Abstract
The present study examined (a) the effect of the modes of goal setting and the feedback of the results of performance on causal attribution and (b) the relationship between causal attributions and goal aspirations for the next performance. In Experiment I, though no special information of the situation was given, the modes of goal setting and the feedback of results gave an interaction effect on ability attribution, but there was no relationship between causal attributions and goal aspirations. In Experiment II, information arousing one's ability was given, but there was no effects on causal attributions and no relationship between causal attributions and goal aspirations. However, some relationship was found between the assessment of one's ability and goal aspirations. In addition, comparing Experiment I and II, the feedback of the results gave interaction effects on ability, task difficulty and internal attributions. These results suggested that the cognitive aspects of the goal setting behavior involved the interpretation of the results of performance, the goal setting process for the next behavior, and the control of the behavior itself.
