This activation can be conscious, such that the person is aware of the environmental cues influencing his/her pursuit of a goal. Indeed, cues in a person’s immediate environment-including images, words, sounds, and the presence of other people-can activate, or prime, a goal. Rather, they are products of personal characteristics and situational factors. Social psychologists recognize that goal pursuit and the motivations that underlie it do not depend solely on an individual’s personality. Does the student work hard on assignments because the act of learning is pleasing (intrinsic motivation)? Or does the student work hard to get good grades, which will help land a good job (extrinsic motivation)? One easy way to consider intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is through the eyes of a student. Second, motivation can also come from the benefits associated with achieving a goal ( extrinsic motivation), such as the fame and fortune that come with being the first person on Mars (Deci & Ryan, 1985). For example, you might be driven by the desire to have a fulfilling experience while working on your Mars mission. First, it can come from the benefits associated with the process of pursuing a goal ( intrinsic motivation). Underlying all of these goals, though, is motivation, or the psychological driving force that enables action in the pursuit of that goal (Lewin, 1935). This desired end state of a goal can be clearly defined (e.g., stepping on the surface of Mars), or it can be more abstract and represent a state that is never fully completed (e.g., eating healthy). Some are biological in origin, some are cultural in nature and some are unique to the individual.Ī goal is the cognitive representation of a desired state, or, in other words, our mental idea of how we’d like things to turn out (Fishbach & Ferguson 2007 Kruglanski, 1996). Figure 11.18 Goals are fundamental guides for human behavior. To understand how we can better attain our goals, let’s begin with defining what a goal is and what underlies it, psychologically. But even with “mundane” goals, like getting food from the grocery store, or showing up to work on time, we are often enacting the same psychological processes involved with achieving loftier dreams. But what if that didn’t have to be the case? What if every time we made a goal, we actually accomplished it? Each day, our behavior is the result of countless goals-maybe not goals in the way we think of them, like getting that beach body or being the first person to land on Mars. As much as we know our lives would improve if we actually achieved these goals, people quite often don’t follow through. Give examples of goal activation effects, self-regulation processes, and self-control processes.Įvery New Year, many people make resolutions-or goals-that go unsatisfied: eat healthier pay better attention in class lose weight.
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