I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN - PROCESSING TIME AND STRATEGY EFFECTS OF GOAL ACCEPTANCE REJECTION DECISIONS

Although acceptance of specific and challenging goals is central to goal setting theory, little research that examines the process of acceptance has been conducted. The present studies utilized a social-cognitive theory of processing to explore the nature of individual goal acceptance/rejection decisions. The results of two laboratory studies suggest that: (1) goal acceptance/rejection decision processing time is a curvilinear function of goal difficulty, and (2) acceptance/rejection decision processing time influences task strategy development and, thereby, task performance. Implications of a two-stage processing model of goal acceptance are discussed. © 1992.