Goal commitment is in the eye of the beholder: Causes and consequences of perceiving others’ goal commitment

ABSTRACT

The present work examines how judgments of others’ commitment to a goal are influenced by three factors that influence one’s own goal commitment (satisfaction, investment, and alternatives). In two studies these three factors were manipulated. The results indicated that people rate another’s goal commitment higher when goal satisfaction is high, goal investment is high and goal alternatives are low. It was also found that satisfaction and investments alter perceptions of the other’s abilities, and that this relationship is partially mediated by perceived goal commitment. The present studies offer novel findings that highlight the information we use to judge the goal commitment of others and the consequences that are incurred when these judgments are formed.

KEYWORDS:

• commitment
• goals
• motivation
• satisfaction
• investments

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data described in this article are openly available in the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/y72k6.

Open scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open Science badges for Open Data and Open Materials through Open Practices Disclosure. The data and materials are openly accessible at https://osf.io/y72k6.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Notes

1. The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in Open Science at http://10.17605/OSF.IO/Y72K6 or available upon request from the first author. Sufficient information is available to reproduce reported results. If any further information is needed please contact the first author of this paper.

2. The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in Open Science at http://10.17605/OSF.IO/Y72K6 or available upon request from the first author. Sufficient information is available to reproduce reported results. If any further information is needed please contact the first author of this paper.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jessica Curtis

Jessica Curtis is an assistant professor at Arkansas State University. She completed her doctoral work at Oklahoma State University in Experimental Psychology. Her research interests include motivation, goals, daydreaming, fandom, and sexuality.

Edward Burkley

Edward Burkley received his doctoral degree in social psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research focuses on self-control, motivation, and goals. His work has been published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and Self and Identity. He is co-author of the bestselling textbook Motivation Science and his research has been featured in New Scientist Magazine and the APA Monitor.

Thomas Hatvany

Thomas Hatvany is an assistant professor at Shippensburg University. He completed his doctoral work at Oklahoma State University in Experimental Psychology and his research interests center around motivation, goals, social influence, the self, and research methodology.

Brandon J. Higdon

Brandon Higdon completed his Bachelor’s of Science and Master’s of Science at Arkansas State University.