Psychology HW
Dr.bdu
GoalsMotivation4.pptGoals & Motivation
The importance of goals
- Goals influence both mundane decisions, but also larger life decisions
- Goals guide responses to social environment
- Goals influence attitudes, moods, and behaviors of individual
What is a goal?
- Goal = a cognitive representation of a desired endpoint that impacts evaluations, emotions, and behaviors (Ferguson & Fishbach, 2007)
- Conscious goal pursuit
- Nonconscious goal pursuit – automatic pursuit
Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987)
- Discrepancies between actual self and our “ideal” self or “ought” self: serve as motivation
- Ideal: who we desire, aspire, hope to be
- Ought: who we feel a duty, obligation, responsibility to be
- Actual – Ideal discrepancy
- Actual – Ought discrepancy
Regulatory Focus Theory (Higgins, 1997)
- Promotion focus – focus on gains, advancement
- Prevention focus – focus on loss, stability/security
- Chronically and situationally activated
- Regulatory fit
- Preference for change (Liberman and colleagues)
Nonconscious Goals
- Goal-related objects (Ferguson & Bargh, 2004)
- Goal Contagion (Aarts et al., 2004)
- Goal Shielding (Shah et al., 2002)
- Goals & significant others (Shah, 2005)
Temptations (Fishbach & colleagues)
Goals & temptations presented together (complement) vs. separately (competition; Fishbach & Zhang, 2008)
Goals – temptations link
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Implementation Intentions (Gollwitzer, 1999)
- Implementation Intentions = intention statement regarding goal-related behavior in particular situation
- anticipated future situation – certain goal-directed behavior
- Increase automatic performance of goal-related behavior
- Increase attainment of goals
Self-regulation
- Self-control: ability to persist at task even in fact of difficulties, temptations, emotions, etc.
- Self-control is resource-depleting (Baumeister)
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Goals
- Nonconscious & Conscious
- Impact of others and situation
- Goal pursuit success
- Important connections to other concepts
- Automaticity, social influence, the self, etc.
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