Even when goals are self-generated, they may not feel truly "personal," that is, autonomous and self-integrated. In three studies (one concurrent and two prospective), we found that the autonomy of personal goals predicted goal attainment. In contrast, the strength of "controlled" motivation did not predict attainment. Studies 2 and 3 validated a mediational model in which autonomy led to attainment because it promoted sustained effort investment. In Study 3, the Goal Attainment Scaling methodology was used to provide a more objective measure of goal attainment, and additional analyses were performed to rule out expectancy, value, and expectancy x value explanations of the autonomy-to-attainment effects. Results are discussed in terms of contemporary models of volition and self-regulation.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Amabile, T. (1983). The social psychology of creativity. New York: Springer-Verlag.
2.
Bandura, A. (1989). Self-regulation of motivation and action through internal standards and goal systems. In L. A. Pervin (Ed.), Goal concepts in personality and social psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
3.
Brunstein, J. (1993). Personal goals and subjective well-being: A longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 1061-1070.
4.
Cantor, N. , & Langston, C. A. (1989). Ups and downs of life tasks in a life transition. In L. A. Pervin (Ed.), Goal concepts in personality and social psychology (pp. 127-167). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
5.
Cardillo, J. E. , & Smith, A. (1994). Psychometric issues. In T. Kiresuk, A. Smith, &J. Cardillo (Eds.)., Goal attainment scaling: Applications, theory, and measurement. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
6.
Carver, C. S. , & Scheier, M. F. (1981). Attention and self-regulation: A control-theory approach to human behavior. New York: Springer-Verlag.
7.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1993). The evolving self: A psychology for the third millennium. New York: Harper Collins.
8.
deCharms, R. (1968). Personal causation: The inner affective determinants of behavior. New York: Academic Press.
9.
Deci, E. (1971). Effects of externally-mediated rewards on intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 18, 105-115.
10.
Deci, E. L. , & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.
11.
Deci, E. L. , & Ryan, R. M. (1991). A motivational approach to self: Integration in personality. In R. Dienstbier (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation: Vol 38. Perspectives on motivation (pp. 237-288). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
12.
Elliot, A. J. , & Sheldon, K. M. (1997). Avoidance achievement motivation: A personal goals analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 7, 667-679.
13.
Emmons, R. A. (1986). Personal strivings: An approach to personality and subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1058-1068.
14.
Emmons, R. A. (1989). The personal strivings approach to personality. In L. A. Pervin (Ed.), Goal concepts in personality and social psychology (pp. 87-126). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
15.
Emmons, R. A. (1991). Personal strivings, daily life events, and psychological and physical well-being. Journal of Personality, 59, 453-472.
16.
Emmons, R. A. (1992). Abstract versus concrete goals: Personal striving level, physical illness, and psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 292-300.
17.
Gollwitzer, P. M. (1987). The implementation of identity-intentions: A motivational-volitional perspective on symbolic self-completion. In F. Halisch & J. Kuhl (Eds.), Motivation, intention, and volition (pp. 349-370). New York: Springer-Verlag.
18.
Gollwitzer, P. M. (1990). Action phases and mind-sets. In E. T. Higgins & R. M. Sorrentino (Eds.), Handbook of motivation and cognition (Vol. 2, pp. 53-92). New York: Guilford.
19.
Gollwitzer, P. M. (1996). The volitional benefits of planning. In P. M. Gollwitzer &J. Bargh (Eds.), The psychology of action (pp. 287-312). New York: Guilford.
20.
Grolnick, W. , & Ryan, R. M. (1987). Autonomy in children's learning: An experimental and individual difference investigation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 890-898.
21.
Grolnick, W. , Ryan, R., & Deci, E. L. (1991). The inner resources for school achievement: Motivational mediators of children's perceptions of their parents. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 508-517.
22.
Harter, S. (1983). The development of the self-system. In T. Mussen (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology (pp. 275-393). New York: Wiley & Sons.
23.
Jöreskog, K. G. , & Sörbom, D. (1993). LISREL 8: User's reference guide. Chicago: Scientific Software International.
24.
Judd, C. , & Kenny, C. (1981). Process analysis: Estimating mediation in treatment evaluations. Evaluation Review, 5, 602-619.
25.
Kihlstrom, J. F. , & Klein, S. B. (1994). The self as a knowledge structure. In T. Wyer & R. Srull (Eds.), Handbook of social cognition (pp. 153-208). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
26.
Kiresuk, T. , Smith, A., & Cardillo, J. (1994). Goal attainment scaling: Applications, theory, and measurement. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
27.
Koestner, R. , Ryan, R., Bernieri, F., & Holt, K. (1984). Setting limits on children's behavior: The differential effects of controlling vs. informational styles on intrinsic motivation and creativity. Journal of Personality, 52, 233-248.
28.
Kuhl, J. (1986). Action control: The maintenance of motivational states. In J. Kuhl &J. Beckmann (Eds.), Action control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 101-128). Berlin: Springer.
29.
Kuhl, J. , & Fuhrman, A. (in press). Decomposing self-regulation and self-control: The Volitional Components Checklist. In J. Heckhausen & C. Dweck (Eds.), Life span perspectives on motivation and control. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
30.
Kuhl, J. , & Goschke, T., (1994). A theory of action control: Mental subsystems, modes of control, and volitional conflict-resolutional strategies. In J. Kuhl &J. Beckmann (Eds.), Volition and personality: Action versus state orientation (pp. 93-124). Gottingen: Hogrefe.
31.
Kuhl, J. , & Kazen, M. (1994). Self-discrimination and memory: State orientation and false self-ascription of assigned activities. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 1103-1115.
32.
Lepper, M. R. , Greene, D., & Nisbett, R. E. (1973). Undermining children's intrinsic interest with extrinsic rewards: A test of the "over justification" hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 28, 129-137.
33.
Little, B. (1989). Personal projects analysis: Trivial pursuits, magnificent obsessions, and the search for coherence. In D. Buss & N. Cantor (Eds.), Personality psychology: Recent trends and emerging directions (pp. 15-31). New York: Springer-Verlag.
34.
Locke, E. A. , & Latham, G. P. (1990). A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
35.
Lydon,J. , & Zanna, M. (1990). Commitment in the face of adversity: A value-affirmation approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 1040-1047.
36.
Markus, H. , & Wurf, E. (1987). The dynamic self-concept: A social psychological perspective. In M. R. Rosenzweig & L. W. Porter (Eds.), Annual review of psychology (pp. 299-337). Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews.
37.
Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, self and society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
38.
Nuttin, J. R. (1987). The respective roles of cognition in behavioral dynamics, intention, and volition. In F. Halisch &J. Kuhl (Eds.), Motivation, intention, and volition (pp. 309-320). New York: Springer-Verlag.
39.
Omodei, M. M. , & Wearing, A. J. (1990). Need satisfaction and involvement in personal projects: Toward an integrative model of subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 762-769.
40.
Pervin, L. A. (1989). Goal concepts in personality and social psychology. In L. A. Pervin (Ed.), Goal concepts in personality and social psychology (pp. 1-17). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
41.
Rogers, C. R. (1951). Client-centered therapy. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
42.
Ruehlman, L. S. , & Wolchik, S. A. (1988). Personal goals and interpersonal support and hindrance as factors in psychological distress and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 293-301.
43.
Ryan, R. M. (1982). Control and information in the intrapersonal sphere: An extension of cognitive evaluation theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 450-461.
44.
Ryan, R. M. (1995). Psychological needs and the facilitation of integrative processes. Journal of Personality, 63, 397-427.
45.
Ryan, R. M. , & Connell, J. P. (1989). Perceived locus of causality and internalization: Examining reasons for acting in two domains. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 749-761.
46.
Sheldon, K. M. , & Kasser, T. (1995). Coherence and congruence: Two aspects of personality integration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 531-543.
47.
Sheldon, K. M. , & Kasser, T. (in press). Pursuing personal goals: Skills enable progress but not all progress is beneficial. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
48.
Sobel, M. (1982). Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects in structural equations models. In S. Leinhart (Ed.), Sociological methodology (pp. 290-312). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
49.
Vallerand, R. J. , & Bissonnette, R. (1992). Intrinsic, extrinsic, and a motivational styles as predictors of behavior: A prospective study. Journal of Personality, 60, 599-620.
50.
Vallerand, R. J. , Fortier, M. S., Daoust, H., & Blais, M. R. (1996). Toward a motivational model of high school dropout. Unpublished manuscript, University of Quebec.
51.
Vroom, V. (1964). Work and motivation. New York: Wiley.
52.
Wadsworth, M. , & Ford, D. H. (1983). The assessment of personal goal hierarchies. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 30, 514-526.
53.
Williams, G. C. , Grow, V. M., Freedman, Z., Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (1996). Motivational predictors of weight loss and weight-loss maintenance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 115-126.
