General Psychology An Introduction Chapter 8 Motivation

Chapter Motivation 11 Functions of Emotions Hwang David Emotions play a crucial role in our lives because they have important functions . This module describes those functions , dividing the discussion into three areas the , the interpersonal , and the social and cultural functions of emotions . The section on the functions of emotion describes the roles that emotions play within each of us individually the section on the interpersonal functions of emotion describes the meanings of emotions to our relationships with others and the section on the social and cultural functions of emotion describes the roles and meanings that emotions have to the maintenance and effective functioning of our societies and cultures at large . All in all we will see that emotions are a crucially important aspect of our psychological composition , having meaning and function to each of us individually , to our relationships with others in groups , and to our societies as a whole . Learning Objectives Gain an appreciation of the importance of emotion in human life . Understand the functions and meanings in three areas of life the , interpersonal , and . Give examples of the role and function in each of the three areas described . Introduction It is impossible to imagine life without emotion . We treasure our joy at a ball

Functions of Emotions 203 game , the pleasure of the touch one , with friends on a night out . Even negative emotions are important , such as the sadness when a loved one dies , the anger when violated , the fear that overcomes us in a scary or unknown situation , orthe guilt or shame toward others when our sins are made public . Emotions color life experiences and give those experiences meaning and flavor . Emotions help us navigate the complex social landscape of our lives . In fact , emotions play many important roles in people lives and have been the topic of scientific inquiry in psychology for well over a century ( This module explores why we have emotions and why they are important . Doing so requires us to understand the function of emotions , and this module does so below by dividing the discussion into three sections . The first concerns the functions of emotion , which refer to the role that emotions play within each of us individually . The second concerns the interpersonal functions , which the role emotions play between a group . The third concerns the social and cultural functions of emotion , which refer to the role that emotions play in the maintenance of social order within a society . All in all , we will see that emotions inform us of who we are , what our relationships with others are like , and how to behave in social interactions . Emotions give meaning to events without emotions , those events would be mere facts . Emotions help coordinate interpersonal relationships . And emotions play an important role in the cultural functioning of keeping human societies together . Functions of Emotion Emotions Help us Act Quickly with Minimal Conscious Awareness Emotions are rapid systems that help us act with minimal thinking ( 2008 ) Problems associated with birth , battle , death , and seduction have occurred throughout evolutionary history and emotions evolved to aid humans in adapting

Functions of Emotions 204 to those problems rapidly and with minimal conscious cognitive intervention . If we did not have emotions , we could not make rapid decisions concerning whether to attack , defend , flee , care for others , reject food , or approach something useful , all of which were functionally adaptive in our evolutionary history and helped us to survive . For instance , drinking spoiled milk or eating rotten eggs has The emotion of disgust serves to protect us from toxins and contamination , of the physical and moral variety . Consider would you wear a sweater that was previously worn by a murderer ?

Probably not , even though there is no actual Consequences for our that will transfer from the sweater to you . Bill Couch Welfare The emotion however , helps us immediately take action by not ingesting them in the first place or by vomiting them out . This response is adaptive because it aids , ultimately , in our survival and allows us to act immediately without much thinking . In some instances , taking the time to sit and rationally think about what to do , calculating ratios in ones mind , is a might cost one one life . Emotions evolved so that we can act without that depth of thinking . Emotions Prepare the Body for Immediate Action Emotions prepare us for behavior . When triggered , emotions orchestrate systems such as perception , attention , inference , learning , memory , goal choice , motivational priorities , physiological reactions , motor behaviors , and behavioral decision making ( deactivate others in order to prevent the chaos of competing systems operating at the same time , allowing for coordinated responses to environmental stimuli ( For instance , when we are afraid , our bodies shut down temporarily unneeded digestive processes , resulting in saliva reduction ( a dry mouth ) blood flows disproportionately to the lower half ofthe body the visual field expands and air is breathed in , all preparing the body to flee . Emotions initiate a system of components that includes subjective experience , expressive behaviors , physiological reactions , action tendencies , and cognition , all for the purposes actions the term emotion is , in reality , a metaphor for these reactions . One common misunderstanding many people have when thinking about emotions , however ,

Functions of Emotions 205 is the belief that emotions must always directly produce action . This is not true . Emotion certainly prepares the body for action but whether people actually engage in action is dependent on many factors , such as the context within which the emotion has occurred , the target of the emotion , the perceived consequences of one actions , previous experiences , and so forth ( Zhang , 2007 Wilson , 2008 ) Thus , emotions arejust one of many of behavior , albeit an important one . Emotions Influence Thoughts Emotions are also connected to thoughts and memories . Memories are notjust facts that are encoded in our brains theyare colored with the emotions felt at those times the facts occurred ( Thus , emotions serve as the neural glue that connects those disparate facts in our minds . That is why it is easier to remember happy thoughts when happy , and angry times when angry . Emotions serve as the affective basis of many attitudes , values , and beliefs that we have about the world and the people around us without emotions those attitudes , values , and beliefs would be just statements without meaning , and emotions give those statements meaning . Emotions influence our thinking processes , sometimes in constructive ways , sometimes not . It is difficult to think critically and clearly when we feel intense emotions , but easier when we are not overwhelmed with emotions ( 2006 ) Emotions Motivate Future Behaviors Because emotions prepare our bodies for immediate action , influence thoughts , and can be felt , they are important of future behavior . Many of us strive to experience the feelings of satisfaction , joy , pride , or triumph in our accomplishments and achievements . At the same time , we also work very hard to avoid strong negative feelings for example , once we have felt the emotion of disgust when drinking the spoiled milk , we generally work very hard to avoid having those feelings again ( checking the expiration date on the label before milk , smelling the milk before drinking it , watching ifthe milk curdles in one coffee before drinking it ) Emotions , therefore , not only influence immediate actions but also serve as an important motivational basis for future behaviors . Interpersonal Functions of Emotion Emotions are expressed both verbally through words and through facial expressions , voices , gestures , body postures , and movements . We are constantly expressing

Functions of Emotions emotions when interacting with others , and others can expressions ( emotions have signal value to others and influence others and our social interactions . Emotions and their expressions communicate information to others about our feelings , intentions , relationship with the target of the emotions Emotions can act as signals to our friends and partners , conveying information and the environment . Because about the quality ofthe relationship . Mo emotions have this signal value , they help solve social problems by evoking responses from others , by signaling the nature of interpersonal relationships , and by providing incentives for desired social behavior ( 2003 ) Emotional Expressions Facilitate Specific Behaviors in Because facial expressions of emotion are universal social signals , they contain meaning not only about the psychological state but also about that person intent and subsequent behavior . This information affects what the perceiver is likely to do . People observing fearful faces , for instance , are more likely to produce behaviors , whereas people who observe angry faces are more likely to produce behaviors ( leck , Even subliminal presentation of smiles produces increases in how much beverage people pour and consume and how much they are willing to pay for it presentation of angry faces decreases these behaviors ( Emotional Expressions Signal the Nature of Interpersonal Relationships Emotional expressions provide information about the nature of the relationships among . Some of the most important and provocative set of findings in this area come

Functions of Emotions 207 from studies involving married couples ( 1992 , each other for 24 hours , and then engaged in intimate conversations about daily events or issues of conflict . Discrete expressions of contempt , especially by the men , and disgust , especially by the women , predicted later marital dissatisfaction and even divorce . Emotional Expressions Provide Incentives for Desired Social Behavior Facial expressions of emotion are important regulators of social interaction . In the developmental literature , this concept has been investigated under the concept of social referencing ( that is , the process whereby infants seek out information from others to clarify a situation and then use that information to act . To date , the strongest demonstration of social referencing comes from work on the visual cliff . In the first study to investigate this concept , Campos and colleagues ( Campos , to the infants and placed a toy on top the safety glass to attract them infants invariably began crawling to their mothers . When the infants were in the center of the table , however , the mother then posed an expression of fear , sadness , anger , interest , The results were clearly different for the different faces no infant crossed the table when the mother showed fear only did when the mother posed anger , 33 crossed when the mother posed sadness , and approximately 75 of the infants crossed when the mother posed joy or interest . Other studies provide similar support for facial expressions as regulators of social interaction . In one study ( experimenters posed facial expressions of neutral , anger , or disgust toward babies as they moved toward an object and measured the amount the babies showed in touching the object . The results for and olds were the same anger produced the greatest inhibition , followed by disgust , with neutral the least . This study was later replicated ( and disgust expressions , altering the method so that the infants were not allowed to touch the toy ( compared with a object ) until one hour after exposure to the expression . At 14 months of age , significantly more infants touched the toy when they expressions , but the toy when the infants saw disgust . Social and Cultural Functions of Emotion If you stop to think about many things we take for granted in our daily lives , we can not help but come to the conclusion that modern human life is a colorful tapestry of many groups and individual lives woven together in a complex yet functional way . For example , when you

Functions of Emotions hungry , you to the local grocery store and buy some food . Ever stop to think about how you able to do that ?

You might buy a banana that was grown in a field in southeast Asia being raised by farmers there , where they planted the tree , cared for it , and picked the fruit . They probably handed that fruit off to a distribution chain that allowed multiple people somewhere to use tools such as cranes , Although there are cultural differences in the display of emotion , almost all trucks , cargo bins , ships Of infants start showing emotion such as smiling or reacting to their caretaker as ( that were Created early as weeks after their birth . Christopher Lance by somewhere ) to bring that banana to your store . The store had people to care for that banana until you came and got it and to barter with you for it ( with your money ) You may have gotten to the store riding a vehicle that was produced somewhere else in the world by others , and you were probably wearing clothes produced by some other people somewhere else . Thus , human social life is complex . Individuals are members groups , with multiple social roles , norms , and expectations , and people move rapidly in and out of the multiple groups of which they are members . Moreover , much of human social life is unique because it revolves around cities , where many people of disparate backgrounds come together . This creates the enormous potential for social chaos , which can easily occur if individuals are not coordinated well and relationships not organized systematically . One of the important functions of culture is to provide this necessary coordination and organization . Doing so allows individuals and groups to negotiate the social complexity of human social life , thereby maintaining social order and preventing social chaos . Culture does this by providing a meaning and information system to its members , which is shared by a group and transmitted across generations , that allows the group to meet basic needs of survival , pursue happiness and , and derive meaning from life ( Cultural transmission ofthe meaning and information system to its members is , therefore , a crucial aspect . One ofthe ways this transmission occurs is through the development

Functions of Emotions 209 ( including attitudes , values , beliefs , and norms ) related to emotions ( for desirable emotions that facilitate norms for regulating individual behaviors and interpersonal relationships . Our cultural us which emotions are ideal to have , and which are not ( The cultural transmission of information related to emotions occurs in many ways , from to children , as well as from the cultural products available in our world , such as books , movies , ads , and the like ( Cultures also inform us about what to do with our is , how to manage or modify we experience them . One of the ways in which this is done is through the management of our emotional expressions through cultural display rules ( 27 ) These are rules that are learned early in life that specify the management and modification of our emotional expressions according to social circumstances . Thus , we learn that big boys do cry or to laugh at the boss jokes even though they not funny . By affecting how individuals express their emotions , culture also influences how people experience them as well . Because one of the major functions of culture is to maintain social order in order to ensure group efficiency and thus survival , cultures create , rules , guidelines , and norms concerning emotions because emotions have important and interpersonal functions , as described above , and are important of behavior . Norms concerning emotion and its regulation in all cultures serve the purpose of maintaining social order . Cultural and norms help us manage and modify our emotional reactions ( and thus behaviors ) by helping us to have certain kinds experiences in the first place and by managing our reactions and subsequent behaviors once we have them . By doing so , our culturally moderated emotions can help us engage in socially appropriate behaviors , as defined by our cultures , and thus reduce social complexity and increase social order , avoiding social chaos . All ofthis allows us to live relatively harmonious and constructive lives in groups . If cultural and norms about emotions did not exist , people would just run amok having all kinds of emotional experiences , expressing their emotions and then behaving in all sorts of unpredictable and potentially harmful ways . Ifthat were the case , it would be very difficult for groups and societies to function effectively , and even for humans to survive as a species , if emotions were not regulated in culturally defined ways for the common , social good . Thus , emotions playa critical role in the successful functioning ofany culture .

Functions of Emotions 210 Outside Resources , Rush , 2000 ) Issues and recommendations for teaching an course . Teaching of Psychology , 2014 , August ) Feeling all the feels Crash course psychology 25 . Video file . Retrieved from ?

A . 2011 ) Exercises and demonstrations to promote student engagement in motivation and courses . In Miller , Burns , Daniel , Woody ( Promoting Student Engagement Volume Activities , Exercises and Demonstrations for Psychology Courses . Washington , Society for the Teaching of Psychology , American Psychological Association . 2015 ) The feeling brain The biology and psychology of emotions . New York , NY Norton Company . News Science Of Sadness And Joy Inside Out Gets Childhood Emotions Right Online Psychology Laboratory Motivation and Emotion resources Motivation Web See how well you can read other people facial expressions of emotion Discussion Questions . When emotions occur , why do they simultaneously activate certain physiological and psychological systems in the body and deactivate others ?

Functions of Emotions 211 . Why is it difficult for people to act rationally and think happy thoughts when they are angry ?

Conversely , why is it remember sad memories or have sad thoughts when people are happy ?

You walking down a deserted street when you come across a stranger who looks scared . What would you say ?

What would you do ?

Why ?

You walking down a deserted street when you come across a stranger who looks angry . What would you say ?

What would you do ?

Why ?

Think about the messages children receive from their environment ( such as from parents , mass media , the Internet , Hollywood movies , billboards , and storybooks ) In what ways do these messages influence the kinds that children should and should not feel ?

Functions of Emotions 212 Vocabulary Cultural display rules These are rules that are learned early in life that specify the management and modification of emotional expressions according to social circumstances . Cultural display rules can work in a number ways . For example , they can require individuals to express emotions as is ( as they feel them ) to exaggerate their expressions to show more than what is actually felt , to tone down their expressions to show less than what is actually felt , to conceal their feelings by expressing something else , or to show nothing at all . Interpersonal This refers to the relationship or interaction between two or more individuals in a group . Thus , the interpersonal functions of emotion refer to the effects of one emotion on others , or to the relationship between others . This refers to what occurs within oneself . Thus , the functions of emotion refer to the effects of emotion to individuals that occur physically inside their bodies and psychologically inside their minds . Social and cultural Society refers to a system of relationships between individuals and groups of individuals culture refers to the meaning and information afforded to that system that is transmitted across generations . Thus , the social and cultural functions refer to the effects that emotions have on the functioning and maintenance of societies and cultures . Social referencing This refers to the process whereby individuals look for information from others to clarify a situation , and then use that information to act . Thus , individuals will often use the emotional expressions of others as a source of information to make decisions about their own behavior .

Functions of Emotions 213 References , Zhang , 2007 ) How emotion shapes behavior Feedback , anticipation , and reflection , rather than direct causation . Personality and Social Psychology Review , 11 ( 1986 ) Immediate and prolonged effectiveness of negative emotion expressions in inhibiting infants actions ( Unpublished doctoral dissertation ) Berkeley , CA University of California , Berkeley . Cannon , 1927 ) The theory of emotions A critical examination and an alternative theory . American journal of Psychology , 39 , 2000 ) Evolutionary psychology and the emotions . In Lewis . 91 ) NY Press . Darwin , 872 ) The expression in man . New York , NY Press . A . 1996 ) Behold the wrath Psychophysiological responses to facial stimuli . Motivation Emotion , 20 ( Fabes , Miller , Shell , Reno , 1989 ) Relation of sympathy and distress to behavior A of Personality and Social Psychology , 57 , 2002 ) On the universality and cultural specificity of emotion recognition A . Psychological Bulletin , 128 ( A . 1994 ) Automatically elicited fear Conditioned skin conductance responses to masked facial expressions . Cognition and Emotion , 972 ) Cultural in facial expressions in asocial situation An experimental test of the concept of display rules ( Unpublished doctoral dissertation ) San Francisco , CA University of California , San Francisco . 1992 ) Marital processes predictive of later dissolution Behavior , physiology , and Psychology , 63 ( 221 . 2001 ) Facial expressions during marital conflict . journal of Family Communication , Campos , 2004 ) The retention effects ofan adult emotional displays on infant behavior . Child Development , 75 ( James , 1890 ) The principles . New York , NY Holt .

Functions of Emotions 214 , 2003 ) Expression and the course of life Studies of emotion , personality , and psychopathology from a perspective . In , Campos , De ( Emotions inside out 130 years after Darwin The expression of the emotions in man and animals ( Vol . 1000 , New York , NY New York Academy of Sciences . Campos , 1983 ) Emotions as behavior regulators Social referencing in infancy . In ( Emotion Theory , research , and experience ( New York , NY Academic Press . 1999 ) The functions of emotion . Cognition and Emotion , 13 ( 481 . A . 2005 ) The effects and expressions on and behaviors . Emotion , 2001 ) Culture and emotion . In ( Ed . The handbook of culture ( New York , NY Oxford University Press . Hwang , 2013 ) Assessing competence A review of available tests . journal of Psychology , 44 ( 2013 ) Culture and psychology ( Belmont , CA . Wilson , 2008 ) Culture , emotion , and motivation . In ( Handbook and cognition across cultures ( 541 ) New York , NY . A . 2006 ) Psychological skills related to adjustment . In . Wong . Wong ( Handbook of multicultural perspectives on stress and coping ( New York , NY Springer . Yoo , et al . 2008 ) Culture , emotion regulation , and adjustment . journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 94 ( 2009 ) Cultural transmission Developmental , psychological , social and methodological aspects . New York , NY Cambridge University Press . Campos , 1985 ) Maternal emotional signaling Its effect on the visual cliff behavior of . Developmental Psychology , 21 , 2008 ) The evolutionary psychology of the emotions and their relationship to internal regulatory variables . In Lewis , Barrett ( Handbook ( 37 ) NY Press . Fung , 2006 ) Cultural variation in affect of

Functions of Emotions 215 Personality and Social Psychology , 90 ( Louie , Chen , 2007 ) Learning what feelings to desire Socialization affect through children storybooks . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin , 33 ( Wang , Ross , 2007 ) Culture and memory . In Cohen ( Handbook of cultural psychology ( New York , NY . 2005 ) Unconscious affective reactions to masked influence consumption . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin , 31 ( 121 35 .

12 Motives and Goals Your decisions and behaviors are often the result ofa goal or motive you possess . This module provides an overview ofthe main theories and findings on goals and motivation . We address the origins , manifestations , and types of goals , and the various factors that influence motivation in goal pursuit . We further address goal conflict and , specifically , the exercise of in protecting goals from momentary temptations . Learning Objectives Define the basic terminology related to goals , motivation , and . Describe the antecedents and consequences of goal activation . Describe the factors that influence motivation in the course of goal pursuit . Explain the process underlying goal activation , and . Give examples of goal activation effects , processes , and processes . Introduction Every New Year , many people make go unsatisfied eat healthier pay better attention in class lose weight . As much as we know our lives would improve if we actually achieved these goals , people quite often do follow through . But what if that have to be the case ?

What if every time we made a goal , we actually accomplished it ?

Each day , our behavior is the result of countless not goals in the way we think of Motives and Goals 217 them , like getting that beach body or being the first person to land on Mars . But even with mundane goals , like getting food from the grocery store , or showing up to work on time , we are often enacting the same psychological processes involved with achieving loftier dreams . To understand how we can better attain our goals , let begin with defining what a goal is and what underlies it , psychologically . A goal is the cognitive representation of a desired state , or , in other words , our mental idea of how we like things to turn out ( Ferguson 2007 , be clearly defined ( stepping on the surface of Mars ) or it can be more abstract and represent a state that is never fully completed ( eating healthy ) Underlying all of these goals , though , is motivation , or the psychological driving force that enables action in the pursuit of that goal ( Goals are fundamental guides for human behavior . Some are biological in origin , some are cultural in nature and some are associated with the process of pursuing a goal ( intrinsic motivation ) For , you might be driven by the desire to have a fulfilling experience while working on your Mars mission . Second , motivation can also come from the benefits associated with achieving a goal ( extrinsic motivation ) such as the fame and fortune that come with being the first person on Mars ( One consider intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is through the eyes ofa student . Does the student work hard on assignments because the act of learning is pleasing ( intrinsic motivation ) Or does the student work hard to get good grades , which will help land a good job ( extrinsic motivation ) unique to the individual . Photo Social psychologists recognize that goal pursuit and the motivations that underlie it do not depend solely on an individual personality . Rather , they are products of personal characteristics and situational factors . Indeed , cues in a person immediate including images , words , sounds , and the presence of other activate , or prime , a goal . This activation can be conscious , such that the person is aware of the environmental cues influencing pursuit of a goal . However , this activation can also occur outside a person awareness , and lead to nonconscious goal pursuit . In this case , the person is unaware of why is pursuing a goal and may not even realize that is pursuing it .

Motives and Goals 218 In this module , we review key aspects of goals and motivation . First , we discuss the origins and manifestation of goals . Then , we review factors that influence individuals motivation in the course of pursuing a goal ( Finally , we discuss what motivates individuals to keep following their goals when faced with other conflicting example , when a tempting opportunity to socialize on Facebook presents the course of studying for an exam ( The Origins and Manifestation of Goals Goal Adoption What makes us commit to a goal ?

Researchers tend to agree that commitment stems from the sense that a goal is both valuable and attainable , and that we adopt goals that are highly likely to bring positive outcomes ( one commitment the value ofthe goal the expectancy it will be achieved ) i , This process of committing to a goal can occur without much conscious deliberation . For example , people infer value and attainability , and will determine their commitment based on those factors , as well as the outcomes of past goals . Indeed , people often learn about themselves the same way they learn about other observing their behaviors ( in this case , their own ) and drawing inferences about their preferences . For example , after taking a kickboxing class , you might infer from your efforts that you are indeed committed to staying physically fit ( Zhang , Koo , 2009 ) Goal Priming We do always act on our goals in every context . For instance , sometimes we order a salad for lunch , in keeping with our dietary goals , while other times we order only dessert . So , what makes people adhere to a goal in any given context ?

Cues in the immediate environment ( objects , images , that primes a goal ) can have a remarkable influence on the pursuit of goals to which people are already committed ( Bargh , 1990 , memory , goals are organized in associative networks . That is , each goal is connected to other goals , concepts , and behaviors . Particularly , each goal is connected to corresponding means and objects that help us attain the goal ( For example , the goal to stay physically fit may be associated with several means , including a nearby gym , one bicycle , or even a training partner . Cues related to the goal or means ( an ad for running shoes , a comment about weight loss ) can activate or prime the pursuit of that goal . For

Motives and Goals 219 example , the presence ofone training partner , or even seeing the word workout in a puzzle , can activate the goal of staying physically fit and , hence , increase a person motivation to exercise . Soon after goal priming , the motivation to act on the goal peaks then slowly declines , after some delay , as the person moves away from the primer or after pursues the goal ( Bargh , 2001 ) Consequences of Goal Activation The activation of a goal and the accompanying increase in motivation can influence many aspects of behavior and judgment , including how people perceive , evaluate , and feel about the world around them . Indeed , motivational states can even alter something as fundamental as visual perception . For example , and Dunning ( showed participants an ambiguous figure ( and asked them whether they saw the letter or the number 13 . The researchers found that when participants had the goal a letter ( because seeing a number required the to drink tasting juice ) they in fact SOW a was that the ?

participants were Simply lying , either their hours to graduate this semester ?

The details of your goals goal literally Changed how they perceived the may how you interpret the world around you . world ! Leo Reynolds Goals can also exert a strong influence on how people evaluate the objects ( and people ) around them . When pursuing a goal such as quenching one thirst , people evaluate relevant objects ( a glass ) more positively than objects that are not relevant to the goal ( a pencil ) Furthermore , those with the goal of quenching their thirst rate the glass more positively than people who are not pursuing the goal ( As discussed earlier , priming a goal can lead to behaviors like this ( consistent with the goal ) even though the person is necessarily aware of why ( the source of the motivation ) For example , after research participants saw words related to achievement ( in the context of solving a word search ) they automatically performed better on a subsequent achievement being at all aware that the achievement words had influenced them ( Bargh , 1999

Motives and Goals 220 , 1979 ) in Goal Pursuit Many of the behaviors we like to engage in are inconsistent with achieving our goals . For example , you may want to be physically fit , but you may also really like German chocolate cake . refers to the process through which individuals alter their perceptions , feelings , and actions in the pursuit ofa goal . For example , filling up on fruits at a dessert party is one way someone might alter his or her actions to help with goal attainment . In the following section , we review the main theories and findings on . From Deliberation to Implementation involves two basic stages , each with its own distinct mindset . First , a person must decide which of many potential goals to pursue at a given point in time ( deliberative phase ) While in the deliberative phase , a person often has a mindset that fosters an effective assessment of goals . That is , one tends to be and realistic about available goals to pursue . However , such scrutiny of ones choices sometimes hinders action . For example , in the deliberative phase about how to spend time , someone might consider improving health , academic performance , or developing a hobby . At the same time , though , this deliberation involves considering realistic obstacles , such as one busy schedule , which may discourage the person from believing the goals can likely be achieved ( and thus , does work toward any of them ) However , after deciding which goal to follow , the second stage involves planning specific actions related to the goal ( implemental phase ) In the implemental phase , a person tends to have a mindset conducive to the effective implementation of a goal through immediate , with the planning done , we ready to jump right into attaining our goal . Unfortunately , though , this mindset often leads to and positive expectations about the chosen goal ( 1990 a person might gym membership and start exercising . In doing so , assumes this is all that needed to achieve the goal ( and after a few weeks , it should be accomplished ( unrealistic expectations ) Regulation of and

Motives and Goals 221 In addition to two phases in goal pursuit , research also distinguishes between two distinct regulatory ( or perceptions of effectiveness ) in pursuing a goal prevention and promotion . A prevention focus emphasizes safety , responsibility , and security needs , and views goals as . That is , for those who are , a goal is viewed as something they should be doing , and they tend to focus on avoiding potential problems ( exercising to avoid health threats ) This regulatory focus leads to a vigilant strategy aimed at avoiding losses ( the presence of negatives ) and approaching ( the absence of negatives ) On the other hand , a promotion focus views goals as and emphasizes hopes , accomplishments , and advancement needs . Here , people view their Different individuals may have different as Something they Want to do that win bring the Same one perm with a them added pleasure ( healthy allows them to do more activities ) This type prevention orientation pursue a fitness goal health , another person with a promotion Orientation of orientation leads to the adoption of an eager strategy concerned with approaching gains ( the better . Photo presence of positives ) and avoiding ( the absence of positives ) To compare these two strategies , consider the goal of saving money . people will save money because they believe it what they should be doing ( an ought ) and because they concerned about not ( harm ) people , on the other hand , will save money because they want to have extra funds ( a desire ) so they can do new and fun activities ( attaining an advancement ) Although these two strategies result in very similar behaviors , emphasizing potential losses will motivate individuals with a prevention focus , whereas emphasizing potential gains will motivate individuals with a promotion focus . And these better to either a prevention or promotion differ across individuals ( chronic regulatory focus ) and situations ( momentary regulatory focus Higgins , 1997 ) A Cybernetic Process of depends on feelings that arise from comparing actual progress to expected

Motives and Goals 222 progress . During goal pursuit , individuals calculate the discrepancy between their current state ( all actions completed so far ) and their desired end state ( what they view as achieving the goal ) After determining this difference , the person then acts to close that gap ! In this cybernetic Process of regulation ( or , internal system directing person should control behavior ) a expected rate of closing the discrepancy creates a signal in the form of positive feelings . For example , if you nearly finished with a class project ( a low discrepancy between your progress and what it will take to completely finish ) you feel good about yourself . However , these positive feelings tend to make individuals coast , or reduce their efforts on the focal goal , and shift their focus to other goals ( you almost done with your project for one class , so you start working on a paper for another ) By contrast , a rate of closing the gap elicits negative feelings , which leads to greater effort investment on the focal goal ( If it is the day before a project due and you hardly started it , you will likely feel anxious and stop all other activities to make progress on your project . Highlighting One Goal or Balancing Between Goals When we completed steps toward achieving our goal , looking back on the behaviors or actions that helped us make such progress can have implications for future behaviors and actions ( see The Dynamics of framework ) Remember , commitment results from the perceived value and attainability of a goal , whereas progress describes the perception ofa reduced discrepancy between the current state and desired end state ( the cybernetic process ) After achieving a goal , when people interpret their previous actions as a sign it , they tend to pursuit ofthat goal , prioritizing it and putting more effort toward it . However , when people interpret their previous actions as a sign of progress , they tend to balance between the goal and other goals , putting less effort into the focal goal . For example , if buying a product on sale reinforces your commitment to the goal of saving money , you will continue to behave financially responsibly . However , if you perceive the same action ( buying the sale item ) as evidence of progress toward the goal of saving money , you might feel like you can take a break from your goal , justifying splurging on a subsequent purchase . Several factors can influence the meanings people assign to previous goal actions . For example , the more confident a person is about a commitment to a goal , the more likely is to infer progress rather than commitment from actions ( Koo , 2008 ) Conflicting Goals and

Motives and Goals 223 In the pursuit of our ordinary and extraordinary goals ( staying physically or financially healthy , landing on Mars ) we inevitably come across other goals ( eating delicious food , exploring Earth ) that might get in the way of our lofty ambitions . In such situations , we must exercise control to stay on course . is the capacity to control impulses , emotions , desires , and actions in order to resist a temptation ( and protect a valued goal ( stay financially sound ) As such , is a process of in a dear between of more significant goals . New shoes feel awfully term interests ( health or good right now but do do anything to get us closer to our , Martian ) and some form of immediate gratification ( Converse , 2010 financial savings target . whereas reading each page ofa textbook requires , doing so while resisting the tempting sounds of friends socializing in the next room requires . And although you may tend to believe is just a personal characteristic that varies across individuals , it is like a muscle , in that it becomes drained by being used but is also strengthened in the process . as an Innate Ability , and Rodriguez ( identified enduring individual differences in and found that the persistent capacity to postpone immediate gratification for the sake of future interests leads to greater cognitive and social competence over the course ofa lifetime . In a famous series experiments ( first conducted by , preschoolers years old were asked to choose between getting a smaller treat immediately ( a single marshmallow ) or waiting as long as 15 minutes to get a better one ( two marshmallows ) Some children were to exercise than others , resisting the temptation to take the available treat and waiting for the better one . Following up with these preschoolers ten years later , the researchers found that the children who were able to wait longer in the experiment for the second marshmallow ( those who more quickly ate the single marshmallow ) performed better academically and socially , and had better psychological

Motives and Goals coping skills as adolescents . 224 as a Limited Resource Beyond personal characteristics , the ability to exercise can fluctuate from one context to the next . In particular , previous exertion of ( choosing not to eat a donut ) drains individuals of the limited physiological and psychological resources required to continue the pursuit of a goal ( later in the day , again resisting a sugary treat ) refers to this exhaustion of resources from resisting a temptation . That is , just like bicycling for two hours would exhaust someone before a basketball game , exerting control reduces individuals capacity to exert more in a that task is in the same domain ( resisting a donut and then continuing to eat healthy ) or a different one ( resisting a donut and then continuing to be financially responsible , Tice , 1998 participants who forced themselves to eat Willpower is limited . Trying to resist temptation now takes energy and may leave you feeling like it harder to later . You can only eat so many radishes . Photo radishes instead of tempting chocolates were subsequently less persistent ( gave up sooner ) at attempting an unsolvable puzzle task compared to the participants who had not exerted to resist the chocolates . A Prerequisite to Identification Although factors such as resources and personal characteristics contribute to the successful exercise of , identifying the conflict inherent to a particular situation is an often . For example , if you have a goal of getting better sleep but do perceive that staying up late on a Friday night is inconsistent with this goal , you wo have a conflict . The successful pursuit of a goal in the face of temptation requires that individuals first identify they are having impulses

Motives and Goals 225 that need to be controlled . However , individuals often fail to identify conflicts because many everyday temptations seem to have very minimal negative consequences one bowl of ice cream is unlikely to destroy a person health , but what about 200 bowls of ice cream over the course of a few months ?

People are more likely to identify a conflict , and exercise , when they think ofa choice as part ofa broader pattern of repeated behavior rather than as an isolated choice . For example , rather than seeing one bowl of ice cream as an isolated behavioral decision , the person should try to recognize that this one bowl of ice cream is actually part of a nightly routine . Indeed , when considering broader decision patterns , consistent temptations become more problematic for interests ( 2000 Read , see their current choices as similar to their future choices . Processes Counteracting Temptation The protection ofa valued goal involves several cognitive and behavioral strategies ultimately aimed at counteracting the pull of temptations and pushing oneself toward alternatives ( One such cognitive process involves decreasing the value of temptations and increasing the value of objects or actions . For example , individuals might tell themselves a sugary treat is less appealing than a piece in orderto choice toward the latter . Other behavioral strategies include a to pursue goals and forgo temptation ( leaving one credit card at home mall ) establishing and , or physically approaching goals and distancing oneself from temptations ( pushing away a dessert plate ) These processes can benefit individuals interests , either consciously or without conscious awareness . Thus , at times , individuals automatically activate thoughts in response to temptation , and inhibit thoughts in the presence of goal cues ( 2003 ) Conclusion People often make New Year resolutions with the idea that attaining one goals is simple I just have to choose to eat healthier , right ?

However , after going through this module and approach to the main theories and findings on goals and motivation , we see that even the most basic decisions take place within a much larger and more complex mental framework . From the principles of goal priming and how goals influence perceptions , feelings , and actions , to the factors of and , we have learned the

Motives and Goals 226 phases , and fluctuations involved in the course goal pursuit . Looking prior goal failures , it may seem impossible to achieve some ofour desires . But , through understanding our own mental representation ofour goals ( the values and behind them ) we can help cognitively modify our behavior to achieve our dreams . Ifyou do , who knows ?

you will be the first person to step on Mars .

Motives and Goals 227 Discussion Questions . What is the difference between goal and motivation ?

What is the difference between and ?

How do positive and negative feelings inform goal pursuit in a cybernetic process ?

Describe the characteristics of the deliberative mindset that allows individuals to decide between different goals . How might these characteristics hinder the implemental phase of . read a module on Goals and and you believe it is a sign to the goal of learning about social psychology . Define commitment in this context . How would interpreting your efforts as a sign of commitment influence your motivation to read more about social psychology ?

By contrast , how would interpreting your efforts as a sign of progress influence your motivation to read more ?

Mel and Alex are friends . Mel has a prevention focus orientation , whereas Alex has a promotion focus . They are both training for a marathon and are looking for motivational posters to hang in their respective apartments . While shopping , they find a poster with the following quote The will to win , the desire to succeed , the urge to reach your full potential . These are the keys that will unlock the door to personal Who is this poster more likely to help stay motivated for the marathon ( Mel or Alex ) Why ?

Find or write a quote that might help the other friend . Give an example in which an individual fails to exercise . What are some factors that can cause such a failure ?

Motives and Goals 228 Vocabulary Balancing between goals Shifting between a focal goal and other goals or temptations by putting less effort into the focal with the intention of coming back to the focal goal at a later point in time . Commitment The sense that a goal is both valuable and attainable Conscious goal activation When a person is fully aware of contextual influences and resulting behavior . Deliberative phase The first of the two basic stages of in which individuals decide which of many potential goals to pursue at a given point in time . The exhaustion of physiological psychological resources following the completion of effortful tasks , which subsequently leads to reduction in the capacity to exert more . Extrinsic motivation Motivation stemming from the benefits associated with achieving a goal such as obtaining a monetary reward . Goal The cognitive representation ofa desired state ( outcome ) Goal priming The activation of a goal following exposure to cues in the immediate environment related to the goal or its corresponding means ( images , words , sounds ) Highlighting a goal Prioritizing a focal goal over other goals or temptations by putting more effort into the focal goal . Implemental phase The second ofthe two basic stages in which individuals plan specific actions

Motives and Goals 229 related to their selected goal . Intrinsic motivation Motivation stemming from the benefits associated with the process of pursuing a goal such as having a fulfilling experience . Means Activities or objects that contribute to goal attainment . Motivation The psychological driving force that enables action in the course of goal pursuit . Nonconscious goal activation When activation occurs outside a person awareness , such that the person is unaware ofthe reasons behind her thoughts and behaviors . Prevention focus One oftwo emphasizing safety , responsibility , and security needs , and viewing goals as This focus seeks to avoid losses ( the presence of negatives ) and approach ( the absence of negatives ) Progress The perception of reducing the discrepancy between one current state and ones desired state in goal pursuit . Promotion focus One of two emphasizing hopes , accomplishments , and advancement needs , and ideals . This approach gains ( the presence of positives ) and avoid ( the absence of positives ) The capacity to control impulses , emotions , desires , and actions in order to resist a temptation and adhere to a valued goal . The processes through which individuals alter their emotions , desires , and actions in the course of pursuing a goal .

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