ACTION IDENTIFICATION THEORY IN EFFECTIVE VERSUS INEFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE

Performance effectiveness was explored from the perspective of action identification theory. The theory holds that any behavior can be identified in many ways, from depictions emphasizing the action's details (low level identities) to those emphasizing the action's effects and self-evaluative implications (high level identities). For optimal performance, the theory suggests that easy actions should be indentified in relatively high level terms, whereas more difficult actions should be identified in lower level terms. This general prediction was tested for self-perceived effectiveness in "giving a speech." Subjects delivered a prepared speech to either a sympathetic audience (easy task) or an antagonistic audience (difficult task). As predicted, a focus on the lower level identities promoted greater self-perceived effectiveness (e.g., persuasion) for the difficult than for the easy task, whereas a focus on higher level identities (e.g, self-evaluation) proved more optimal for the easy task.