Moderators of Goal Pursuit : An Action Phases Perspective

Abstract

The present thesis investigates a set of hypotheses, which I have derived from the model of action phases (MAP). The research spans three different domains, namely how individuals perceive and take risks, primed and deliberate goal pursuit, and the incorporation of negative feedback. The first research paper tested the hypothesis that planning out the implementation of a goal has different downstream consequences on risk perception and risk-taking behavior than deliberating the short- and long-term, positive and negative consequences of a change decision. More specifically, participants in an implemental mindset should be more optimistic regarding various negative life events as well as more prone to taking risks. The results of two experiments show that participants in an implemental mindset were more optimistic than both participants in a deliberative mindset or a control condition, and participants in a deliberative mindset were more risk averse when it came to risk-taking behavior than both participants in an implemental mindset and a control condition. Research Paper I’s results therefore suggest that the implemental mindset is associated with increased optimism regarding risks and actually results in more risk taking. The second research paper investigated two moderators of primed goal pursuit. Experiments 1 and 2 focused on objective self-awareness (OSA) and tested whether inducing the state of OSA moderates primed goal strength in a hand-grip task paradigm. Between experiments, the content of the goal was varied to represent two motivational constructs which were either in line with self-standards or not. Taken together, the results of Experiments 1 and 2 of Research Paper II suggest that OSA moderates primed goal pursuit in boosting goal pursuits which are in line with self-standards (i.e., a primed achievement goal; Experiment 1) but hinders the enacting of goals which are not in line with self-standards (i.e., a primed quitting goal; Experiment 2). Experiments 3 and 4 of Research Paper II were based on the hypothesis derived from MAP that for primed goals to be effective, successful performance in a given task must be of high desirability. Monetary incentives and framing the task as indicative for future academic success were used in Experiments 3 and 4, respectively, to test this idea. However, the results show that primed achievement goals exerted a stronger influence in the absence of any increases in the desirability of good performance in the task at hand; apparently, added incentives diminished their impact by raising performance levels of the respective control conditions. Finally, the third research paper investigated the incorporation of negative feedback as a function of learning versus performance goal orientations. In the first experiment of Research Paper III, learning versus performance goal orientations were manipulated similar to the activation of mindsets and the priming of goals in Research Papers I and II, respectively. The results show that a strong learning goal orientation led to the better retaining of feedback information as well as better performances following negative feedback compared to a strong performance goal orientation. Experiment 2 extended this finding by showing that evaluative negative feedback that was threatening to the participants’ self-images led to self-defensive choices of tasks with low difficulty. Giving participants a learning goal helped them to overcome such self-defensiveness (Experiment 3), and furnishing the learning goal with specific if-then plans, so-called implementation intentions, rendered the best results. Taken together, the findings of the present research papers extend MAP and thereby contribute to a better understanding of individual goal pursuits. In addition, each of the research papers makes a significant contribution to its respective domain. Research Paper I reveals an interesting, motivational intra-individual determinant of dynamic risk perception and risk taking. Research Paper II adds two moderators of primed goal pursuit to the current debate on behavioral priming. Finally, Research Paper III shows that the easily accessible self-regulatory strategy of implementation intentions has enormous potential to reduce self-defensiveness in learning environments. In sum, the present thesis provides novel ideas for research on MAP, and it points to novel ways of how people can improve their goal pursuits.