personal goals and self-control

life tasks

"current life tasks" i.e. old retired people 1. being productive without a job 2.shaping a satisfying role with grown children and their families 3. enjoying leisure time and activities important goals as the individuals energies will be directed towards solving them

why do people adopt material goals?

-consumer culture -psychological insecurity -death: terror management theory fear of death motivates attempt to restore sense of safety, security -students who wrote about their own death estimated their future finical situation higher than others

control theory requirements:TOTE

1. clear standard/goal -"be better person" won't cut it 2. monitoring system -effective, self-awareness, keeping track 3. strength and self-discipline -if you give in tp short term temptations leads to procrastination -maintain motivation and interest

avoidance goals: problems with self-regulation

1. number of goal pathways and stresses of monitoring approach - fewer routes avoidance- have to monitor all signs of negative reactions and make adjustments constant monitoring may wear down self-control resources 2.threat, anxiety , guilt, and negative emotions -many avoidance goals inherently negative...guilty if don't avoid -negative emotions are harder to regulate: reduced resources interferes with effectiveness 3. decreased feelings of competence, esteem -negative emotions may mediate lack of effectiveness, more frustration more setbacks..give up 4. decreased autonomy -avoidance goals often feel imposed.. have to diet,, have to avoid failing -less enjoyable if not freely chosen 5. motives that underlie "avoidance" vs "approach" -avoidance orientation linked to lower well-being and happiness

three explanations of matching hypothesis

1. personal goals and self realization -goals express needs, values, defining personal qualities likely to produce feelings of intense involvement -eudaimonice happiness: may not be"fun" but deeply rewarding 2 intrinsic v extrinsic goals -matched goals likely to be intrinsically enjoyable rather than pursued for extrinsic rewards like money or praise from others -emphasis is on enjoyment of the doing rather than reward at end -domination of activities by extrinsic rewards often decreases enjoyment and satisfaction.. "doing it just for the reward" 3. autonomous v controlled motivation -reasons behind pursuing a goal -autonomous- freely chosen, sense of ownership, "my" goals -goals that match more likely to be freely chosen -a goal that matches, but is not autonomously chosen, may not increase well-being

goals as windows to well-being

1.goals explain the "whys" of our behavior- theory -goals reflect our needs, values, motives, etc 2. energy and coherence in journey through life -goals are central part of journey through life, motivation 3.goals connect having and doing -goals combine who we are wth who we want to become through intentional consciously controlled actions 4.research what people are about-goals and life purposes satisfaction with life-some better than others improving life- change begins with goal to be different

needs and goals

1.humans needs underlie personal goals -Maslow's hierarchy 2.goals that express values -cultures have different value priorities however Scwartz value theory validates ten across cultures which reflect three universal needs of human existence -individual biological needs -coordinated social interaction-group needs -welfare of communities and institutions 3.

schwartz's 10 universal values and related goals

1.power-status 2.achievement-success 3.hedonism-pleasure 4.stimualtion-excitement 5.self-direction-independence 6.universalism- understanding 7.benevolence-helpful 8.tradition-resoect 9..conformity-obedience 10.safety-stability

two styles

Nurturing independence= explore overcome challenges- do this..develop strong ideal self-approach goals safety= rules obligations don't do this avoid this don't break them

approach v avoidance goals

approach goals: playing to win eg get a good grade -focus on positive outcome avoidance goals: playing not to loose.. not failing a class -focus on preventing a negative outcome people with avoidance goals= lower well-being and less success

goals contain

cognitive component: mental representation of desired future state emotional/motivational component: +/- feelings associated with thinking about achieving/ failing, goal progress, competition -serves to energize or motivate

self-regulation: commitment and confidence

commitment: degree of importance, determination, willingness to persevere in face of obstacles confidence and self-efficacy= belief can bring about desired outcome believe have what it takes...related to ability but not same thing high commitment and low confidence- most dissatisfying commitment not enough - need confidence/ ability as well

materialism

consistent inverse relationship between financial aspiration and well-being people who rated extrinsic goal of wealth (social recognition, social status, physical appearance) as more important than intrinsic goals showed lower levels of self-actualization, life vitality and social adjustment

procrastination

defer or delay action until an opportunity is lost one of the more frequent reasons for failure or poor performance most people please guilty procrastination has short term benefits but long term costs -stress and physical symptoms (early semester easy end of semester suffering more) -performance (lower quality)

goals express our selves

define who we are..including future possible selves goals motivational connect past present and future

goal contents theory

extrinsic goals may not fulfill our basic needs -intrinsic goals more likely to meet our basic needs

matching hypothesis: self-concordance model

freshmen with identified or intrinsic reasons for attending college had higher grades, more success in achieving personal goals, staying healthy, adjusting to college, greater overall happiness students with intrinsic and identified motivations college grades were higher than predicted by their ACT scores

goal disengagement

giving up is important! people who disengage from unattainable goals more easily reported higher SWB goal re-engagements significant related to all measures of SWB sometimes it's good to be a quitter

action identification theory

goals can be identified at different levels of abstraction lower levels: concrete, smaller context of specific behaviors, how and what doing eg studying for exam higher levels: abstract, larger context of general purpose, why doing eg getting an eduction higher level goals more affirming of self-concept -more motivation both co-exist

matching hypothesis

goals that match, fit, express, or fulfill individual needs, values, self-conception, personality are most satisfying to pursue and achieve opposite is also true about mismatched goals

size of discrepancy

ideal versus actual determines emotion -negative emotion-discrepancy-major motivator

operating process:

intentional process requiring conscious effort -directing thoughts and attention -can be disrupted by mental load such as stress' things that distract or disrupt concentration

personal goals

internal representation of desired states, where states are broadly construed as outcomes, events, or processes outcome:graduating from college event: hosting a friends giving process: going for hike

intrinsic v extrinsic goals

intrinsic goals connected to important psychological needs -self-acceptance, affiliation, community feeling, health and safety extrinsic goals express desire for external rewards, praise and admiration from others -financial success, image, popularity and conformity

irony effects of mental control

irony of trying to control unwanted thoughts and feelings...the more we try to suppress it the more we can't stop thinking about it!

ironic monitoring process:

largely unconscious and requires little effort -difficult to disrupt or stop, like driving a car

diversion

material goals interfere with the pursuit of more fulfilling/intrinsic goals -people who were primed to think about money were less helpful, less sensitive to others

physical v self-transcendent goals

physical goals overlaps some with extrinsic goals -hedonism, pleasure and pain, good health, $$, safety security self-transcendence overlaps some with intrinsic -spiritual/ religious understanding of life, community feeling, conformity, acceptance by others, and fulfilling social obligations

self-regulation:planning

planning is critical to success research: goals fro christmas break those who made plans - 66% completed their projects no plans- 25% most failed to achieve goals planning imposes structure on busy lives and makes working on goals "automatic" conserving self control resources (because self control is like a muscle and weakens with use)

develop goals in life by considering

psychological needs-esteem physical survival-security and safety pleasure-enjoyment desires for external rewards and praise desire for meaningful place in bigger picture- transcendence

self control

second best predictor about life outcome (grades, relationships, drugs, etc) failed self control leads to dieting, drug abuse, aggression major theory of crime origins -genetics -parents who monitor and supervise-external becomes internalized in childs own monitoring/ control system

"The marshmallow test"

self control and positive outcomes: personal adjustment, social relations, fewer addiction problems and better college grades

autonomous control:

self-control or change efforts that are freely chosen rather than other or self-imposed are more likely to succeed

rebound effect

strong reoccurrence of thought after suppression task over attempts of suppressing the thought actually increased the frequency people instructed to NOT think about sex were as aroused as those who were told TO think about sex

intrinsic reasons

the emotional pleasure and enjoyment that pursuing the goal provides -you strive for this goal because the enjoyment or stimulation which that goal provides you

personal projects (little)

the kinds of activities and concerns that people have in their lives..everyone has a number of personal projects at any given time.. not always completed

introjected reasons

the negative inner emotions that we may experience if we don't try to attain certain goals -feel guilty, anxious, left out if didn't do it

external reasons

the rewards, approval, praise or situational demands that explain why we may strive for a goal -striving for a goal because somebody else wants you to or the situation compels it

personal strivings

the things you are typically or characteristically trying to do in your everyday behavior..may be positive objectives or things negative events trying to avoid. focus on recurring goals not one-time goals

triangle model of responsibility

types of excuses: prescriptive clarity -did you know what it was/ what was supposed to happen personal obligation -how significant is it personal control -how much control did you have advantages: protects self esteem disadvantages: poor rep, questionable motives

compensation for insecurity

unhappy people may be more likely to seek material goals to make them feel better about themselves

identified reasons

valuing a goal because of its personal importance. a person may have come to see a goal as important because of others eg learning the value of helping others or respecting the environment from a parent or teacher. However, the goal is not wholeheartedly endorsed -you strive for this goal because you believe it's an important goal to have -learned value from teacher or parent