Date of Award

12-1983

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Norman M. Peterson

Second Advisor

Dr. Dale Brethower

Third Advisor

Dr. Bradley Huitema

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to present and test with a field experiment the hypothesis that the perceived power of those assigning goals has a significant effect on goal attainment. A survey was used to determine three levels of the independent variable perceived power of three individuals who assigned tasks to subjects. The dependent variables were the number of responses on the tasks of listing 15 specific responses each for increasing cost-effectiveness, improving morale, and improving communication. Forty-three office and management personnel were randomly assigned to three groups, with each group receiving a all levels of power type and task. A latin square ANOVA was used to analyze the responding under each power type condition. The results indicated that there was no significant effect of the perceived power of those assigning goals on goal attainment in this experiment. Reasons for the non-significant effec t were discussed.

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