Affective, contextual, dispositional, and cognitive influences on goal revision

The present study examined the role of dispositional, affective, cognitive, and contextual factors in the self-directed processes underlying the regulation of performance. Specifically, a field-study was designed to assess the role of dispositional goal orientation, anticipated emotions for goal attainment/goal failure, causal attributions for performance, and temporal factors in influencing the process of goal revision. These variables were examined in a sample of college varsity-level track and field athletes competing in one full indoor track and field season over the course of eight weeks. Prior to and during their competitive season, participants completed questionnaires which assessed their performance goals for each weekly competition and for the entire season, as well as a number of other related psychological constructs under investigation in the present study (e.g., self-efficacy, experienced and anticipated emotions, causal attributions).;The results indicated that the discrepancy between one's actual performance and one's performance goal (goal-performance discrepancy---GPD) predicted the amount of goal revision engaged in by the athletes, such that participants were more likely to lower their weekly and season goals when they failed to reach these goals, and their respective GPDs were large. Support for several of the proposed moderators of this relationship was also found. First, when individuals anticipated strong positive emotions following goal attainment, they were less likely to revise their weekly and season goals in the face of goal failure than when not anticipating such emotions. Second, goal revision was less likely to occur when goal failure was attributed to controllable or unstable causes then when it was attributed to uncontrollable or stable causes. Third, individuals exhibiting a strong performance goal orientation were more likely to revise their goals downward in the face of negative GPDs than individuals with a weak performance goal orientation. Finally, individuals were more likely to revise their goals downward in response to negative GPDs when they were in the later stages of the season (i.e., the second four weeks of the season) than when they were in the earlier part of the season (i.e., the first four weeks of the season). Thus, decisions to engage in goal revision were influenced by cognitive, affective, dispositional, and contextual factors. Implications for future research in the area of goal setting and dynamic self-regulation are discussed, as are applications of these findings to traditional industrial/organizational settings.