Navigating Social Class Roles in Community Research

This paper describes the first author's attempt to collect data in a homeless shelter without attending to her role in the social class hierarchy of the organization. The author's egalitarian approach towards the homeless clients, and her lack of involvement in "staff-only" activities, transgress the social class norms within the organizational structure. While the author is successful in gaining the trust of the homeless clients, her approach alienates shelter staff, especially those in the higher echelons of the social hierarchy. The concepts of classism, world views, and Social Identity Theory, are utilized to discuss the dilemma faced by researchers who want to challenge, or work outside, a setting's status quo.     

Social Achievement Goals and Social Adjustment in Adolescence: A Multiple‐Goal Perspective

Adolescents approach social situations with different social achievement goals (i.e., social development goals, demonstration‐approach goals, and demonstration‐avoid goals). Applying a latent profile analysis (LPA), a person‐centered approach, this study identified four groups of adolescents with distinct social goal profiles: approach‐oriented, undifferentiated high, demonstration‐oriented, and undifferentiated low. Observed differences in various indicators of social adjustment, including social anxiety, friendship quality, prosocial behavior as well as aggressive behavior, indicated that the approach‐oriented and undifferentiated high profiles showed most adaptive outcomes, whereas the demonstration‐oriented and undifferentiated low profiles showed maladaptive patterns of social outcomes. Profiles with high levels of social development goals showed the most adaptive social outcomes regardless of the level of demonstration‐oriented goals (i.e., demonstration‐approach and demonstration‐avoid goals). These findings suggest that focusing on high‐quality relationships and developing social competence leads to adequately contending with social challenges, and it provides protection against the negative effects of demonstration‐oriented social goals.     

On the Emergence of Human Goal Pursuit: The Nonconscious Regulation and Motivation of Goals

Experimental research in social psychology has discovered that human goal pursuit can emerge in the absence of conscious awareness. Whereas these goal-priming effects are commonly explained in terms of habitual automatic processes, recent studies shed new light on the matter. Building on this recent work, this paper attempts to promote a more comprehensive understanding and examination of the potential mechanisms that enable people to pursue their goals in a nonconscious fashion. Specifically, it addresses (i) the human capacity to pursue goals without awareness of the activation and operation of the goal, even when habits are inadequate; and (ii) the fundamental role of positive affect in nonconsciously modulating the motivation of goals and their pursuit.     

Inhibition in Goal Systems: A Retrieval-Induced Forgetting Account

In social psychological models of goals, particular means or goals that receive more activation are pursued while their counterparts are “inhibited.” To account for inhibition, these theories emphasize structural distribution of resources and the consequences of goal or means choices. Absent are alternate accounts of inhibition based on memory processes that rely on retrieval or recall of items. We propose that the act of recalling means or goals from memory entails inhibition of competing alternatives. Two experiments using repeated retrieval paradigms present evidence that recalling one means associated with a particular goal inhibits competing means. Moreover, this inhibitory mechanism is sensitive to the structural relationship of goals and means. Implications for models of inhibition in goal pursuit are discussed.     

Mediating Roles of Self-Set Goals,Goal Commitment,Self-Efficacy,and Attractiveness in the Incentive-Performance Relation

The effects of monetary incentives on performance were examined in 2 studies. These effects were hypothesized to be through the intermediary motivational processes of self-efficacy, attractiveness ratings, goal level, and goal commitment. In Study 1, 80 subjects worked solving anagrams on 8 trials under 1 of 4 monetary incentive conditions (piece rate, hourly rate, competitive bonus, and goal attainment bonus). In Study 2, 146 subjects worked solving anagrams on 4 trials under 1 of 4 monetary incentive conditions (piece rate, informed bonus, uninformed bonus, and assigned bonus). In both studies, subjects self-set goal levels both before and after the incen- tive manipulation. Results from both studies indicated that tying rewards to goal attainment resulted in subjects having lower goal levels and lower self-efficacy, whereas piece-rate systems resulted in higher goal levels and higher self-efficacy. In addition, goal levels and self-efficacy partially mediated the relation between incentives and performance.     

Schism in Groups: A Social Psychological Account

Far from being monoliths, groups tend to be internally subdivided into competing factions that, in some cases, may leave the parent group thereby causing a schism. Although schisms are complex phenomena, research has revealed the existence of specific social psychological patterns that different schisms seem to have in common. A schism is normally triggered by the perception that a change (i.e., either the adoption of a new norm or the revision of an old norm) endorsed by the group majority denies the group identity and constitutes a rupture with its historically sedimented essence. Members of the faction opposing the change may or may not decide to leave the group, depending on their perceived ‘voice’ within the group. Feeling marginalised and discriminated against, rather than valued and respected within, the group will increase chances of joining a schism.     

目标追求过程中的权力效应

权力在心理学中被定义为一种对他人施加影响的能力。理论和实证研究都表明, 个体在目标追求的过程中, 个体权力感的高低对个体的目标追求的认知过程和行为结果都会产生影响。具体表现为在认知加工方面, 高权力者的信息加工抽象程度更高, 注意保持和分配能力也更好; 在行为结果上, 高权力者能更果断地设定目标、目标追求的行动力也更强。在权力和目标追求关系中, 预期自我调节的倾向类型起到中介作用。     

Not Motivated to Act During Goal Pursuit: Powerlessness Blocks Motivation Transfer in Goal Systems

The current research investigates a motivational mechanism that contributes to the inferior goal striving and attainment of powerless individuals: the transfer of motivation from goals to means. We expected that this mechanism would work effectively only in powerful individuals. The results of an experiment and a field study confirmed our assumptions. The more motivated powerful people were to attain the goals, the more they engaged in self-determined action and, in turn, the more positively they experienced goal-related activities. No such relation was found for their powerless counterparts. Implications for power research and goal systems theory are discussed.     

Habitual Self‐Control: A Brief Measure of Persistent Goal Pursuit

Habitual self‐control is defined as a trait‐like personal resource factor that facilitates the enactment of difficult intentions. A 14‐item Habitual Self‐Control Questionnaire (HSCQ) was developed to assess this trait. Reliability, factorial validity, and criterion validity were assessed in five undergraduate student subsamples with an overall N of 2224. Internal consistency was .81 across the entire sample, and test–retest reliability was .83 over a one‐month interval. The HSCQ showed a theoretically meaningful pattern in terms of convergent and discriminant validity and criterion validity in predicting a variety of health behaviours that relate to self‐control, including exercise, dieting behaviour, binge eating and weight loss success. Further, the HSCQ contributed uniquely to the prediction of health behaviours beyond alternative self‐control scales. In a longitudinal part of the study, the HSCQ added to the prediction of action plan completion and satisfaction beyond motivation and moderated the relationship between motivation and enactment of action plans as theoretically expected. In sum, the results provided strong evidence for the reliability and validity of the HSCQ and highlighted some theoretically meaningful differences to already existing measures of self‐control. Theoretical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Achievement Goals in Educational Contexts: A Social Psychology Perspective

Research on achievement goals usually defines mastery goals as the desire to acquire knowledge, and performance goals as the desire to outperform (or not to underperform) others. Educational contexts are most of the time social contexts, involving various persons and groups, of various hierarchical positions, and various cultural and ideological contexts. Surprisingly, most research in the achievement goal field has been conducted at an individual level of analysis. In the present paper, we will review the social consequences and antecedents of goal endorsement. This research indicates that goals strongly affect the way one behaves with co‐learners. Moreover, it suggests that more than merely individual dispositions, goals reflect the social relation students have with other persons, institutions, and with the society to which they belong. We conclude this paper by setting an agenda for future achievement goal research.     

Cooperating If One's Goals Are Collective‐Based: Social Identification Effects in Social Dilemmas as a Function of Goal Transformation1

Prior studies of the effect of group identification on cooperation in social dilemmas have advanced 2 competing accounts: the goal‐transformation hypothesis, which holds that identification makes personal and collective goals interchangeable; and the goal‐amplification hypothesis, which states that identification induces positive expectations about others’ cooperative behavior. However, prior studies have neglected to assess the process measures necessary to pit the one account against the other. The present study showed that the effect of identification was moderated by participants’ social value orientation. Identification influenced proselfs’ cooperation more than prosocials’ cooperation. Mediational analyses further showed that the effect of our identification manipulation was mediated by participants’ sense of collective self, and not by their expectations.     

Changes in Life Goals Over College: A Comparison Between Men and Women Majoring in STEM

Sex Roles - Informed by goal congruity theory and emerging adulthood theory, this study examined changes over time and gender differences in the importance that college STEM majors placed on three...     

Trying,Intentions, and the Processes by Which Goals Influence Performance: An Empirical Test of the Theory of Goal Pursuit1

A laboratory-based test of the theory of goal pursuit (Bagozzi & Warshaw, 1990) was conducted with results indicating substantial support for the theory. Goal attainment and task performance were predicted by a measure of trying, which was associated with the 4 mechanisms of effort, persistence, attention, and use of effective task strategies. Trying was predicted by an individual's intention to try. The intention to try was predicted by an attitude toward trying and a subjective norm toward trying. The individual's attitude toward the process and reactions to success and failure correlated with attitude toward trying. However, regression analyses indicated that the reactions toward failure did not contribute to the prediction of the attitude toward trying. Discussion focused on the utility of the theory of goal pursuit for understanding the processes by which goals influence performance.     

Get a Taste of Your Goals: Promoting Motive–Goal Congruence Through Affect-Focus Goal Fantasy

ABSTRACT Studies show that motive–goal congruence is an important predictor of well-being ( Baumann, Kaschel, & Kuhl, 2005; Brunstein, Schultheiss, & Grässmann, 1998 ). However, little is known about the factors that promote congruence between implicit motives and goals. Relying on McClelland's (1985) concept of implicit motives and the theory of fantasy realization ( Oettingen, 1999 ), we postulated that goal fantasies focusing on motive-specific affective incentives promote motive-congruent goal setting. This hypothesis was tested in 3 experimental studies. In Study 1 ( n =46) and Study 2 ( n =48), participants were asked to select goals in a hypothetical scenario. In Study 3 ( n =179), they rated their commitment to personal goals for their actual life situation. The results of all 3 studies supported our hypothesis that participants who focus on motive-specific affective incentives in their goal fantasies set their goals in line with their corresponding implicit motive dispositions.     

The Effects of Social Power on Goal Content and Goal Striving: A Situated Perspective

In this article, we integrate recent findings on the ways power affects goal pursuit. We review literature suggesting that power has two unique effects on goal pursuit: it affects the goals individuals choose to pursue, and the ways they pursue them. In short, we maintain that power‐holders prefer goals that suit their privileged positions – reward oriented and hierarchy‐maintenance goals – as well as goals that come easily to mind because they are chronically accessible or afforded in the situation. We go on to show that powerful individuals exhibit better self‐regulation during goal striving than powerless individuals, independently of goal content. Finally, we review conditions that reverse the effects of power on goal pursuit.     

Achievement Goals in Social Interactions: Learning with Mastery vs. Performance Goals

Little work has studied achievement goals in social interaction situations. The present experiment aimed at contributing to this matter by showing the potential of social interaction (in particular disagreement) to moderate the effects of achievement goals on learning. Participants were led to think they interacted with a partner, sharing opinions about a text that they were studying. Mastery and performance goals were manipulated. During the “interaction,” they received either disagreement or agreement from this bogus partner. Results showed that a condition in which mastery goals were induced led to better learning than a performance goal condition only when the partner disagreed. No differences between goal conditions were observed when the partner agreed. Implications for achievement goal research are discussed. Part of this work was conducted during Céline Darnon’s doctoral dissertation under the supervision of Fabrizio Butera, and was written during Céline Darnon’s post-doctorate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, thanks to a Fulbright fellowship.     

Motivation and Performance Following Failure: The Effortful Pursuit of Self-defining Goals

In this paper, I summarise theory and research, highlighting the role of self-defining goals in how individuals react to and try to cope with failure outcomes. I propose that three factors are fundamental to the understanding of whether failure stimulates or impairs motivated behaviour: the relevance of failure to a self-definition, the substitutability of tasks in the service of striving for a self-definition, and a person's commitment to pursuing the respective self-definition. Focusing on students' occupationally directed self-definitions, I first review research showing how the interplay among these factors is reflected in varied measures of achievement behaviour and then discuss practical implications of the theory.     

Social and Emotional Processes in the Classroom Setting: A Goal Approach

Goals can be defined as cognitive- and as value-related motivational constructs. Consequently, both goal elaboration and personal valuing of goals are emphasized as critical determinants of motivated action. From this perspective, it is argued that goals play an influential role in students' cognitions, and in their social and emotional processes. I explore students' strategies for dealing with potentially stressful classroom circumstances in relation to their goals by examining students' reactions to imagined specific academic stressors, focusing on their emotions, behavior, and goals. Four distinct strategies were defined: strategic flexible action, strategic rigid action, passive behavior, and disorganized behavior. It is suggested that (a) goals play a major role in articulating and integrating behaviors and emotions within a whole strategy, (b) particular combinations of goal characteristics - goal-setting, personal goal valuing, and goal difficulty - are required for successful coping, and (c) both productive behavior and emotional regulation are predicted by specific goal characteristics.