Individual and Group Goal Setting for Individual Task Performance

Two laboratory experiments were conducted to explore the comparison of individual and group goal setting for the task performance of individuals. In the first experiment, goal setting occurred for a problem-solving task and an error-checking task. For both tasks, two versions were constructed to reflect low and high task difficulty. The general expectation from the literature on goal setting suggests that groups should set more difficult goals than individuals. Contrary to this expectation, the group goals were on average less difficult than individual goals for both tasks, for both levels of task difficulty, and for both the initial and second goal setting occasions. This difference could not be explained by a hypothesis of concession to the least able member, or by an explanation of group members' increased desire for certainty in attaining the goal. Of greatest interest was the finding that the setting of lower goals by groups reflects lower goal preferences among the group members, which occurred in anticipation of group goal setting.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Hinsz, Verlin Blaine

• Psychology, Social

Identifier

(UMI)AAI8409952

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/69635