The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of differing goal strategies on subjective and physiological indices of workload across time. The sample consisted of 16 males and 24 females from undergraduate psychology classes at the University of Central Florida. Subjects were assigned to four goal conditions: time/accuracy, time, accuracy, and no goal, and asked to perform a computer-based decision making task comparing visual and semantic information. A trial consisted of a 15-minute baseline and three 5-minute task periods. Dependent variables included electromyopotential (EMG) measured in microvolts and a paper and pencil workload scale utilizing a Likert-type format and measuring three dimensions: general psychological stress (GPS) load, mental effort load, and time load. Results indicated that assigned goal strategy had no effect of the workload indices. Analyses of variance and trend analyses, however, revealed them EMG and mental effort load both increased from baseline to talk period 1 then decreased across time. This relationship was just the reverse for GPS load. In addition, time load decreased across time in a significant linear fashion. Zero-order correlational analyses were also performed using all dependent variables. EMG and time load were inversely related during task periods 1 and 2 whereas mental effort and GPS load were related only during task period 1. Results are discussed with reference to future research methodology in the area of workload assessment.

Many previous studies have examined the effects of goal attributes on subsequent behavior and performance, with consistently positive findings. However, there are few studies of goal processes, i.e., how reactions to goal origin and subsequent shifts in goal origin are exhibited in behavioral and subjective domains. The present research viewed reactions to goal origins (self-set or assigned) and to shifts in goal origin within a theory of personal control/psychological reactance. In addition, two individual difference constructs, locus of control and Type A Behavior Pattern, were measured to study their relationships with the dependent variables. A laboratory experiment was conducted to examine several hypotheses drawn from the psychological reactance literature concerning the joint effects of Initial Goal Origin and subsequent Shifted Goal Origin on subjective and behavioral responses. The subjective responses included task and performance satisfaction, goal acceptance, preferences for increasing employee self-control in the workplace, and preferred method of goal-setting. Behavioral measures included two different operational definitions of performance: quantity and goal attainment. The analyses revealed weak support for the hypotheses. The manipulation check composite revealed that the groups perceived the manipulations along the Initial Goal Origin dimension. There were statistically significant differences for goal acceptance, with the two shift groups displaying a crossover pattern between trial blocks. Simple interaction effect analyses conducted at each level of the Shifted Goal Origin factor revealed a statistically significant interaction between Initial Goal Origin and Trial Blocks for the Shift level only. Goal attainment scores revealed an apparently practical, yet statistically nonsignificant, effect for the three-way interaction of the manipulated factors over trial blocks. Moreover, the pattern of correlations between goals and performance reversed in the predicted direction over trial blocks for the two shift groups. However, there were no significant differences for the factors on the raw performance, satisfaction, or preference variables. The individual difference variables did not make a significant contribution to the prediction of the dependent variables after the effects of group membership were statistically controlled. The results are discussed in terms of the limitations of the method used, the weak support for the framework which guided the research, and implications for further research and implementation of goal-setting systems in organizations. / Ph. D.

Examines goal orientation, ethnicity, gender, and achievement variables of 149 elementary school children (grades 3-5) at a Southern California elementary school. Research was conducted using a 2 x 2 goal orientation matrix that included mastery-approach, mastery-avoid, performance approach, and performance-avoid constructs. California Standards Test (CST) were used to determine achievement. Results supported the hypothesis that there would be no differences based on ethnicity, gender, or grade level. Statistically significant differences were found in the mastery-avoid goal because of class subject. Also, mastery-avoid was found to have a negative correlation to high test scores as measured by CST.

Background: Palliative care is a support system to help people live actively until they die. Current policy aims to integrate rehabilitation and goal setting as mechanisms to help professionals to support patients to do this, but there is little agreement about what this means in practice. No theory based framework currently exists to help palliative care professionals consistently work with patients to identify and work towards goals. This thesis describes how a framework for goal setting and action planning in palliative care (G-AP PC) was developed and implemented systematically in one hospice. Research aims: 1. To synthesise published literature regarding goal setting in palliative care settings. 2. To investigate current goal setting practice in one hospice setting. 3. To develop and evaluate a theory and evidence-based goal setting intervention for palliative care settings. Study design This study is placed in the ‘development and feasibility’ phases of the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions. The intervention (G-AP PC) was systematically developed. Firstly a rigorous investigation of current practice was conducted by synthesising the literature on the subject, and investigating current goal setting practice in one hospice setting. These findings informed the development of a theory-based Goal setting and Action Planning practice framework (G-AP PC) which was then implemented and evaluated in one hospice in-patient unit. Normalization Process Theory (NPT) was used to structure the development and evaluation of the intervention. Findings: Goal setting with patients is recognised as important within palliative care, but is poorly conceptualised and lacks a theory and evidence-base for its practice. G-AP PC was successfully developed, implemented and evaluated in one hospice setting. Findings demonstrate that G-AP PC is acceptable and feasible for use by professionals and patients alike. It helped professionals to work as a team; shift their attention from symptoms/problems/risk to patient’s goals; act on what patients wanted to achieve, within short timescales and document patients goals appropriately. Patients reported that use of G-AP PC allowed them to focus on goals that were important to them. There was also evidence that goal setting helped increase patients’ motivation and self-efficacy. Conclusions: G-AP PC is a feasible and acceptable intervention. The study has demonstrated that the interventions can increase patient centred goal setting and motivates both patients and staff to work towards and achieve patient goals that are not only about controlling symptoms but also about engaging in meaningful activities, enabling patients to live actively until they die.

This dissertation develops the Focus Theory of Group Productivity, describes the use of the theory to guide development of several electronic group support tools, and reports the results of experiments testing whether the tools yield the predicted productivity gains. Focus theory posits that to be productive group members must divide their attention between three cognitive processes: communication, Deliberation, and information access. Communication, Deliberation, and information access are, in turn, constrained by limited attention and fading memory. Finally group members are only willing to engage their attention resources to the extent that the group goal is congruent with their individual goals. Electronic tools can reduce the attention demand of each of the three cognitive processes, and focus participant attention on appropriate problem-solving behaviors. Electronic tools can foster goal congruence under some circumstances. This dissertation describes how Focus Theory guided the development of the several electronic tools to support the needs of real groups experiencing real productivity problems. It reports the results of several laboratory experiments to test the goal-congruence hypothesis of Focus Theory. The first experiment frames social loafing and social comparison as goal congruence issues, showing that subjects using a real-time graph to compare their own performance to that of an average group generated more unique ideas than a group with no basis for comparison. Facilitation techniques boosted the salience of the comparison, further increasing performance. The second study frames affective reward as a goal congruence issue and develops and validates a measure for the construct. The third study frames user interface design in terms of goal congruence and demonstrates the strengths (pointing, selecting, moving, fine motor control) and weaknesses (handwriting recognition) of pen-based interfaces in those terms. The fourth study frames the classroom as a group-productivity setting and demonstrates that group support systems can be used to improve classroom interactions.

Self-regulation and self-control are motivational constructs involved in the process of goal pursuit (Karoly, 1993). Although investigators within and across various fields of psychology have used the terms interchangeably (e.g., Hofmann, Rauch, & Gawronski, 2007; Lord, Diefendorff, Schmidt, & Hall, 2009; Wood, 2005), theoretical work stemming from the clinical field suggests that they are distinct yet related constructs (e.g., F. Kanfer, 1970, 1977; F. Kanfer & Karoly, 1972). However, until now, the relationship between self-regulation and self-control had not been investigated empirically. In the current program of research, I delineated their relationship in two ways. First, I developed and evaluated new self-report measures that better match theoretical models of self-regulation and self-control. Participants (N = 199) completed a battery of self-report questionnaires regarding personality, motivation, self-regulation, and self-control. The new measures had acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliabilities, and displayed relationships expected for convergent and discriminant validity. Modeling techniques indicated that self-control and self-regulation are not strongly enough associated to fall under one higher-order factor, and that the relationship between the two constructs was best represented by a model in which self-control was associated with the self-regulatory stage of goal striving. Second, I evaluated the efficacy of a training session that included self-control techniques in addition to self-regulation skills, and compared outcomes to those from a self-regulation only training group, and a control group. One sample of undergraduate students (N = 49) and one sample of day-shift employees (N=41) were included. Participants completed questionnaires twice daily for a period of three weeks to report sleep-wake behavior, fatigue, affect, and productivity. Objective sleep measures also were obtained through the use of actigraphs, which monitor sleep-wake activity. The self-regulation training groups showed better goal adherence following the intervention compared to the control group, and the combined training groups had even better goal adherence than the self-regulation group. Positive affective changes were also reported among the training groups following the study period. The development of new measurement and training techniques, which better align with the theoretical formulations of self-regulation and self-control, will help to advance the theoretical work concerning these constructs, and could lead to improvement in workplace outcomes.

Consumers consistently set goals for themselves. Despite good intentions, consumers often deviate from their goals. If consumers understand the benefits that arise from goal success, then why do most consumers fail to accomplish goals? Often, temptations are more appealing than achievement of goals; temptations are tangible while the benefits of a goal are difficult to grasp. An individual who uses his/her imagination to visualize goal success makes the goal more present-minded and attainable (Oettingen 2000). Thus, imagination facilitates self-efficacy, the belief in one’s ability to reach a goal. Higher self-efficacy, then, provides an individual with the willpower to achieve a goal (Taylor, Pham, Rivkin, and Armor 1998). Whereas previous work has examined temptations’ relationship with goals (e.g. Fedorikhin and Patrick 2010; Wilcox, Vallen, Block, and Fitzsimons 2009; Zhang, Huang, and Broniarczyk 2010; etc.), the scope of this dissertation study differs. Rather, the research aim is to identify how consumers can overcome visceral temptations. Thus, the main objectives include: contributing new perspectives on goal research by merging the literatures on imagination and visceral cues, outlining how imagination regulates the impact of visceral temptations, and identifying the underlying mechanism that explains how imagination regulates the relationship between visceral cues and ad-evoked thoughts, through self-efficacy.

Few studies in the sporting realm have been conducted to verify the findings from industrial or organizational settings regarding the strong positive motivational effects of goal setting (Locke et al., 1981). Therefore, the purpose of the present investigation was to determine the effects of three levels of goal difficulty and two levels of feedback on the performance of males undertaking an endurance task. Performance results were analyzed using a 2 x 3 x 2 (feedback x goal difficulty x trials) ANOVA with repeated measures on the last factor. Results indicated a significant goal by trials interaction with both specific difficult goal groups improving from trial one to trial two. The "do best" group showed no significant improvements. It was also found that only the difficult, but not the extremely difficult goal group performed significantly better than the "do best" goal group. No significant differences were found between the two feedback groups. The results are discussed in terms of Locke's (1968) original theory of goal setting.

The purpose of the present study was to examine goal setting strategies, locus of control beliefs and personality characteristics of swimmers (108 males and 111 females) from top twenty 1999 NCAA Division IA programs. Three questionnaires were completed: (a) Goal Setting in Sport Questionnaire (GSISQ: Weinberg, Burton, Yukelson, & Weigand, 1993), (b) the Internal, Powerful Others, Chance Scale (IPC: Levenson, 1973), and (c) the compliance subscale and six conscientiousness subscales from the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R: Costa & McCrae, 1985). Descriptive statistics from the GSISQ indicated that most of the swimmers set goals to improve overall performance (51%) and set moderately difficult goals (58%). Results associated with the IPC scale revealed that most of the swimmers attributed their sport performance to internal factors. Results pertaining to the NEO-PI-R indicated that most swimmers were highly conscientious, disciplined, purposeful, and determined.

Twenty-five adolescents' ranking of a set of equally highly valued goals on a Paired-comparisons Survey was compared with what adolescents say they are doing to achieve those goals. Results of the Paired-comparisons Survey showed that adolescents ranked career, interpersonal, and educational goals rather high and reputation and self-presentation goals rather low. Results analyzed with a contingency coefficient and biserial correlation indicated that not all number one ranked goals had the same value for a particular adolescent, and that number one ranked goals were correlated with verbal reports of concrete actions directed at achieving those goals.