Locke (1968) recognizes a central motivational role for subjects’ intentions when performing a task. It is the objectives or goals that the subjects pursue when carrying out the task that will determine the level of effort they will use in its execution. The model attempts to explain the effects of these objectives on performance. The objectives are those that determine the direction of the subject’s behavior and contribute to the energizing function of the effort.
The changes in incentive values They can only affect their behavior to the extent that they are associated with changes in objectives. In this Psychology-Online article, we will focus on analyzing Locke’s theory of goal or objective setting.
Edwin Locke
Locke is a renowned psychologist born in the United States in 1938. He was the first to conduct research on the theory of goal setting and is currently a professor of leadership and motivation at the University of Maryland. He has studied at Harvard (where he earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology) and at Cornell University.
Edwin Locke has collaborated by writing more than 300 chapters, articles and collaborations in scientific journals focused on psychological study. Additionally, he has written several books such as “The Selfish Path to Romance: How to Love with Passion and Reason” either “Study Methods and Study Motivation“. Locke is known in the psychological community for his research on goal setting, one of the most recent studies shows that his theory occupies the first place among all management theories.
Theory of goal or objective setting
Locke proposed that the intention to reach an objective or goal is a very powerful motivational element. Broadly speaking, the best goal is one that is challenging but achievable.
Individuals’ satisfaction with their performance will depend on the degree of achievement of objectives allowed by that performance. The theory of goal or objective setting It assumes that the intentions to work to achieve a certain objective is the first motivating force of work effort and determines the effort developed to carry out tasks. Research based on the model has allowed us to formulate relevant conclusions for the motivation of behavior in the organizational context.
Formal goal setting increases the level of performance relative to situations in which clear goals are not offered; the more specific those goals are, the more effective they are in motivating behavior. General objectives are not very appropriate. Another factor that contributes to effectiveness and performance is the participation of the workers, who must carry out the tasks, in establishing the objectives to be achieved.
Participation increases the quality and quantity of the performance. The results of various identifications also indicate that difficult objectives, if accepted by the subject who has to work to achieve them, lead to better execution results than easier objectives. It is met even in cases where the established objectives are so high that no one manages to fully achieve them. The effects of rewards seem to be mediated by changes in one’s own objectives, the same is true of other factors such as knowledge of the results or social influences and pressures.
Incentive interaction
When incentives such as money or knowledge of results, change the performance, goals and intentions also change, but when differences in intention are controlled, incentives have no effect. Other authors point out that incentives, especially financial incentives and knowledge of results, can have independent motivating effects on execution. Research on the establishment of goals as a motivational factor of work behavior attempts to determine aspects of the process by which these motives are established and become accepted by the subject.
Yukl and Latham (1978) point out the importance of a series of moderating variables that intervene in the process. Among them: the degree of participation, individual differences, the difficulty of the objectives, instrumentality. It is necessary for greater knowledge of the process of setting goals, expectations and intentions to determine their motivational effects on human behavior. > Next: Equity theory
Edwin Locke’s theory: examples
- Under a certain level of pressure and a specific task to perform, some people work harder.
- We usually develop our projects when they represent a challenge for us. challengenot when they are too easy.
- What we can achieve without effort is not exciting to us.
- There are many motivation levels and many reasons to be so, when the objective is very complicated, a financial incentive can help.
- When we accept a job, we accept certain working conditions. For this reason, we tend to be productive if these conditions coincide with reality, but we become demotivated when the objectives and incentives deviate from what we had accepted.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.