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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]
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“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)
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“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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Research works printed but not linked: 9
- Atkinson, 1958, Towards experimental analysis of human motivation in terms of motives, expectancies and incentives., 288
- Bandura, 1986, Social foundations of thought and action: A social-cognitive theory.
- Howard, 1988, Managerial lives in transition.
- Kanfer, 1970, Self-regulation: Research, issues and speculation., 178
- Locke, 1997, The motivation to work: What we know., Vol. 10, 375
- Locke, 1997, Participation in decision-making: An information exchange perspective., Vol. 15, XXX
- Ryan, 1970, Intentional behavior.
- Vroom, 1964, The motivation to work.
- Wood, 1990, Goal setting and strategy effects on complex tasks., Vol. 12, 73
Cited by
Audit and feedback: effects on professional practice and healthcare outcomes
Ivers, N., Jamtvedt, G., Flottorp, S., Young, J. M., Odgaard-Jensen, J., French, S. D., O'Brien, M. A., Johansen, M., Grimshaw, J., & Oxman, A. D. (2012) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd000259.pub3 · Cited by 5,485
Spruit, M. A., Singh, S. J., Garvey, C., ZuWallack, R., Nici, L., Rochester, C., Hill, K., Holland, A. E., Lareau, S. C., Man, W. D.-C., et al. (2013) · American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine · doi:10.1164/rccm.201309-1634st · Cited by 3,938
A taxonomy of behavior change techniques used in interventions
Abraham, C., & Michie, S. (2008) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/0278-6133.27.3.379 · Cited by 2,525
“…by the 26 BCTs include control theory (Carver & Scheier, 1998) and related goal theories (e.g., Austin & Vancouver, 1996; Gollwitzer, 1999; Locke & Latham, 2002), as well as operant conditioning (Skinner, 1974), theories of social comparison (e.g., Festinger, 1954), theoretical accounts…”
BackgroundPersonality and Individual Differences
Smith, M. B., Jordan, P., & Wallace, J. C. (2015) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118979013.ch2 · Cited by 2,572
The Relationship of Entrepreneurial Traits, Skill, and Motivation to Subsequent Venture Growth.
Baum, J. R., & Locke, E. A. (2004) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.89.4.587 · Cited by 2,298
“No other theory of motivation has deeper or broader empirical support at the individual, group, and unit level (Landy & Becker, 1987; Locke & Latham, 1990, 2002 ).”
BackgroundSelf-citation
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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Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
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Data sources
Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.
Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.
