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Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey.
Abstract
The authors summarize 35 years of empirical research on goal-setting theory, describing the core findings of the theory, the mechanisms by which goals operate, moderators of goal effects, the relation of goals and satisfaction, and the role of goals as mediators of incentives.
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“These mutual goals direct attention and effort, serve an energizing function, contribute to persistence, and spark action indirectly by leading to interests, discoveries, and use of knowledge, strategies, and skills (Locke & Latham, 2002).”
From The Principles of Strengths-Based Education (2009) · cites this paper as Locke & Latham, 2002
In the citing paper
“Unrealistic expectations surrounding weight changes can lead to discouragement [67].”
From Barriers and facilitators to diet, physical activity and lifestyle behavior intervention adherence: a qualitative systematic review of the literature (2023) · cites this paper as [67]
In the citing paper
“Locke and Latham (2002) argue that learning goals are especially important for driving self-regulated attention and motivation.”
From Summarise, elaborate, try again: exploring the effect of feedback literacy on AI-enhanced essay writing (2026) · cites this paper as Locke and Latham (2002)
In the citing paper
“goal setting is generally acknowledged as an essential treatment intervention for procrastination because insufficient or inadequate goals often impair problem solving and lower motivation (Locke & Latham, 2002).”
From Understanding and Treating Procrastination: A Review of a Common Self-Regulatory Failure (2014) · cites this paper as Locke & Latham, 2002
In the citing paper
“goal setting is generally acknowledged as an essential treatment intervention for procrastination because insufficient or inadequate goals often impair problem solving and lower motivation (Locke & Latham, 2002).”
From Understanding and Treating Procrastination: A Review of a Common Self-Regulatory Failure (2014) · cites this paper as Locke & Latham, 2002
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“According to motivation and goal-setting theories (Brown, 1990; Locke, 1968; Locke & Latham, 2002), perceived benefits and the perception of added value often lead to goal-directed behavior and, in consequence, to acceptance of a situation and decision.”
BackgroundMore than money: Developing an integrative multi-factorial measure of entrepreneurial success
Wach, D., Stephan, U., & Gorgievski, M. J. (2015) · International Small Business Journal Researching Entrepreneurship · doi:10.1177/0266242615608469 · Cited by 318
Entrepreneurial leadership, capabilities and firm growth
Koryak, O., Mole, K. F., Lockett, A., Hayton, J. C., Ucbasaran, D., & Hodgkinson, G. P. (2015) · International Small Business Journal Researching Entrepreneurship · doi:10.1177/0266242614558315 · Cited by 333
“Among motivation theories, one of the most widely accepted is goal setting theory (Locke and Latham, 2002).”
BackgroundEthically adrift: How others pull our moral compass from true North, and how we can fix it
Moore, C., & Gino, F. (2013) · Research in Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.riob.2013.08.001 · Cited by 273
“The evidence that goals motivate behavior is overwhelming (Locke & Latham, 2002).”
BackgroundVan Dijk, D., & Kluger, A. N. (2011) · Journal of Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1002/job.725 · Cited by 275
Reflection as a strategy to enhance task performance after feedback
Anseel, F., Lievens, F., & Schollaert, E. (2009) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2009.05.003 · Cited by 302
Strategic HRM as social design for environmental sustainability in organization
DuBois, C. L. Z., & Dubois, D. A. (2012) · Human Resource Management · doi:10.1002/hrm.21504 · Cited by 277
“Articulating goals and holding employees accountable for their accomplishment is a tried-and-true method of motivation (Locke & Latham, 2002).”
MethodSuccessful aging as management of resources: The role of selection, optimization, and compensation
Freund, A. M. (2008) · Research in Human Development · doi:10.1080/15427600802034827 · Cited by 275
“Most goal theories state that goals are more likely to be achieved when a clear and still achievable but difficult outcome is specified (eg, Locke & Latham, 2002 ).”
BackgroundZuckerman, O., & Gal-Oz, A. (2014) · Personal and Ubiquitous Computing · doi:10.1007/s00779-014-0783-2 · Cited by 273
“The importance of goal-setting is also grounded in theory [34] and in previous work within the HCI community [35].”
Landers, R. N., & Callan, R. C. (2011) · Serious Games and Edutainment Applications · doi:10.1007/978-1-4471-2161-9_20 · Cited by 272
“Goals affect an individual’s performance by directing attention and increasing motivation, but this is moderated by the person’s ability to complete the task (Locke and Latham, 2002).”
BackgroundHabit in Personality and Social Psychology
Wood, W. (2017) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/1088868317720362 · Cited by 302
“When acting on a goal, people are driven by a desire to achieve a particular “object or aim” (Locke & Latham, 2002, p. 705).”
BackgroundKelman, S., & Friedman, J. N. (2009) · Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory · doi:10.1093/jopart/mun028 · Cited by 268
Boies, K., Fiset, J., & Gill, H. (2015) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.07.007 · Cited by 269
Changing Behavior Using the Theory of Planned Behavior
Ajzen, I., & Schmidt, P. (2020) · The Handbook of Behavior Change · doi:10.1017/9781108677318.002 · Cited by 266
Forsetlund, L., O'Brien, M. A., Forsén, L., Mwai, L., Reinar, L. M., Okwen, M. P., Horsley, T., & Rose, C. J. (2021) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd003030.pub3 · Cited by 268
Huang, B., & Hew, K. F. (2018) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2018.06.018 · Cited by 266
“A goal is an objective or purpose that one consciously strives to attain (Locke & Latham, 2002).”
BackgroundInfluentialTesting interest and self-efficacy as predictors of academic self-regulation and achievement
Lee, W., Lee, M.-J., & Bong, M. (2014) · Contemporary Educational Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2014.02.002 · Cited by 267
“Goal-setting is a crucial link that ties academic self-efficacy with successful academic self-regulation and achievement (Locke & Latham, 2002; Zimmerman & Bandura, 1994).”
BackgroundThe Effect of Target Difficulty on Target Completion: The Case of Reducing Carbon Emissions
Ioannou, I., Li, S. X., & Serafeim, G. (2015) · The Accounting Review · doi:10.2308/accr-51307 · Cited by 273
Freund, A. M. (2006) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/0882-7974.21.2.240 · Cited by 275
Designing for more environmentally friendly tourism
Dolnicar, S. (2020) · Annals of Tourism Research · doi:10.1016/j.annals.2020.102933 · Cited by 265
Bouckenooghe, D., Zafar, A., & Raja, U. (2014) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-014-2162-3 · Cited by 312
Arroyo, I., Woolf, B. P., Burelson, W., Muldner, K., Rai, D., & Tai, M. (2014) · International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education · doi:10.1007/s40593-014-0023-y · Cited by 263
“2003), understanding which problem solving strategies to apply, and setting manageable goals and objectives for one-self (Locke and Latham 2002).”
BackgroundBeyond Willpower: Strategies for Reducing Failures of Self-Control
Duckworth, A. L., Milkman, K. L., & Laibson, D. (2018) · Psychological Science in the Public Interest · doi:10.1177/1529100618821893 · Cited by 257
“Across dozens of field studies, setting specific, difficult goals has been shown to help people achieve higher performance than exhortations to “do your best” (Locke & Latham, 2002).”
BackgroundThe role of organizational culture in motivating innovative behaviour in construction firms
Hartmann, A. (2006) · Construction Innovation · doi:10.1108/14714170610710712 · Cited by 260
Results from deploying a participation incentive mechanism within the enterprise
Farzan, R., DiMicco, J. M., Millen, D. R., Dugan, C., Geyer, W., & Brownholtz, E. A. (2008) · Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/1357054.1357145 · Cited by 256
“Application of goalsetting theory can be observed in social-networking sites such as LinkedIn [9] which provided information about how complete a user’s profile is.”
BackgroundInfluential
Metadata
- Authors
- Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P.
- Affiliations
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- Venue
- American Psychologist
- Published
- 2002-09
- Volume
- 57
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 705-717
- ISSN
- 0003-066X (ISSN-L)
- 1935-990X
- OpenAlex
- W4237356565
- Cited by
- 7,766
- References
- 131
- Citations by year
- 2026: 527 · 2025: 509 · 2024: 464 · 2023: 511 · 2022: 428 · 2021: 456 · 2020: 540 · 2019: 467 · 2018: 460 · 2017: 421 · 2016: 395 · 2015: 408 · 2014: 370 · 2013: 313 · 2012: 333
- FWCI
- 59.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Psychologist (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Human Behavior and Motivation
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Keywords
- goal setting, task motivation, motivation theories, goal difficulty, goal specificity, feedback, task difficulty
- MeSH terms
- Goals, Humans, Motivation, Psychological Theory
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Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
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