The effects of self-set goals on task performance

Locke & Latham (1990a) report that specific, difficult goals lead to better performance than "do-your-best" instructions, whether the goals are self-s et or are set by an external source. However, in Experiment 1, as well as i n previous research (White, Kjelgaard, & Harkins, 1995), we did not find se lf-set goal effects. A meta-analysis showed that self-set goal effects can be produced if two conditions are mel: Prior to setting their goals, partic ipants take part in a pretest that is equal in duration to the experimental task; and the experimenter has access to the participants' goals and the p erformances. Experiment 2 confirmed these meta-analytic findings by showing that when these two conditions were met, goals stringent enough to produce the effects were set, and goal-setting effects were obtained.