Does self-regulation require cognitive resources? Evaluation of resource allocation models of goal setting.

Abstract

The resource allocation model of goal setting (R. Kanfer & P.L. Ackerman, 1989) maintains that self-regulation initiated through goal setting requires attentional resources that could be more productively applied to skill acquisition and complex task performance. The current study questioned this hypothesis because attentional resources had not been directly manipulated or measured in studies supporting the model. Thus, alternative explanations that are based on other complex task goal-setting models cannot be excluded. As a direct test of the resource allocation hypothesis, dual task methodology was used to measure the attentional resource requirements of self-regulation. Even at the limits of human information processing, participants who were assigned difficult, specific goals performed at least as well on the secondary task as did individuals with do-your-best goals. These findings suggest that self-regulation does not necessarily require attentional resources. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

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