Showing papers on "Goal orientation published in 1990"

Goal Setting and Self-Efficacy During Self-Regulated Learning

Abstract: This article focuses on the self-regulated learning processes of goal setting and perceived self-efficacy. Students enter learning activities with goals and self-efficacy for goal attainment. As learners work on tasks, they observe their own performances and evaluate their own goal progress. Self-efficacy and goal setting are affected by self-observation, self-judgment, and self-reaction. When students perceive satisfactory goal progress, they feel capable of improving their skills; goal attainment, coupled with high self-efficacy, leads students to set new challenging goals. Research is reviewed on goal properties (specificity, proximity, difficulty), self-set goals, progress feedback, contracts and conferences, and conceptions of ability. Ways of teaching students to set realistic goals and evaluate progress include establishing upper and lower goal limits and employing games, contracts, and conferences. Future research might clarify the relation of goal setting and self-efficacy to transfer, goal orien...

Interviewer assessments of applicant “fit”: an exploratory investigation

Abstract: Although both strategic management theorists and practicing recruiters endorse selecting applicants on the basis of “fit,” precise delineation of fit in a selection context remains elusive. Moreover, the majority of previous work in this area has been based on anecdotes, case studies, or prescriptions rather than empirical evidence. The present investigation examines interviewers' assessments of job applicants in terms of both general and firm-specific employability (i.e., fit). Results suggest that (1) assessments of general employability differ from firm-specific assessments, (2) there is a firm-specific component to interviewers' evaluations of job applicants, and (3) interpersonal skills, goal orientation, and physical attractiveness contribute to assessments of fit (holding general employability constant), while objective qualifications (e.g., grade point average, extracurricular offices, years experience) do not. Suggestions for future research are offered.

Exploring the Effects of Ability to Pay on Persistence in College

Abstract: This study examines the effects of economic and noneconomic variables on college persistence, building both on economic theory and Tinto’s Student Integration Model. The authors tested their predictive research design’s hypotheses by means of logistic regression models with a national sample of 1,375 college students attending public four-year institutions. Findings indicate that financial variables moderate the effect of goal commitment on persistence. They explore implications both for theory and for student financial aid policy.

Effects of two types of feedback on goal acceptance and personal goals.

Abstract: Effects of two types of performance feedback, goal discrepancy (GDF) and past-performance discrepancy (PDF), on acceptance of assimed goals and personal goal levels were examined. Subjects were 110 introductory psychology students, 90 in an experimental and 20 in a control condition, who performed an anagram task for seven trials. Assigned goals for experimental subjects became increasingly difficult. The importance of understanding factors affecting goal acceptance was discussed

Prediction of job satisfaction from characteristics of personal work goals

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship of job satisfaction to dimensions of employee personal work goals. Based on past theory and research, it was hypothesized that the probability of goal success, positivity and negativity of goals, goal commitment, expected negative consequences for goal attainment, and goal clarity would be related to job satisfaction. A mixed idiographic-nomothetic technique was used to assess the personal goals and perceived goal dimensions of 150 employees. Most hypotheses were confirmed, indicating that employees were more satisfied with their jobs to the extent that they had higher goal commitment, perceived high chances of success for attaining their goals, and had few negative goals in their job situation. In addition, two indices of goal clarity, knowing the means for goal attainment and having specific deadlines for goal attainment were also related to satisfaction. The results suggest that the goal dimensions important for performance and motivation may also be responsible for job satisfaction. Implications for the design of goal setting programs to maximize both performance and satisfaction are discussed.

Development and test of a cognitive rules model of interaction goals

Abstract: Although scholars frequently describe communication as goal oriented, they offer limited detail about how people form interaction goals in situations. This paper presents a “Cognitive Rules” model which specifies assumptions about the structures and processes underlying goal formation. According to the model, people represent their knowledge about goals within an associative network model of memory, which contains cognitive rules linking situational features and desired outcomes. People's likelihood of forming a goal depends on the accessibility of relevant cognitive rules as well as the fit between perceived situational features and rules. An experiment testing these assumptions is reported. As predicted, a priming manipulation influenced interaction goals in attributionally ambiguous but not in attributionally clear compliance‐gaining situations. Unexpectedly, the effect of priming on goals occurred only for people high in construct differentiation. Implications of these findings for accounts of goal fo...

Operationalization of goal difficulty as a moderator of the goal difficulty-performance relationship

Abstract: Examined the research studies cumulated in recent quantitative reviews of the relationship between goal difficulty and performance to determine how goal difficulty has been operationalized. 4 categories (assigned goal level, self-set goal level, performance improvement, and difficulty perceptions) of operationalization were discovered, and the operationalization of goal difficulty was tested as a moderator of the relationship between goal difficulty and performance

Joint moderating effects of job experience and task component complexity: Relations among goal setting, task strategies, and performance.

Abstract: Summary Research in goal setting has demonstrated moderating roles of job experience and task complexity in the relation of goals to performance. Goal setting appears to have its strongest effect on an individual's performance and task strategy quality for jobs having low task complexity. A field study (n = 347) was conducted to assess the moderating role of job experience and task component complexity, or the number of distinct and independent actions an individual must process, using respondents from several organizations across a variety of job levels. The results of moderated regression analyses demonstrate support for the hypothesis that task component complexity would moderate the effect of goal setting on performance. In addition, experience moderated the relation of goal setting to task strategy quality and performance for jobs having a great deal of task component complexity. The results are discussed as further evidence of the lagged beneficial effect of goals on task performance for a job high in task component complexity.

Improving Safety Performance With Goal Setting and Feedback

Abstract: The effects of training, goal setting, and feedback to improve occupational safety are shown. The results essentially replicate those of previous research demonstrating the success of a behavioral approach to safety. The study emphasizes the necessity of feedback in relation to goals. The utility of behavioral safety programs and suggestions for future improvements are noted.

The role of goal specificity in the goal-setting process

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between goal specificity and task performance, with specificity operationalized as a continuous quantitative variable reflecting the range of performance levels individuals chose as their personal goals. It was hypothesized that, controlling for goal difficulty, specific personal goals would be associated with higher levels of task performance. It was also hypothesized that task strategy would mediate the relationship between goal specificity and performance and that specific goals would be associated with smaller goal-performance discrepancies. The results from a sample of 162 college students working on an eye-hand coordination task supported the hypothesis concerning goal-performance discrepancies. They hypotheses regarding task strategy and the relationship between goal specificity and performance were supported only on the second of two trials.

Grades: Their Influence on Students and Faculty.

Abstract: Understanding how students and faculty are alike and different in their attitudes toward learning and grading can provide some guidance in organizing courses to meet the diverse motivations of both groups.

University Students' Priorities: Life Goals vs. Relationships.

Abstract: To assess the importance of life goals and relationships, a specially designed Life Goals Scale was administered to 303 university students (200 women and 103 men) Women's average ratings for relationships exceeded those of men Men and women did not differ in average importance ratings of goals nor in tendency to sacrifice goals for a heterosexual relationship Seventy-three percent were willing to sacrifice a majority of their goals for the relationship The goal vs relationship choices were influenced by sex role orientation, by dating status, and by the importance of marriage Gender, age, year in school, parents' marital status, and grade point average were unrelated to goal vs relationship choices Stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated different predictors of goal vs relationship choices for men and women

The needs of depressed homeless persons : designing appropriate services

Abstract: This article explores the incidence of depression among homeless persons in an urban area in Maryland. Similar to other studies a high incidence of depression is found; however, dissimilar to other studies its cause is correlated with low self-esteem, food deprivation, family relations, goal orientation, health, drug abuse, previous mental hospitalizations disabilities and race. It is suggested that services to the homeless need to include more broadly based social casework services that stress basic needs and goal attainment.

Sustaining the Positive Effects of Goal Setting: The Positive Influence of Peer Competition

Abstract: Goal setting is probably the most frequently discussed management practice over the past 30 years. Unfortunately, as with most management terminology, "goal" and "goal setting" take on different meanings depending on the context in which they are used. From a strategic planning perspective, an organization may set goals with regard to such factors as efficiency, growth, and employee development. These goals or strategic objectives describe values or general organizational aims and priorities. Our focus, however, is on what an individual is trying to accomplish. Therefore, we define a formal goal as the object or aim of an individual's action(s). Such formal goals are often referred to as "performance standards," "objectives," or "quotas" in the popular management literature. We use the term "goal setting" to refer to a formal program of setting numerical or quantitative performance goals for individuals. For example, an organization might set a goal to increase sales by 10 percent in the coming year. This goal would be translated into specific sales quotas for each salesperson. While the exact nature of the process may vary from organization to organization, all formal goal setting programs share the common objectives of increasing employee motivation and performance. Reviews of goal-setting research [24, 30, 44] as well as meta-analytic examinations of the empirical evidence [32, 46] have consistently found that both laboratory and field results provide strong support for the proposition that specific, difficult goals lead to improved task performance. However, some research findings [e.g., 14, 15] suggest that goal-setting programs tend to lose their potency over time. This article addresses the practical issue of how the positive effects of goal setting on task performance can be sustained. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is fourfold: (1) to provide a brief review of the longitudinal field studies examining the effects of goal-setting on task performance, (2) to offer some speculations on how peer competition functions to sustain and/or enchance performance, (3) to suggest conditions under which peer competition may be introduced as a means of sustaining the positive effects of goal setting, and (4) to provide some guidelines for managing competition in the work place in an effort to instill a strong results orientation and a spriti of high achievement. LONGITUDINAL FIELD STUDIES OF GOAL SETTING Although goal setting has been proven effective in improving performance over trials as short as one minute [26], organizations are more interested in performance over longer periods as well as in the maintenance of energized behavior [1]. Unfortunately, a consistent criticism over the years has been the generally short time frames employed in goal-setting studies [1, 24, 44, 46]. To date, only six field studies [13, 14, 15, 22, 37, 38] have examined the effects of goal setting on performance over extended periods of time (i.e., one year or more). The first of these studies was conducted by Raia [37], who examined the impact of a formalized goal-setting program on overall productivity in 15 plants of the Purex Corporation. Since no control group was used in this study, goal-setting production rates were compared with pre-goal-setting rates. Average productivity, which had been declining before the program, was 6.2 percent higher for all plants in the 13-month period following the implementation of the program. In a follow-up study connected 14 months later, Raia [38] found that productivity was still increasing but at a decreasing rate. Specifically, average productivity for fiscal 1963 increased at a rate of 1.40 percent per month, while the rate of increase was only 0.02 percent per month in fiscal 1964. Thus, while the institution of clear and specific goals resulted in significantly increased production, these initial results were not sustained. Steers and Porter [44] identified two factors that may explain this tapering off of productivity gains. …

What are goals and joint goals

Abstract: The paper analyzes the notions of a goal and joint goal, with emphasis on intentionally held goals. Joint goals in the context of strategic interaction are classified and discussed.

The relationship between competitive orientation and religious orientation.

Abstract: Previous research suggests that religious orientation relates to people's choice of activities and behaviors Religious orientation has not been examined in relation to sport and competitive orientation This study examined the relationship of religious orientation, along with athletic experience, college and gender, to competitive orientation in sport Surveys were completed by male and female -athletes and athletes (N=308) from six private liberal arts colleges, three with strong religious affiliations and three with more secular orientations Religious orientation was measured by six subscales of religious belief including extrinsic/ intrinsic, external/internal, orthodoxy, and interactional Competitiveness was assessed by the Sport Orientation questionnaire with three subscales, competitiveness, win and goal orientation Overall MANOVA and regression analyses suggested that religious orientation does relate to competitive orientation beyond the influence of athletic experience and gender, and may affect how one approaches and interprets their involvement in sport situations