Facilitating Performance with Goal Setting on a Dynamically Complex Task

Abstract

The studies that improve dynamic decision performance are significant for that people often suffer in dynamic decision environment both in laboratory and field settings. The present study intended to examine that facilitating dynamic decision performance through goal setting was feasible with the premise that goals dictate people's behavior. An experiment using simulation decision task was implemented. Analysis results indicated that the effectiveness of appropriate goal setting has twofold. The first, holistic and representative goals led to better information processing. The second, appropriate goals led subjects to make less dysfunctional decisions derived from people's bounded rationality. The results demonstrated that appropriate design of goals is a viable alternative to improve dynamic decision performance.