The goal gradient hypothesis: Does performance increase with proximity to goal when autonomy is low?

Abstract

The objective of the study is to investigate the validity of the goal gradient hypothesis under different motivational settings. For this purpose, the impact of self-concordance on performance during task solving was measured. The research involved 58 university students. A specified type of motivational setting was facilitated through instruction formulation. The instruction to support autonomy included formulations, which facilitated a sense of choice about doing the task. The instruction to induce low autonomy did not involve such formulations, and rather than promoting choice facilitated a sense of pressure or demand. The participants in one group scored statistically significantly higher in self-concordance than the participants in the second group, and thus they differed in the extent of autonomy. To test the performance, they were solving 4 parts of an experimental task. It was found that the performance within the experimental groups varied during the task solution. In the group with lower self-concordance, performance in the last part of the task decreased – the difference was statistically significant. There was no statistically significant difference in performance between groups. According to the results, the goal gradient hypothesis in our study does not apply to the group characterized by lower autonomy.