Imposing personalities

1
Imposing personalities
2
Lecture contents

• Subjective Expected Utility
• Goal theory
• Self-discrepancy theory
• The origin and development of goals
• Personal strivings

3
Subjective Expected Utility (SEU)

• Edward Tolman
• Impressed with persistence until nature of
  action.
• Suggestive of expectancies that persistence will
  lead to valued outcomes.
• Julian Rotter
• Behaviour potential (likelihood of performance)
  is a function of (subjective) expectancy
  (expected consequences) and (subjective)
  reinforcement value (of those consequences).
• Consequence probability and value to be
  calculated for each possible behaviour.
• Most research looks at choice among a limited
  number of action options.

4
Goal theory

• 1. Goals and plans
• Goals persistent, valued, possible, necessary
• Plans instrumental, contingent
• 2. The A(?)BC of goal-motivated behaviour
• Cognitive representation of plans and goals, plus
• Expectation that goal attainment will be valuable
• Expectation is a cognition.
• (Rewarding/valuable) Goal necessarily affective?
• Affect necessary as a cause of ertia?
• Behaviour potential.
• 3. Goals occur in systems

5
Means and Ends

• Pham Taylor (1999)
• Mental simulation of good process, good
  outcome, both, or neither.
• Including process improved hours studying and
  studying intention-behaviour deficit.
• Sole outcome focus worsened exam score.
• Important jargon
• Multidetermination
• Goals interact to produce single outcomes.
• Equipotentiality
• The same goal may be satisfied in various ways.
• Equifinality
• Different goals can be satisfied by the same
  outcome.

6
Higgins (1989) self-discrepancy theory
7
Motivation from goals and progress
evaluationBandura Cervone (1983)
8
Motivation from dissatisfaction and
efficacyBandura Cervone (1983)
9
Where do goals come from?

• Hedonism
• Classical and operant conditioning
• Functional autonomy
• Choice

10
Emmons personal strivings

• Form coherent patterns of goals.
• Goals may be domain-specific, e.g., pleasant in
  social interactions.
• Striving (clusters) and their expression is
  idiographic.
• Some striving content is nomothetic.
• E.g., Achievement, autonomy, affiliation.

11
Assessment of personal strivings

• Open-ended self-report of goals and execution
  attempts.
• Rate top 15 strivings on various dimensions,
  e.g., valence.
• Factor analysis of dimension scores
• Degree of striving (e.g., value, importance,
  commitment)
• Ease (e.g., opportunity, difficulty)
• Success (e.g., past attainment, probability of
  success)
• Pairwise comparison of strivings compatibility.

12
Personal striving and SWB (Emmons, 1986)

• Positive affect from
• Actual achievement of valued goals.
• Continued progress towards valued goals.
• Negative affect from
• Conflict (co-present but oppositely valenced
  goals).
• Ambivalence (success is a mixed belssing).
• Anticipated failure.
• Life satisfaction from
• Anticipated success.
• Having important goals.
• Having goals that facilitate affiliation.

13
What will satisfy you? McGregor Little (1998)

• Happiness (affect) - From efficacy
• usually exuberant and enthusiastic
• life to me seems always exciting
• every day is constantly new and different
• life is full of exciting good things
• am achieving life goals
• Meaning (Life satisfaction) - From integrity
• have very clear goals and aims in life
• clear goals and a satisfying life purpose
• find meaning, purpose, and mission in life

14
(No Transcript)