chap. 8

Question 1

Define the term goal.

Answer 1

• Something that you are taking active steps to achieve

Question 2

What are 4 important aspects of a goal?

Answer 2

1) Goals are cognitive representations
–> Thoughts that drive us to behave
–> Organized in a hierarchical manner
–> They should work in an automatic way
2) Goals are future focused
–> Future image guiding present behaviour (roadmap)
3) People must be committed to their goals
–> You have to believe it can be realistically achieved
–> Have to be ready and wiling to put in effort
4) Goals can be either approach or avoidance based
–> Approach: Achieving positive outcomes
–> Avoidance: Avoiding negative outcomes

Question 3

Why are goals important?

Answer 3

• They tend to enhance performance
  –> Sets a clear purpose, allowing for better focus, effort and success
• People who adopt goals outperform those who do not adopt goals

Question 4

Why do goals improve performance?

Answer 4

• Goals direct attention toward goal-relevant information and actions
• Goals produce psychological benefits
  –> People with goals demonstrate greater positive psychological functioning and greater life satisfaction

Question 5

True or false: Goals produce psychological benefits, whether achieved or not.

Answer 5

True: In fact, sometimes we feel happier when we are making good progress on our goal than when we actually achieve the goal
→ “the journey is more important than the destination”

Question 6

What are the 3 factors that influence people’s decisions to adopt a particular goal? (i.e., where do goals come from?)

Answer 6

1) Needs: People’s internal sources of pressure push them toward a goal
–> Psychological or physiological
–> ABCs serve as a motive to set a goal
2) Demands: External sources of pressure from environment
3) Culture: Values regarding family, religion, success, etc.

Question 7

Give an example of Needs, in relation to the 3 psychological needs as motive to set a goal.

Answer 7

Goal to learn french when studying abroad in France.
Autonomy: Helps you feel in control and prepared to study
Belonging: Help you feel a part of the group with other students
Competence: Helps you feel more competent in your studies

Question 8

Give an example of Demands, in relation to the 3 psychological needs as motive to set a goal.

Answer 8

• Expectations from family, manager, government, etc.

Question 9

___ are people’s internal sources of pressures that push them toward a goal; while ___ are people’s external sources of pressure.

Answer 9

Needs; demands

Question 10

How are goals structured? Explain this system.

Answer 10

• We organize them into a goal hierarchy, from broad and abstract goals to specific goal actions
• There are 3 levels, with the more proximal (short term) aspects at the bottom of the pyramid, and the more distal (long term) aspects at the top
  1) Goal means at the bottom
  2) Goals
  3) Higher-order goals
  –> You need to achieve the bottom and middle before reaching the to

Question 11

Give an example of a goal hierarchy.

Answer 11

1) Higher-order goals: Get a good job
2): Goals: Perform well in courses
–> create.a resume, get an internship
3) Goal means: To perform well, must study for exams, attend lectures, search for internships, write resume, get feedback

Question 12

True or false: Goals are often interconnected within a larger system.

Answer 12

True: This is the goal systems theory

Question 13

Explain the equifinality of goals.

Answer 13

• There are multiple ways to achieve on singular goal; multiple means housed underneath the same goal are also interconnected
• When multiple goals are housed underneath the same higher-order goal, we would expect these goals to be interconnected, such that thinking about one of these goals will lead to thoughts about the other goals
  –> there isn’t just one single mean or action to achieve the goal

Question 14

What is the difference between goals with high equifinality and goals with low equifinality?

Answer 14

High: Multiple means to achieve a goal, thus more paths to achievement
–> As a result, they are more likely to result in goal success because they are flexible
Low: Very few means to achieve a goal, maybe even just a single mean

Question 15

Give an example of a goal with high equifinality.

Answer 15

If you are trying to increase physical activity and you’re strapped on cash, then attending the gym 3x per week would likely not be an option; However, since there are other means to achieve this goal (e.g., daily walks, running, bodyweight workouts from home), you can still pursue it
→ Thus, when a particular means is shut down, another means can be substituted in its place, so long as the goal is high in equifinality

Question 16

What is the dilemma for goals with high equifinality?

Answer 16

• If there are multiple ways to pursue a goal, the individual must choose between several different means
  –> This may be overwhelming, and the person may simply not choose one and not achieve the goal

Question 17

How does multifinality play its role in goal achievement?

Answer 17

• refers to the distinction that means vary in the number of different goals that they serve; one action that can achieve multiple goals
• When presented with the dilemma caused by high equifinality, we use multifinality to help make the decision

Question 18

What does the expectancy-value theory explain?

Answer 18

• According to this theory, behaviour results from the joint function of two factors: expectancy and value
• people are more likely to pursue a goal when expectancy and value are high and less likely when expectancy and value are low; furthermore, these two elements are thought to combine in a multiplicative way, meaning that
  → Behaviour = expectancy x value
  → the multiplication thus shows that if either expectancy or value are at 0, then the behaviour will also be at 0 – you need both

Question 19

Give an example of how expectancy and value theory may affect course decision.

Answer 19

→ p.ex: a student doesn’t enroll in a course if they expect to do poorly, even if they value the subject
→ p.ex: a student doesn’t enroll in a course if they expect to do well, but the course would not count for their degree

Question 20

True or false: Motivation is highest when both expectancy and value are low.

Answer 20

False: It is highest when expectancy and value are high as well.

Question 21

True or false: Expectancy and value are subjective assessments.

Answer 21

True: p.ex: some students may perceive the likelihood of earning a 10.0 GPA as high, whereas others may judge the likelihood to be low

Question 22

What can influence a person’s expectancy estimates?

Answer 22

→ perceived capability to perform goal-directed behaviors (i.e., self- efficacy)
→ belief that these behaviors will result in goal achievement (i.e., outcome expectations), or general beliefs that good outcomes will occur (i.e., optimism)

Question 23

What can influence a person’s value estimates?

Answer 23

→ When the benefits of achieving a goal outweigh the costs of pursuing the goal, the value is judged to be high
→ it really depends on the subjective perception of cost vs. benefits

Question 24

Are people more likely to achieve easy or harder goals? Give an example demonstrating this.

Answer 24

• Although difficult goals are harder to achieve, they are usually associated with better performance, thus people are more likely to achieve harder goals
  → Assume that there are two realtors trying to sell houses. Realtor A sets a difficult goal of trying to sell 12 houses a month. Realtor B sets an easy goal of trying to sell 2 houses per month. Realtor A will likely exert a lot of effort whereas Realtor B will likely stop after selling 2 houses. Thus, even if Realtor A only sells 6 houses per month, that is still 3X as many as Realtor B!

Question 25

What are the 2 factors that can help goal achievement?

Answer 25

Difficulty and Specificity
→ setting difficult and specific goals increases motivation and performance

Question 26

Goal specificity refers to how precisely someone defines a goal; why do specific goals facilitate achivement?(4)

Answer 26

1) More likely to draw attention
- Allows for better focus on what needs to get done
2) Reduces ambiguity
- Vague goals can be interpreted differently
3) Enables you to measure progress
- You can see if you’re achieving the goal or falling short
4) Vague goals can’t be achieved within a lifetime- p.ex: “be a good parent” “be a role model” so vague, you can’t achieve it

Question 27

What are SMART goals?

Answer 27

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-based

Question 28

Explain what goal proximity is, and how different proximal goals can be achieved.

Answer 28

• Distal goals: long-term goals that are achieved far off in the future
  → it’s good to break these down into smaller short-term goals in order to better achieve this goal
  → p.ex: wanting to run a marathon that’s a year from now, you can break it down by going to races closer up (running a 5k, then a 10k)
• Proximal goals: short-term goals that are achieved closer in time
  → more motivating than distal goals

Question 29

Define goal commitment.

Answer 29

• Process whereby a person forms an intention to strive for a goal
• Can be high or low

Question 30

What factors influence goal commitment? How do they cause high or low commitment?

Answer 30

• Goal satisfaction: the positive emotions associated with the goal pursuit
  –> High when they feel they’re making good progress
  –> Low when they feel they’re making bad progress
• Goal investments: amount of resources (time, energy, effort) that people have already put in
  –> High when they’ve devoted lots of resources to this goal
  –> Low when they’ve devoted few resources to this goal
• Goal alternatives: presence of other goals that might conflict with this goal’s pursuit
  –> High when they feel other goals have taken resources away from this focal goal
  –> Low when the focal goal is the only one being pursued

Question 31

The more committed you are in a goal, the satisfaction and investment are ___, but the alternatives are ___.

Answer 31

Higher; lower

Question 32

Give an example of the 3 factors influencing goal commitment positively.

Answer 32

p.ex: a student who wants to get a PhD since high school, has devoted lots of time into this goal (volunteering in labs, saving money for school, etc.) (high goal investment), feels satisfied in their CV and their relationship with profs (high goal satisfaction), and has only this one pursuit academically (low goal alternatives)
→ this student is thus more likely to achieve their goal

Question 33

What are the 3 strategies to boost goal commitment? Give an example for each.

Answer 33

1) Indulging: Mental elaboration on a positive future; fantasizing about goal achievement.
–> Imagining how happy you’ll be when you run your first 10k
2) Dwelling: Mental elaboration on a negative present
–> Focusing on all the reasons why you’re unable to run this distance
3) Mental contrasting: First imagining the positive future and then imagining the negative present
–> Indulging in positive future, then focusing on current factors that are currently interfering with goal

Question 34

Which of the 3 strategies to boost goal commitment is best?

Answer 34

• Mental contrasting
• It gets us excited and energized to achieve the goal

Question 35

When is the rubicon model used?

Answer 35

• Once we’ve picked a goal and are fully committed, motivation comes in
• This motivation can be broken down into 4 distinct phases of the model

Question 36

Elaborate on each phase of the rubicon model.

Answer 36

1) Pre-decisional phase: Goal setting; WHAT you’re going to do
- Select among goal options
- Ends in goal commitment
2) Post-decisional phase: Goal planning; HOW you’re going to do it
- Select among goal plans
- Ends in commitment to goal plan
3) Actional phase: Goal striving; Goal-directed BEHAVIOURS
- Goal plan into actions (most difficult step)
- Ends with goal achievement or abandonment
4) Postactional phase: Evaluate results of actional phase
- “did I achieve my goal; was it worth it?”

Question 37

What is deliberative mindset and when is it used? What is Implemental mindset and when is it used?

Answer 37

• Deliberative: Characterized by open-mindedness
  –> Used during pre-decisional phase
  –> Consider all options, define pros and cons
• Implemental mindset: Characterized by close-mindedness
  –> Used during actional phase
  –> Avoid contradicting information, forget other options

Question 38

What are the 4 types of goal conflicts?

Answer 38

1) Approach–approach conflict involves choosing between two attractive goals.
–> Either goal is desirable but you can only pursue one of them, so making the choice between them is difficult and stressful.
2) Avoidance-avoidance conflict involves choosing between two unattractive goals.
–> Either outcome is negative, people will thus try to avoid or the situation altogether (dropping out p.ex)
3) Approach-avoidance conflict attractive and unattractive features of a SINGLE goal.
–> Most irritating and stressful, but most common too because the things that brings us most pleasure (p.ex: fast food), also produces negative outcomes (weight gain)
4) Double approach-avoidance conflict involves choosing between two goals who each have attractive and unattractive features.

Question 39

Goals direct ___________ toward information that is relevant to the goal and away from information that is irrelevant.

Answer 39

Attention

Question 40

Mara is considering enrolling in an organic chemistry course next semester. She knows that the course is valuable and will help her career goals, but she doesn’t think she will pass it. According to Expectancy-Value Theory, Mara will…

Answer 40

Not enroll in the course

Question 41

Difficult goals ___________ toward goal pursuit; specific goals provide ___________

Answer 41

Increase energy and effort; clear direction

Question 42

Foster announced to his family, “I will graduate from college in 3 years.” Foster has just ended the ___________ phase by selecting and forming a goal intention

Answer 42

Predecisional

Question 43

Give an example of approach-approach conflict.

Answer 43

Imagine you have just won a free trip to one of 2 desirable locations. Either of these destinations would be great, and you know that regardless of which one you choose, you will have a good choice, but it is still difficult to decide.

Question 44

Give an example of avoidance-avoidance conflict.

Answer 44

Imagine you have to choose an elective course to enrol in next semester and you only have 2 options, both of which are courses you find equally undesirable.

Question 45

Give an example of approach-avoidance conflict.

Answer 45

Imagine you are offered a promotion at work. On the one hand, it will involve a 10 000$ per year raise. On the other hand, it will require you to work 15 more works per week and to travel away one weekend out of every month. Thus, this one goal choice has both positive and negative aspects to it.

Question 46

Give an example of double approach-avoidance conflict.

Answer 46

Imagine that just after graduation you are offered 2 different job positions. Job A involves amazing salary but is located in an area of the country you do not want to live in. Job B is located in a part of the country where you would love to live, but the salary is less than you had expected. Both options have good and bad aspects, but neither one is perfect.