Motivation and Emotion quiz 4

Goal definition

cognitive representation of a future outcome an individual is committed to approach or avoid - tend to be organized hierarchically by the mind - can be conscious or non-conscious - motivation arises from discrepancy between one's current goal state and desired goal state

The Growth vs. Fixed Mindset (Incremental vs. Entity)

- people tend to view themselves and others as having characteristics and traits that either: -Fixed mindset Stay fixed/don't change Can grow/change with effort -Growth mindset "you have it or you don't" "the more you work, the better you get" -Which view of human nature is correct? When you ask people: 40% say growth; 40% fixed; 20% IDK -Dweck suggests: People who adopt a growth mindset will improve; people who adopt a fixed mindset will NEVER improve

When setting goals, remember...

BIG THREE: 3. Difficult or Easy? 4. Congruent or Incongruent? 5. Specific or Abstract? 1. Goals that can be achieved through different means or a single means? 2. Prioritize means that will serve one goal or more than one goal? 6. Proximal or Distal? 7. Approach or Avoid?

goal commitment

Def: An individual's determination to extend effort towards a goal over time in order to achieve it (Locke et al. 1981; Locke and Latham 1990) When high: individual devotes time, effort, resources to goal When low: little/no time, effort, resources devoted to goal Commitment predicts goal success.

Is approach or avoidant better?

Dependent on: 1. Are you a BAS-dominant or a BIS-dominant person? 2. Seek goals that 'fit' your purpose 3. Are you someone who lacks high levels of self-control or will power (e.g., a procrastinator)? *although all things being equal, approach goals are generally better à people w/higher proportion of approach goals have higher self-esteem, lower depression, better social relationships and often outperform others, but only ON AVERAGE (i.e., there are many exceptions!!!)

How should you think about goals in terms of specificity?

Goal specificity refers to how precisely a goal is defined. All things being equal, more specific goals are more likely to be achieved - specific goals specify time, quantity, context, behaviors - AVOID: "just do your best"!!!!! -When first identifying your overarching goal, think abstractly (e.g., become healthier), but when identifying sub-goals in your goal hierarchy, be specific! (e.g., I will walk for 30 minutes every day after dinner on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) -Difficult & Congruent & Specific goals produce best outcomes

self-discrepancy theory

The three selves: 1. The actual self-the current self 2. The ideal self-your wishes and aspirations 3. The ought self-your duties and obligations Actual-Ideal Discrepancy- dejection emotions (shame, disappoint., depression) Actual-Ought Discrepancy- agitation emotions (anxiety, guilt) The neg. emotion motivates the person to reduce the discrepancy and bring the actual closer to one or both

Mindset

a cognitive framework that guides attention, info. processing, decision-making and other activities related to goal pursuit - different goal-related mindsets exist - they influence how a goal is carried out

How should we think about goals in terms of congruence?

-Congruence/self-concordance: Goals that reflect your authentic preferences, attitudes, values, desires have high congruence, as opposed to goals imposed upon you or that you feel you 'should' pursue. -High congruence goals--Better achievement because they foster intrinsic motivation. -All things being equal, chose congruent goals.

Gollwitzer study

-Elementary students have two weeks to memorize 15 definitions of words, if they test high they get candy. -All children first write down best part of performing well on the test and winning the prize (i.e., indulging) -One group lists second best part of doing well, which is more indulging. The other group lists obstacles that could get in the way of them performing well. -Second group did 35% better.

How should we think of goals in terms of difficulty?

-Goal difficulty refers to level of knowledge and skill required to achieve the goal. -Which goals are likely to produce the best outcome?? Difficult goals energize behavior. People exert effort in proportion to how demanding a goal is. -SO: When setting goals, chose difficult ones within reason.

Strategies to boost commitment

.1. Indulging - fantasizing/visualizing a desired possible future outcome Visualize the thing you want! - sometimes equated with 'positive thinking' DOES"T WORK ALONE because the person is seduced by the enjoyment of imagining the goal that they do not motivate to actually pursue. 2. Mental Contrasting - involves balancing indulging with realistic appraisal of challenges and obstacles Two Steps 1. Imagine the attainment of a desired future 2. Then reflect on the present reality that stands in the way of attaining the desired future Much more likely to increase commitment/success! 3. Make some progress toward your goal.-the more progress one makes toward ones' goal, the more committed one becomes = 'goal gradient effect' -Kivetz study: People are more likely to complete a free coffee punch card if they have a punch card with 12 slots and 2 punched out, rather than just 10 non punched slots.

Why does mental contrasting work?

1. Energizes behavior - contrasting takes mental effort, which energizes motivation/action - research shows MC triggers physiological arousal and activation of brain's problem-solving regions 2. Triggers planning to overcome potential obstacles

What increases goal commitment?

1. Expectancy and value Expectancy = expectation of success Value = the importance of the goal Both make commitment go up 2. Equifinality-- we tend to be more committed to goals if there are relatively more means to achieve them (i.e., high equifinality goals). 3. Pursuing intrinsically motivated goals. 4. External factors- a. incentives (e.g., money, grades, etc.) b. authority mandated (e.g., boss, faith leader, etc.) c. norms and models (e.g., organization or cultural expectations; role models)

Implementation Intentions Benefits

1. Helps with initiation of goal-directed behavior - esp. for difficult goals -Gollwitzer & Brandstatter study: College students asked to adopt one easy goal and one hard one over winter break. If goal easy: Imp. Intentions didn't matter If goal hard: Imp. Intentions significantly increased completion 2. Helps when goal is to override undesirable automatic processes including phobias and stereotypes. PHOBIAS Schweiger study: People with spider phobia exposed to neutral pics and pics of spiders. group 1- No instruction, control group 2- Goal intention (I will not fear spiders) group 3- Implementation Intention (If I see a spider then I will remain calm) group 4- group of subjects without fear Results: Implementation Intentions seem to be able to impact anxiety-related reactions, which are usually automatic STEREOTYPES Correll study: White students play a 1st person shooter type video in which they take the role of a police officer looking for a fleeing suspect At unpredictable moments, a target 'pops up' Subjects told to 'shoot' at target if target is holding a gun and not to shoot otherwise Results: When target is unarmed (no weapon), the subject is more likely to shoot the target if the target is black Why? The U.S. stereotype that African Americans are aggressive and hostile appears to affect the subjects' decisions to 'pull the trigger' What happens when subjects are Black college students? Same results What happens when subjects are police officers? Same, but only sometimes The U.S. stereotype that African Americans are aggressive and hostile appears to affect the subjects' decisions to 'pull the trigger', even when subjects do not believe the stereotype How can we disable stereotypes? Mendoza study: White college students play the 1st person shooter type video in which they take the role of a police officer looking for a fleeing suspect IV: Race of target: white or black IV: Target is armed (holding a weapon) or unarmed IV: No instructions vs. Implementation intention (IF I see a person, THEN I will ignore his race) RESULTS: Implementation intention condition 50% less likely to shoot unarmed Black character compared to no instruction condition 3. Helps when attempting to control inner states: a. Food cravings Subs: Dieters who formed implementation intentions regarding favorite snack "IF I think about my chosen food, THEN I will ignore the thought" -Ate less of that snack compared to no imp. int. group

Why are goals important? Generally

1. People with goals outperform people w/o goals Goals facilitate performance! 2. Having goals increases happiness and life satisfaction. (Doesn't seem to matter if we actually achieve them, as long as we have them and are making some progress toward them "it's the journey, not the destination") Supported by a wide range of studies: -Lab experiments: eat fewer calories, do more sit-ups, solve more anagrams, endure more pain, better video game performance, better exam performance -Real world experiments w/trucking companies in 1980'sà saves millions of dollars (e.g., Latham and Saari, 1982)

Why care about promotion vs. prevention

1. Promotion vs. Prevention foci are associated with different outcomes A. differences in how success/failure motivates B. differences in goal striving strategies C. differences in performance focus-Promotion: focus on quantity of responses (just do it!) Prevention: focus on quality of responses (do it right!) 2. Regulatory fit- increases performance! DEF: when a person's regulatory focus (promotion vs. prevention) matches their manner of goal striving (eager vs. vigilant) - fit causes the person to 'feel right' when pursuing their goal Freitas and Higgins study: College students write essay describing how their personal standards had changed as they had matured. Describe how your [hopes and aspirations] or [duties and obligations] are different now from when you were growing up- induces promotion vs. prevention focus. Eagerness strategies: -Complete schoolwork ahead of time -Attend class more than usual -Spend more time at the library -Be more prepared for tests -Increase motivation to earn high GPA Vigilance strategies: -Stop procrastinating -Avoid missing any classes -Spend less time at social gatherings -Avoid being unprepared for tests -Do not lose motivation to earn high GPA When type of striving (vigilance vs. eagerness) matches induced regulatory state (prevention vs. promotion), subjects anticipate greater happiness When type of striving (vigilance vs. eagerness) matches induced regulatory state (prevention vs. promotion), subjects anticipate greater happiness Better fit à feels right à better peformance

Implementation Intention costs

1. Too much attention is paid to a specific course of action (IF X; THEN Y to achieve Goal Z) - But: Usually there are multiple ways to pursue goal Z - Should not get locked into one way (lowers equifinality) 2. If implementation intention is not effective, you may not realize your goal e.g., dieters: IF I enter my kitchen in the morning, THEN I will not eat breakfast But: studies show that dieters who skip breakfast end up filling up on unhealthy foods later in the day due to hunger

Growth vs. Fixed mindset affects:

1. effort you put forth when pursuing a goal -Fixed: if effort is high; ability must be low -Growth: effort is a tool I can use to attain goal -When goal pursuit is easy- Minimal differences -When goal pursuit is difficult- Fixed: reduce effort / Growth: increase effort 2. how you react to feedback as you pursue a goal -How do the two groups perceive negative feedback? Fixed: neg. feedback means low ability Growth: neg. feedback means low effort Fixed conclude: I have low ability, can't succeed, reduce effort Growth conclude:I just need to increase my effort, increase effort 3. which goals you choose In achievement settings: Fixed tend to choose performance goals DEF: purpose is to show you can achieve at a high level - often driven by wanting to look smart, not dumb Growth tend to choose mastery goals DEF: purpose is to master/understand something thoroughly - often driven by desire to grow and develop -Performance Goals vs. Mastery Goals - both can be motivating and lead to beneficial outcomes - institutions often pit one against the other (e.g., college)

All-or-nothing vs. Accumulative goals

All-or-nothing Goals: -Benefits conditional on you reaching the goal -As you make more progress, commitment continues to increase, but less and less so for every gain that you make -Earning a degree in Psychology from SLU, Climbing Whiteface Mountain Commitment: As you make more progress, commitment increases and increases - the closer you get, the more committed you are Accumulative Goals: -Benefits are collected as you go -Gains add up over time so that each additional gym workout, book read, etc. provides relatively less benefit -Exercising for your health, Reading more Commitment: As you make more progress, commitment continues to increase, but less and less so for every gain that you make

How should you think about goals in terms of approach and avoidance?

Approach goal: goal/outcome you want to attain Avoidance goal: goal/outcome you want to avoid Often, the same goal can be framed either way Goal: quit smoking Approach frame: in order to become healthier! Avoidance frame: in order to not get lung cancer! Approach goal: promotion at work success- happy, proud, eager failure- sad and depressed Avoidance goal: save 25% of pay to avoid being poor success-relieved, calm, relaxed failure-anxiety, fear, guilt Having power leads to approach goals Not having power leads to avoidance goals BAS:Handles approach motivation Active when pursuing approach goals BIS:Handles avoidance motivation Active when pursuing avoidance goals

Goal Systems Theory

Describes how the connections of goals in a goal hierarchy affect goal achievement Concept 1: Equifinality refers to the number of means by which a goal could be achieved If many ways, then the goal is high in equifinality (e.g., Goal 2: lose 20 lbs.) If few ways, then goal is low in equifinality (e.g., Goal 3: flu shot) Goals high in equifinality have more pathways by which they can be achieved Person has more flexibility to achieve the goal; if one pathway is shut down, others are available Thus: high equifinality goals more likely to be achieved Concept 2: Multifinality refers to the means varying in terms of the number of goals they serve Means 1 (daily walk) is low in multifinality; serves one goal Means 2 (visit gym) is high in multifinality; serves two goals When people pursue multiple goals at the same time, they will prefer means that serve multiple goals (high multifinality) Why not 'kill two birds with one stone"? Thus: high multifinality means more likely to be used High equifinality GOALS: more likely to be achieved than low equifinality goals High multifinality MEANS: more likely to be used to achieve goals than low multifinality means When goal setting and planning: try to choose goals that can be achieved through different means and prioritize means that will serve more than one goal

what should you do if you're an expert or have already made lots of progress?

Don't look behind at past progress: won't change commitment and may even lead to coasting (i.e., resting on your laurels and suspending effort) Do look ahead...how much more progress do you need to make to reach you goal? Koo and Fischbac Study: Experienced employees at advertising firms split into two groups. -First reflects on what they have achieved, second reflects on what they want to achieve. DV: Did they try to get a promotion? First group did not second group wanted to progress.

Implementation Intentions

If-then plan that specifies the exact behavior an individual will perform in a particular situation (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006). IF it is 8:00 am, THEN I will go to the gym. Important part: IF-THEN back-up plans -Provide an alternative means should your initial plan prove unworkable Example: IF it is 5:00 pm, THEN I will go to the gym... But IF my schedule's too hectic, THEN I will walk around my neighborhood for 30 minutes. IF-THEN implementation plans work best if they specify when, where and how IF it is 5:00 pm, THEN I will go to the gym on campus and run on the treadmill for 30 minutes Orbell Study: Women worried about breast cancer complete monthly at home self-exam for tumors. First group sets goal to perform exam. Second group set goal and specified when and where they would do it. Second group had 100% exam completion rate and first only 53%. KEY: 1.Identify a behavior that promotes goal achievement (e.g., walk more for health, eat more fruit to improve diet, read the textbook to improve GPA, etc.) 2.Link behavior to a situational cue (e.g., when I see an elevator, when I see fruit bowl at home, when it is 8:00 pm on Monday, etc.)

What to do to increase likelihood of goal success given that intentions are not enough?

Implementation Intentions

Goal Striving

Once you intend to achieve a goal (i.e., have a goal intention), you should spend some time figuring out how to achieve it Intentions to pursue a goal are rarely sufficient: - Intentions account for only 20% to 30% of actual behavior "The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior" - The good news: well-formed goals (highly specific, difficult, proximal, etc.) more likely to be achieved - The bad news: a large percent of well-formed goals go unfulfilled

Where do goals come from?

One of the most common places is a psychological or physiological need.

How should you think of goals in terms of proximity?

Proximity refers to how close/far in time the goal can be achieved proximal goals: achievable in near future distal goals: achievable in distant future -In general, the more proximal (near) goals are, the more likely we are to achieve them. Proximal goals are usually smaller, acting as stepping stones to the distal goal which is the big outcome. Research suggests that to accomplish the (big) distal goal: "eat the elephant in small bites" Break distal goal into smaller, more proximal goals 1.Provides positive emotion after every proximal goal is achieved, which keeps up motivation over the long run 2.Provides feedback opportunities so the individual can 'course correct' if need be Bandura and Schunk study: Kids take pre-test, and post-test. Group 1(distal): 42 pages by week 7 Group 2(proximal): 6 pages each week Group 3: No goal, as many as you can Result: proximal did much better, distal did the worst

How do we measure regulatory focus?

Regulatory focus questionare

Why does progress toward a goal increase commitment?

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

: What determines whether one has a fixed vs. growth mindset?

The type of praise (and criticism) children receive from parents, teachers or other authority figures Ability praise (you did well 'cause you're smart!) à fixed Effort praise (you did well 'cause you tried hard!) à growth Mueller and Dweck study: 5th graders try to solve puzzles. Praise IV: "you must be smart at this"-fixed beliefs "you must have worked really hard"-growth beliefs no appraise-no change Then: Children work on a second trial of puzzles, but are told they did poorly (i.e., neg. feedback)! Then work on third trial... When praised for intelligence, which increased fixed beliefs, students reduced effort and did worse following negative feedback When praised for effort, which increased growth beliefs, students increased effort and did better following negative feedback Afterwards, children were asked to share their Trial 3 score with other children Percent who inflated their score was much higher in the intelligence praise group Why? This group more likely to believe that performance reflected intelligence, as opposed to effort- didn't want to look bad to others

Kutzner study (golf putting study)

Trait-like way of striving-eager and vigilant Regulatory focus-It's your obligation not to miss more than two putts (prevention, vigilant) your aspiration is to make at least three putts (promotion, eager) Subjects with regulatory fit sank 20% more putts

How are goals organized in our brains?

Triangle Hierarchy with broad, abstract, higher-order goals at the top and more specific, concrete goal activities populating the lower tiers of the hierarchy

Automatic vs Controlled Cognitive Processes

automatic process: can be carried out rapidly without effort or explicit intention-is often involuntary and occurs outside of awareness and w/o effort Examples: Well practiced activities, reading a word, riding a bike, driving, recognizing faces, typing a word, navigating your way home, good/bad categorizations, etc. are automatic for most adults controlled process: refers to a process under the flexible, intentional control of the individual that the individual is consciously aware of-effortful and requires cognitive resources Examples: studying, learning a new skill, using logic and reason, mental contrasting, etc.

Regulatory focus: Prevention or promotion

tendency to frame goals in 'ideal' (promotion) or 'ought' (prevention) terms If promotion focus - relate to goals the same way you relate to your ideal self Promotion focus - wants growth and advancement/rise above status quo - goals are seen as ideals to strive for - eager behavioral strategy ("just do it") - wants gains and is sensitive to them If prevention focus - relate to goals the same way you relate to your ought self Prevention focus - wants safety and security/maintain status quo - goals are seen as driven by obligation and duty - vigilant behavioral strategy ("do it right") - avoids losses and is sensitive to them Promotion and Prevention Foci can be: trait-like- most people usually use/prefer one 1. trait may be acquired from parents a. promotion parents - socialize child to be believe good things can happen if one strives for them b. prevention parents - tend to be more critical and emphasize meeting obligations and doing what one ought to 2. culture - different cultures traditionally emphasize one focus state-like- which you use can change depending on situation

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

tendency to keep working toward a goal once irrecoverable time, effort, resources have been invested - can occur even if no progress is being made or goal is a poor choice - decision to keep pursuing a goal should depend upon expected future consequences, not past investments Examples: watching all of a boring movie because you paid for the ticket continuing to wear poorly fitting shoes finishing all the food on your plate even though you're full staying in an unhealthy relationship continuing to support a bad political candidate Arkes and Blumer study: People told to imagine they purchased tickets to two ski trips, $100 for Michigan, $50 for Wisconsin. They purchased for the same weekend and theres no refunds allowed. Most people chose the Michigan trip because they spent more money, even though Wisconsin is better. Why? 1.We infer that investing resources in a goal means we must really like the goal, therefore we experience increased commitment 2.We infer that investing resources in a goal means that we think we can accomplish the goal, therefore we experience increased commitment Sweis Experiment: Waiting for reward-Mice wait for food pellet, Humans watch clips of bike accidents while waiting. -While waiting they were told that they could switch to a better reward, chocolate pellet or video of kittens. -Most continued to wait for original reward.

goal setting

the process of working toward something you want to accomplish