Unattainable educational goals: Disengagement,reengagement with alternative goals,and consequences for subjective well-being

IntroductionIs it always positive, in terms of well-being, to be highly committed to one's goals? Even if giving up on goals is most often seen as an undesirable response to difficulties, some researchers have begun to demonstrate the benefits of goal disengagement and reengagement with another goal when faced with unattainable goals.ObjectiveThis study aims to test the impact of goal commitment, goal disengagement and goal reengagement on several indicators of well-being in the higher education context, where in first year, a relatively large proportion of students may perceive their initial educational goal as unattainable.MethodSome 357 students with secondary school leaving qualifications were surveyed in a first wave of data collection; 186 of these also participated in a second wave.ResultsResults show that the positive impact of goal commitment on well-being disappears, or even becomes negative, when the goal is perceived as unattainable. Moreover, disengagement from an unattainable goal was found to have beneficial effects on self-mastery. However, this disengagement was not enough to reduce depressive feelings; it must be accompanied by reengagement with an alternative goal.ConclusionThese results are discussed and proposals for future research are put forward.     

The effects of different types of goal pursuit on experience and performance during a stressful social task

Researchers have recently suggested that anxiety research may benefit from the examination of motivational factors, such as the difference between approach and avoidance goals. This suggestion is consistent with the literature on self-regulation, which indicates that affect serves as feedback for goal pursuit, with anxiety primarily providing feedback regarding avoidance. However, no data are available on participant goals for a task that generates social anxiety. Data from 120 speech anxious participants who engaged in a public speaking task were used to test the following hypotheses: (1) avoidance goals would be more specific than approach goals; (2) goals regarding social anxiety would have a negative impact on public speaking experience and performance; and (3) participants would tend to organize approach and avoidance goals not as separate goals, but as opposite poles of the same overarching goal. Hypotheses (1) and (3) were fully supported and hypothesis (2) was partially supported. The results highlight the possibility that approach goals may be particularly important to anxiety reduction.     

Giving up on unattainable goals: benefits for health?

Three studies examined associations between goal disengagement and goal reengagement tendencies and indicators of physical health (e.g., health problems, cortisol rhythms, sleep efficiency). Based on research showing that goal adjustment tendencies are associated with subjective well-being, the authors predicted that people who are better able to disengage from unattainable goals and reengage with alternative goals also may experience better physical health. Across the three studies, the findings demonstrate that the ability to disengage from unattainable goals is associated with better self-reported health and more normative patterns of diurnal cortisol secretion. Goal reengagement, by contrast, was unrelated to indicators of physical health but buffered some of the adverse effects of difficulty with goal disengagement. The results also indicate that subjective well-being can mediate the associations between goal disengagement tendencies and physical health.     

Social goals: Relationship to adolescent adjustment and to social problem solving

Examined the relations between adolescent boys' social goals of dominance, revenge, avoidance, and affiliation and (1) self-reported negative adolescent outcomes; (2) subjective sense of self-esteem; and (3) externalizing, internalizing, and prosocial behaviors, as rated by peers and teachers. Results indicated that social goal values were related to diverse aspects of self-, teacher-, and peer-reported social and behavioral functioning, with a consistent association found between a range of delinquent, substance-using, and behavioral difficulties, and endorsement of high goal values for dominance and revenge and low goal values for affiliation. Results also indicated that teacher-identified aggressive boys differed from nonaggressive boys in the value they placed on social goals, with aggressive boys placing a higher value on goals of dominance and revenge, and lower value on goals for affiliation. Finally social goal choice had a clear relation to the social problem-solving differences of aggressive and nonaggressive boys.This study was funded by a research grant for the National Institute of Mental Health (MH 39989). Acknowledgment is made for the administrative support provided by the Durham County Schools and The Durham Community Guidance Clinic of the Duke University Medical Center.     

初中生社会比较在成就目标与学业自我效能感之间的中介效应

采用成就目标定向、社会比较和学业自我效能感三个量表,以724名初中生为被试,对社会比较在成就目标与学业自我效能感之间的中介作用进行了考察。结果表明：（1）除对学习能力自我效能感产生直接影响外,掌握接近目标会通过上行比较、成绩接近目标会通过上行/下行比较间接地影响学习能力自我效能感;（2）掌握接近目标、成绩接近目标和成绩回避目标不仅会对学习行为自我效能感产生直接影响,还会通过下行比较对其产生间接影响。说明成就目标可以通过直接和间接两种不同的方式影响学业自我效能感。     

Reciprocal relations between workplace bullying,anxiety, and vigor: a two-wave longitudinal study

Background and Objectives: Workplace bullying has been classified as an extreme social stressor in work contexts and has been repeatedly linked to several negative consequences. However, little research has examined reversed or reciprocal relations of bullying and outcomes. Design: We conducted a two-wave longitudinal study with a time lag of six months. Methods: The study sample consisted of 348 employees of the Spanish workforce. The present study examined longitudinal relationships between workplace bullying, psychological health, and well-being. On the basis of conservation of resources theory, we hypothesized that we would find reciprocal relations among study variables over time. Results: Results of cross-lagged structural equation modeling analyses supported our hypotheses. Specifically, it was found that Time 1 (T1) workplace bullying was negatively related to Time 2 (T2) vigor and positively related to T2 anxiety. Additionally, T1 anxiety and vigor had an effect on T2 workplace bullying. Conclusions: Overall, these findings support the validity of the theoretical models postulating a reciprocal bullying–outcome relationship, rather than simple one-way causal pathways approaches.     

Adaptive self-regulation of unattainable goals: goal disengagement, goal reengagement, and subjective well-being

Three studies examined associations between goal disengagement, goal reengagement, and subjective well-being. In Study 1, 115 undergraduates reported on the extent to which they were able to abandon unattainable goals and reengage their efforts in alternative goals. Study 2 examined the importance of goal disengagement and goal reengagement in groups of young adults and older adults (N = 120). In Study 3, a sample of parents of children with cancer and parents of medically healthy children was examined (N = 45). The findings confirmed that goal disengagement and goal reengagement can be associated with ratings of high subjective well-being. In addition, the results showed that goal disengagement and goal reengagement can have interactive effects on subjective well-being. The importance of the findings for effective self-regulation and successful development are discussed.     

Achievement goals as mediators of the relationship between competence beliefs and test anxiety

Background. Previous work suggests that the expectation of failure is related to higher test anxiety and achievement goals grounded in a fear of failure. Aim. To test the hypothesis, based on the work of Elliot and Pekrun (2007) , that the relationship between perceived competence and test anxiety is mediated by achievement goal orientations. Sample. Self‐report data were collected from 275 students in post‐compulsory education following courses in A Level Psychology. Results. Competence beliefs were inversely related to the worry and tension components of test anxiety, both directly and indirectly through a performance‐avoidance goal orientation. A mastery‐avoidance goal orientation offered an indirect route from competence beliefs to worry only. Conclusion. These findings provide partial support for Elliot and Pekrun's (2007) model. Although significant mediating effects were found for mastery‐avoidance and performance‐avoidance goals, they were small and there may be other mechanisms to account for the relations between competence beliefs and test anxiety.     

The role of goal adjustment in symptoms of depression,anxiety and fatigue in cancer patients receiving psychosocial care: A longitudinal study

Objective: This study examined whether cancer patients reported increases in their goal adjustment capacities while receiving psychosocial care and whether these increases were related to changes in symptoms of depression, anxiety and fatigue. Goal adjustment was conceptualised as two independent capacities: goal disengagement (i.e. disengage from unattainable goals) and goal reengagement (i.e. reengage into new goals).

Design: This naturalistic, longitudinal study focused on 241 cancer patients receiving psychosocial care at one of the seven psycho-oncology institutions in the Netherlands. Data was collected before the start of psychosocial care (T1) and nine months thereafter (T2). Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the research questions.

Main Outcome Measures: Goal adjustment, symptoms of depression, anxiety and fatigue.

Results: At group level, patients reported small increases in goal disengagement (d = .22) but no significant change in goal reengagement (d = .09). At an individual level, 34% of cancer patients reported an increase in goal disengagement and 30% reported an increase in goal reengagement. Increases in goal reengagement were significantly associated with decreases in both depressive and anxiety symptoms, but not to changes in fatigue.

Conclusion: Findings indicate that particularly improvements in goal reengagement are beneficial for cancer patients’ psychological functioning.     

Overcoming action crises in personal goals – Longitudinal evidence on a mediating mechanism between action orientation and well-being

An action crisis is defined as an intra-psychic conflict between further goal pursuit and disengagement from the goal and frequently signifies the beginning of disengagement processes. By analyzing dispositional predictors of the development of goal-related action crises over time, we applied a process-based approach to goal disengagement. In two longitudinal studies, we evaluated the effect of action (vs. state) orientation on the development of action crises. Using change-regression models, the hypothesis could be confirmed that action orientation enables individuals to overcome action crises in personal goals. Furthermore, in two cross-sectional studies, previously reported effects of action orientation on health and well-being could be replicated and shown to be partially mediated by a decreased overall prevalence of action crises.     

Social anxiety,disengagement coping,and alcohol-use behaviors among adolescents

Background and Objectives: Although research indicates that social anxiety (SA) is associated with problematic drinking, few studies have examined these relations among adolescents, and all alcohol-related assessments have been retrospective. Socially anxious youth may be at risk to drink in an effort to manage negative affectivity, and a proclivity toward disengagement coping (e.g. avoidance of aversive stimuli) may enhance the desire to drink and learning of coping-related use. Design: Adding to research addressing adolescent SA and alcohol use, the current study examined (1) proportional drinking motives (subscale scores divided by the sum of all subscales), (2) current desire to drink in a socially relevant environment (introduction to research laboratory), and (3) the indirect effect of retrospectively reported disengagement in social stress contexts on proportional coping motives and desire to drink. Method: Participants were 70 community-recruited adolescents who reported recent alcohol use. Level of SA, disengagement coping, drinking motives, and desire to drink following laboratory introduction were assessed. Results: Proclivity toward disengagement in prior socially stressful contexts accounted for significant variance in the positive relations between SA and both proportional coping motives and current desire to drink. Conclusions: These data complement existing work. Continued efforts in building developmentally sensitive models of alcohol use are needed.     

But I Still Feel Guilt: A Test of a Moral Disengagement Propensity Model

ABSTRACT

We explored the impact of moral disengagement on individual experiences of guilt. We modeled three forms of workplace deviance (withdrawal, interpersonal deviance, and work-family deviance) as mediators between the propensity to morally disengage and guilt, and also includes the moderating effects of perceived work hours culture. Data were collected from 226 employees matched with a colleague and spouse. Results demonstrated that moral disengagement released individuals who engaged in interpersonal and work-family deviance from subsequent feelings of guilt, but only reduced feelings of guilt for those who withdrew. We also found an interactive effect of perceived work hours culture on the relationships between moral disengagement propensity and all three forms of deviance. The indirect effect from moral disengagement propensity to guilt through withdrawal was stronger when perceived work hours was high.     

Goal attainment, goal striving, and well-being during the transition to adulthood: a ten-year U.S. national longitudinal study

This study examines the relation between young adults' goal achievement, continued goal striving over time, and subsequent well-being. Analysis of a longitudinal subsample of a nationally representative U.S. study of 5,693 adolescents as they transition to adulthood revealed that individuals who met their goals had higher well-being, but that the relation between goal completion and well-being varied by goal content. Continued goal striving was related to well-being and maintained domain-specific self-efficacies, whereas goal disengagement was accompanied by declines in domain-specific self-efficacies. Overall, the results suggest that long-term goal striving is beneficial for well-being during the transition to adulthood.     

限制性饮食者对食物线索的注意偏向：基于目标矛盾理论模型

采用点探测变式探讨了120名成功和失败女性限制性饮食者对两类食物线索的注意偏向机制。结果发现, 当只启动享乐目标时, 成功的限制者存在对美味食物线索的注意回避, 失败的限制者存在对美味食物线索的注意脱离困难; 当相继启动享乐目标和节食目标时, 成功和失败两类限制者均存在对美味食物线索的注意回避, 但失败者仍然存在注意脱离困难。从目标矛盾模型理论对实验结果进行了讨论。     

The long, steep path to equality: progressing on egalitarian goals

The present research examined the impact that perceived progress on egalitarian goals had on subsequent racial bias. In particular, a new bogus pipeline procedure was used to provide feedback to participants that they were becoming incrementally more egalitarian. The impact of this information on intergroup behavior and attitudes was tested. In particular, we looked at the effect of goal feedback on outgroup discrimination and ingroup favoritism, as well as implicit racial attitudes. Three studies found that participants demonstrated greater racial bias after receiving feedback that they were progressing on egalitarian goals versus either feedback that they were failing on egalitarian goals or no feedback. Specifically, participants who were told that they were progressively becoming more egalitarian sat farther away from Blacks and closer to Whites and demonstrated greater implicit racial prejudice. The implication of these findings for current theories on prejudice, intergroup relations, and social goals are discussed.     

Does Setting Goals Enhance Parenting Intervention Effects? A Field Experiment

People who pursue approach goals (i.e., desired outcomes to be reached) tend to be more likely to achieve their goals than people who pursue avoidance goals (i.e., undesired outcomes to be prevented). We tested this premise in a brief preventive parenting intervention targeting parental praise to reduce disruptive child behavior. We also tested whether goal setting effects depend on behavior change phase (initiation versus maintenance) and parents’ regulatory focus (high versus low promotion and prevention focus). Parents (N = 224; child age 4 ? 8) were randomized to one of four conditions: an approach goal-enhanced or an avoidance goal-enhanced intervention condition, a no-goal intervention condition, or a waitlist control condition. Outcomes were parent-reported and audio-recorded positive parenting and disruptive child behavior. Results show that goal setting had very limited effects. Setting avoidance goals, not approach goals, improved self-reported positive parenting. However, goal setting did not enhance effects of parenting intervention on observed (i.e., audio-recorded) positive parenting and disruptive child behavior. Furthermore, goal setting effects depended neither on the phase of change, nor on parents’ regulatory focus. This field experiment suggests that setting approach goals does not enhance the brief parenting intervention to improve parent-child interactions.     

Achievement Goals,Physical Self‐Concept,and Social Physique Anxiety in a Physical Activity Context1

Three studies tested relations between self‐related constructs and approach and avoidance achievement goals in a health‐related physical activity context. Physical self‐concept was hypothesized to be positively related, and social physique anxiety to be negatively related, to approach goals in physical activity. Achievement goals were also expected to mediate relations between the self‐related constructs and behavior. Structural equation models supported the hypothesized pattern of effects in a physical activity context (Study 1). The model for physical activity was invariant across collectivistic and individualistic cultures (Study 2). Relations between physical self‐concept, social physique anxiety, and achievement goals were stronger among regular gym and fitness center users than among nonusers (Study 3). The findings are discussed in relation to achievement goal theory.     

Goals and responses to failure: Knowing when to hold them and when to fold them

The ability to disengage from hopeless situations is critical to goal attainment and effective self-regulation. Two experiments investigated the effects of striving to attain success (approach goals) versus striving to avoid failure (avoidance goals) on persistence. Participants completed anagrams designed so that less persistence during an initial set of unsolvable anagrams was beneficial. In Study 1, participants reported how motivated they were by approach and avoidance goals. In Study 2, participants were primed to set approach or avoidance goals. Participants with avoidance goals persisted longer during failure, with more intense and enduring emotional distress, than those with approach goals. Greater anger predicted spending more time on subsequent unsolvable anagrams and accounted for differences in persistence. The results suggest that people with approach goals are better able to identify when they should disengage during failure, and disengage more completely, than people with avoidance goals. An earlier version of this article was presented at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology conference, Palm Springs, CA, January, 2006.     

Effects of Goal Choice,Strategy Choice,and Feedback Source on Goal Acceptance,Performance and Subsequent Goals1

This study examined the effects of goal choice, strategy choice, and feedback source on goal acceptance, performance, and future self-set goals. The results were partially consistent with earlier work by Earley and Kanfer (1985) in that goal and strategy choice interacted to affect initial performance and goal acceptance. However, the nature of the performance interaction was not as expected. Results pertaining to future goals and subsequent performance suggested that goal choice was an important determinant of future goals and that feedback, goal choice, and strategy choice interacted to influence subsequent performance. Contrary to expectations, feedback source did not exert a main effect on subsequent performance, goal setting, or perceptions of feedback acceptance and usefulness. Discussion centered on the differential impact of choice on perceptual and behavioral variables and the failure of self-feedback to significantly affect subsequent goals and performance.     

Validation of a Chinese achievement goal orientation questionnaire

Background . The mixed findings of previous studies on the nature and effects of performance goals have led to a call for re‐examination of the dichotomous framework of achievement goal orientation theory. While the call for a revised achievement goal orientation theory has received considerable discussion in Western studies, it is not clear whether the revised theory can also be applied in other ethnic and cultural contexts. Aims . Our aim was to validate the Chinese version of Elliot and Church's (1007) Goal Orientation Questionnaire and to initially test the revised goal orientation theory in the context of Chinese students in Hong Kong. Sample . A total of 270 Chinese students (137 boys and 133 girls) from a primary and secondary school in Hong Kong participated in Study 1. Study 2 involved a total of 9,440 students (5,420 boys and 4,020 girls) from 10 primary and 18 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Method . Participants in Study 1 completed a Chinese Goal Orientation Questionnaire (CGOQ) measuring three types of goal orientation. Exploratory factor analysis, item–total correlation, and reliability analyses were undertaken to assess the psychometric quality of the CGOQ. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis was used to provide further validation for the revised questionnaire. The relationships among different goal orientations and that with students' perceived classroom environment and self‐efficacy were also explored using structural equation modelling. Results . Findings of exploratory factor analysis in Study 1 and confirmatory factor analysis in Study 2 supported the proposed factor structure of the CGOQ. All the subscales in the questionnaire also showed good internal consistency reliabilities. The construct validity of the CGOQ was supported by its significant relationship with criterion measures. While most of the relationships between the three types of goal orientation and the learning‐related variables measured in our study were consistent with the revised goal orientation theory, the positive relationships between performance‐avoidance goals, mastery goals, and perceived classroom environment were different from previous studies. Conclusion . Our findings generally supported the trichotomous framework of the revised goal orientation theory with Chinese students in Hong Kong. Consistent with the revised goal orientation theory, our findings indicated that both mastery and performance‐approach goals had positive impacts on students' learning. However, the positive relationships between performance‐avoidance goals, mastery goals, and perceived classroom environment were contradictory to the conceptualization of performance‐avoidance goals in the revised theory. Cultural and social factors affecting Hong Kong students' goal orientations are discussed.