Self-evaluations involved in goal setting and task performance

Reactions from individuals having high (>50%) and low (<50%) evaluations of their relative ability on a task are compared. Low evaluation individuals had lower self-esteem as compared to the high evaluation group. The low evaluation group also had lower self-efficacy on the task, set lower goals, and had a lower expectation that they would attain the goal than the high evaluation group. In addition, the low evaluation group had less positive attitudes and lower commitment toward attaining the goal. Perhaps as a consequence of the poor evaluations, the low evaluation group had lower task performance and continued to have lower self-esteem subsequent to task performance.