Levels Of Goal Difficulty Research Articles

Motivating Employees with Goal‐Based Prosocial Rewards*

ABSTRACTA recent trend in organizations is to motivate employees with goal‐based prosocial rewards, whereby employees must donate their rewards to charities upon goal attainment. We examine the motivational effects of goal‐based prosocial rewards versus cash rewards under different levels of goal difficulty. We develop our hypotheses based on affective valuation theory, which posits that when valuing uncertain outcomes by affect rather than calculation, individuals are largely insensitive to changes in probability of the outcomes, including probability of goal attainment. Experiment results support our hypotheses. Specifically, we find that employees who are rewarded with prosocial (vs. cash) goal‐based rewards are more likely to adopt an affective valuation approach. Consequently, when employees are assigned either an easy goal or a stretch goal, their effort is higher when incentivized with a goal‐based prosocial reward than a cash reward. Furthermore, there is a less curve‐linear relationship between goal difficulty and effort with prosocial (vs. cash) goal‐based rewards. These findings highlight for incentive system designers the motivational advantage of goal‐based prosocial rewards relative to traditional cash rewards. Furthermore, we extend the academic literature by showing how affect‐rich rewards such as prosocial rewards can influence employees' assessment of the probability of goal attainment.

Experimental Examination of the Relationship between Relative Performance Information, Goal Setting and Performance

Manuscript type: Research paper. Research aims: This study experimentally examines the relationship between relative performance information (RPI), goal setting and performance. Hypotheses are developed based on social comparison theory, goal setting theory and relevant prior studies. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study deploys multiple sessions of experiments with 110 undergraduate students as the participants. The two manipulated variables are the provision of RPI and the level of goal difficulty. Research findings: Results from the experiment indicate that the presence of RPI is positively associated with performance, and an attainable goal is associated with high goal commitment and eventually, higher performance. More importantly, this study finds an interaction between RPI and goal commitment, where the positive effect of RPI on performance is more pronounced in a condition where individual’s goal commitment is high. Theoretical contributions/Originality: This study contributes to the accounting literature by providing empirical evidence that the positive effect of RPI on performance can be enhanced to a greater degree by individual’s high commitment towards the assigned goal. Practitioner/Policy implications: This study has a practical implication by providing empirical evidence on how RPI and goal setting can be used strategically by firms to escalate employee’s performance. Research limitations/Implications: Limitations related to the types of RPI, goal levels and experiment task applied. Future studies may address these limitations and use a different type of task that is more closely associated with the current workplace situation. Keywords: Relative Performance Information, Goal Setting, Performance, Experimental ExaminationJEL Classification: M41

Managerial Responses at the Interface between Stretch Goals and Organizational Performance

Many academics, consultants and managers advocate the use of stretch goals in the belief that difficult-to-achieve goals generate creative tension, motivate employees, and yield superior performance. However, the proponents of stretch goals ignore that difficult-to-achieve goals can have either facilitative or disruptive effects within organizations depending on managers’ cognitive and affective responses to the goals. Using a management simulation in an experimental lab study, we test the effects of three goal difficulty levels – moderate, stretch, and seemingly impossible in increasing difficulty level – and find that increasing goal difficulty stimulates risk taking, reduces goal commitment, decreases self-efficacy, and increases anxiety. We also find no difference in financial performance between moderate and stretch goals, but show that seemingly impossible goals decrease financial performance. Our results provide empirical evidence for a nonlinear relationship between goal difficulty level, managerial affective and cognitive responses, and organization performance.

Toward an Integration of Goal Setting Theory and the Automaticity Model

Two laboratory experiments were conducted to assess the extent to which goal setting theory explains the effects of goals that are primed in the subconscious on task performance. The first experiment examined the effect on performance of three primes that connote the difficulty levels of a goal in the subconscious. Participants (n = 91) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions where they were primed with either a photograph of a person lifting 20 pounds (easy goal), 200 pounds (moderately difficult goal), or 400 pounds (difficult goal). Following a filler task, participants were asked to “press as hard as you can” on a digital weight scale. Participants who were primed with the difficult goal exerted more effort than those who were primed with the moderate or easy goal. The second experiment examined whether choice of goal difficulty level can be primed. Participants (n = 133) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. Those primed with a difficult goal consciously chose to set a more difficult goal on a brainstorming task than those who were primed with an easier goal. Similarly, their performance was significantly higher. Conscientiousness moderated the subconscious goal–performance relationship while the self-set conscious goal partially mediated the subconscious goal–performance relationship.

Challenging learning goals improve performance in dynamically complex microworld simulations

AbstractThe use of microworld simulators in classrooms and in experimental research has grown rapidly in recent years. Advocates suggest microworlds enhance learning compared with traditional instructional materials alone. However, people often have difficulty understanding the dynamics of microworld simulations, and learning and performance on microworlds typically plateau far below even simple behavioral benchmarks. Research from organization psychology suggests that assigning specific goals improves task learning and performance. This paper reports the results of two laboratory studies that examine the effects of two types of goals and two levels of goal difficulty on performance outcomes in the widely used People Express Microworld. We find that challenging compared with moderate learning goals result in higher performance outcomes. In contrast, there is no difference in performance outcomes between challenging and moderate performance goals. The findings show that including challenging learning goals in microworld instructional materials in classrooms and in experimental research will increase performance. Copyright © 2017 System Dynamics Society

The Interactive Effects ofEx PostGoal Adjustment and Goal Difficulty on Performance

ABSTRACTDespite the common use of performance goals to motivate employees and the use of ex post goal adjustments to filter out the effects of unforeseen and uncontrollable events, minimal research has examined the consequences of employing them jointly. We predict that the availability of ex post goal adjustments will have a positive effect on performance and that this effect will be stronger when the ex ante goal difficulty level is moderate rather than difficult. Moreover, we predict that these effects will be mediated by perceptions of procedural justice. Results from an experiment completed by 142 undergraduate students support our predictions. The availability of ex post goal adjustments has positive effects on procedural fairness perceptions and performance under the moderate goal, but has no such effects under the difficult goal. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

The optimal level of budgetary goal difficulty: an experimental study

Budgets are commonly used for multiple purposes. Whereas planning budgets reflect organisations' 'best guesses' of future events, control budgets are intended to motivate high levels of effort. Budgetary control mechanisms modelled in a principal-agent setting typically find that the use of such schemes is Pareto optimal only when the budgetary goals are set to very difficult levels. This project studies how individual effort levels vary with different levels of goal difficulty in an experimental setting. We use a between-subjects factorial design. Subjects are assigned to either linear or budget-based compensation schemes at levels of goal difficulty ranging from 10% to 50% probability of goal attainment after controlling for skill and learning effects. An ink-stamping task is used to measure subjects' effort levels. Results indicate that the optimal level of budgetary goal difficulty may be less than that prescribed by information economics models.

The effects of achievement motivation, task difficulty, and goal difficulty on physiological, behavioral, and subjective effort

The purpose of the study was to present experimental arguments evaluating the Humphreys and Revelle's model of effort. Two important factors were tested: achievement motivation and difficulty. Heart rate, heart rate variability, blood pressure, facial electromyographic reactivity, and reaction time were measured as an index of effort expenditure. A 2x2x2 factorial design was used with two levels of resultant achievement motivation, two levels of task difficulty, and two levels of goal difficulty. As expected, the 16 participants high in resultant achievement motivation showed a better performance and had a larger decrease of the midfrequency band than the 16 participants low in resultant achievement motivation, especially during the difficult task. Results lend some support for the impact of resultant achievement motivation, task difficulty, and goal difficulty on effort mobilization.

The effects of learning goal difficulty level and cognitive ability on performance.

The relationship between the difficulty level of a learning goal and a person's (N = 146) performance on a task that required the acquisition of knowledge to perform effectively was examined. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the higher the learning goal, the higher the person's performance. Cognitive ability and goal commitment also positively affected performance. The results showed that the person's cognitive ability moderated the learning goal-performance relationship. Contrary to previous research findings on performance goals for tasks that are straightforward for people, the performance of individuals lower in cognitive ability was more positively affected by the setting of a difficult learning goal than was the case for people higher in cognitive ability.

Challenge versus threat effects on the goal–performance relationship

This study tested the situational effects of goals and stress on the performance of complex tasks and on adaptation to change in the task. Difficult goals often exceed the individual's resources and thus create stress. However, stress may be appraised as either challenge or threat. Challenge is experienced when there is an opportunity for self-growth with available coping strategies, whereas threat is experienced when the situation is perceived as leading to failure with no available strategies to cope with it. We hypothesized that participants who appraised the situation as a challenge would perform better and adapt better to changes under difficult goal conditions, as compared with general goals or strategy goals. By contrast, threat appraisals would be better addressed by strategy goals rather than difficult goals. One hundred and fifty five students performed a task, which required their making predictions concerning the value of 120 companies' stocks based on three manipulated cues. We used a three by three by two factorial design in which goals, stress, and change (as a repeated factor) were varied to test the hypotheses. Results supported the main hypotheses and demonstrated that the same level of goal difficulty may lead to high or low performance and adaptation to change depending on the appraisal of the situation as challenging or threatening. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are further discussed.

Perceived Goal Setting Practices of Olympic Athletes: An Exploratory Investigation

The purpose of this investigation was to explore Olympic athletes’ perceptions concerning the frequency and effectiveness of goal setting strategies as well as goal preferences and barriers to achieving these goals. Participants were 185 male and 143 female Olympic athletes from a variety sports. Each athlete completed a questionnaire detailing their perceptions, use, and effectiveness of a number of different goal-setting strategies. Factor analysis revealed four similar factors for goal effectiveness and goal frequency and two distinct factors for goal barriers. Descriptive results revealed that all of the Olympic athletes practiced some type of goal setting to help enhance performance, and they found their goals to be highly effective. Athletes also reported that improving overall performance, winning, and having fun were the three most important goals. In addition, setting difficult goals that were somewhat above the level at which they perform was the most preferred level of goal difficulty. Future directions for research are offered including exploration of developmental differences and variations in coach versus athlete perceptions.

The Positive Effects of Easy Goals on Decision Quality and Risk Propensity in an MCPLP Task

ABSTRACTIn this study the potential performance benefits of easy goals were examined within the multiple cue probability learning paradigm (MCPLP). Specifically, the effects of varying levels of goal difficulty on performance and risk propensity (used to define a form of commitment) were investigated. With few exceptions, previous studies demonstrated support for difficult goals. In this study, contrary to the majority of past evidence, as goals became easier decision quality significantly improved. Moreover, risk propensity increased with easier goals and, as suggested by a post‐hoc analysis, had more direct impact on decision makers’ behaviors than goal levels. Goal‐related behavior in complex MCPLP tasks appears to significantly differ from the majority of goal evidence in other types of research due to the tendency for subjects to view complex task properties in the same context as goal levels.

Effects of self‐esteem and gender on goal choice

AbstractThe relationship between enduring or personality characteristics and goal choice has been of considerable theoretical, but little empirical interest in recent years. From an expectancy value perspective, we addressed the impact of self‐esteem and gender on choice of goal difficulty level. As predicted, esteem and gender made significant contributions to the prediction of goal choice. The implications of these findings for future research in organizational settings, goal setting theory, and the relationship between goals and tasks are discussed.

GOAL SOURCE, GOAL DIFFICULTY, AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCE VARIABLES AS PREDICTORS OF RESPONSES TO FAILURE

Summary. Three levels of goal difficulty (easy, moderate, difficulty) and three levels of goal source (i.e., self, other, self + other) were simultaneously examined along with two individual difference variables (i.e., mastery and failure tolerance) as predictors of responses to failure outcomes. College students majoring in education studied and gave opinions on a teacher‐training activity as well as on a particular student's failure experience with this activity. This experience was described nine different ways with each student receiving only one goal source by goal difficulty combination. The strongest predictors of responses to the described failure situation were the individual difference variables; least valuable as a single predictor was goal source. Responses to failure were most constructive among students with high failure tolerance or mastery who were exposed to failure under moderate and very difficult goals. Explanations for these results as they relate to goal‐setting theory and the theory of constructive failure as well as the educational implications of these results are discussed.

Self-Efficacy: Implications for Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

Self-efficacy (one's belief in one's capability to perform a task) affects task effort, persistence, expressed interest, and the level of goal difficulty selected for performance. Despite this, lit...

Effect of Two Goal-Setting Dimensions on Perceived Intraorganizational Conflict

In an attempt to assess the effects of goal-setting upon intra organizational conflict, nonsupervisory employees of a large utility were administered a questionnaire containing measures of task- goal attributes, perceptions of inter- and intradepartmental conflict, internal work motivation, and intrinsic job satisfaction. Results suggest that task goal attributes do influence perceptions of intraor ganizational conflict. Higher levels of goal difficulty and goal clarity were found to be associated with lower levels of both inter- and intradepartmental conflict. A significant interaction effect for goal difficulty and clarity on interdepartmental conflict suggests that individuals who have challenging goals experience lower interdepartmental conflict when goals are clear and specific than when goals are ambiguous. Individuals who have goals that are not challenging experience higher interdepartmental conflict when goals are ambiguous than when goals are clear and specific. Further, the results indicated that increasing levels of both types of conflict reduced both internal work motivation and intrinsic job satisfaction.

Effects of choice, goal difficulty, and need achievement on performance

Investigated the parameters in which choice of goals–a component of the self-reinforcement process–is motivating. The effects of goal conditions–choice vs. experimenter imposition, level of goal difficulty, and need achievement–were assessed. College students (N = 188) performed a wheel-turning task in which easy, moderately difficult, or very difficult goals were self-selected, experimenter imposed, or not present. Choice was motivating for low need achievers, who selected a very difficult goal. However, experimenter imposition was motivating for low need achievers with easy goals. No differential effects were found for low need achievers who worked toward chosen or imposed goals of moderate difficulty. No significant effects were found for high need achievers. Presence of goals was motivating for Ss except low need achievers, who chose an easy goal. Thus, it has been demonstrated that performance varies as an interactive function of goal difficulty, need achievement, and goal conditions–choice vs. experimenter imposition.

THE EFFECTS OF PARTICIPATION AND GOAL DIFFICULTY ON PERFORMANCE

Previous research comparing the effects of assigned versus participatively set goals on performance were essentially tests of the null hypothesis in that goal difficulty level was not systematically manipulated. The present laboratory study investigated the effects of assigned versus participatively set goals, and the effects of varying goal difficulty level on an arithmetic task. Eighty‐six college students were assigned to either a participative goal condition or one of three assigned goal conditions. In two of the assigned goal conditions participants were assigned goals equal to those set in the participative condition, the difference being that individuals in one group were assigned goals at random and those in the other group were assigned goals on the basis of their premeasure scores. Participants in the third assigned goal condition were randomly assigned a goal in the top quartile of the goals set participatively. As hypothesized, individuals with hard assigned goals had higher performance than peers with lower goals set in a participative manner. Contrary to modern organizational theory, individuals with participatively set goals did not have higher performance than those with assigned goals of equal difficulty. Personality traits were not found to moderate the effects of goal setting on performance.

The Joint Influence of Situational Constraints and Goal Setting on Performance and Affective Outcomes

The major prediction in the present investigation was that increases in goal dificulty would be associated with increases in task performance only in the absence of severe situational constraints. In order to test this and associated predictions, a laboratory study was conducted using a 2 (facilitating versus inhibiting task settings) x 3 (low versus moderate versus high goal levels) experimental design. Results supported the constraint x goal difficulty interaction prediction using a measure of self-set personal goals and tended to do so using the manipulated goal difficulty level. In addition, situational constraints were found to be significantly associated with the performance and affective outcome variables and self-set goal level was found to be significantly associated with performance. These results are discussed with regard to both the goal setting and situational constraint literatures.

Determinants of choice of goal difficulty level: A review of situational and personality influences

The goal‐setting research literature is reviewed in an attempt to identify those variables having an effect on an individual's choice of goal level. Two broad areas are considered: situational factors and personality factors. Under situational factors, prior success or failure on the task, monetary and verbal incentives, feedback, participation, and competition are identified as probable determinants of the choice of goal difficulty level. Personality influences, such as need for achievement, higher‐order need strength, self‐assurance, and maturity are also reviewed, and it is concluded that these variables also influence an individual's choice of goal difficulty. Surprisingly, none of the reviewed studies directly examined the connection between such variables and goal difficulty; nor between goal difficulty and general personality. Thus, the early literature on level of aspiration is examined and the review supports the notion that choice of goal difficulty reflects a general personality trait, operating across different situations. Discussion focuses on the need for research which views goal‐setting behaviour as a personality trait, and the problems associated with such an approach.