Goal Setting (11) Flashcards
Goal
A goal is a cognitive representation of a future outcome that the individual is committed to approach or avoid
important aspects of goals
- Cognitive representation
- Future focused
- Commitment
- Approach or Avoidance
Why do goals improve performance?
- Impact on attention -> Goals direct attention toward goal-relevant information)
- Psychological benefits -> Setting goals leads to greater positive psychological
Reasons for adopting a goal
- Need (internal cause)
- Demands (external cause)
- Cultures (external cause)
a goal hierarchy
the way goals are organized from broad, abstract goals to specific goal actions (three levels)
Goal system theory
goals are often interconnected within a larger system
-> people often pursue multiple goals
Equifinality
The distinction that goals vary in the number of different ways that they can be attained (i.e., their number of means)
-> goals high in equifinality are more flexible
Multifinality
The distinction that means vary in the number of different goals that they serve
-> poeple pursuing multiple goals simultaneously will prefer means that are high in multifinality
Goal features
- Expectancy and Value
- Difficulty
- Specificity
- Difficulty x Specificity
- Identity
- Proximity
- Approach vs. Avoidance
Expectancy-Value theory
Expectancy-Value theory asserts that behavior results from the joint function of two factors
(Behavior = Expectancy x Value)
1. both need to be high
2. both are subjective assesments
Factors affecting expectancy estimates (Expectancy and Value theory)
- Self-efficacy (Perceived capability to perform goal-directed behaviors)
- Outcome expectancies (Belief that these baéhaviors will result in goal acievement)
Factors affecting value estimates
when the benefits of achieving a goal outweigh the cost of pursuing the goal, the value is judged to be high
Goal difficulty
refers to the level of knowledge and skill required to achieve a goal
Are people more liekly to achieve eaqsy goals or hard goals?
- Difficult goals are generally associtaed with better performance
- the more difficult the goal, the more energy and effort people will invest in their goal pursuit (due to assumption difficult goals -> greater benefits)
Goal specificity
How precisely people define a goal
-> Students with specific goal spent more time planning and exerted more effort on the task
Why specific goals facilitate goal achievement?
- Attention
- Reduce ambiguity
- Measure progress,
- define end point
The combination of goal difficulty and specificity
the interaction creates a powerful force that significantly increases the likelihood of goal achievement (increase output quantity and quality)
Self-completion theory
people aspire to attain and maintain long-term goals related to identities
-> striving for identity goals takes the form of accumulating indicators of succesful goal attainment (symbols) -> tangible/intangible
Self-symbolizing
The process of acquiring identity symbols
- > when we want to compensate for identity goal incompleteness, we intensify our self-symbolizing efforts
- > principle assumes that people can continue to strive for their identity goals in the case of setbacks
Goal proximity
Goals can be achieved either in the near future or in the distant future
(Distal goals vs- Proximal goals)
Clark L. Hull -> Goal proximity
The more proximal the goal is, the more motivated we are to achieve it
-> Goal-gradient hypothesis
Goal-gradient hypothesis (Hull)
The tendency for organisms to increase effort as the goal becomes more proximal
Construal level theory (Trope and Liberman)
Distal goals are often thought of in abstract, intangible terms whereas proximal goals are thought of in concrete, observable terms
approach goals
- Narrow people’s focus on the goal means that directly lead to the desired outcome
- Promote behaviors that move individuals closer to the goal
Avoidance goals
- Direct people’s focus to behaviors that moves the individual away from the undesired end state
- Produce more chaotic, unpredictable behaviors than approach goals
Approach and avoidance goals rely on different brain systems
- Behavioral activation system (BAS)
2. Behavioral inhibition system (BIS)
Behavioral activation system
- left side of the frontal lobe and regulates an organism’s sensitivity to rewards
- Pushes the organism toward stimuli
- associated with approach goals
Behavioral inhibition system (BIS)
- right side of the frontal lobe and regulaed an organism’s sensitivity to punishment
- Pulles the organism away from stimuli
- Associated with avoidance gaols
Non-motivational factor that impact task performance
- Skill level
- Training
- Coaching
Goal commitment
refers to the process whereby a person forms an intention to strive for a goal
(a high level of commitment implies the individual is willing to exert resources into the pursuit of the goal)
Causes of goal commitment
- Expectancy
- Value
- Equifinality (Goals vary in the number of ways they can be attained)
- greater equifinality leads to greater expectancy and commitment
Consequences of goal commitment
- perform well on difficult goals / Effort towards that goal
- Persist on that goal
- Angage in goal-consistent actions
- Resist temptations/ Reach goal completion
Indulging
Mental elaboration on a positive outcome
Dwelling
Mental elaboration on the present obstacle
Mental Contrasting
mental contrasting involves first imagining the desired positive future and then imagining the present obstacles (best strategy)
fantasy realization theory
mental contrasting is the best strategy for increasing commitment
Commitment to an ongoing goal….
Commitment can be viewed as a dynamic motivational process
Factors influencing goal commitment
- Goal alternatives (-)
- Goal satisfaction (+)
- Goal investment (+)
The Rubicon Model of Action Phases
- Predecisional phase
- Postdecisional phase
- Actional phase
- Postactional phase
Predecisional phase
Preferences are set between wished by deliberating either…
- desirability
- Feasibility
- > people are still open to different outcomes (deliberate mindset)
Postdecisional phase
Planning of … of getting the goal attainment
- when
- where
- why
- > should end in the commitment of the goal
Actional phase
Implementation of goal-directed actions
-> required efforts (to implement the action)
Postactional phase
Evaluation of goal achievement:
- degree of attainment
- quality of attainment outcome
Deliberate mindset
o Open-minded
o Realistic analysis of pros and cons of each goal
o Accurate view of self
o Ideal during predecisional action phase (goal setting)
Implemental mindset
o Closed-minded
o Overly optimistic view of selected goal
o Overly optimistic view of self
o Ideal during actional phase (goal striving)
Poeple who experience a high amount of goal conflict…
- report greater stress, depression and anxiety
2. less likely to attain their goals
Types of goal conflict
- Approach-approach
- Avoidance-Avoidance
- Approach-Avoidance
- Double Approach-Avoidance
Approach-approach (goal conflict)
occurs when you must chosse between two desirable things
Avoidance-Avoidance
Occurs when you mucht choose between teo unattractive things
Approach-Avoidance
Occurs when one goal has both attractive and unattractive features
Double Approach-Avoidance
Choose between two goals that each have both desirable and undesirable features
Goal shielding
A technique whereby a person protects his or her focal goal by inhibiting alternative goals that conflict or compete with the focal goal
-> key: giviing one goal priority over the other
Highlighting
The tendency to consistently choose the goal highest in priority
->adopt approach when multiple goals are comepting with each other
Balancing (Goal conflict)
The tendency to alternate back and forth between multiple goals
-> adaprt approach if multiple goals are complementing each other
Harmonious passion
- poeple can easily switch to other goal
- they can balance effectively between multiple goals
- get easily distracted by alternative goals
Obsessive passion
- uncontrollable urge to pursue their goal (poeple are unable to switch it off if they want to focus on another goal)
- cannot balance effectively between mutiple goals
- are less likely ot be onfluenced by their alternative goals
