Name: Justin Sabree

School of Psychology Master's Thesis Defense Presentation

Date: Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Time: 2:30pm

Location: JS Coon 217

Advisor: 

Professor Ruth Kanfer, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)

Thesis Committee Members:

Professor Ruth Kanfer, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)

Professor Phillip Ackerman, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)

Professor Eugene Kim, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)

Title: The Effects of an Enhanced Goal Setting Strategy on Goal Progress and Well-being

Although the benefits of difficult, specific goal setting on performance are well-documented (e.g., Locke & Latham, 1990), it remains unclear how anticipatory action planning may enhance these effects.  The current study investigates the effects of an enhanced goal setting training intervention using smartphone technology on self-reported goal progress and well-being as well as the moderating effects of individual differences in action orientation/state orientation (ASO). Ultimately, neither the enhanced nor the control strategy boosted goal progress nor did ASO moderate the intervention. Unexpectedly, participants receiving the enhanced strategy reported significantly less positive affect, up to one week after using the strategy despite making equivalent goal progress to participants in the control condition. Results are discussed in terms of the efficacy of enhanced goal setting on performance, well-being, exploratory post-hoc tests, and in relation to previous results obtained by Fishbach and Hofmann (2015).