Effects of self-efficacy and goal orientation training on negotiation skill maintenance: What are the mechanisms?

In a replication and extension of Gist, Stevens, and Bavetta (1991), we examined the effects of self-efficacy and a performance-versus a mastery-oriented post-training session on trainees' negotiation skill maintenance. Sixty MBA students received salary-negotiation training and engaged in practice negotiations with a confederate. They then attended either a performance-or a mastery-oriented post-training session. A second practice negotiation was conducted 7 weeks later. Results indicated that mastery-oriented trainees engaged in more interim skill-maintenance activities, planned to exert more effort, and showed more positive affect than did performance-oriented trainees. In addition, self-efficacy interacted with the post-training condition on Time 2 performance: Low self-efficacy trainees performed more poorly than high self-efficacy trainees in the performance-but not in the mastery-oriented post-training condition. Analyses indicated that trainees' cognitive withdrawal mediated this effect. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.