The role of normative information, task difficulty and goal commitment on task performance in an assigned goal condition was investigated in a laboratory study using 209 student volunteers. The experiment was a 2 (task difficulty) by 2 (normative information) factorial design. All subjects received assigned difficult goals and normative information indicating how previous individuals had performed on one of two versions of an anagram task (easy or difficult) after which subjects indicated their goal commitment and completed anagrams for a short work period. Results indicated a significant 3-way interaction (task difficulty, normative information and goal commitment) on task performance. Findings suggest that goal commitment moderates the effects of normative information and task difficulty on task performance.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Ajzen, I. (1977). Intuitive theories of events and the effects of base-rate information on predictions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(S): 303-314.
2.
Brehm, J. W. & Self, E. A. (1989). The intensity of motivation. Pp. 109-131 in M. R. Rosenzweig & L.W. Porter (Eds.), Annual review of pychology. Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews, Inc.
3.
Campbell, D. J. & Ilgen, D. R. (1976). Additive effects of task difficulty and goal setting on subsequent task performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 61: 319-324.
4.
Erez, M. & Zidon, I. (1984). Effect of goal acceptance on the relationship of goal difficulty to performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69: 69-78.
5.
Fowles, D. C. (1982). Heart rate as an index of anxiety: Failure of a hypothesis. In J. T. Cacioppo & R. E. Petty (Eds.), Perspectives in cardiovascular psychophysiology. New York: Guilford Press.
6.
Garland, H. (1983). Influences of ability, assigned goals and normative information on personal goals and performance: A challenge to the goal attainability assumption. Journal of Applied Psychology, 68: 20-30.
7.
Hollenbeck, J. R. & Klein, H. J. (1987). Goal commitment and the goal setting process: Problems, prospects and proposals for future research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 72: 212-220.
8.
Hollenbeck, J. R., Klein, H. J., O’Leary, A. M. & Wright, P.M. (1989). Investigation of the construct validity of a self-report measure of goal commitment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74: 951-956.
9.
Kahneman, D. & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47: 263-291.
10.
Kanfer, R. (1990). Motivation theory and industrial and organizational psychology. In M. D. Dunnette & L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 1, 2nd ed.Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
11.
Kulka, A. (1974). Performance as a function of resultant achievement motivation (perceived ability) and perceived difficulty. Journal of Research in Personality, 7: 374-383.
12.
Latham, G. P. & Locke, E. A. (1991). Self-regulation through goal setting. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50: 212-247.
13.
Locke, E. A. & Latham, G. P. (1990). A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
14.
Locke, E. A., Latham, G. P. & Erez, M. (1988). The determinants of goal commitment. Academy of Management Review, 13: 23-39.
15.
Locke, E. A., Shaw, K. M., Saari, L. M. & Latham, G. P. (1981). Goal setting and task performance: 1969-1980. Psychological Bulletin, 90: 125-152.
16.
Mayzner, M. S. & Tresselt, M. E. (1958). Anagram solution times: A function of letter order and word frequency. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 56: 376-379.
17.
Meyer, J. P. & Gellatly, I. R. (1988). Perceived performance norm as a mediator in the effect of assigned goal on personal goal and task performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 73: 410-420.
18.
Mitchell, T. R., Rothman, M. & Liden, R. C. (1985). Effects of normative information on task performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70: 48-55.
19.
Olsen, R. & Schwartz, R. (1967). Single and multiple solution five letter words. Psychonomic Monographs, 2: 105-152.
20.
Shapira, Z. (1989). Task choice and assigned goals as determinants of motivation and performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 44: 141-165.
21.
Tubbs, M. (1993). Commitment as a moderator of the goal-performance relation: A case for clearer construct definition. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78: 86-97.
22.
Weiss, H. & Shaw, J. (1979) Social influences on judgments about tasks. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 24: 126-140.
