chap. 10

Question 1

Why is Goal striving the most important and hardest part of goal achievement?

Answer 1

• Hardest part because you have to take an idea and put it into action
• It is required to engage in purposeful behaviour

Question 2

In the Rubicon model, where would we find ourselves when in the Goal striving phase?

Answer 2

• Actional phase, thus in the implemental mindset (more close minded and overly optimistic view of goal and self)

Question 3

What is self-regulation? Why is it important in goal-striving?

Answer 3

• Capacity to alter our own responses, like when we try to control our thoughts, emotions, impulses, and behaviours
• It’s critical in the goal striving phase, you have to regulate in order to stay on track with progress
  –> p.ex: it’s not enough to say you wanna save more money, you have to regulate the amount you’re spending as well

Question 4

Successful regulation relies on 3 basic elements, what are they?

Answer 4

1) Standards
2) Monitoring
3) Strength

Question 5

What are standards? Why are they important? Give some examples.

Answer 5

• Ideas of how things should be that we use when making judgements
• Serve as means of comparison
  –> We have standards of beauty, genius, intelligence, and about our self
  –> By comparing the actual self to a standard, we gain a sense of whether we are living up to what we should be, or if we are falling short
  –> Examples: manners, academic achievement (typically 50% is passing, but your self-standards may be higher), ethical, etc

Question 6

Within self-regulation: standards, what are the possible selves?

Answer 6

• Possible self: imagine future versions of the self, there are 2
  1) Ideal: What we personally hope to become in the future
  –> p.ex: a grad student will aspire to become a doctor
  2) Undesired self: Represents our greatest fears for ourselves, what we want to avoid (negative image of ourselves in the future)
  –> p.ex: scrooge seeing his negative future, thus leads to him changing

Question 7

How might the possible selves relate to approach and avoidance goals?

Answer 7

• ideal self aligns with approach, because you’re working toward something
• undesired self aligns with avoidance, because you’re escaping an outcome

Question 8

What is Higgin’s self-discrepancy theory? Explain it’s caracteristics.

Answer 8

• Within the standards in self-regulation
• This theory explains that discrepancies occur when people feel their actual self is far from their ideal or ought selves
  –> Ought self represents our duties and obligations (may not be what we want for ourselves, but can be)
• When a person becomes aware of discrepancies, that is when the emotions come into play

Question 9

What are the 2 types of emotions that come into play when a person is aware of discrepancies between the actual and ideal self or the ought self in Higgin’s self-discrepancy theory?

Answer 9

1) Dejection emotions
→ occurs when there’s a discrepancy between ideal self and actual self
→ including shame, disappointment, and depression
→ based on whether we’re living up these goals
→ p.ex: a student who see themself as a straight A student, but is not, these emotions will motivate them to work harder to this goal
2) Agitation emotions
→ occurs when there’s a discrepancy between ought self and actual self
→ anxiety and guilt
→ p.ex: when the self doesn’t align with the parents expectations, leading to these emotions, which will motivate them to align better

Question 10

What is regulatory focus? Explain its types (types of people).

Answer 10

• Individual differences in tendencies to frame goals in ideal or ought terms
  1) Promotion-oriented: focus on the ideal self
  → nurturing the needs of their aspirations and goals
  → motivated to approach their ideal self
  2) Prevention-oriented: focus on the ought self
  → concerned with security needs of safety and responsibility, obligations, avoiding mistakes, maintaining job security
  → p.ex: focused more on how achieving this self can lead them to financial stability, seaking this sense of security

Question 11

Give an example of regulatory focus in students looking to perform well in class.

Answer 11

Two students could adopt the goal to perform well in class (i.e., approach goal), but one student may want to achieve this goal to improve her GPA (promotion) and the other may want to achieve this goal to avoid losing her scholarship (prevention). For both students, their motivation would be different from a third student who adopts an avoidance goal to avoid an F

Question 12

What are outcomes of regulatory focus?

Answer 12

1) Differences in goal definition
→ Promotion: aspirations “I want to do well in school”
→ Prevention: obligations “I have to do well in school”
2) Differences in goal striving strategies
→ promotion: eager strategy, means to advance in their goal and will not close off means to success
→ prevention: risk-averse, more vigilant strategy, being careful, avoiding mistakes
3) Differences in goal focus
→ promotion: focus on quantity of responses
→ prevention: focus on quality of responses

Question 13

Define the term Regulatory fit.

Answer 13

• when the person’s regulatory focus “matches” the focus of the situation of task, they tend to perform better
  → this makes people feel more engaged and better at the task

Question 14

People can be promotion-oriented, prevention-oriented or neither; what are the cultural differences with this orientations?

Answer 14

• In general, people from Western cultures (e.g., the United States) tend to adopt a promotion orientation (strive to success, want to seem successful) whereas people from Eastern cultures (e.g., South Korea) tend to adopt a prevention orientation (more risk averse)

Question 15

When we feel as if our actual self is not living up to our standards, we feel motivated to reduce this discrepancy; what is the first step to reduce this discrepancy?

Answer 15

• To make the comparison between the actual self and the standard which requires a good amount of self-awareness

Question 16

Define objective self-awareness.

Answer 16

• Attention and consciousness directed inward such that people become focused on themselves.

Question 17

Why do people change their behaviour when engaging in self-awareness?

Answer 17

• When self-awareness occurs, it often produces negative emotions; often signals to people that they are falling short of their standards
  → people may change their behaviour to get closer to these standards in order to reduce these negative emotions
  → People are more likely to act in accordance with their standards and values when they are experiencing self-awareness

Question 18

True or false: When placed in front of a mirror, and asked to complete a task, people will likely cheat an equal amount to those who are not in front of a mirror.

Answer 18

False: They will cheat significantly less than those who are not in front of a mirror because they are faced with self-awareness.

Question 19

True or false: One of the main reasons people engage in destructive behaviors (e.g., drinking alcohol) is because they are trying to avoid self-awareness.

Answer 19

True: Drinking alcohol tends to direct attention away from the self
- People who are drunk are less likely to use personal pronouns

Question 20

What is monitoring?

Answer 20

• Refers to keeping track of behaviours that the individual wants to regulate
  → standards are useless if we don’t monitor
  → p.ex: how do we know that we’re saving money if we’re not keeping track of bank account

Question 21

What happens when people fail to monitor their behaviours (i.e., why is it important)?

Answer 21

• when people fail to monitor, they can’t achieve their goals because they aren’t being held accountable, they can’t make changes as they go, etc

Question 22

What is a cybernetic mechanism (and feedback loop)?

Answer 22

• It is an internal monitor that regulates its input and output
• Inherent in this cybernetic mechanism is a feedback loop, which takes outputs and feeds them back in as inputs, usually in an attempt to increase or decrease a discrepancy

Question 23

Define a negative feedback loop and a positive feedback loop with an example for each.

Answer 23

• Negative: Designed to reduce or eliminate the discrepancy between the current state and some desired state
  –> p.ex: A thermostat that is designed to keep the temperature in the room at a designed level
• Positive: Designed to increase the discrepancy between the current state and some undesired stated
  –> p.ex: A machine that is designed the keep the pressure within a chamber above a certain danger level

Question 24

Explain the TOTE model

Answer 24

• Based on 4 steps that mimic a cybernetic mechanism
• We monitor our goals in a feedback loop that is very similar to a negative loop
  1) Test: Compare current state to desired state
  2) Operate: Exert effort to reduce the current-desired discrepancy
  3) Test: Compare current state to desired state
• This is when the feedback loop comes in
• If the gap hasn’t decreased as much as hoped, we will go back to operate to put it into action again
  4) Exit: Discrepancy is eliminated because goal is achieved or abandoned

Question 25

Give an example of the Tote model.

Answer 25

1) Test: a student who sets the goal of having a 10.0 GPA, this student automatically compares their current GPA, to the desired GPA
2) The student will thus make more of an effort to study for exams to reach 10.0
3) The student will compare again to determine how successful the operation was to decrease the gap between actual GPA and ideal GPA
–> if the gap wasn’t decreased as much as she wants to, she will go back to operate to put it into action again
4) Either the discrepancy is eliminated (goal achieved) or the goal is abandoned

Question 26

True or false: In the tote model, if there are no discrepancies when doing the first test, we go straight to exit.

Answer 26

True

Question 27

What are the benefits of monitoring? (3)

Answer 27

1) Increased goal attention
–> Focuses our attention to the goal at hand and makes you pay less mind to distractions
2) Goal strategy adjustments
→ monitoring our progress to our goal helps us assess if we’re closing the gap
→ allows us to determine if our goal is working and effective to then problem solve if need be
3) Provides performance feedback
→ receiving feedback allows us to improve and know how we can do better
→ p.ex: students receive grades throughout the term in order to adjust and improve

Question 28

Goal striving requires us to emphasize the ___ over the ___; this ability to sacrifice short-term rewards for long-term rewards is referred to as ____

Answer 28

Future; present; delay of gratification
–> This is one way we exert self-control

Question 29

Give an example of delay of gratification.

Answer 29

• 4-year-olds resisting a single marshmallow right then and there in order to get 2 later on
• pursuing grad school means having sacrificed a lot (having made more money, started a family, travelling), BUT at the end, you’ll have a job that is fulfilling and make more money

Question 30

What are the 2 strategies to improve delay of gratification?

Answer 30

1) Out of sight, out of mind
→ with the marshmallow experiment, some of these kids didn’t look at the marshmallow to avoid feeling tempted, they found other distractions to focus on
2) Turn down the heat
→ heat: appetising desire to eat the treat in front of you
→ cold: cognitive ability to control those inner impulses
→ you want to introduce a pause between the impulse and action to make a decision that will align with goals and values
→ p.ex: in the marshmallow experiment, kids would pretend the marshmallow was something else (cloud, cotton ball, etc.)
→ p.ex: when shopping, you see something you like and you decide to take a step back and think about it, and if you still want it in a week you can buy it
→ most of the time, after this pause, you can realize the item isn’t necessary

Question 31

What does the limited resource model explain about self-control?

Answer 31

• It is a limited resource in that people only have so much self-control, and once it is gone (i.e., depleted), there is nothing left; like an energy in a battery
• It is a general resource in that lots of different types of responses tap into it, including the inhibition of behaviours, thoughts, and emotions
  → p.ex: if you use a lot of mental energy during the day at work (resources are depleted in this context), once you’re at home, you might snap at your partner because your resources are gone (this snapping is a lack of self-control

Question 32

Define inhibitory insanity in relation to the limited resource model.

Answer 32

When people exert self-control in one domain, it becomes impaired and reduces the ability to exert self-control in other domains

Question 33

Give an example of a study where inhibitory insanity is displayed (Beaumesiter).

Answer 33

→ You are told to skip breakfast and then come to the study, so, you’re feeling very hungry
→ in the room, there are freshly baked cookies, and a bowl of radishes
→ the experimenter tells you you can only eat the radishes, then leaves you alone for 5 minutes
→ after 5 minutes, the experimenter asks you to complete a task, then measures how long you spend on each task, but these are unsolvable
→ in order to persist, you need to exert self-control
→ results: those who used self-control and only ate radishes, had less self-control (depleted) when they needed to solve the task because they already exerted their self-control
→ results: it was the opposite for those who had cookies, because their self-control was not already depleted, they thus persisted longer with the task

Question 34

What are 4 ways to avoid self-control failures?

Answer 34

1) Plan your day with depletion in mind
- Include small breaks in your schedule to replenish your self-control
- Avoid temptations at the EOD, especially if you’re a morning person (very vulnerable at the EOD because the day was spent exerting self-control
2) Avoid taking on too many goals at once
- All goals tap into the same self-control reserve which increases failure
3) Create a habit
- Because habits are automatic, it is better to make certain elements of life more habitual, in order to not have to exert self-control to complete the task at hand
4) Avoid all-out bans
- When making things completely off limit (p.ex with dieting), it suddenly becomes all you can think about because it’s a thing that you can’t have

Question 35

What are 5 techniques to boost self-control?

Answer 35

1) Exercise your self-control muscle
→ people who engage in self-control exercises (p.ex forcing themselves to sit up straight or not using any slang for 2 weeks straight ) show gradual improvement in their self-control capacities
2) Retrain your brain
→ people can train their brain to override temptations by using mental strategies
→ Used by neuroscientists with fMRIs for rehabilitating populations
3) Take a break
→ even for 10 minutes after a depleting experience is enough to recharge resources
→ p.ex: watching TV, playing an instrument, etc
4) Seek out autonomy
→ When people are autonomously motivated to exert self-control, their resources are less depleted by the end of it (our own choice rather than being imposed onto you)
5)Believe in yourself
→ simply believing you have unlimited self-control will help not feeling depleted, but it isn’t an end-all be-all

Question 36

True or false: Sometimes it is a good idea to abandon a goal.

Answer 36

True:
→ when an individual has adopted a Sisyphean or unrealistic goal (tasks that are seemingly endless or futile)
→ when circumstances have changed to make the goal less likely to occur

Question 37

Why is goal disengagement sometimes hard?

Answer 37

1) Self-esteem is threatened
→ preoccupation with other people’s perceptions of them
→ some people come to identify strongly with their goal, thus when that’s taken away, it can be very threatening and difficult to give up
2) Sunk cost effect
→ they won’t disengage because they don’t want to lose the resources they’ve already invested in this goal
→ p.ex: a student who wants to change their major during their 4th year will tell themselves “I’ve already put too many resources into this degree to give up now”

Question 38

What are the regions of the brain?

Answer 38

Front: Anterior
Back: Posterior
Top: Dorsal
Bottom: Ventral
Inner area: Medial
Outer area: lateral

Question 39

Neuroscience of goal setting:
The ___ section of the ___ ___ enables people to hold a goal in their mind over sustained periods of time.

Answer 39

Lateral; prefrontal cortex
–> Even after external reminders are gone, it’s always gonna be on the brain until you can put it into action

Question 40

Neuroscience of goal setting:
The ___ ___ ___ becomes activated when people reflect on their personal goals.

Answer 40

Medial prefrontal cortex

Question 41

Neuroscience of goal planning:
The ___ ___ plays a role in goal planning, more specifically, when we think about how we can pursue a goal.

Answer 41

Premotor cortex
→ Planning goals helps prepare the brain for action, which is why some people might struggle to transition from setting a goal to planning its execution (one part of the brain isn’t as strong)

Question 42

Neuroscience of goal striving:
The ___ ___ ___ cortex detects discrepancies between actual and desired states and therefore plays a role in how we monitor our goal in relation to other conflicting responses.

Answer 42

Dorsal anterior cingulated
–> A sort of alarm system in the brain
–> Responsible for the feedback loop

Question 43

Neuroscience of goal striving:
Once a discrepancy is detected between the actual and desired states, what parts of the brain help regulate people’s goal-directed behaviour?

Answer 43

The premotor cortex (pMC), primary motor cortex (MC), and basal ganglia (BG)

Question 44

Neuroscience of goal striving:
The ___ cortex and ___ ___ ___ allow an individual to exert self-control and inhibit undesirable responses that may interfere with their goals.

Answer 44

Prefrontal; interior frontal gyrus

Question 45

The goal striving stage of the motivation process is characterized by ________ toward goal achievement.

Answer 45

Action

Question 46

According to ________, how close we feel our actual self is living up to our possible selves can result in different emotions.

Answer 46

Self-discrepancy theory

Question 47

Chris feels guilty because he has not seen his grandfather in 2 months and believes that he has a strong family obligation to spend time with his ageing relatives. Chris is experiencing…

Answer 47

agitation emotions

Question 48

In the second step of the TOTE model, ________, we exert effort to reduce the current-desired discrepancy.

Answer 48

Operate