title: Managing time: the effects of personal goal setting on resource allocation strategy and task performance.
abstract: One key to understanding motivated behavior is examining the behavior of individuals as they work on multiple tasks under a time constraint. This article is an exploration of the influence of self-set goals on subsequent resource allocation to different tasks. Participants were given a variety of tasks from which they were to choose how to allocate their time and effort. Results indicated that the use of self-set goals structured the work pattern, with less switching between tasks relative to the work pattern of a group of participants who did not set goals. In addition, those who set goals reported less task-related cognitive interference, indicating that they were not as distracted while they worked. Participants who did not set goals, however, performed at a higher level on some of the tasks. It is suggested that self-set goals may often be chosen at an easily attainable level, creating a structured and focused work environment but not necessarily eliciting the motivational properties typically associated with goal setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, California State University, Sacramento 95819-6007, USA. ojstrick@csus.edu
authors.forename: O J
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: Strickland
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galimba
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D008838:Microcomputers; D009042:Motivation; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D017748:Time Management / Q000523:psychology*