Goal Attainment

2019 ◽  
pp. 245-268
Author(s):  
Peter M. Gollwitzer ◽  
Gabriele Oettingen
Keyword(s):  
Goal Attainment ◽  
Intervention Studies ◽  
Implementation Intentions ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Goal Pursuit ◽  
The Self ◽  
Mental Contrasting ◽  
History Of ◽  
Regulation Strategies ◽  
Underlying Processes

This chapter begins with a description of how the goal concept emerged in the history of the psychology of motivation to better understand the important role it plays in current research on motivation. The chapter then turns to the self-regulation of goal pursuit. The effects and underlying processes of two different self-regulation strategies will be discussed in detail: mental contrasting and forming implementation intentions. The chapter concludes with a report of the results of recent intervention studies that combine the self-regulation strategies of mental contrasting and forming implementation intentions to help people enhance goal attainment in the health, academic, and interpersonal domains.

Goal Pursuit

2012 ◽  
pp. 207-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Gollwitzer ◽  
Gabriele Oettingen
Keyword(s):  
Goal Setting ◽  
Goal Attainment ◽  
Implementation Intentions ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
The Self ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Theories Of Intelligence ◽  
Mental Contrasting ◽  
Goal Implementation

We start out with describing how the goal concept emerged in the history of the psychology of motivation to better understand the important role it plays in current research on motivation. We then suggest a differentiation between studies targeting the setting of goals versus the implementation of goals to get a grip on the host of empirical work the goal concept has triggered. With respect to goal setting, we first discuss studies that explore determinants affecting the content and structure of set goals (e.g., entity vs. incremental theories of intelligence influence the setting of performance vs. learning goals). We then turn to studies on the self-regulation of goal setting and discuss in detail how a self-regulation strategy called mental contrasting of future and reality facilitates strong commitment to feasible goals but dissolves commitment to unfeasible ones. With respect to goal implementation we first refer to studies on the determinants of effective goal striving (e.g., the framing of the set goal in terms of approach vs. avoidance) and then turn to analyzing the effective self-regulation of goal implementation. Here we focus on the strategy of forming implementation intentions (i.e., if-then plans) and explicate in detail how such planning helps in overcoming classic hurdles to goal attainment (e.g., distractions). We will end the chapter by reporting the results of recent intervention studies that successfully enhanced goal attainment in the health, academic, and interpersonal domains by combining the self-regulation strategy of mental contrasting with that of forming implementation intentions.

scholarly journals The Self-Regulation of Conformity: Mental Contrasting With Implementation Intentions (MCII)

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivica von Weichs ◽  
Nora Rebekka Krott ◽  
Gabriele Oettingen
Keyword(s):  
Implementation Intentions ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Goal Pursuit ◽  
Logical Reasoning ◽  
The Self ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Reasoning Task ◽  
Mental Contrasting ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Majority Influence

The self-regulation of conformity has received little attention in previous research. This is surprising because group majorities can exert social strong pressure on people, leading them to overlook the pursuit of their own goals. We investigated if self-regulation by mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) can reduce people’s tendency to conform and facilitate their own goal-pursuit despite deviant majority influence. In a computer-based logical reasoning task, we exposed participants to a conformity manipulation, where we presented bogus diagrams showing the supposedly correct answers of a majority ingroup. Compared to participants who were not given a self-regulation strategy (Studies 1, 2, and 4) or who were in an active control group (Study 3), MCII helped participants to self-regulate conforming behavior in trying to solve the task and to independently solve the logical reasoning task, as indicated by increases in correct answers in the task. The findings suggest that MCII is an effective strategy to regulate people’s tendency to conform and supports them to attain their goal despite deviant majority influence.

Mental contrasting with implementation intentions enhances self-regulation of goal pursuit in schoolchildren at risk for ADHD

2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caterina Gawrilow ◽  
Katrin Morgenroth ◽  
Regina Schultz ◽  
Gabriele Oettingen ◽  
Peter M. Gollwitzer
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Implementation Intentions ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Goal Pursuit ◽  
Mental Contrasting

scholarly journals Self‐regulation strategies improve self‐discipline in adolescents: benefits of mental contrasting and implementation intentions

2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Lee Duckworth ◽  
Heidi Grant ◽  
Benjamin Loew ◽  
Gabriele Oettingen ◽  
Peter M. Gollwitzer
Keyword(s):  
Implementation Intentions ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Mental Contrasting ◽  
Regulation Strategies

Mental Contrasting and the Self-Regulation of Responding to Negative Feedback

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 845-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Kappes ◽  
Gabriele Oettingen ◽  
Hyeonju Pak
Keyword(s):  
Negative Feedback ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Goal Pursuit ◽  
The Self ◽  
Mental Contrasting

Mentally contrasting a desired future with impeding reality promotes goal pursuit when expectations of success are high and curbs goal pursuit when expectations of success are low. Four studies tested whether mental contrasting affects responses to goal-relevant negative feedback. Mental contrasting promoted the processing of negative feedback (Studies 1 and 2), which in turn helped participants to form plans beneficial for goal pursuit (Study 2). Mental contrasting also protected the self-view of competence against negative feedback (Study 3) and facilitated beneficial attributions for negative feedback (Study 4). All effects occurred in line with expectations of success. These results suggest that mental contrasting regulates effective responses to negative feedback by bringing goal pursuit in line with expectations of success.

scholarly journals A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Mental Contrasting With Implementation Intentions on Goal Attainment

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoxia Wang ◽  
Yi Wang ◽  
Xiaosong Gai
Keyword(s):  
Goal Attainment ◽  
Implementation Intentions ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Medium Effect ◽  
Independent Effect ◽  
Mental Contrasting ◽  
Medium Effect Size

Mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) is a self-regulation strategy that enhances goal attainment. This meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy of MCII for goal attainment and explored potential moderators. A total of 21 empirical studies with 24 independent effect sizes (15,907 participants) were included in the analysis. Results showed that MCII to be effective for goal attainment with a small to medium effect size (g = 0.336). The effect was mainly moderated by intervention style. Specifically, studies with interventions based on interactions between participants and experimenters (g = 0.465) had stronger effects than studies with interventions based on interactions between participants and documents (g = 0.277). The results revealed that MCII is a brief and effective strategy for goal attainment with a small to moderate effect; however, because of some publication bias, the actual effect sizes may be smaller. Due to small number of studies in this meta-analysis, additional studies are needed to determine the role of moderator variables.

Health goals among American adults: Prevalence, characteristics, and barriers

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 1350-1355
Author(s):  
Marina Milyavskaya ◽  
Daniel Nadolny
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Goal Setting ◽  
Goal Attainment ◽  
Implementation Intentions ◽  
Goal Pursuit ◽  
Health Goals ◽  
Health Goal ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Reported Health

Although numerous factors have been demonstrated in laboratory settings to lead to more successful health goal attainment, their actual use in daily goal pursuit is unknown. This study examines spontaneously reported health goals and their characteristics in a sample of 557 American adults. Participants responded to questions about health and health goals, with items assessing motivation, social support, and implementation intentions. In all, 66 percent of respondents had a health goal, 26 percent of participants had implementation intentions, and 47 percent received support from close others. Results suggest that interventions should focus on encouraging goal setting, teaching implementation intentions, and educating close others in providing support.

scholarly journals Comparative Effectiveness of Mental Contrasting and Self-regulation Strategies on Enhancing Goal Setting Skills of Secondary School Students in Urban Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Ofole Ndidi Mercy ◽  
Adegoke Ibukun Victoria
Keyword(s):  
Goal Setting ◽  
Comparative Effectiveness ◽  
Comparison Group ◽  
Interactive Effect ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Control Group ◽  
School Students ◽  
Mental Contrasting ◽  
Regulation Strategies

Although there is plethora of studies on goal setting skills, there is paucity of experimental studies on this field. This study examined the comparative effectiveness of Mental Contrasting Therapy (MCT) and Self-Regulation Strategies (SRS) on enhancing goal setting skills of students in urban Nigeria. A group of 120 students (male=52, female=68) with age range of 14-17 years and mean age of ≥ 13.5 years were purposively drawn from secondary schools in urban Nigeria. Each of the intervention groups was exposed to 10 sessions of therapy designed to improve their goal setting skills. The control group served as comparison group. The result revealed a significant main effect of treatments on goal setting skills (F(2,105) =14.958, p<0.05) with the intervention groups demonstrating greater ability to utilize the acquired skills than the comparison group as evidenced on the mean score. The effect size reveals that treatment accounted for 22.2% (η2=0.222) change in the participants’ goal setting skills. Participants treated with SRS reported higher mean score at post-test (=69.09) when compared with their counterpart in MCT group (=66.93). Self-efficacy and gender have significant interactive effect with treatments F(4,105) = 6.375, p<0.05, η2=0.195 and F(2,105) =13.561, p<0.01, η2=0.205 respectively. The researchers concluded that though the two therapies were effective, SRS was more potent in enhancing goal setting skills of the participants.

scholarly journals Let’s play the blame game: The distinct effects of personal standards and self-critical perfectionism on attributions of success and failure during goal pursuit

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelby L. Levine ◽  
Kaitlyn M. Werner ◽  
Jonathan Steven Capaldi ◽  
Marina Milyavskaya
Keyword(s):  
Goal Attainment ◽  
Goal Pursuit ◽  
The Self ◽  
Personal Goals ◽  
Personal Standards ◽  
External Sources ◽  
Personal Standards Perfectionism

In the present study, we examined whether personal standards and self-critical perfectionism differentially related to how people attributed their success and failures in pursuing their personal goals. In two studies (Ns=185 and 240), participants set three week-long (Study 1) and semester-long (Study 2) goals, and at the end of the week or semester answered questions about goal status, internal and external attributions, and likelihood to reset the goal. Mulitlevel analyses showed that self-critical perfectionism was related to attributing goal attainment to external sources; this was not the case for failure or abandonment. Conversely, personal standards perfectionism was related to attributing failure more to external sources. Overall, these results highlight differences in how perfectionism influences the use of the self-serving bias.

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