Effects of self‐esteem and perceived goal difficulty on goal setting, certainty, task performance, and attributions

Abstract

Abstract The research described in this article examined the interaction effects between self‐esteem and perceived goal difficulty on subjects' self‐set goals, certainty, performance, and attributions. Perceived goal difficulty was manipulated by asking subjects to compete on the same task against themselves, a difficult competitor, and an easy competitor. Subjects were divided into two groups characterized by high or low self‐esteem. Analysis showed that certainty, ability attribution, and task satisfaction for groups with low self‐esteem were affected by perceived goal difficulty especially in the difficult condition, whereas groups with high self‐esteem were not. Further, groups with low self‐esteem had lower goals, certainty, and task performance than groups with high self‐esteem. Subjects set higher goals and had higher performance in the difficult condition than in the easy one. Implications related to human resource development are discussed.

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