Lecture 3: The Personal and Interpersonal Sides of Goal Pursuit

Question 1

self-determination theory

Answer 1

• Acknowledges that motivation isn’t a uniform phenomenon
• Distinguishes the quantity and quality of motivation
• Focuses on issues of volition
• Focuses on the satisfaction of the 3 basic psychological needs (ARC)

Question 2

volition

Answer 2

whether one internally values a goal or not

Question 3

autonomy

Answer 3

needing to feel that one owes and agrees with one’s behaviour

Question 4

relatedness

Answer 4

needing to feel meaningfully connected to at least some other people

Question 5

competence

Answer 5

needing to feel that one can do things well or at least improve one’s abilities

Question 6

steps of the personal goal paradigm

Answer 6

1. Select a starting point
2. Assess personal goals using the Emmona Personal Striving Method
3. Assess goal progress across waves
4. Assess goal motivation and goal support across waves

Question 7

what types of goals do most university students make?

Answer 7

80% of university students’ goals are achievement-oriented rather than socially-oriented

Question 8

who’s more likely to succeed at social goals?

Answer 8

If you’re extraverted you’re more likely to succeed at social goals

Question 9

personal

Answer 9

belonging to a particular person rather than something or someone else

Question 10

are our personal goals truly personal?

Answer 10

• Despite being self-generated and self-initiated, in a nominal sense, our personal goals are often not self-endorsed
• They’re not autonomous or volitional

Question 11

autonomous goal

Answer 11

the extent to which a goal reflects your developing interests and core values versus something you feel pressured to do

Question 12

autonomy and goal success study

Answer 12

• Having autonomous goals is associated with significantly greater success rates across people and goals
• The effect size across 48 studies r=.23

Question 13

what is autonomy sometimes called?

Answer 13

self-concordance

Question 14

why do autonomous goals help?

Answer 14

• limits of self-control
• distractions and temptations
• action crises

Question 15

limits of self-control and autonomous goals

Answer 15

you can sneak around the self-control limit with interesting and personally relevant goals

Question 16

distractions and temptations and autonomous goals

Answer 16

it’s easier to avoid distractions if you’re interested in the goal

Question 17

action crises and autonomous goals

Answer 17

it’s easier to persevere through challenges if we’re interested in the goal we’re achieving

Question 18

the ease of subjective effort

Answer 18

• Autonomous goals can often feel effortless
• Even though you’re putting in effort, it feels easy because you enjoy it

Question 19

goal shielding and autonomous goals study finding

Answer 19

Goal shielding is lower for autonomous goals

Question 20

action crises and autonomous goals study finding

Answer 20

Disengagement is less likely for an autonomous goal

Question 21

consistency of goal shielding, actions crises and autonomous goals findings

Answer 21

Multilevel analyses show that all of the above effects for autonomous goal motivation and its related mediators were confirmed at both the within and between-person levels

Question 22

are personal goals exclusively personal?

Answer 22

• Personal goals are often interpersonal
• We rely on others to show interest in and provide support for our goal pursuits
• We have to outsource the self-control demands

Question 23

types of interpersonal goal support

Answer 23

• directive support
• autonomy support

Question 24

directive support

Answer 24

provision of positive guidance and encouragement

Question 25

autonomy support

Answer 25

support framed as empathic perspective-taking

Question 26

Autonomy support (but not directive support) results in:

Answer 26

- Greater goal progress over time - Greater well being - Better relationship satisfaction

Question 27

autonomous support as a mediator

Answer 27

Autonomous support, autonomous motivation, and goal progress all mediate each other

Question 28

successful goal-setting depends on:

Answer 28

- Selecting autonomous goals - Receiving goal support that is autonomy-supportive

Question 29

effect of telling someone you're committing to a goal on goal performance

Answer 29

One study found that you have a 65% chance of completing a goal if you tell someone else you’re committing to doing it

Question 30

effect of an accountability buddy on performance

Answer 30

Using an accountability buddy to help you achieve your goal results in a 95% success rate

Question 31

goal shielding

Answer 31

The frequency and strength of desires that conflict with personal goals