title: The effects of goal difficulty on physiological arousal, cognition, and task performance.
abstract: Two laboratory experiments with 117 undergraduate students were conducted to examine (a) the effect of assigned goal difficulty on arousal (self-report and heart rate), cognition (perceived norm, self-efficacy strength, and personal goal), and behavioral (task performance) measures and (b) the role of heart rate as a mediator of the goal-difficulty-performance relation. All Ss performed a task requiring cognitive and physical responses. Results of both experiments demonstrated that assigned goal difficulty affected heart rate, cognition, and task performance and that heart-rate change was positively related to the cognitive and behavioral measures. Regression analyses suggested that a cognitive-affective mechanism may mediate the goal-difficulty-performance relation. Discussion is focused on the theoretical and practical implications of integrating an arousal concept within goal-setting theory.
authors.affiliation: University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
authors.forename: I R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Gellatly
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Meyer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D001288:Attention; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011340:Problem Solving; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012649:Self Concept; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis