Succeed Ch. 1 Flashcards
is the phrase “do your best” a good motivator?
no, because it’s very vague
what kinds of goals produce the highest acheivement?
specific and difficult goals
why are specific goals effective?
they remove the possibility of settling for less
why are difficult goals effective?
they cause you to increase your effort, focus, and commitment to the goal
Locke & Latham difficult goals study
found if you give log haulers the goal of carrying a lot more trees, they carry a lot more trees
difficult goals and performance study
Federal employees who agreed with statements like “my job is challenging” had the highest rating on their annual performance reviews
succeeding at something hard vs. something easy
Succeeding at something hard is more pleasurable, gives greater satisfaction, and increases one’s sense of well-being
job satisfaction and difficulty
- In Germany, only those employees who felt their work was difficult reported increases in job satisfaction, happiness, and feelings of achievement over time
- Job satisfaction increases people’s commitment to their organization and confidence in themselves, which leads them to challenge themselves more
High-performance cycle (Locke & Latham)
setting specific, challenging goals creates a cycle of success and happiness that can repeat itself over and over
Abstract/why thinking
linking one particular small action to a greater meaning or purpose
effect of why thinking
When people think in why terms, their thoughts are more connected to their long-term goals, so they are less impulsive, less vulnerable to temptation, and more likely to plan their actions
what thinking
describing what you are literally doing
when is what thinking useful?
when you need to do something that is difficult, unfamiliar, complex, or takes a lot of time to learn
how does one’s type of thinking change with experience?
As we gain more experience doing something, it becomes easier for us to see it in more abstract ways
Wegner & Vallacher coffee cup and type of thinking study
asked experienced coffee drinkers to drink a cup of coffee and then rate how well each of 30 different descriptors fit what they had just done. 50% of participants drank out of a normal-sized mug and the other half drank out of a really heavy mug. They found that under normal conditions, they preferred why descriptions but under the heavy mug condition, they preferred what descriptions because the activity was novel.
what is the best thinking style?
The best strategy is to shift your thinking style to match the goal you want to achieve
when is why thinking best?
it’s good for getting motivated, focusing on the rewards you can gain, and enhancing your self-control
when is what thinking best?
What thinking is best for tackling a difficult or unfamiliar goal, focusing on the practical details of getting something done, and avoiding procrastination
how does time impact why vs. what thinking
We tend to think about our distant future goals in why terms and our near future plans in what terms
who discovered the link between what/why thinking and time?
Trope & Liberman
why thinking leads you to pay more attention to ____
desirability information
desirability information
whether or not taking an action or achieving a goal will result in good things for you
What thinking leads you to place more weight on ____
feasibility information
feasibility information
whether or not you can actually do what needs to be done
Liberman & Trope time and thinking style study
gave students the choice of a boring but easy assignment and an interesting but hard assignment and varied when the assignments would be due. They found that students who had to complete the assignment in the next week preferred the boring but easy option, while those who could put the assignment off for 9 weeks preferred the interesting but hard assignment
Liberman & Trope time and lottery study
When students were given a choice between a lottery with a high probability of winning $4 or a low probability of winning $10, those who were to play that day strongly preferred the sure thing with the low payoff, while those who were to play two months later usually picked the long shot with the bigger payoff
Liberman et al. time and thinking style study
found that students who had been encouraged to think what rather than why submitted an email survey nearly 10 days earlier on average
optimism bias
most of us believe we are much more likely than our peers to have good things happen to us
two forms of positive thinking
- Thinking positively about your chances for success
- Thinking positively about easily overcoming obstacles to success
expectancy value theory
people are motivated to do anything as a function of 1) how likely they are to be successful and 2) how much they think they will benefit from it
believing you will succeed and succeeding
- Believing you will succeed makes you more likely to succeed
- Believing you will easily succeed makes you less likely to succeed
- This is because unpleasant emotions like worry and anxiety can be very motivating
Oettingen obese women and belief in success study
found that obese women who imagined themselves easily resisting temptations lost an average of 24 pounds less than those who imagined themselves having a hard time resisting temptation
mental contrasting
imagining attaining your goal, while thinking about the obstacles that stand in your way
mental contrast + belief you can achieve the goal
helps you commit to achieving the goal
mental contrast + no belief you can achieve the goal
it helps you to abandon the goal, making room for something you can achieve
impact of mental contrasting when people believe they can achieve a goal
it leads to greater effort, energy, planning, and overall higher rates of achieving goals
