ABSTRACT
This chapter briefly reviews empirical research on the effects of goals and feedback on motivation and achievement. It examines cognitive processes that regulate goal-directed action. The chapter also examines the effects of goals and self-referent thinking on activities for which success requires sustained effort and task persistence; such activities have received the greatest attention in the goals literature. It investigates an issue that is fundamental to any cognitive model of motivation: the issue of causality. Educational psychologists employ goal-setting procedures to enhance motivation and academic achievement. Goal-setting research focuses on such volitional purposive behavior through which individuals are striving to reach a certain end state. Personal factors other than the self-referent processes clearly also play a significant role in goal motivation. Relations between performance and perceived self-efficacy also may be moderated by goal setting.
