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Based on goal orientation theory, this paper aims to examine the mediating effect of utility perception on the relationships between three types of goal orientation and transfer motivation. The study applied a longitudinal field design with a total of 239 trainees from a technological institute in northern Taiwan and used AMOS 24 to examine the hypotheses. The findings show that learning goal orientation demonstrates the strongest impact on utility perception and transfer motivation. Learning goal orientation is the desired training trait, and utility perception is a critical factor in transfer motivation. If managers assert a given training program to be useful to trainees, then the anticipated training effect will likely be enhanced. The contribution of this study is its use of goal orientation theory to examine how three goal orientations affect transfer motivation through utility perception. Further, since there have been inconsistent results about the effect of proving goal orientation on training effectiveness, this study examines if there are significantly differences between learning goal orientation and proving goal orientation through statistical analysis. Third, by focusing on practitioners rather than students, this study indicates that utility perception is an important mediator between goal orientation and transfer motivation., Author(s): Wei-Tao Tai [sup.1] , Ya-Ti Hsu [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) Department of Business Administration and Service Industry Management, Chihlee University of Technology, , No. 313, Sec. 1, Wunhua Rd., [...]

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between future time perspectives (FTP) and risk of being not in employment, education, or training (NEET) with the mediating role of achievement goal motivations among undergraduate students in Vietnam. It revealed that FTP was negatively related to NEET risk, indicating students who focused on their future seemed more likely to decrease the risk of being NEET. Among achievement goals, mastery-approach orientation and performance-avoidance orientation played mediating roles in the FTP and NEET risk relationship. Precisely, mastery-approach orientation played a complete mediating effect in the female sample while performance-avoidance orientation acted as a partial mediator in the male sample (explained by the social role theory). The findings enrich the understanding of NEET risk and its relevant factors, as well as contribute to the educational field regarding undergraduates' future planning and intervention to enhance motivation across genders. The implications and limitations of these findings were discussed., Author(s): Wen Cheng [sup.1] , Pham Ngoc Thien Nguyen [sup.2] [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) https://ror.org/00mjawt10, grid.412036.2, 0000 0004 0531 9758, Center for Teacher Education, Institute of Education Development, & International [...]

The innovative behavior of employees is the basis for the sustainable operation of the hotel industry and examining the factors affecting innovative behavior of employees has important and timely significance. Thus, we draw from goal orientation theory to suggest the potential mechanism of different goal orientations and explore how different goal orientations influence employees' innovative behaviors via self-efficacy and how the centralized climate moderates this effect. The data were collected at two time points from 323 employees and their supervisors across 68 hotel marketing teams in Beijing and Shanghai. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis results confirmed our hypotheses that the centralized climate moderated the relationship between team members' goal orientations and innovative behaviors. The innovative behaviors can be attained by employees with higher learning goal orientation or performance approach goal orientation. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed., Author(s): Tung-Ju Wu [sup.1] , Ruo-Xi Zhang [sup.1] , Jia-Min Li [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.19373.3f, 0000 0001 0193 3564, School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), , 150001, [...]

The aim of the present study is to examine whether a leader's extrinsic relative to intrinsic goal orientation influences subordinates' subjective career success through leader-member exchanges and to describe the moderating effect of subordinates' gender. Drawing on goal content theory and leader-member exchange theory, we propose that a leader's relatively extrinsic goal orientation is negatively related to subordinates' subjective career success through leader-member exchanges. We conducted a field survey study (N = 216; employees and their immediate supervisors from China) to test our model, and the results suggest that (1) leaders with relatively extrinsic goal orientations are negatively related to subordinates' subjective career success; (2) leader-member exchanges mediate the negative relationship between a leader's relatively extrinsic goal orientation and employees' subjective career success; and (3) subordinates' gender moderates the indirect effect, whereby a leader's relatively extrinsic goal orientation leads to lower levels of leader-member exchange for females than for males, leading to a lower level of subordinates' subjective career success. This study contributes to the goal content and leader-member exchange literature., Author(s): Ying Zhang [sup.1] , Jingjing Li [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.162107.3, 0000 0001 2156 409X, School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences Beijing, , 100083, Beijing, People's [...]

The current study investigated emerging adults' help seeking from friends to deal with academic difficulties, and the mediating role of this help seeking in the associations between perceived goal structures and academic and social adjustment among 300 emerging adults (N = 300; M.sub.age = 22.28; 50% female). Structural equation modeling results confirmed that emerging adults' help seeking from friends (i.e., adaptive or avoiding) mediated the effects of perceived goal structures (i.e., mastery or performance) on academic and social adjustment. Emerging adults who perceived greater emphasis on mastery were more likely to seek adaptive help, whereas those who perceived greater emphasis on performance were more likely to avoid seeking help from friends. Further, adaptive help seeking was positively related to friendship satisfaction and academic engagement, while avoiding help seeking was negatively related to friendship satisfaction and positively related to anxious solitude. The findings emphasize the importance of mastery-oriented environment to foster emerging adults' adaptive help seeking and academic and social adjustment in college., Author(s): Huiyoung Shin [sup.1] , Chaerim Park [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.411545.0, 0000 0004 0470 4320, Department of Psychology, Jeonbuk National University, , 14-3 Social Science Building, Deokjin-gu, Baekje-daero 567, [...]

We hypothesized that people's relationship motives would be associated with how they think about their romantic partners' personal qualities. Specifically, across two studies using a community and student sample, we examined how individual differences in social approach and social avoidance goal strength shaped perceptions of traits in romantic partners. We utilized two different reaction-time-based methods that had participants quickly describe or categorize their partner. Through a series of partial correlation analyses, we found that approach goals were associated with more easily perceiving and evaluating partners in terms of positive traits that partners possess. In contrast, avoidance goals were associated with greater ease in perceiving partners in terms of the negative traits they lack. Results are discussed in terms of the ways in which these different patterns of framing a partner's traits may have implications for relationship satisfaction and partner evaluation., Author(s): Courtney L. Gosnell [sup.1] , Shelly L. Gable [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.261572.5, 0000 0000 8592 1116, Department of Psychology, Pace University, , 861 Bedford Road, 10570, Pleasantville, NY, [...]

The way individuals envision, formulate, and strive to meet their retirement goals is poorly understood. Research to date has focused mainly on goals associated with the pre-retirement phase, although arguably, goals during retirement are equally important. In this investigation, a conceptual replication and extension of the Retirement Goal Process Model (RGPM; Hershey & Jacobs-Lawson, 2009 (See CR25)) is carried out. This extended theoretically-derived path model posits that individuals' perceptions of the consequences of failing to achieve a particular goal will determine the perceived importance of the goal. Perceived goal importance, in turn, determines the thought and effort individuals are willing to allocate toward achieving the goal (goal striving). Goal striving, in turn, is driven by the perceived adequacy of available resources, which predicts the perceived likelihood the goal will be achieved (goal expectancy). This path model was tested across five retirement resource domains identified by Wang and Shultz Journal of Management, 36(1). 172-206, (2010 (See CR55)): financial, emotional, cognitive, social, and physical. For analytic purposes, the sample (N = 698, age range 66-94) was divided into four different groups: younger and older males and females. Findings revealed that the theoretically-grounded RGPM accounted for substantial differences in variability in retirement goal expectancy, both across retirement domains and across groups. On a theoretical level, this investigation provides a synthesis of the RGPM with Wang and Shi's Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 209-233, (2014 (See CR54)) Dynamic Resource Theory. From an applied perspective, the results suggest ways in which retirement intervention specialists might profitably intercede with older adults in order to increase the likelihood of goal attainment., Author(s): Cindy E. Tsotsoros [sup.1] , Anna Mooney [sup.2] , Joanne K. Earl [sup.2] , Douglas A. Hershey [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.65519.3e, 0000 0001 0721 7331, Department of Psychology, [...]

Self-concordant goals are goals which represent a people's enduring interests and self-defining values (Sheldon, 2002 (See CR26)). People pursuing more self-concordant goals evidence higher subjective well-being, as shown in participants from both Western and non-Western cultures (Sheldon et al., 2004 (See CR31)). In a different literature, attributional style research has found that tendencies to provide optimistic explanations of life events also predict well-being. We hypothesized that people pursuing self-concordant goals would make more optimistic attributions about goal-specific outcomes, and that this tendency would help explain the link between self-concordance and well-being. Structural equation and multiple group modelling of 253 American and 230 Russian university students found support for these hypotheses. Self-concordance primarily predicted optimism following positive outcomes (that they will recur), not following negative outcomes (that they will end), and also, the mediational pattern was slightly different in the Russian than in the American sample. The results suggest that when people choose life-goals that fit their interests and values, they derive resources including the ability to interpret positive goal-outcomes in an optimistic way. This helps to explain why pursuing such goals makes them happy., Author(s): Kennon Sheldon [sup.1] [sup.2] , Tamara Gordeeva [sup.2] [sup.3] , Oleg Sychev [sup.4] , Evgeny Osin [sup.2] , Liudmila Titova [sup.1] [sup.5] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.134936.a, 0000 0001 2162 [...]

The interaction between goals and affect in decision making is not well understood. We test the affective-motivational route theory (AMR: Aarts et al. 2008b (See CR3)) which predicts that positive affect primed along with a goal leads to goal pursuit, whereas negative affect primed along with a goal does not lead to less goal pursuit. In the current study, we test AMR using a process tracing paradigm where individuals are primed with goals (accuracy or speed) and affect (positive or negative). Participants then performed a decision search task where decision relevant information must be actively searched. Results indicate participants primed with negative affect showed search behavior consistent with the primed goals of accuracy or speed. Conversely, participants primed with positive affect showed search behavior inconsistent with the primed goals of accuracy or speed. These results are in the opposite direction of AMR but are consistent with self-regulatory theories., Author(s): Jason L. Harman [sup.1] , Justin M. Weinhardt [sup.2] , Claudia Gonzalez-Vallejo [sup.3] , Jeffrey B. Vancouver [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.64337.35, 0000 0001 0662 7451, Department of Psychology, [...]

The vulnerability to bipolar disorder is characterized by dysregulated goal-related behavior, the setting of ambitious and extreme goals, and increases in goal approach behaviors. To date, no studies have investigated the nature of goal pursuit behaviors amongst individuals at a behavioral risk for bipolar disorder in terms of whether goal pursuit is characterized by a tenacious active striving for goals or a more flexible changeable focus on goals. A non-clinical sample of 168 participants completed online measures of mood, bipolar-vulnerability, reward sensitivity, goal-related perfectionist tendencies, tenacious goal pursuit and flexible goal adjustment behaviors. Our findings demonstrate that bipolar-vulnerability is characterized by the tenacious, not flexible, pursuit of goals, in combination with low regulation of goal behavior, and tendencies towards narcissistic and self-critical perfectionism indicative of setting high ambitious standards and making overly harsh self-judgments when such standards are not met. These findings are similar to those from clinical bipolar samples where there is evidence of prolonged symptom recoveries after the experience of goal frustrations and failures. Reducing the tenacious, active striving for goals amongst at-risk individuals may be a potential avenue for early intervention., Author(s): Robert C. Dempsey [sup.1] [sup.2] , Katherine Eardley [sup.2] , Alyson L. Dodd [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.25627.34, 0000 0001 0790 5329, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Psychology [...]

Depression can be explained by certain behavioural patterns, especially low levels of environmental rewards; it is generally accompanied by infrequent goal-directed behaviour, increased depressed mood, and anhedonia. However, no research has statistically examined the mediating effect of environmental rewards on the relation between goal-directed behaviour and the symptoms of depressed mood or anhedonia. This study sought to determine whether such a mediating effect of environmental rewards is present in cross-sectional study. The participants included 101 patients diagnosed with major depressive disorders. Data were collected through three questionnaires measuring depression and behavioural patterns that maintain depression: the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Environmental Reward Observation Scale (EROS), and the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale-Short Form (BADS-SF). Mediation analysis was conducted using depressed mood and anhedonia as dependent variables, environmental rewards as the mediating variable, and goal-directed behaviour as the independent variable. Environmental rewards significantly mediated the relationship between goal-directed behaviour and anhedonia but not that between goal-directed behaviour and depressed mood. No significant relationships were found among depressed mood, goal-directed behaviour and environmental rewards. From these results, we conclude that low levels of environmental rewards accompanied by infrequent goal-directed behaviour can lead to increased anhedonia but not depressed mood., Author(s): Shuntaro Aoki [sup.1] [sup.2] , Satomi Doi [sup.3] , Satoshi Horiuchi [sup.4] , Koki Takagaki [sup.5] , Asaka Kawamura [sup.6] , Reiji Umeno [sup.7] , Masahiko Fujita [sup.8] , [...]

The central aim of the study was to examine the relationship between primary school teachers' life goals and life satisfaction using the self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan 2000 (See CR21)) and the flow theory (Csikszentmihalyi 1975 (See CR13)) as a framework. A study was conducted to test whether the relationship between intrinsic life goals and teachers' life satisfaction is mediated by two serially posited mediators, the satisfaction of each basic psychological need (competence, autonomy and relatedness) and the experience of flow at work. A total of 480 primary school teachers (17 years of work experience on average) from different regions of Croatia participated in the study. The results, obtained by structural equation modeling, showed that only the need for competence and flow at work significantly mediate between intrinsic life goals and life satisfaction ([beta] = .04, p < .001). The needs for autonomy and relatedness were not significant mediators when used as serial mediators. Thus, the study provides evidence that the positive relationship between life goals and life satisfaction is partly due to the increased satisfaction of the need for competence and more frequent flow experience at work. Also, the indirect effect of extrinsic goals on life satisfaction ([beta] = -.024, p < .01) through autonomy and flow work was tested and found to be significant., Author(s): Diana Olcar [sup.1] , Majda Rijavec [sup.1] , Tajana Ljubin Golub [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0001 0657 4636, grid.4808.4, Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb, , Savska [...]

Abstract Our research uses an interpretive approach to explore the consumer journeys of sojourners, temporary residents of a new country, with attention to cultural experiential goal pursuit and cultural brand [...]

The positive human attributes of passion and perseverance for long-term goals (referred to as 'grit') can be linked to wide range of positive educational, psychological, and employment outcomes. The original grit theory posits that there are two dimensions which characterize determination for long-term aspirations --perseverance of effort and consistency of interests--but some studies using quantitative design have suggested that consistency of interests may not be associated with adaptive outcomes in collectivist and interdependent societies. The aim of the qualitative study described here was to explore the meaning and significance of 'grit' in a collectivist society (Philippines). Participants were 10 Filipino undergraduate students who were interviewed individually and asked to describe specific life experiences wherein they have successfully achieved long-term goals despite challenges in life. Findings suggest that there are three key themes which characterize determination for long-term goals in this collectivist setting, namely perseverance of effort, consistency of interests, and adaptability to situations. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed., Author(s): Jesus Alfonso D. Datu [sup.1] , Mantak Yuen [sup.1] , Gaowei Chen [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000000121742757, grid.194645.b, Centre for Advancement of Inclusive and Special Education, University of Hong [...]

The purpose of this study was to examine goal orientation in college hockey players. Specifically, how a task or ego orientation can affect enjoyment. The Task and Ego Orientation Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) was used to determine goal orientation as either task or ego, and the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scales (PACES) measured how much participants enjoyed participating in college hockey. After surveying male college hockey players (/V-28) in the American Collegiate Hockey Association that play for a medium sized University in North central United States, 23 were categorized as having a Task Goal Orientation, and 5 as having an Ego Goal Orientation. The results of PACES test showed that the ego group had a mean score of 72.6, and the mean score for the task group was 83.4. An independent t-test was used to determine if there was a significant difference in the enjoyment scores of task and ego oriented players. The results indicated that there was a significant difference between the two orientations in regard to their enjoyment. If a college hockey athlete has a task orientation, then they will enjoy participating and playing college hockey more than an athlete with an ego orientation. Conversely, ego oriented players will leave hockey earlier and have less enjoyment playing the sport., Introduction In the United States, approximately 62% of high school students participate in a sport (Adachi & Willoughby, 2014). The motivation for participating in sport is related to desired performance [...]

The purpose of this study was to determine whether an athlete's tendency to define success in a particular way (i. e., achievement goal orientation) related to his or her tendency to perceive competition as threatening (i. e., competitive trait anxiety). It was hypothesized that athletes endorsing primarily an ego orientation (i.e., norm-referenced criteria for success) would report higher levels of competitive trait anxiety (CTA) than athletes with a stronger task goal orientation (i. e., self-referenced criteria for success). Participants included college-age male (n = 200) and female (n = 129) athletes participating in intercollegiate, intramural and recreational sport. The use of multiple data-analytic techniques revealed that (a) no goal-orientation profile (or cluster combination of task and ego) differentiated athletes on measures of CTA, and (b) task orientation, rather than ego orientation, contributed most strongly to the multivariate relationship between goal orientations and CTA. Polynomial multiple regression analysis revealed that the association between ego orientation and cognitive anxiety was curvilinear and varied as a function of task orientation. These results indicate that further theory development is needed regarding the relationships between goal orientations with competitive trait anxiety., The independent and parallel lines of research aimed at understanding achievement goal orientations and competitive anxiety are among the most prolific in the sport psychology field. Although there is an [...]

Past research has shown that extrinsic goal pursuit predicts lower psychological well being and maladaptive behaviours, whereas intrinsic goal pursuit predicts greater well being and less distress. The present correlational study was conducted to examine the goal-well being relationship in a sample of university students in New Zealand. The study also filled a gap in the goal-well being literature by taking a dimensional approach to goals and including assessments of hedonic and eudaimonic well being. The results showed that only intrinsic goals were associated with well being, whether operationalized hedonically or eudaimonically, and that the relation could be accounted for by subjective satisfaction with goal progress. Intercorrelations among goal aspects also revealed a marked difference between extrinsic and intrinsic goals. The findings support the notion that not all life goals are beneficial and point the way for further research, ultimately leading to interventions to improve well being., Past research has shown that what people pursue as a life goal is related to how happy or satisfied they feel about their lives. In particular, Kasser and Ryan (1993, [...]

Abstract In the present work, the hypothesis of the existence of diverse motivational profiles in students with learning difficulties (LD) and the differential implications for intervention in the classroom are [...]

The aim of the current study was to investigate the validity and reliability of goal orientation and self-efficacy scales. The scales were administered to 264 university students (154 from engineering departments, 110 from business administration). Two samples were used. In the first sample, the original factor model was tested with confirmatory factor analysis. In the second sample, the Turkish versions of the scales were factor analyzed. Principal components analysis resulted in three components for the Goal Orientation scale: Learning goal orientation, Performance-prove goal orientation, and Performance-avoid goal orientation. The Self-efficacy scale had one factor as expected. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were satisfactory. The results did not fully support the use of current Turkish versions of the scales. Results of the studies are discussed along with the strengths and limitations of the study and suggestions for further development of the scales. DOI 10.2466/07.08.14.20.PMS.111.6.735-748

In the present study, we examined the link between goal and problem-solving strategy preferences in 130 young and older adults using hypothetical family problem vignettes. At baseline, young adults preferred autonomy goals, whereas older adults preferred generative goals. Imagining an expanded future time perspective led older adults to show preferences for autonomy goals similar to those observed in young adults but did not eliminate age differences in generative goals. Autonomy goals were associated with more self-focused instrumental problem solving, whereas generative goals were related to more other-focused instrumental problem solving in the no-instruction and instruction conditions. Older adults were better at matching their strategies to their goals than young adults were. This suggests that older adults may become better at selecting their strategies in accordance with their goals. Our findings speak to a contextual approach to everyday problem solving by showing that goals are associated with the selection of problem-solving strategies. Keywords: goals, everyday problem solving, life-span development, future time perspective DOI: 10.1037/a0020676

Empirical evidence supporting frame-of-reference (FOR) training as an effective intervention for calibrating raters is convincing. Yet very little is known about who does better or worse in FOR training. We conducted a field study of how motivational factors influence affective, cognitive, and behavioral learning outcomes, as well as near transfer indexed by achieving professional certification. Relying on goal orientation theory, we hypothesized effects for 3 goal orientations: learning, prove performance, and avoid performance. Results were generally supportive across learning outcomes and transfer. Findings further supported a hypothesized interaction between learning self-efficacy and avoid performance goal orientation, such that higher levels of learning self-efficacy mitigated the negative effects of higher performance avoid tendencies. Keywords: frame-of-reference training, goal orientation, self-efficacy, training transfer, training effectiveness DOI: 10.1037/a0020856

Exhaustion has a significant impact on employees and organizations, and leader behavior may affect it. We applied conservation of resources theory to test propositions regarding the joint effects of goal-focused leadership (GFL) and personality on employee exhaustion. We proposed that the relationship between GFL and exhaustion depends on employees' standing on both conscientiousness and emotional stability. Specifically, we expected that high-conscientiousness subordinates experience greater compatibility with a goal-focused leader because of their predisposition to direct resources toward achievement and goal setting, resulting in lower exhaustion under such a leader than among low-conscientiousness employees. Furthermore, high emotional stability may compensate for GFL incompatibility among low-conscientiousness employees by providing additional resources to manage GFL. In contrast, employees low on both traits likely experience greater exhaustion under a goal-focused leader compared with other employees. Results revealed a 3-way interaction in 2 independent samples and were generally supportive of our predictions. GFL was associated with heightened exhaustion among individuals in the low-emotional-stability, low-conscientiousness group but not among workers having any other trait combination. Keywords: exhaustion, goal-focused leadership, conscientiousness, emotional stability, personality DOI: 10.1037/a0020538

Understanding the processes involved when pursuing multiple goals over time is a central question for motivational theorists. A dynamic, computational model integrating theories of goal striving and goal choice is presented to account for data emerging from Schmidt and DeShon's (2007) multiple-goal-pursuit protocol. The simulated results match the results reported in their study, including the finding that relative discrepancy from the goals positively predicted resource allocation early on but negatively predicted it toward the end of the session. Variance in parameters in the model also accounted for individual differences found in the data. Discussion focuses on the theoretical contribution of formally integrating elements of self-regulation theories, further empirical work needed to test the model, and further theoretical work needed to continue the integration process exemplified here. Keywords: multiple goals, dynamic self-regulation, computational modeling, expectancy, decision making DOI: 10.1037/a0020628

A basic tenet of principles of associative learning applicable to models of spatial learning is that a cue should be assigned greater weight if it is a better predictor of the goal location. Pigeons were trained to locate a goal in an acute corner of an isosceles trapezoid arena, presented on a slanted floor with 3 (Experiment 1) or 2 (Experiment 2) orientations. The goal could be consistently determined by the geometric shape of the arena; however, its position with respect to the slope gradient varied, such that slope position was not a good predictor of the goal. Pigeons learned to solve the task, and testing on a fiat surface revealed successful encoding of the goal relative to the geometric shape of the arena. However, when tested in the arena placed in a novel orientation on the slope, pigeons surprisingly made systematic errors to the other acute--but geometrically incorrect--mirror image corner. The results indicate that, for each arena orientation, pigeons encoded the goal location with respect to the slope. Then, in the novel orientation, they chose the corner that matched the goal's position on the slope plus local cue (corner angle). Although geometry was 2 times (Experiment 2) or even 3 times (Experiment 1) as predictive as slope, it failed to control behavior during novel test trials. Instead, searching was driven by the less predictive slope cues. The reliance on slope and the unresponsiveness to geometry are explained by the greater salience of slope despite its lower predictive value. Keywords: goal location, slope or geographical slant, geometric shape, cue salience, Columba livia DOI: 10.1037/a0019234

In this article, we propose a model of the process of empowerment. The notion of empowerment is compelling and much employed across many subfields inside and outside of psychology, but the lack of consistency in the ways prior literature has defined it is an obstacle to meaningful synthesis of findings and consistent application in practice. Our empowerment process model builds on prior work in taking the following steps: articulating empowerment as an iterative process, identifying core elements of that process, and defining the process in a way that is practically useful to both researchers and practitioners with terms that are easily communicated and applied. The components of the model are personally meaningful and power-oriented goals, self-efficacy, knowledge, competence, action, and impact. Individuals move through the process with respect to particular goals, doubling back repeatedly as experience promotes reflection. We make specific recommendations for research and practice and discuss applications to social justice. Keywords: empowerment process model, social justice, self-efficacy, goals, power DOI: 10.1037/a0018854

Throughout human history, leaders have been responsible for helping groups attain important goals. Ideally, leaders use their power to steer groups toward desired outcomes. However, leaders can also use their power in the service of self-interest rather than effective leadership. Five experiments identified factors within both the person and the social context that determine whether leaders wield their power to promote group goals versus self-interest. In most cases, leaders behaved in a manner consistent with group goals. However, when their power was tenuous due to instability within the hierarchy, leaders high (but not low) in dominance motivation prioritized their own power over group goals: They withheld valuable information from the group, excluded a highly skilled group member, and prevented a proficient group member from having any influence over a group task. These self-interested actions were eliminated when the group was competing against a rival outgroup. Findings provide important insight into factors that influence the way leaders navigate the essential tension between leadership and power. Keywords: leadership, power, individual differences, dominance, motivation DOI: 10.1037/a0018559

This research examined the hypothesis that situational achievement cues can elicit achievement or fun goals depending on chronic differences in achievement motivation. In 4 studies, chronic differences in achievement motivation were measured, and achievement-denoting words were used to influence behavior. The effects of these variables were assessed on self-report inventories, task performance, task resumption following an interruption, and the pursuit of means relevant to achieving or having fun. Findings indicated that achievement priming (vs. control priming) activated a goal to achieve and inhibited a goal to have fun in individuals with chronically high-achievement motivation but activated a goal to have fun and inhibited a goal to achieve in individuals with chronically low-achievement motivation. Keywords: achievement motivation, achievement goals, self-regulation, fun, behavior DOI: 10.1037/a0017146

A theoretical framework that incorporates emotional responses and emotion regulation into achievement goal theory is proposed as an alternative view to understanding the inconsistent pattern of findings linking achievement goal orientations to academic outcomes. In this critical review and synthesis, the relation of achievement goal orientations to debilitating emotional responses, as well as the use of emotion regulation strategies to alter debilitating emotions, is examined. Although mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goal orientations are considered, the regulation of debilitating emotions is proposed as especially critical for understanding how performance-approach goal orientations relate to academic-related processes and achievement. Finally, this framework is broadened to incorporate research on how the social context and intraindividual factors shape the resultant pattern of achievement goal orientations, emotional responses, and emotion regulation. Key Words Achievement contexts * Achievement goal orientations * Emotion regulation Copyright [C] 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel Human Development 2009;52:329-356 DOI: 10.1159/000242348

An experiment tested a theoretical framework for goal detection in dyadic interactions of close friends and unacquainted strangers wherein one conversationalist pursued a goal unbeknownst to a detector. The extent to which pursuers' conversation goal was cognitively associated with the dyad's relational type was manipulated. As hypothesized, pursuers' efficiency was significantly positively correlated to detectors' inference accuracy when the pursuer's goal was weakly linked to the relational type (e.g., avoid-awkwardness goal in close-friend dyads), whereas efficiency-accuracy correlations were not significant when the pursuer's goal was strongly linked to the relational type (e.g., avoid-awkwardness in unacquainted dyads). Results for detectors' inference certainty provided weak support for the prediction. Alternative accounts (e.g., personalism or relational knowledge) were relatively ineffective. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2009.01362.x

The present research examined the consequences of physical distance on beliefs about common goals, which have been implicated in judgments of entitativeness ('groupness') of social entities. A central feature of task groups is the degree to which its members are driven by common goals. According to construal level theory, as stimuli are removed psychologically (e.g., physically), people construe stimuli in more abstract terms, focusing more on central features of stimuli. Adopting this framework, four studies demonstrated that people are more likely to assume the behavior of task group members is driven by common goals for physically distant rather than near groups. This effect occurred when perceived identification and similarity to others were held constant. Implications for intergroup relations are discussed. Keywords: entitativity; construal; psychological distance; physical distance; common goals

Personality integration has been related to individual well-being. The present study focused on the combined influence of personality integration through the personal-striving goal construct, active-passive approach toward achieving one's goals, and inner resources on wellbeing. Specific attention was given to how this process works out in two culturally different countries: the Netherlands and Spain. Results indicated that goal integration, passive thinking, active thinking, and vitality were higher in the Netherlands compared to Spain. It was also shown that inner resources combined with active thinking to function as a buffer for the possible negative effects on vitality. Results were similar in both countries, a finding that provides an indication for possible cross-cultural generalization of this process. The overall results present active-passive thinking combined with inner resources as an influential factor in the relation between goal integration and well-being. Keywords: well-being; motivation; spirituality; goals

Past research shows that forming implementation intentions increases the probability of carrying out goals. The present research proposes that mental imagery can strengthen the effects of implementation intentions on goal achievement. Participants were assigned a mundane goal and were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: implementation intentions only or implementation intentions plus mental imagery. Results support the hypothesis that using mental imagery when forming implementation intentions leads to higher rates of goal achievement. Keywords Implementation intentions * Mental imagery * Goal achievement

According to alcohol-myopia theory (C. M. Steele & R. A. Josephs, 1990), alcohol leads individuals to disproportionally focus on the most salient aspects of a situation and to ignore peripheral information. The authors hypothesized that alcohol leads individuals to strongly commit to their goals without considering information about the probability of goal attainment. In Study 1, participants named their most important interpersonal goal, indicated their expectations of successfully attaining it, and then consumed either alcohol or a placebo. In contrast to participants who consumed a placebo, intoxicated participants felt strongly committed to their goals despite low expectations of attaining them. In Study 2, goal-directed actions were measured over time. Once sober again, intoxicated participants with low expectations did not follow up on their strong commitments. Apparently, when prospects are bleak, alcohol produces empty goal commitments, as commitments are not based on individuals' expectations of attaining their goals and do not foster goal striving over time. Keywords: alcohol, expectations, goal commitment, goal striving, placebo

This research is based on the theoretical conception of motives and goals as distinct motivational concepts. Previous research has demonstrated that discrepancies between implicit motives and goals have negative consequences for well-being. The authors have extended these findings to the explicit motive system, with four studies investigating the moderating role of the explicit achievement motive on the relationship between achievement goal striving and well-being. In line with their expectations, achievement goal striving was accompanied by high positive affect (Studies 1 and 2) and a high number of positive affective experiences (Study 3) only when the explicit achievement motive was high. Longitudinal Study 4 showed that the interaction between the explicit achievement motive and achievement goal commitment predicts changes in subjective well-being and health measured over a 3-month period. Keywords: achievement motive; achievement goals; explicit motives; personal goals; motive--goal congruence; well-being

The authors tested the hypothesis that goal-focused leadership enables conscientious workers to perform effectively by helping them to accurately understand organizational goal priorities. Data collected from 162 workers in a private sector document processing organization supported the hypotheses that goal-focused leadership moderates the relationship between conscientiousness and job performance and that person-organization goal congruence mediates this moderated relationship. Specifically, conscientiousness was more strongly positively related to performance among workers who perceived that their supervisors effectively set goals and defined roles, responsibilities, and priorities than among workers who did not perceive this type of goal-focused leadership. Keywords: personality, leadership, goal congruence, conscientiousness, performance

At Time 1 (T1), the authors surveyed 277 unemployed adults using measures of human capital, goal orientation, self-regulation (emotion control, motivation control, work commitment), and job-seeking intensity. At Time 2 (T2), 4 months later, 155 participants indicated their reemployment outcomes in number of job interviews and number of job offers. Using T1 data, the authors tested the predictors of job-seeking intensity and whether self-regulation mediated between goal orientation and job-seeking intensity. Using T1 and T2 data, they tested for predictors of reemployment outcomes and whether job-seeking intensity mediated the relationship between T1 antecedent variables and the reemployment outcomes. Learning goal orientation and self-regulation predicted job-seeking intensity, and self-regulation mediated between learning goal orientation and job-seeking intensity. Job-seeking intensity did not mediate the relationship among human capital, goal orientation, and self-regulation variables and reemployment outcomes. Keywords: goal orientation, job-seeking intensity, self-regulation, work commitment, unemployed

Goal orientation and self-regulation theories were integrated to develop a multilevel framework aimed at addressing controversies regarding the magnitude and direction of goal orientation effects on performance. In Study 1, goal orientations were measured repeatedly whilst individuals performed an air traffic control task. In Study 2, goal orientations and exam performance were measured across 3 time points while undergraduates completed a course. Mastery-approach orientation was positively related to performance at the intraindividual level, but not at the interindividual level, and its effect was not moderated by task demands. Performance-approach positively predicted performance at the interindividual level, and at the intraindividual level, the direction of its effect switched as a function of task demands. Performance-avoid negatively predicted performance at the interindividual level but did not emerge as an intraindividual predictor. Mastery-avoid did not relate to performance at either level of analysis. This consistent pattern across 2 studies suggests that levels of analysis and task demands can determine the magnitude and direction of goal orientation effects on performance and highlights avenues for theory development. Keywords: goal orientation, performance, intraindividual and interindividual levels of analysis, task complexity, task practice

The current study developed and tested a model of the interplay among goal difficulty, goal progress, and expectancy over time in influencing resource allocation toward competing demands. The results provided broad support for the theoretical model. As predicted, dual-goal expectancy--the perceived likelihood of meeting both goals in competition--played a central role, moderating the relationship between relative goal progress and resource allocation. Dual-goal difficulty was also found to exert an important influence on multiple-goal self-regulation. Although it did not influence total productivity across both tasks combined, it did combine with other model components to influence the relative emphasis of one task over another. These results suggest that the cumulative demands placed by multiple difficult goals may exceed individuals' perceived capabilities and may lead to partial or total abandonment of 1 goal to ensure attainment of the other. The model helps shed light on some of the conflicting theoretical propositions and empirical results obtained in prior work. Implications for theory and research regarding multiple-goal self-regulation are discussed. Keywords: multiple goals, resource allocation, dynamic self-regulation, expectancies, goal-performance discrepancies

Mentally contrasting a desired future with present reality is a self-regulation strategy that leads to goal commitment in line with a person's expectations of success. One possible mediator variable of these effects is level of energization. In Study 1, energization assessed by physiological measures was found to mediate the effect of mental contrasting on goal commitment. In Study 2, feelings of energization, as assessed by self-report, mediated the effect of mental contrasting on goal commitment as gauged by performance on an acute stress paradigm (giving a talk in front of a camera). Results imply that when expectations of success are high, mental contrasting provides the level of energy needed to commit to realizing desired futures. Keywords: self-regulation; fantasies; mental contrasting; expectations; energization

The existence of a passive guidance system that unconsciously guides behavior in the resolution of goal conflicts is proposed. This system is sensitive to the effects of behaviors on goal activation and encourages similar future behaviors or results in goal achievement.

Previous studies of achievement motivations have focused on the patterns of self-attribution with little consideration of the effects of achievement goals. In the present study, the authors investigated Taiwanese students' self-attribution for achievement goals mainly on the basis of autonomous interest (i.e., personal goals) and on social expectation (i.e., vertical goals). The authors administered self-developed scenario simulation questionnaires to undergraduate and graduate participants in 2 studies. The results showed that (a) in pursuit of personal goals, participants tended to attribute success to internal factors and failure to external factors and (b) in pursuit of vertical goals, participants tended to attribute their failure to lack of effort. The authors further discuss the theoretical implications of these findings under a cultural context. Keywords: achievement goal, achievement motivation, attribution theory, role obligation, THE FIELD OF RESEARCH ON ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION was first established by Murray (1938) in the 1930s. He took a need-oriented approach to studying motivations for striving for achievement. Later, with [...]

Purpose of the present study was to examine the influence of preference and tolerance for strenuous physical activity as well as self-reported participation in intense (strenuous) exercise, on physical performance as a function of the hierarchical model of achievement motivation framework. Participants were 286 men (n = 155) and women (n = 131) enrolled in their university's fitness and wellness courses. They completed appropriate survey measures, as well as a maximal shuttle run performance. The results indicated that the performance-approach goal mediated strenuous physical activity history, and preference for strenuous physical activity on shuttle run performance among for men, but not women (p < .05). The results suggest that future research is needed to examine goal saliency using the hierarchical model of achievement motivation., Achievement behavior is defined as exerted effort or behavioral intensity, persistence of such effort, choice of actions (e.g., choosing task difficulty level), and performance-based outcomes (Ames, 1992; Dweck, 1986; Nicholls, [...]

The present research examines the ambivalence of achievement goal promotion at university, and more specifically in the psychology curriculum. On the one hand, psychology teachers explicitly encourage mastery but not performance (neither approach nor avoidance) goals. On the other hand, the selection process encourages the endorsement of not only mastery but also performance-approach goals. In fact, it would seem that both performance-approach and mastery goals are valued in a university context. Two pilot studies verified the above assumptions. Subsequently, Experiments 1, 2, and 3 showed that each of these goals corresponds to different aspects of social value. Indeed, high endorsement of mastery goals was associated with being judged as both likable (social desirability) and likely to succeed (social utility). High endorsement of performance-approach goals enhanced social utility judgments but reduced perceived likability. Performance-avoidance goals only enhanced perceived likability. The discussion focuses on the 2 functions of university, namely education (apparent in the official discourse of teachers) and selection (apparent in the university structure), and on the perceived value of achievement goals. Keywords: achievement goals, university, social desirability, social utility, social value

A study was conducted to show that goal priming effects on consumer behavior are context dependent. It is argued that goal primes encourage prime-consistent behavior when the behavioral context is common. It is concluded that uncommon behavioral contexts encourage the release of a primed goal, as well as an increase in the relative activation of information inconsistent with the primed goal.

Prior work suggests that active experience affects infants' understanding of simple actions. The present studies compared the impact of active and observational experience on infants' ability to identify the goal of a novel tool-use event. Infants either received active training and practice in using a cane to retrieve an out-of-reach toy or had matched observational experience before taking part in a habituation paradigm that we used to assess infants' ability to identify the goal of another person's tool-use acts. Active training alone facilitated 10-month-old infants' ability to identify the goal of the tool-use event. Active experience using tools may enable infants to build motor representations of tool-use events that subsequently guide action perception and support action understanding. Keywords: action perception, tool use, goals, agency

This article investigates the influence of progress certainty and discrete progress markers (DPMs) on performance and preferences. The authors suggest that the effects of DPMs depend on whether progress certainty is high or low. When the distance to the goal is uncertain, DPMs can help reduce uncertainty and thus improve performance and increase preference. However, when the distance to the goal is certain, DPMs may generate complacency, sway motivation away from the end goal, and decrease performance in the task, as well as its appeal. Therefore, the addition of more information, feedback, or progress indicators may not always improve task performance and preference for the task. The authors validate these claims in 4 experiments. Keywords: progress information, effort, uncertainty, task partitioning, goals

In 2 studies, the authors examined whether relationship goals predict change in social support and trust over time. In Study 1, a group of 199 college freshmen completed pretest and posttest measures of social support and interpersonal trust and completed 10 weekly reports of friendship goals and relationship experiences. Average compassionate goals predicted closeness, clear and connected feelings, and increased social support and trust over the semester; self-image goals attenuated these effects. Average self-image goals predicted conflict, loneliness, and afraid and confused feelings; compassionate goals attenuated these effects. Changes in weekly goals predicted changes in goal-related affect, closeness, loneliness, conflict, and beliefs about mutual and individualistic caring. In Study 2, a group of 65 roommate pairs completed 21 daily reports of their goals for their roommate relationship. Actors' average compassionate and self-image goals interacted to predict changes over 3 weeks in partners' reports of social support received from and given to actors; support that partners gave to actors, in turn, predicted changes in actors' perceived available support, indicating that people with compassionate goals create a supportive environment for themselves and others, but only if they do not have self-image goals. Keywords: social support, goals, self-image, compassion, relationships