Effects of Assigned and Participative Goal Setting on Performance and Job Satisfaction: Erratum.

Reports an error in the the article "Effects of Assigned and Participative Goal Setting on Performance and Job Satisfaction" by Gary P. Latham and Gary A. Yukl (Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol 61(2) Apr 1976, 166-171). The last paragraph in the Results section subtitled "Manipulation Check and Reliability of Measures" on page 168 was a repetition of the previous paragraph. It should be changed to read as follows: The internal consistency of the satisfaction measure was .83, The stability of the satisfaction scale, as estimated by the correlation between the before and after measures of satisfaction, was .70 (p 1977-30702-001.) Evaluated the job performance of 41 female typists under participative or assigned goal setting conditions over a 10-wk period. Significant productivity improvement occurred in both conditions during the 2nd 5 wks. There was no significant difference between conditions with respect to goal difficulty or frequency of goal attainment. Job satisfaction declined slightly in both conditions. Individual trait measures such as need for independence did not moderate the effects of either type of goal setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Projection of Implicit and Explicit Goals.

In 3 studies, the authors analyzed whether projection occurs for both conscious and nonconscious goals. In Experiment 1, participants who were predisposed to hold a learning goal over a performance goal rated others as possessing more of a learning goal. In Experiment 2, participants who were either implicitly primed with or explicitly assigned to have the goal to compete perceived others as striving for competitive goals more than control participants. In Experiment 3, the authors demonstrated that it was the actual goal to compete rather than the trait construct of competitiveness that was projected. The control of automatic goal projection effects is discussed, and interpersonal consequences of goal projection are delineated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement Goals, Performance Contingencies, and Performance Attainment: An Experimental Test.

This research examines the effect of achievement goals on performance attainment and the moderating role of performance contingencies. Results from 3 experiments strongly support the authors' hypotheses. Performance-avoidance goals undermined performance relative to performance-approach and mastery goals, regardless of contingency condition. Performance-approach goals had a more positive effect on performance than did mastery goals in the presence, but not in the absence, of a contingency. Furthermore, the presence of a contingency accentuated the effects of performance-based goals on performance and had little impact on the effect of mastery goals on performance. These results speak directly to a current conundrum in the achievement goal literature and highlight the need for a rigorous, systematic examination of the link between achievement goals and performance that takes into consideration features of the achievement task, context, and situation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Effect of Feedback Sign on Task Performance Depends on Self-Concept Discrepancies.

Control theories claim that information about performance is often used by multiple goal systems. A proposition tested here was that performance information can create discrepancies in self-concept goals, directing cognitive resources away from the task goal system. To manipulate performance information, 160 undergraduates were given false positive or false negative normative feedback while working on a task that did or did not require substantial cognitive resources. Half of the participants were then given an opportunity to reaffirm their self-concepts following feedback, whereas half were not. Feedback sign positively related to performance only for those working on the cognitively intense task and not given a chance to reaffirm. Otherwise, feedback sign was negatively related to performance, albeit weakly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adoption and Cognitive Development: A Meta-Analytic Comparison of Adopted and Nonadopted Children's IQ and School Performance.

This meta-analysis of 62 studies (N=17,767 adopted children) examined whether the cognitive development of adopted children differed from that of (a) children who remained in institutional care or in the birth family and (b) their current (environmental) nonadopted siblings or peers. Adopted children scored higher on IQ tests than their nonadopted siblings or peers who stayed behind, and their school performance was better. Adopted children did not differ from their nonadopted environmental peers or siblings in IQ, but their school performance and language abilities lagged behind, and more adopted children developed learning problems. Taken together, the meta-analyses document the positive impact of adoption on the children's cognitive development and their remarkably normal cognitive competence but delayed school performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task values, achievement goals, and interest: An integrative analysis.

The research presented in this article integrates 3 theoretical perspectives in the field of motivation: expectancy-value, achievement goals, and interest. The authors examined the antecedents (initial interest, achievement goals) and consequences (interest, performance) of task value judgments in 2 learning contexts: a college classroom and a high school sports camp. The pattern of findings was consistent across both learning contexts. Initial interest and mastery goals predicted subsequent interest, and task values mediated these relationships. Performance-approach goals and utility value predicted actual performance as indexed by final course grade (classroom) and coach ratings of performance (sports camp). Implications for theories of motivation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Relationship Between Expertise and Evaluative Extremity: The Moderating Role of Experts' Task Characteristics.

Past research has yielded contradictory results with regard to the relationship between expertise and evaluative extremity. The authors suggest that this apparent contradiction is due to the task characteristics of the expert activity. The primary task of certain experts is to formulate overall (configural) judgments and to generate clear, unambiguous answers. These experts tend to give relatively extreme evaluations. Other experts generally communicate the implications of the different choice alternatives and explain featural aspects of the stimuli. These experts are characterized by relatively moderate evaluations. The research reported in this article shows that experts whose expert activity involves configural judgments tend to make more extreme evaluations than experts who generally provide others with featural explanations. It also demonstrates that experts' task characteristics affect the way they store stimulus-relevant attributes in memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Effect of previously assigned goals on self-set goals and performance": Correction to Locke, Frederick, Buckner, and Bobko.

Reports an error in "Effect of previously assigned goals on self-set goals and performance" by Edwin A. Locke, Elizabeth Frederick, Elizabeth Buckner and Philip Bobko (Journal of Applied Psychology, 1984[Nov], Vol 69[4], 694-699). The third line was left out on p. 696, top right column. The entire section should read as follows: "Figure 1 compares the goals on T-1 with the mean goals chosen on T-2 by the same groups of subjects (i.e., grouped according to T-1 goals). On T-2 the mean goal levels of the seven original groups ranged from 4.8 to 12.9, in contrast with the T-1 range of 2 to 26." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1985-08583-001.) 231 undergraduates were asked to list from 2–26 uses for common objects depending on the level of difficulty of the section (1 of 7) to which they were assigned. Ss were given a 1-min practice trial after task explanations and were then administered 2 experimental trials. Ss were told they were free to change their goals to a higher or lower level for the 2nd trial if they did not like the goal they had been assigned. Results show that Ss chose more difficult goals, if the assigned goals had been easy, and easier goals, if the assigned goals had been difficult. Ss were heavily influenced in their self-set goals by their previously assigned goals. The performance of Ss with impossible goals did not drop on the 2nd trial. A goal–expectancy interaction was found on the 2nd trial that was due to expectancy being positively related to performance at the higher but not the lower goal levels. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance expectancy as a determinant of actual performance: A partial replication.

Astudy by Aronson and Carlsmith (1962) indicated that Ss preferred to fail in order to confirm a failure expectancy than to be successful and disconfirm the expectancy. The present study was a partial replication of the Aronson and Carlsmith study. E demands were minimized, and it was expected that the results should have paralleled those of Aronson and Carlsmith if E demands in the latter study had not confounded the dependent variable. 40 1st-year, female nursing students were used. The results indicated that Aronson and Carlsmith's findings might be accounted for by E demands. Ss of the present study behaved as though they preferred to succeed rather than to confirm a failure expectancy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Purpose in life as a system that creates and sustains health and well-being: An integrative, testable theory.

Purpose—a cognitive process that defines life goals and provides personal meaning—may help explain disparate empirical social science findings. Devoting effort and making progress toward life goals provides a significant, renewable source of engagement and meaning. Purpose offers a testable, causal system that synthesizes outcomes including life expectancy, satisfaction, and mental and physical health. These outcomes may be explained best by considering the motivation of the individual—a motivation that comes from having a purpose. We provide a detailed definition with specific hypotheses derived from a synthesis of relevant findings from social, behavioral, biological, and cognitive literatures. To illustrate the uniqueness of the purpose model, we compared purpose with competing contemporary models that offer similar predictions. Addressing the structural features unique to purpose opens opportunities to build upon existing causal models of “how and why” health and well-being develop and change over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Multiple-Goal, Multilevel Model of Feedback Effects on the Regulation of Individual and Team Performance.

When working as a member of a team, individuals must make decisions concerning the allocation of resources (e.g., effort) toward individual goals and team goals. As a result, individual and team goals, and feedback related to progress toward these goals, should be potent levers for affecting resource allocation decisions. This research develops a multilevel, multiple-goal model of individual and team regulatory processes that affect the allocation of resources across individual and team goals resulting in individual and team performance. On the basis of this model, predictions concerning the impact of individual and team performance feedback are examined empirically to evaluate the model and to understand the influence of feedback on regulatory processes and resource allocation. Two hundred thirty-seven participants were randomly formed into 79 teams of 3 that performed a simulated radar task that required teamwork. Results support the model and the predicted role of feedback in affecting the allocation of resources when individuals strive to accomplish both individual and team goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Divided Attention in Younger and Older Adults: Effects of Strategy and Relatedness on Memory Performance and Secondary Task Costs.

Divided attention at encoding leads to a significant decline in memory performance, whereas divided attention during retrieval has relatively little effect; nevertheless, retrieval carries significant secondary task costs, especially for older adults. The authors further investigated the effects of divided attention in younger and older adults by using a cued-recall task and by measuring retrieval accuracy, retrieval latency, and the temporal distribution of attentional costs at encoding and retrieval. An age-related memory deficit was reduced by pair relatedness, whereas strategy instructions benefited both age groups equally. Attentional costs were greater for retrieval than for encoding, especially for older adults. These findings are interpreted in light of notions of an age-related associative deficit (M. Naveh-Benjamin, 2000) and age-related differences in the use of self-initiated activities and environmental support (F. I. M. Craik, 1983, 1986). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Regulation of Achievement Goals: The Role of Competence Feedback.

Two studies examined the degree to which pursuit of achievement goals is regulated in response to ongoing competence feedback. In Study 1, conducted in a college classroom, goal pursuit remained largely stable throughout the semester, yet poor exam performance predicted a significant decrease in mastery goal and performance-approach goal pursuit and an increase in performance-avoidance goal pursuit. In Study 2, conducted in a laboratory, negative feedback reduced participants' mastery goal pursuit. In addition, both studies showed unique benefits of 2 goals: The performance-approach goal predicted success on exams (Study 1) and a novel activity (Study 2), and the mastery goal predicted higher interest in both studies. Implications of achievement goal regulation for both theory and research methodology are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex Differences in Visuo-Spatial Ability: Task Difficulty, Speed-Accuracy Tradeoff, and Other Performance Factors.

Males have consistently been found to perform better than females on a task that requires the subject to mentally rotate a figure. Recently, Goldstein, Haldane, and Mitchell (1990) suggested that performance factors are operative in explaining sex differences in spatial ability. However, Stumpf (1993) was unable to replicate all of Goldstein et al.'s (1990) findings and to generalize them to other measures of spatial ability. In this study, it was hypothesized (1) that females would take longer to respond and would get fewer correct items than males on a spatial rotation task, and (2) that only females would show a speed-accuracy tradeoff as the difficulty of the spatial task increased from the 90° to 180° rotated conditions. The results confirmed each of these hypotheses. Furthermore, as Stumpf (1993) found, when ratio scores from the number of items correct to number attempted were computed for both males and females, differences in spatial ability were reduced, though still evident. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling Task Switching Without Switching Tasks: A Short-Term Priming Account of Explicitly Cued Performance.

Switch costs in task switching are commonly attributed to an executive control process of task-set reconfiguration, particularly in studies involving the explicit task-cuing procedure. The authors propose an alternative account of explicitly cued performance that is based on 2 mechanisms: priming of cue encoding from residual activation of cues in short-term memory and compound cue retrieval of responses from long-term memory. Their short-term priming account explains the repeated cue encoding benefit, switch cost, reduction in switch cost with preparation time, and other effects. The authors develop a mathematical model of their priming account and fit it to data from 3 experiments, demonstrating that a set of basic psychological processes can produce several effects--including putative switch costs--without switching tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of Cerium on Mechanical Performance and Electrical Conductivity of Aluminum Rod for Electrical Purpose

The effect of rare earth element Ce on mechanical performance and electrical conductivity of aluminum rod for electrical purpose were studied under industrial production condition. Using optical microscope, SEM, TEM, EDS and X-ray diffractometer, the microstructure and phase composition of aluminum rod were measured and analyzed. The results indicate that the content of rare earth element Ce is between 0.05%～0.16% in the aluminum rod for electrical purpose. Its tensile strength is enhanced to some extent. The research also discovers that the tensile strength is enhanced remarkably with impurity element Si content increases. Because influence of Si is big to the conductivity, the Si content should be controlled continuously strictly in the aluminum for electrical purpose. Adding rare earth element Ce reduces the solid solubility of Si in the aluminum matrix, and the negative effect of Si on the aluminum conductor reduces effectively. So the limit of in Si content in aluminum rod for electrical purpose can be relaxed moderately.     

Task goals and change in dynamical degrees of freedom with motor learning.

In this article, the authors examined the hypothesis that the direction of the change (increase or decrease) in the dynamical degrees of freedom (dimension) regulated as a function of motor learning is task-dependent. Adult participants learned 1 of 2 isometric force-production tasks (Experiment 1: constant force output; Experiment 2: sinusoidal force output) over 5 days of practice and a 6th day with augmented information withdrawal. The results showed that over practice, the task goal induced either an increase (Experiment 1) or a decrease (Experiment 2) in the dimension of force output as performance error was reduced. These findings support the proposition that the observed increase or decrease in dimension with learning is dependent on both the intrinsic dynamics of the system and the short-term change required to realize the task goal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prefrontal Brain Magnetic Activity: Effects of Memory Task Demands.

Changes in spatiotemporal profiles of brain magnetic activity were investigated in healthy volunteers as a function of varying demands for phonological storage of spoken pseudowords. Greater activity for the phonological memory task was restricted to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in the left hemisphere. During performance of the memory task, activity was initially found in the left superior temporal gyrus (between 100 and 200 ms), followed by activity in the ventrolateral prefrontal, motor, and premotor cortices (between 200 and 300 ms). Activity in DLPFCs was first observed consistently across participants later, between 300 and 400 ms. The data are consistent with the purported role of posterior temporal cortices in phonological analysis and in the online storage of phonological information, the contribution of ventrolateral and motor processing areas in establishment and short-term maintenance of articulatory representations through rehearsal, and the role of DLPFCs in the executive control of the maintenance operation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A first examination of the relationships between primed subconscious goals, assigned conscious goals, and task performance.

The authors conducted 2 studies of subconscious goal motivation. First, the authors ran a pilot study to establish the effects of priming of subconscious goals on a performance task frequently used in goal setting research. Second, the authors conducted the main study in which the authors examined the effects of both priming of subconscious goals and assigned conscious goals on the same performance task. The authors found significant main effects of both manipulations and a significant interaction between subconscious and conscious goals. The effects of conscious difficult and do-best goals were enhanced by subconscious goals, although conscious easy goals were not affected. All effects from the main study still held after 1 day. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)