Investigating the effects of goal setting, feedback, and incentives on sustained attention

Robison, MK, Unsworth, N., and Brewer, GA (August 7, 2020). Examining the effects of goal setting, feedback, and incentives on sustained attention. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/97t8w

Commentary

Through four experiments, we were investigating the effects of goal setting, feedback, and incentive manipulation on sustained attention.

Task performance was measured, as well as subjective attentional states and momentary feelings of motivation and arousal.

In Experiment 1, two specific goal conditions were compared to a standard set of instructions; the specific goal conditions reduced RTs and attenuated the reduction in vigilance, but did not affect task engagement.

Experiment 2 manipulated both goal setting and feedback across conditions, and the combination of specific goals and feedback, had a strong effect on both task performance and task engagement. In addition, feedback increased task engagement regardless of whether it was paired with a specific goal or not.

Experiment 3 examined the effects of goal-reward combinations and found that participants in the one reward condition reported higher motivation, but did not show better task performance. And offering a cash incentive to achieve a goal did not affect the dependent variable.

Finally, to see if more moderately difficult goals would lead to optimal performance, we examined a wider range of goals in Experiment 4. However, there was no effect of moderately difficult goals on any of the dependent variables.

The results showed that none of the experimental manipulations were effective in moderating or eliminating the decrease in vigilance.