The effect of externally-mediated goal setting on intrinsic motivation was examined using a laboratory assembly task. College male subjects (N=80) were randomly assigned in a factorial design including two conditions of goal setting (assigned vs. no goals) and two conditions of initial task interest (interesting vs. boring task). The results show…

This report presents the rationale, methods, and results of research that was planned to develop a way of identifying relatively effective children. The report contains the conceptual bases and development of the Hypothetical Situation Questionnaire (HSQ) as the means for distinguishing effective children. The HSQ contains three subscales that…

Following the reasoning of "expectation states theory", the present study was designed to answer three questions: (1) Is the task orientation of males and females different when they work on a task together? (2) Is the task orientation of males and females working on a task, separately, different? and, (3) If there are differences, will status…

This study examined the effects of different degrees of task structure on leadership between 18 married parents, 18 childless married spouses, and 18 unmarried men and women who comprised newly acquainted couples. Each couple completed three tasks which varied along the dimension of task structure and the order of task presentation. Analysis of…

This study examined the influence of an individual's attributions upon the type of tasks that individuals would select. Questions guiding this study concerned the predictability (congruence) of tasks from attributions, the consistency of this task-attribution congruency, and the generalizability of the results. Subjects were 801 students drawn…

Attributions of causes of successful task performances as a function of task and sex of the performer were investigated. Introductory psychology students (N=157) were presented with closed-circuit, videotaped episodes in which a male or female stimulus person performed a card-guessing task for 10 trials. Subjects heard the task described to the…

As part of a longitudinal study of first-term enlisted naval personnel, perceptions of job scope (the complexity and challenge of a job), were investigated to predict criteria of satisfaction, enlisted performance ratings, and turnover. Correlations between job scope (Job Diagnostic Survey scores) and behavior as moderated by a variety of…

Performance expectancy and satisfaction were investigated in terms of the rate of change in performance outcomes. In a two-by-two factorial design, the direction (improving or deteriorating) and rate (accelerating or decelerating) of change in performance were manipulated using false feedback in a computerized math game. In accord with performance…

The problem-solving performance of young boys and girls was examined in three conditions in which good performance was indicated as being appropriate for boys, for girls, or for both boys and girls. The relations between task scores and five sex-role measures were also examined. As predicted, the boys performed significantly poorer when the task…

The relationships between feedback, its source, and the increases or decreases of the behavior associated with it were investigated to apply predictions of the credibility gap regarding the effects of feedback on the acquisition of an individual skill. Subjects (N=45) were randomly assigned to one of five treatment conditions and provided…

A fading procedure to maintain student pacing in personalized instruction courses in two settings--a small educational psychology course at a public university and a large psychology course at a private university--was investigated. Students in both courses were divided into two groups. The first group had gradually lengthened unit completion…

The literature on performance differences in various tasks as a function of reflection-impulsivity (R-I) is reviewed in this publication. A series of four experiments is then described which involve the cognitive-perceptual basis of R-I of children on a picture recognition memory task. Results from these studies indicated the following important,…

A review of the literature on cooperative, competitive, and independent reward structures and performance is presented, and conclusions are drawn which reformulate current beliefs about the interaction between reward structure and task structure. A brief theory of reward structure and performance is described, and conditions under which…

The relationship between the behavioral consistency procedure and two other procedures (application form analysis and rating scales) were investigated through a comparison of initial employment and hiring practices used by the U.S. Civil Service Commission. The position of Budget Analyst was initially assessed in terms of five achievement areas…

This study evaluated the use of three systematic reinforcement techniques and measures (a carrel, teacher attention, and a contingency contract) to increase the on-task and task completion behaviors of a first-grade child. The carrel and teacher attention increased on-task behavior (from a mean of 27.6 percent to 45.0 percent) but did not affect…