Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of goal setting on Internet searches and examined the relationship between Internet self-efficacy and search task performance. Participants searched the Internet and listed the names of the industrial-organizational psychologists they found. Control participants were instructed to “do their best” to find as many names as possible, and experimental participants were assigned the goal of 70 names. As expected, participants in the goal condition worked longer than did those in the control condition. Furthermore, the data generally supported the hypothesis that individuals with goals would produce more results than their non-goal-directed counterparts. Compared to control participants, however, those with goals did not visit a smaller proportion of non-task-related web sites as predicted. Finally, the anticipated positive correlation was found between Internet self-efficacy and the number of correct search results produced. It is concluded that goal setting may be an effective method for increasing online productivity.

Keywords

goal setting Internet self-efficacy motivation online performance Internet searches

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37, 122-147.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W. H. Freeman.

Champagne, P. J. , & McAfee, B. A. (1989). Motivating strategies for performance and productivity. Westport, CT: Quorum.

Cohen, J. (1977). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (Rev. ed.). New York: Academic Press.

Coovert, M. D. , & Thompson, L. F. (in press). Technology and workplace health. In J. C. Quick & L. E. Tetrick (Eds.), Handbook of occupational health psychology (chap. 11). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Fairweather, N. B. (1999). Surveillance in employment: The case of teleworking. Journal of Business Ethics, 22, 39-49.

Garland, H. (1982). Goal levels and task performance: A compelling replication of some compelling results. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67, 245-248.

Gist, M. E. , Schwoerer, C. , & Rosen, B. (1989). Effects of alternative training methods on self-efficacy and performance in computer software training. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 884-891.

Howard, R. (1985). Brave new workplace. New York: Viking.

10.

Keppel, G. (1991). Design and analysis: A researcher’s handbook (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

11.

Kleinbeck, U. , & Schmidt, K. H. (1987). The translation of work motivation into performance. In U. Kleinbeck , H. H. Quast , H. Thierry , & H. Hacker (Eds.), Work motivation (pp. 27-39). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

12.

Locke, E. A. , & Henne, D. (1986). Work motivation theories. In C. L. Cooper & I. T. Robertson (Eds.), International review of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 1-35). Chichester, UK: Wiley.

13.

Locke, E. A. , & Latham, G. P. (1984). Goal setting: A motivational technique that works. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

14.

Locke, E. A. , & Latham, G. P. (1990). A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

15.

Miles, D. E. (1999). Training novice users to use the World Wide Web: A comparison of problem solving programs using an expanded model of learning outcomes. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of South Florida, Tampa.

16.

Naughton, K. , Raymond, J. , Shulman, K. , & Struzzi, D. (1999, November 29). Cyberslacking. Newsweek, 24(22), 62-65.

17.

Rosenberg, R. (1999). The workplace on the verge of the 21st century. Journal of Business Ethics, 22, 3-14.

18.

Singer, R. N. , Korienek, G. , Jarvis, D. , McColskey, D. , & Candeletti, G. (1981). Goal-setting and task persistence. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 53, 881-882.

19.

Spector, P. E. (2000). Industrial and organizational psychology: Research and practice (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.

20.

Surfwatch (1999). Surfwatch survey shows recreational office surfing way up—From 15% to 30% in last year. Retrieved April 25, 2000, from http://www1.surfwatch.com/news/press.html

Motivating Online Performance

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References