3. Moderators. Goal effects are moderated by at least four factors. First, people need feedback regarding their progress in order to see if they are ‘‘on target.’’ This not only allows adjustments in level of effort, it may imply the need for modifying their task strategy. Second, for goals to be effective, people must be committed to them (Seijts and Latham, 2000); they must be ‘‘real’’ goals. Commitment is especially important when goals are difficult. This is because hard goals require great effort, and failure and discouragement are more likely than is the case when easy goals are set. Commitment is highest when people have confidence in being able to reach their goal and believe the goal to be important or appropriate. These two factors also affect goal choice.