Individual and group goals when workers are interdependent: Effects on task strategies and performance.

The effects of four different goal setting conditions on the performance of subjects working on an interdependent task were examined. The results indicated that an individual goal condition performed worst when compared with a no specific goal condition, a group goal condition, and an individual plus group goal condition. Questionnaire items assessed feelings of cooperation, competition, and reported task strategies. Behavioral measures also reflected the strategies used. The analyses suggested that task strategies mediated the relationship between goal setting and performance. More specifically, people in the individual goal condition tended to be more competitive and less cooperative than those in the other three conditions. These results are discussed in light of the current research on the effects of goal setting on task strategy development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)