Think global, act local: The effect of goal and mindset specificity on willingness to donate to an environmental organization

Anna Rabinovich, Thomas A. Morton, Tom Postmes, and Bas Verplanken

doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2009.09.004

The effects of goal specificity on behavior have been studied mainly within the frameworks of goal-setting theory ([Locke and Latham, 1990] and [Locke and Latham, 2002]) and the implementation intention approach (e.g. Gollwitzer, 1993). Goal-setting theory suggests that in order to produce the maximal effect on performance, goals must be challenging, attainable, and specific. Specific goals are thought to be effective through increasing instrumentality—that is, the degree to which a goal is perceived as leading to an outcome. The theory also argues that goal commitment can act as a moderator of the effect of goal specificity. Goal commitment increases when goal attainment is perceived as important (valued outcomes) and an individual believes that he or she is capable of achieving a goal (high self-efficacy). Thus, goal specificity should have the most profound effect when both self-efficacy and value of the outcomes are high.