On the Meaning and Measurement of Goal Commitment

• Published in: Journal of applied psychology Vol. 79; no. 6; pp. 795 - 803
• Main Authors: Wright, Patrick M, O'Leary-Kelly, Anne M, Cortina, Jose M, Klein, Howard J, Hollenbeck, John R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychological Association 01.12.1994; American Psychological Association, etc
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Commitment; Commitments; Decision making; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Goal setting; Goals; Human; Measurement; Measures; Motivation; Motivation. Job satisfaction. Attitude; Occupational psychology; Personal development; Psychological aspects; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Self-Report; Studies; Human; Professional performance; Motivation; Methodology; Effort; Personal commitment; Adult; Critical study; Vocational aptitude; Measurement method; Performance
• ISSN: 0021-9010; 1939-1854
• DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.79.6.795

Recent research by Tubbs and Dahl (1991) and Tubbs (1993) has proposed that discrepancy measures of goal commitment are superior to self-report measures. We explore the theoretical, practical, and empirical problems with discrepancy measures of goal commitment. We reanalyzed some of the relationships discussed by these authors using their data and demonstrate that the failure to control for ability leads to incorrect conclusions regarding the relative usefulness of discrepancy versus self-report measures. In addition, we conducted a separate study to further compare the usefulness of these different measures. Finally, we discuss the meaning of goal commitment and the role of goals in the motivational process.