I think I can, I think I can … Processing time and strategy effects of goal acceptance/rejection decisions

• Published in: Organizational behavior and human decision processes Vol. 53; no. 1; pp. 1 - 13
• Main Authors: Earley, P.Christopher, Shalley, Christina E, Northcraft, Gregory B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 01.10.1992; Elsevier; Elsevier Science Publishing Company, Inc
• Series: Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cognition. Intelligence; Decision making; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Goal setting; Organizational behavior; Performance standards; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Reasoning. Problem solving; Statistical analysis; Studies; United States > US; Human; Task difficulty; Cognitive theory; Decision making; Adult; Strategy; Cognition; Behavior; Performance
• ISSN: 0749-5978; 1095-9920
• DOI: 10.1016/0749-5978(92)90051-8

Although acceptance of specific and challenging goals is central to goal setting theory, little research that examines the process of acceptance has been conducted. The present studies utilized a social-cognitive theory of processing to explore the nature of individual goal acceptance/rejection decisions. The results of two laboratory studies suggest that: (1) goal acceptance/rejection decision processing time is a curvilinear function of goal difficulty, and (2) acceptance/rejection decision processing time influences task strategy development and, thereby, task performance. Implications of a two-stage processing model of goal acceptance are discussed.