Results also showed that conscientiousness is directly related to supervisory ratings. Consistent with previous research, results showed that ability was also related to supervisory ratings of job performance and, to a lesser extent, sales volume. Contrary to expectations, 1 other personality construct, extraversion, was not related to sales volume or to supervisory ratings of job performance. Implications and future research needs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)