Goals change behavior only when paired with performance feedback.

Evidence

Wishful thinking alone does not beget behavior change. Turning a vision into reality requires adopting progressive, short-term goals that provide guides, strategies, and motivators in the here and now. Goals without reliable feedback on progress have little or no effect (Bandura, 1991a). During a hot New Jersey summer, families adopted a goal of reducing their energy use by 20% (Becker, 1978). Half the group received feedback every two days on the amount of energy they used; the other half received no feedback on their energy use. Families that received performance feedback significantly reduced their energy use. In contrast, families that did not receive performance feedback achieved no change. Timely feedback identifies the corrective adjustments required to ensure continuous progress. Failure to adopt explicit goals with feedback on progress usually is the weakest link in change programs. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2944 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Turning a vision into reality requires adopting progressive, short-term goals that provide guides, strategies, and motivators in the here and now. Goals without reliable feedback on progress have little or no effect (Bandura, 1991a). During a hot New Jersey summer, families adopted a goal of reducing their energy use by 20% (Becker, 1978). Half the group received feedback every two days on the amount of energy they used; the other half received no feedback on their energy use. Families that received performance feedback significantly reduced their energy use. In contrast, families that did not receive performance feedback achieved no change. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2944 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Entrenchment often arises from unintended path-dependent feedback, not strategic design — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 492; Ambiguous societal goals make street-level performance measurement nearly arbitrary — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of…, 388; Worker stress-control routines signal how far agency goals are achievable — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of…, 635 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Proximal goals plus feedback, not distant goals alone, drive behavior change. #corroborates (0.95) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2944
• Feedback on progress determines whether energy-saving goals change behavior at all. #corroborates (0.92) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2944