Final answer:
The statement that difficult goals result in lower performance is false. Challenging goals can actually increase motivation and performance when individuals have high self-efficacy and the goals are meaningful to them. The correct option is b.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement 'Difficult goals, when accepted, result in lower performance than do easy goals' is false. According to goal-setting theory, people are generally more motivated and perform better when they have specific and challenging goals, provided they accept these goals.
The relationship between goal difficulty and performance is also related to self-efficacy and social motives. That is, when individuals believe that they can achieve a goal (high self-efficacy) and the goal is socially important to them, they are likely to perform better even if the goal is difficult.
It should be noted that arousal levels also play a role in task performance. As depicted in FIGURE 10.7, task performance is best when arousal levels are moderate, with difficult tasks best performed under lower levels of arousal and simple tasks best performed under higher levels of arousal. The correct option is b.