Commitment and the role of ability in motivation: Comment on Wright, O'Leary-Kelly, Cortina, Klein, and Hollenbeck (1994)

Abstract

Wright, O'Leary-Kelly, Cortina, Klein, and Hollenbeck (1994) claim that Tubbs (Tubbs & Dahl, 1991; Tubbs, 1993) has advocated the personal-goal–assigned-goal discrepancy as being the best measure of commitment, whereas they argue that a self-report assessment such as the one they have developed is the superior measure. However, because several conceptually distinct motivational concepts have been confused in the literature on commitment, the idea that any one measure can cover all of the discussed issues is inadequate. Further, although Wright et al. are correct that understanding and modeling the role of ability in motivation is an important concern, the solution they suggest is inappropriate. Future research should more clearly distinguish the several, often confused, concepts in the literature on commitment and more carefully consider both the manner in which motivation and ability influence behavior and the means by which we empirically model these relations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)