Investigation of the construct validity of a self-report measure of goal commitment

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to develop an efficient, construct-valid measure of goal commitment. Drawing from a set of 9 unidimensional items, a 4-item unidimensional scale was developed that exhibited a .71 internal consistency estimate of reliability. This scale showed statistically significant relationships with 3 alternative measures of the same construct: force to attain the goal, self-set goal–assigned-goal discrepancy, and actual goal change. With respect to other constructs in the goal commitment nomological net, the results indicated that the scale was consistently related to performance. Moreover, the pattern of the results with expected antecedents such as goal publicness, monetary incentives, need for achievement, locus of control, and task involvement were statistically significant and in the predicted direction. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)