Personal Goals as Windows to Well-Being 1. Goals explain the “whys” of our behavior - theory Almost all behavior has purpose from washing dishes to getting

Personal Goals as Windows to Well-Being

1. Goals explain the “whys” of our behavior - theoryAlmost all behavior has purpose from washing dishes to getting a college degree.

Who we are:

Goals reflect needs, values, motives, personality, experience.

Goals define and express the particulars of who we are and why we do what we do. Many general motives are shared, e.g., belongingness - fulfill differently

2. Energy & coherence in journey through life:

Motivation:

Energize action, give purpose, meaning, and direction to life.

Coherence:

Goals central part of journey through life -

Connect past, present & future. Give coherence to life by connecting short-term and longer-term purposes & smaller to larger goals.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

3. Goals connect “having & doing”

Having - resources - material & personal

- personality traits, social skills, talents, social support, finances, optimistic attitude, etc.

Doing - developing meaningful goals - pursuing personally significant activities. Goals as the action side of personality.

Goals combine who we are with who we want to become through intentional, consciously controlled actions.

Major vehicle for self change.

Antidote to mindless, reactive, rudderless life.

Infuse life with own purposes, directions, & desires. (personal ownership)


4. Goal Research

1. Goals give look at “here & now” individual on-line command center.

2. Not imposing researchers’ ideas about what is important.

Assess what is important to each individual - individual not researcher defines goals.

3. Each participant defines own important goals - not from a predetermined list.

Goals as Windows to Well-Being

What people are about - goals and life purposes.

Satisfaction with life - some better than others.

Improving life - change begins with goal to be different.


Do our goals make a difference?

Example: Student uncertainty about major and future career

Goals & UnhappinessEmmons - conflict, ambivalence, confusion about goals and purposes in

life consistently associated with unhappiness & distress.

Baumeister - unrealistic standards for self-evaluation.

- Perfectionists at risk for clinical depression.

- -Unrealistic standards imposed by self or others to gain self-approval or approval from others.

- Difficulty & inability meet perfectionist standards causes stress, frustration, low self-esteem, depression, and “escape from self.”



Goals & Happiness -Independent contribution: Harlow & Cantor - older adults.

- Factor out resources: health, finances, social support, congeniality, andprior life satisfaction - engagement in meaningful goals produces higher well-being & happiness.

Defining Personal Goals

Goals are internal representation of desired states. States refer to outcomes, events, or processes.

Outcomes: graduating from college, meeting new friends, losing weight.

Events: planning a wedding, get together with friends.

Process: activities enjoyable in own right, reading, nature walk, sports, etc.


Goals are Cognitive:

Representation: mental representation of future desired states.

Need or desire: visual image - thought - if/then story scenarios.

Memory/experience from past - approach or avoid.

Goals are Emotion-Motivational

Positive & negative thoughts thinking about achieving or failing to achieve, progress, & successful or unsuccessful attainment.


Operational Definitions

Personal Projects (Little):“We are interested in studying the kinds of activities and concerns that people have in their lives. We call these personal projects. All of us have a number of personal projects at any given time that we think about, plan for, carry and out, and sometimes (but not always) complete.”

Personal Strivings (Emmons)“The things you are typically or characteristically trying to do in your everyday behavior.” May be positive objectives or things negative events trying to avoid. Focus on recurring goals not one-time goals.


Life Tasks (Cantor) “One way to think about goals is to think about ‘current life tasks.’”

For example, imagine a retired person. The following three life tasks may emerge for the individual as he or she faces this difficult time:

(1.) being productive without a job;

(2.) shaping a satisfying role with grown children and their families;

(3.) enjoying leisure time and activities.

“These specific tasks constitute important goals since the individual’s energies will be directed towards solving them.”

Participants in the study are then asked to describe all their current life tasks.


Zirkel & Cantor:

College students: academic success, establishing future goals & plans, making new friends, learning to be independent of family, develop own unique identity, balancing time between academics and socializing.


Needs and Goals: What Makes a Goal Important and Satisfying to Pursue & Achieve?

1. Human needs underlie personal goals

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - theory & critique

Physiological Needs

Safety & Security

Belongingness

Self-esteem

Cognitive

Aesthetic

Transcendence

Self-actualized & fully functioning individual


Empirical Determination of Universal Needs

Sheldon, Elliot, Kim & Kasser - 2001 - Americans & South Koreans.

Tested 10 “candidate needs” derived from research/theory.

In order of “universality” - least & most satisfying activities:

1. *Self-esteem - positive self-image & sense of worth

2. *Relatedness - intimate caring connections to others

3. *Autonomy - freely-made choices expressing “true” self

4. *Competence - successful & capable in facing challenges

5. Pleasure-stimulation - sex & beer, novelty, change, pleasure

6. Physical thriving - good health & vitality

7. Self-actualization-meaning - fulfilling potentials, growth

8. Security - safety, coherence, control in life

9. Popularity influence - feel admired, respected, affect others

10. Money-luxury - money to buy what want, have nice possessions


2. Goals that Express Values

Schwartz’s Value Theory - validated in many different cultures.

Value = broad & general goal - function as “principles of living.”

Reflect three universal needs of human existence:

1. Individual biological needs

2. Coordinated social interaction - group needs

3. Welfare of communities & institutions

Cultures have different value priorities - i.e., ranked important, but content of 10 values shared by all cultures.

Values expressed in choices we make & life we live.

Whether we value power, hedonistic pleasures, excitement, benevolence (helping others), self-discipline, etc.


Schwartz’s - 10 Universal Values & Related Goals

1. Power - status, prestige, control, dominance- Goals - social power, wealth, authority

2. Achievement - success in showing competence- Goals - success, capable, hard working, efficient

3. Hedonism - sex & beer, pleasure, sensual gratification

- Goals - pleasure, leisure, enjoyment of food, sex & beer


Schwartz (continued)

4. Stimulation - excitement, novelty, challenge in life- Goals - Adventure, risk taking, new experiences

5. Self-direction - independence, self-direction

- Goals - creativity, freedom, own choices

6. Universalism - understanding, appreciation, protection of people & nature

- Goals - wisdom, justice, fairness, safeguarding environment


7. Benevolence - enhancing welfare of people care about- Goals - helpful, honesty, forgiveness, loyalty, reliable, responsible

8. Tradition - acceptance of ideas that culture & religion provide the self

- Goals - humility, modesty, religious devotion, respect for tradition




9. Conformity - restraint of action/impulses likely to harm others & violate social norms- Goals - politeness, courtesy, obedience in meeting

obligations, honoring parents & elders

10. Safety - safety, social stability of society, relationships, self- Goals - security of loved ones, social order, national security, cleanliness, neatness, avoiding indebtedness


Personal Goals Across Cultures

Grouzet, Lasser, Ahuvia, Dols, Kim, Lau, Ryan, Saunders, Schmuck, Shedlon, 2005

2000 college students -Western & Eastern Europe, Australia, East Asia, South America, United States & Canada - 15 cultures.

Based on previous research developed questionnaire assess the individual importance of 11 different goals.

Good internal reliability & validity.

Strongly endorsed across all cultures - i.e., evidence of universality and cross-cultural validity.


Personal Goals Across Cultures

1. Affiliation: having satisfying relationships with family and friends.

2. Community Feeling: making the world a better place through giving and activism.

3. Conformity: fitting in and being accepted by others.

4. Financial Success: being financially successful.

5. Hedonism: Having many sensually pleasurable experiences.



6. Image: having an appealing appearance (body & clothing) that others find attractive.7. Physically Healthy: being physically healthy and free of sickness.8. Popularity: being admired by others, well-known or famous.9. Safety: able to live without threats to personal safety and security.10. Self-Acceptance: feeling competent, self-aware, self-directed, and autonomous.11. Spirituality: developing a spiritual/religious understanding of the world.

Personal Goals Across Cultures (continued)

Underlying Goal DimensionsTwo underlying structures - goals grouped together

1. Instrinsic versus Extrinsic Goals-Intrinsic goals connected to important psychological needs

Self-acceptance, affiliation, community feeling, health & safety.

-Extrinsic goals express desire for external rewards, praise & admiration from others.

Financial success, image, popularity, & conformity.

2. Physical versus Self-Transcendent Goals-Physical goals overlaps some with extrinsic.

Hedonism, pleasure & pain, safety security, good health, $$-Self-transcendence overlaps some with intrinsic

Spiritual/religious understanding of life, community feeling, conformity, acceptance by others, and fulfilling

social obligations


Classifying Individual Goals

Commonality:Template for Content of Human Goals

Develop goals in life by considering:

1. Psychological needs - esteem- intrinsic - personal expressive

2. Physical Survival - security & safety

3. Pleasure - enjoyment

4. Desires for external rewards & praise

5. Desire for meaningful place in bigger picture - transcendence

Individual Differences in Goals Individuals assign different degrees of importance & emphasis to

each of these four goal dimensions.


3. Goals Expressing Self:Our Goals Define Who We Are

Whatever source, goals come to rest in self.Piece of self in each of our goals.Goals both define and express who we are.Self-descriptions include goals and aspirations, past goal achievements, goals working on in present.

Self includes future possible selves. Possible selves = all futures can imagine for ourselves.

Who we want and who we don’t want to become.Future self embodies most important goals and motivation for self-change.

Goals motivational connect past & present to future.I.e., student experiencing family hardship after divorce.past self - present & future self


Goals and Well-Being

Life Requires choices - many options but limited time & resources.

College majors, line of work, hobbies, etc.

Joseph Campbell - “Having climbed the ladder of success, I realized my ladder was up against the wrong wall.”

Research: Which goals most satisfying & fulfilling to pursue?

Where to spend our time and energy?



General Findings: 1. Achieving or making progress towards personally-important

goals makes us feel good.

2. More important the goal - more satisfaction.

Washing car versus graduating from college.

How-so-ever: Not all goals created equal in impact of satisfaction.

Some “important” goals doggedly pursued make us unhappy.

Both the “what” (goal content) and the “why” (motive) matter.

Which Goals and Reasons for Pursuing Them?

The Matching HypothesisConsistent research finding:

Goals that match, fit, express, or fulfill individual needs, values, self-conception, personality are most satisfying to pursue and achieve.

Opposite also true: mismatched goals and needs or goals and achievement = dissatisfaction. Academically gifted - wants but has few friends.Lots of friends - wants but struggling academically.



Research:1. Measure personal goals.2. Measure needs, values, self-concept.3. Measure well-being - often longitudinal.

Assess degree of match and correlate with well-being.

More match = more well-being = matching hypothesis.

Example StudyOishi, Diener, Suh & Lucas - 1999College students listed important personal goals, completed Schwartz’s

value survey, kept track of daily well-being over 23 days in diary, made satisfaction ratings in value-related life domains - achievement, family, helping others, etc.

Results:Daily well-being - having a “good day” and global well-being - feeling good

about life high related to success/progress in value-related activity.e.g.:Achievement - good test scores, gradesConformity - satisfaction with family lifeBenevolence - satisfying social interactions

Success in low priority areas values & success much less impact on well-being.


Why Matching? Three Explanations

1. Personal Goals and Self-realizationGoals express needs, values, defining personal qualities likely to

produce feelings of intense involvement and meaningfulness.

Expressing “true” self.

Waterman: personally expressive activities evoke feelings that:“This is who I am” & “this is what I was meant to do.”

Eudaimonic happiness - may not be “fun” but deeply rewarding & meaningful. E.g., being a parent of small children.

2. Intrinsic versus Extrinsic GoalsMatched goals likely to be intrinsically enjoyable rather than

pursued for extrinsic rewards like money or praise from others.

Emphasis is on enjoyment of the doing rather than reward at the end.

Domination of activities by extrinsic rewards often decreases enjoyment

and satisfaction…. “Doing it just for the reward.”


Why Matching?3. Autonomous versus Controlled Motivation

Reasons behind pursing a goal:

Autonomous - freely chosen, sense of ownership, “my” goals.

Associated with enhanced well-being.

Controlled - not “my” goals - have to do this, others want me to, need the money, feel guilty if I don’t, imposed by me,

others or circumstances.

Associated with diminished well-being.

Goals that match more likely to be freely chosen.

But qualification: a goal that matches, but not autonomously chosen, may not increase well-being. Autonomy may trump matching.


Happiness & Success in College

Matching – Self-Concordance Model

200 freshmen @ U of Missouri

Listed most important goals

E.g., getting good grades, making new friends, joining organizations, not gaining weight, weekly contact with parents, learning to live more independently.

Rated each goal and reason for college attendance according to four reasons below - arranged from most to least controlled.


1. External reasons refer to the rewards, approval, praise or situational demands that explain why we may strive for a goal.

“You strive for this goal because somebody else wants you to, or because the situation seems to compel it.”

**Parent, friends, get a good job must.

2. Introjected reasons refer to the negative inner emotions that we may experience if we don’t try to attain certain goals.

“You strive for this goal because you would feel ashamed, guilty, or

anxious if you didn’t.”

**Feel guilty anxious, left out if don’t go.


3. Identified reasons refer to valuing a goal because of its personalimportance. A person may have come to see a goal as importantbecause of others, for example learning the value of helping others orrespecting the environment from a parent or teacher. However, the goalis now wholeheartedly endorsed.“You strive for this goal because you really believe it’s an important goal to have.”**Value importance of college education. Learned value from teacher or parent.

4. Intrinsic reasons refer to the emotional pleasure and enjoyment thatpursuing the goal provides.“You strive for this goal because the enjoyment or stimulation which that goal provides you.”**Look forward to meeting new friends, people with different lifestyles,learning new ideas…exploring life options.


Results

• Freshmen with identified or intrinsic reasons for attending college had higher grades more success in achieving personal goals, staying healthy, adjusting to college, and overall happiness in college compared to those with extrinsic or introjected reasons.

Students with intrinsic and identified motivations for college attendance had semester grades higher than those predicted by their ACT scores….smarts versus motives.


Documents

Personal Goals as Windows to Well-Being 1. Goals explain the “whys” of our behavior - theory Almost all behavior has purpose from washing dishes to getting