The relationship between expectancy of success and task difficulty as a function of absolute and relative success criteria

Participants made expectancy of success (P_s) statements in a dart throwing task under 2 success criterion conditions. In an absolute criterion condition, participants estimated the probability of their gaining a fixed number of points on trials at increasing distances from the target. Participants in a relative success criterion condition estimated where they would rank in a group of 100 participants on each trial. A significant difference in linear trends (p <0.001) between the criterion groups was obtained, with P_s remaining relatively constant across difficulty levels in the relative criterion condition while declining rapidly as a function of task difficulty in the absolute criterion condition. Implications regarding the generality of the expectancy variable in the Akinson-Feather motivational model are discussed.