Goal Specificity

Goal Specificity

Goal specificity refers to how clearly a goal informs the performer precisely what he is

to do. Telling a performer to "do your best" sounds like goal setting, but it is actually

only an ambiguous statement that does not make clear precisely what the person is to

do (Locke & Latham, 1990). On the other hand, telling a writer to have a first draft in

1 week, a revised draft in 2 weeks, and a final manuscript in 3 weeks specifies more

precisely what the writer is to do and when she is to do it. Translating a vague goal into

a specific goal typically involves restating the goal in numerical terms. Goal specificity

is important because specific goals draw attention to what one needs to do and reduces

ambiguity in thought and variability in performance (Klein, Whitener, & Ilgen, 1990;

Locke, Chah, Harrison, & Lustgarten, 1989). As to ambiguous thought, a vague goal

such as "study hard" might be interpreted as "read the chapter" by one student but as

"read the chapter, take notes, review it, and form a study group to discuss it" by a

second student. As to variable performance, a vague goal (e.g., "work quickly" or "read

a lot") produces a relatively wide range of performances compared to giving a group of

performers a specific goal (e.g., "complete the task in the next 3 minutes" or "read 100

pages"), which produces a relatively narrow range of performances that all hover around

the goal level (Locke, Shaw, Saari, & Latham, 1989).

Difficult, Specific Goals Enhance Performance

Goals do not always enhance performance. Only those goals that are difficult and specific

do so (Locke et al., 1981). The reason difficult, specific goals increase performance

while easy and vague ones do not is a motivational reason. Difficult goals energize the

performer, and specific goals direct her toward a particular course of action (Earley

et al., 1987). Therefore, goals need to be difficult to create energy, and goals need to be

specific to focus direction.