Self-set goals improve academic performance through nonlinear effects on daily study performance

A Bayesian longitudinal moderated mediational model was used to test the effect of students' daily/proximal self-set goals on a final course grade through daily study performance. Thirty-six daily diaries were completed twice a day by 147 sophomore students. Study goals were self-set in the morning and daily performance was self-assessed in the evening. Two independent coders, blind to the hypotheses, evaluated goal specificity and difficulty. The relationship between the goals and final grade was mediated by daily performance, and occurred only in the case of goals high in specificity and of moderate difficulty.