Enhancing the Benefits and Overcoming the Pitfalls of Goal Setting
Section snippets
Introduction: goal setting theory
The beauty of a well-developed theory in the behavioral sciences is that it provides a framework for scientists to conduct research. The findings from these studies provide a framework to predict, understand and influence our own actions and the actions of others. For example, more than 1,000 studies conducted by behavioral scientists on more than 88 different tasks, involving more than 40,000 male and female participants in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, show that specific high
Selected bibliography
For a comprehensive discussion of our theory of goal setting, see E. A. Locke and G. P. Latham, “Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation: A 35 Year Odyssey,” American Psychologist, 2002, 57, 705–717.
That lack of goal attainment in one's personal life can be compensated by goal progress in one's job is explained by B. S. Wiese and A. M. Freund, “Goal Progress Makes One Happy or Does It? Longitudinal Findings From the Work Domain,” Journal of Occupational
Gary Latham is the Secretary of State Professor of Organizational Effectiveness at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, a past president of the Canadian Psychological Association, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Center For Creative Leadership. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, he is the only person to win both the awards of Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science and as a Practice from the Society of Industrial and Organizational
References (0)
Cited by (191)
Can self-set goals encourage resource conservation? Field experimental evidence from a smartphone app
2023, European Economic ReviewThe effects of target difficulty and relative ability on managers’ delegation decisions
2023, Management Accounting ResearchInterventions to increase physical activity: An analysis of candidate behavioural mechanisms
2022, Preventive Medicine ReportsWhat is distinctive about educational leadership?
2022, International Encyclopedia of Education: Fourth EditionHow Career and Non-Work Goal Progress Affect Dual Earners’ Satisfaction: A Whole-Life Perspective
2024, Journal of Career DevelopmentSetting goal difficulty in monetary incentives to physicians: evidence from an online health knowledge-sharing platform
2024, Information Technology and People
Gary Latham is the Secretary of State Professor of Organizational Effectiveness at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, a past president of the Canadian Psychological Association, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Center For Creative Leadership. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, he is the only person to win both the awards of Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science and as a Practice from the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology; he is also the recipient of the Scholarly Practitioner Award from the Academy of Management and the Herbert Heneman Award for Life Time Achievement in Human Resource Management (Tel: +1 416 978 4916; e-mail: [email protected]).
Edwin A. Locke is Dean's Professor of Leadership and Motivation Emeritus at the R.H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Society, the American Psychological Association and the Academy of Management. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award (Society for I/O Psychology), the Career Achievement Award from the Academy of Management (OB Division), and the J.M. Cattell Award (APS). He, with Gary Latham, has spent the last 40 years developing Goal Setting Theory, recently ranked No. 1 in importance among 73 management theories. He is internationally known for his research on motivation, job satisfaction, leadership, and other topics.