Daily goals, life goals, and worst fears: means, ends, and subjective well-being

Remembering future life goals: Retrospective future thinking affects life goal qualities

Personal goals are important for the construction and organization of episodic future thought. This study examines the impact of two future thinking perspectives on qualities of mental goal representations. Here, 142 participants (M_age = 21.9 years) reported on the content and characteristics of five life goals either retrospectively, imagining goals from the perspective of their 100-year-old self, or prospectively from the perspective of their current self. Results indicate that retrospectively reported life goals relied more on schematized knowledge, were dated to occur later in life, and were perceived as more self-concordant with increasing distance from the present. Independent of condition, more distant goals were rated as more difficult, less likely to occur, and were associated with lower self-efficacy. This study provides the first evidence that the point in life from which you consider your own future affects the qualities of mental goal representations, suggesting that retrospective future thinking serves as a form of psychological distancing.

Does Goal Conflict Necessarily Undermine Wellbeing? A Moderated Mediating Effect of Mixed Emotion and Construal Level

Development occurs through the process of setting and working toward goals, in which individuals are often working toward multiple goals that are likely to conflict with one another. Although motivation theories hold that goal conflict is a kind of potential stress that may damage individuals’ mental health and wellbeing, the empirical research results on the relationship between goal conflict and wellbeing are quite different. There may be unknown factors affecting the relationship between the two. Against this background, we conducted the exploration of the relationship between goal conflict and life satisfaction, mainly by analyzing the moderated mediating effect of mixed emotions and construal level. The results showed that the goal conflict did not directly affect life satisfaction (β = −0.01, p > 0.5) but indirectly influenced life satisfaction through mixed emotions (β = −0.17, p < 0.001). The construal level moderated the relationship between mixed emotions and life satisfaction (β = −0.08, p < 0.01), and the higher construal level will predict higher life satisfaction especially when mixed emotions were low (M − SD) or medium (M). Therefore, the hypothesis of moderated mediating effect is verified, and we can draw the following conclusions: (1) Goal conflict does not necessarily impair life satisfaction. (2) Goal conflict impairs life satisfaction conditional on the fact that it triggers mixed emotions. Since mixed emotions are often accompanied by feelings of ambivalence and discomfort, they reduce the individual’s evaluation of life satisfaction. (3) In the path of goal conflict reducing life satisfaction through mixed emotions, the higher construal level mitigates the adverse effects of mixed emotions to some extent.

Socioemotional selectivity and psychological health in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients and caregivers: a longitudinal, dyadic analysis

Objective: Socioemotional selectivity theory predicts that as the end of life approaches, goals and resources that provide immediate, hedonic reward become more important than those that provide delayed rewards. This study tested whether these goal domains differentially affected psychological health in the context of marital dyads in which one partner had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a life-limiting disease. Design: ALS patients (N = 102) being treated in three multidisciplinary clinics and their spouses (N = 100) reported their loneliness, financial worry and psychological health every 3 months for up to 18 months. Main Outcome Measure: Psychological health composite. Results: In multilevel dyadic models, patients and spouses had similar levels of financial worry and loneliness. Both patients and spouses had worse psychological health with higher loneliness, but only spouses had worse psychological health with higher financial worry. Significant interactions with age and disease severity indicated that older spouses were more affected by loneliness than were younger spouses, and patients with less severe disease were more affected by financial worry than patients with more severe disease. Conclusion: The results provide good support for socioemotional selectivity theory's implications for psychological health in a strong test of the theory.

Comparison of Offender and Non-offender Young Men to Setting Goals for Life and Attributing Meaning to Life

The main goal of the present study is to compare male offenders and non-offenders in terms of how they attribute meaning to life and set life goals. The samples were chosen from among offenders (n = 50) and non-offenders (n = 50) who were between ages 19-26. Mixed method was used in this study. The scale of setting life goals and interview form were used to collect data. To analysis of the data, the content analysis technique and t test and were used. Findings of the present study show that offenders tend to have troubles setting life goals when compared to non-offenders. Furthermore, the results of this study could be used in rehabilitating offenders and preventing those at risk of committing criminal acts from doing so.

Narrative meaning making and integration: Toward a better understanding of the way falling ill influences quality of life

Falling seriously ill is often experienced as a life event that causes conflict with people’s personal goals and expectations in life and evokes existential questions. This article presents a new humanities approach to the way people make meaning of such events and how this influences their quality of life. Incorporating theories on contingency, narrative identity, and quality of life, we developed a theoretical model entailing the concepts life event, worldview, ultimate life goals, experience of contingency, narrative meaning making, narrative integration, and quality of life. We formulate testable hypotheses and describe the self-report questionnaire that was developed based on the model.

Exploring the Reference Point in Prospect Theory: Gambles for Length of Life

Attitude toward risk is an important factor determining patient preferences. Risk behavior has been shown to be strongly dependent on the perception of the outcome as either a gain or a loss. According to prospect theory, the reference point determines how an outcome is perceived. However, no theory on the location of the reference point exists, and for the health domain, there is no direct evidence for the location of the reference point. This article combines qualitative with quantitative data to provide evidence of the reference point in life-year certainty equivalent (CE) gambles and to explore the psychology behind the reference point. The authors argue that goals (aspirations) in life influence the reference point. While thinking aloud, 45 healthy respondents gave certainty equivalents for life-year CE gambles with long and short durations of survival. Contrary to suggestions from the literature, qualitative data argued that the offered certainty equivalent most frequently served as the reference point. Thus, respondents perceived life-year CE gambles as mixed. Framing of the question and goals set in life appeared to be important factors behind the psychology of the reference point. On the basis of the authors' quantitative and qualitative data, they argue that goals alter the perception of outcomes as described by prospect theory by influencing the reference point. This relationship is more apparent for the near future as opposed to the remote future, as goals are mostly set for the near future.

Interference and Facilitation among Personal Goals: Differential Associations with Subjective Well-Being and Persistent Goal Pursuit

Three studies demonstrate that mutual facilitation and interference among personal goals are distinct characteristics rather than mutually exclusive opposites and have different functions for psychological well-being and goal pursuit. The three studies vary in design (cross-sectional, short-termlongitudinal) and follow a multimethod approach using questionnaires, diaries, and objective behavioral information. Results show that interference among goals (resulting from resource constraints and incompatible goal attainment strategies) is negatively associated with trait and state well-being, whereas mutual facilitation among goals (resulting from instrumental goal relations and overlapping goal attainment strategies) is positively associated with involvement in goal pursuit.

Optimizing rehabilitation for adults with visual impairment: attention to life goals and their links to well-being

Objective: To examine the importance of different life goals among working-age adults with vision impairment, the extent to which vision impairment interfered with goals, and how rehabilitation addressed these life goals.

Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study.

Setting: Vision rehabilitation agency.

Subjects: Working-age adults with visual impairment.

Method: Telephone interviews using structured and open-ended assessments of life goal importance, goal interference due to vision loss, the role of goals in rehabilitation, and indicators of well-being.

Results: Eighty-six people participated. The life domains most frequently rated as extremely important were finances (60), residential and domestic arrangements (55), family (51), partner (48), and personal care (48). The extent to which vision loss interferes with these life goals was extreme for finances (46), residential and domestic arrangements (36), partner (27), family (25), and personal care (14). A life goal was addressed in rehabilitation: residential/domestic arrangements (41), work (39), finances (31), leisure/hobbies (28), personal care (24), family (17), partner (16), friends (10), and religion/life philosophy (8). Reports of a life goal being addressed in ineffective ways emerged for functional life goals, but not for relationship and religion/life philosophy goals. Goal interference was significantly correlated with well being indicators across life domains. In contrast only partner and family relationship importance were significantly linked with well-being indicators.

Conclusions: Relationship-related goals were a top priority for this study population, but functional compared to relationship goals were more commonly addressed in vision rehabilitation services.

Changes in life goals of people with neurological disabilities

Objective: To investigate the relationship between changes in life goals and progression of disabilities among subjects with neurological disorders over a period of four years.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: A centre for continuing disability management in the UK.

Subjects: Patients with static or progressive neurological disabilities.

Interventions: Review of rehabilitation team notes.

Main outcome measures: Barthel ADL Index and Rivermead Life Goals Questionnaire from four consecutive annual assessments from 1997 to 2000.

Results: Thirty-two subjects had progressive disabilities and 24 had static disabilities. In subjects with static disabilities there was no significant change in grades of any of the life goals over a period of four years. Among subjects with progressive disabilities, significant reductions were noted in importance given to partner ( p = 0.034), work ( p = 0.008) and leisure ( p = 0.028) over four years. While there was no significant change in number of life goals considered as extremely important in subjects with static disabilities, there was a significant reduction in number of goals considered as extremely important in subjects with progressive disabilities ( p = 0.022)

Conclusion: People with progressive disabilities tend to downgrade the significance attached to goals related to partner, work and leisure. They also reduce number of goals graded as extremely important. This change is not seen in people with static disability.

A longitudinal analysis of self-regulation and well-being: avoidance personal goals, avoidance coping, stress generation, and subjective well-being

We conducted 2 longitudinal meditational studies to test an integrative model of goals, stress and coping, and well-being. Study 1 documented avoidance personal goals as an antecedent of life stressors and life stressors as a partial mediator of the relation between avoidance goals and longitudinal change in subjective well-being (SWB). Study 2 fully replicated Study 1 and likewise validated avoidance goals as an antecedent of avoidance coping and avoidance coping as a partial mediator of the relation between avoidance goals and longitudinal change in SWB. It also showed that avoidance coping partially mediates the link between avoidance goals and life stressors and validated a sequential meditational model involving both avoidance coping and life stressors. The aforementioned results held when controlling for social desirability, basic traits, and general motivational dispositions. The findings are discussed with regard to the integration of various strands of research on self-regulation.

Interpersonal goals and change in anxiety and dysphoria in first-semester college students

Two longitudinal studies examined the associations between interpersonal goals (i.e., self-image and compassionate goals) and anxiety and dysphoria (i.e., distress). In Study 1, 199 college freshmen (122 women, 77 men) completed 12 surveys over 12 weeks. Compassionate goals predicted decreased distress, and self-image goals predicted increased distress from pretest to posttest when distress was assessed as anxiety, dysphoria, or a composite, and when the goals were worded as approach goals, avoidance goals, or a composite. In Study 2, 115 first-semester roommate pairs (86 female and 29 male pairs) completed 12 surveys over 12 weeks. Compassionate and self-image goals predicted distress in same-week, lagged-week, and pretest-to-posttest analyses; effects of compassionate goals remained significant when the authors controlled for several known risk factors. Having clear goals consistently explained the association between compassionate goals but not self-image goals and distress. Results supported a path model in which compassionate goals predict increased support given to roommates, which predicts decreased distress. Results also supported a reciprocal association; chronic distress predicted decreased compassionate and increased self-image goals from pretest to posttest, and weekly distress predicted decreased compassionate goals the subsequent week. The results suggest that compassionate goals contribute to decreased distress because they provide meaning and increase support given to others. Distress, in turn, predicts change in goals, creating the potential for upward and downward spirals of goals and distress.

Everyday strivings in war veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: suffering from a hyper-focus on avoidance and emotion regulation

This research investigated whether combat veterans' daily strivings are related to the presence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and well-being. Veterans created a list of their most important strivings, which were content-analyzed for emotion regulation and approach or avoidance themes. It was hypothesized that veterans pursuing strivings with themes of emotion regulation or avoidance experience deleterious consequences compared with other veterans. For all veterans, devoting finite time and energy in daily life to regulating emotions was associated with less purpose, meaning, and joy compared with other strivings. Veterans with PTSD endorsed more strivings related to emotion regulation and devoted considerable effort to emotion regulation and avoidance strivings. Yet, these efforts failed to translate into any discernible benefits; veterans without PTSD derived greater joy and meaning from strivings focusing on approac- oriented behavior and themes other than emotion regulation. The presence of PTSD and a high rate of emotion regulation strivings led to the lowest global well-being and daily self-esteem during a 14-day assessment period. The presence of PTSD and a high rate of avoidance strivings also led to lower emotional well-being. Results indicate that strivings devoted to regulating emotions or avoidance efforts influence the mental health of veterans with and without PTSD. Studying personality at different levels of analysis-traits, strivings, and life narratives-allows for a fine-grained understanding of emotional disorders.

Self-generated goals and goal process appraisals: relationships with sociodemographic factors and well-being

In this study the full array of personal goals pursued by adolescents was examined using an idiographic goal-elicitation procedure. The aims of the study were twofold. Firstly, we investigated individual differences in self-generated goals and goal process appraisals based on sociodemographic characteristics. Secondly, we investigated the relationship between goal content, goal process appraisals and well-being. Questionnaires were completed by 438 high-school students aged 12 to 19. Girls reported more school, relationship, self and body goals and older students reported more future trajectory goals. In addition, girls and ethnic minority adolescents were more likely to report goal frustration. Well-being was positively associated with goal related self-efficacy and negatively associated with endorsement of self goals, perceived difficulty in goal attainment and goal frustration. These results extend previous findings and suggest that goal-related efficacy, attainment beliefs and impediment to goal pursuit are important factors in adolescent well-being.

Looking ahead through lenses of justice: the relevance of just-world beliefs to intentions and confidence in the future

Recent research distinguishes the belief in a just-world for the self (BJW-self) from that for others (BJW-others), showing BJW-self to be associated with subjective well-being and BJW-others to be associated with harsh social attitudes. The present research examines the implications of these two types of just-world belief for aspects of motivation and ideation about the future. A sample of 100 young British adults living in assisted accommodation completed measures of BJW-self, BJW-others, life satisfaction and intention to engage in delinquent behaviour. They also listed their personal goals and indicated their confidence that they would attain them. In partial correlation and hierarchical regression analyses, BJW-self predicted confidence in the realization of goals, but was inversely related to delinquent intentions. In contrast, BJW-others was directly related to delinquent intentions but inversely related to confidence in achieving socially legitimate personal goals. These results were not attributable to variations in life satisfaction or in the achievability of participants' goals.

Positive affect and the experience of meaning in life

Six studies examined the role of positive affect (PA) in the experience of meaning in life (MIL). Study 1 showed strong relations between measures of mood, goal appraisals, and MIL. In multivariate analyses, PA was a stronger predictor of MIL than goal appraisals. In Study 2, the most consistent predictor of the experience of meaning in a day was the PA experienced that day. Later, global MIL was predicted by average daily PA, rather than average daily MIL. Study 3 demonstrated no prospective relations between measures of MIL and PA over 2 years. In Study 4, priming positive mood concepts enhanced MIL. In Study 5, manipulated positive mood enhanced ratings of MIL for those who were not given an attributional cue for their moods. In Study 6, PA was associated with a high level of distinction between meaningful and meaningless activities. Results indicate that positive moods may predispose individuals to feel that life is meaningful. In addition, positive moods may increase sensitivity to the meaning-relevance of a situation.

Inkonsistenz und psychische Gesundheit: Eine Metaanalyse

Zusammenfassung: Konsistenz im psychischen Geschehen gilt als Voraussetzung für gutes Funktionieren und für gute Gesundheit. Inkonsistenz dagegen verhindert eine effiziente Auseinandersetzung mit den Anforderungen der Umwelt und somit die Befriedigung der menschlichen Grundbedürfnisse, wird als Stressor gesehen und gilt als mitverantwortlich für die Entstehung von psychischen Störungen ( Grawe, 1998 , 2004 ). Inkongruenz als eine Art von Inkonsistenz beschreibt die Divergenz zwischen den Wahrnehmungen der Realität und den Wünschen und Zielen des Menschen. Diskordanz dagegen bezeichnet die gegenseitige Unvereinbarkeit von Zielen, Wünschen oder Motiven. Nach der Konsistenztheorie von Grawe spielen diese beiden Formen von Inkonsistenz, zusammen mit den Vermeidungszielen und dem Grad der Befriedigung von Grundbedürfnissen eine wichtige Rolle bei der Entstehung und Aufrechterhaltung von psychischen Störungen wie auch für das Wohlbefinden des Menschen. Die vorliegende Untersuchung gibt einen kurzen Überblick über Operationalisierungen von Inkonsistenzformen in der psychologischen Literatur und eine metaanalytische Zusammenfassung der Zusammenhänge zwischen Inkonsistenzformen und Merkmalen von Gesundheit und Krankheit. Die Ergebnisse entsprechen größtenteils den Annahmen der Konsistenztheorie. Inkonsistenzformen in unterschiedlichsten Operationalisierungen stehen im Zusammenhang mit Merkmalen von Wohlbefinden, Gesundheit und Krankheit. Zu berücksichtigen ist, dass die Ergebnisse meist aus Korrelationsstudien mit einem Messzeitpunkt stammen und deshalb nicht auf Ursache-Wirkungszusammenhänge geschlossen werden kann.

Happiness in the Face of Adversity: Reformulating the Dynamic and Modular Bases of Subjective Well-Being

Addressing diversity and apparent contradictions in manifestations of happiness, this article delineates subjective well-being (SWB) as a dynamic system in the face of possible adversity. SWB constitutes a favorable psychological environment that regulates the hostile-world scenario, defined as one's image of actual or potential threats to one's life or integrity. SWB operates in various modules: experiential, wherein private awareness of SWB dwells on relevant core themes; declarative, wherein public self-reports of SWB function as social behavior; differential, wherein synchronic dimensions of SWB form well-being types; and narrative, wherein diachronic valences of SWB construct trajectories along one's life story. By explicating the regulatory and configurational nature of SWB, the present conceptualization emphasizes the process, rather than the outcome, of pursuing happiness.

Crystallization of Desire and Crystallization of Discontent in Narratives of Life-Changing Decisions

Two studies of adults examined personal narratives of life-changing decisions in relation to personality and well-being. Participants whose decision narratives emphasized a crystallization of desire (i.e., approaching a desired future) rather than a crystallization of discontent (i.e., escaping an undesired past; Baumeister, 1991, 1994) reported higher well-being, fewer avoidance strivings, lower Neuroticism (in Study 1 only), and better decision outcomes (in Study 2). However, neither strivings, traits, nor outcomes accounted for the relationship between crystallization of desire and well-being. The discussion considers the roles of life-changing decisions and personal narratives in research on personality, well-being, and positive personal development.

Managing life through personal goals: intergoal facilitation and intensity of goal pursuit in younger and older adulthood

Two studies varying in design (cross-sectional and longitudinal) and methods (questionnaires, diaries, and objective information) support the notion that personal goals are among the phenomena that show positive development throughout adulthood: Older adults (M = 64 years) reported more mutual facilitation among their personal goals and were more engaged in goal pursuit than were younger adults (M = 25 years). Results were robust when age-group differences in education and disposable time were controlled for, and they also emerged in a context where younger and older participants had one goal in common, namely, to start regular physical exercise. Mediational analyses showed that the older adults' higher intensity of goal pursuit was partly mediated by their higher level of intergoal facilitation.

Do people need self-esteem? Comment on Pyszczynski et al. (2004)

In spite of impressive empirical evidence consistent with aspects of terror management theory (TMT) reviewed by T. Pyszczynski, J. Greenberg, S. Solomon, J. Arndt, and J. Schimel (2004), several fundamental assumptions of the theory remain untested or lack support. Specifically, Pyszczynski et al. (2004) have not demonstrated that (a) people need self-esteem, (b) pursuing self-esteem is an effective means for reducing anxiety, (c) pursuing self-esteem helps people achieve their important goals, (d) having or pursuing self-esteem is the only way to deal with anxiety to achieve important goals, or (e) death is the real issue driving the pursuit of self-esteem. The authors suggest there is a different paradigm for thinking about death, one in which awareness of one's mortality serves as a precious reminder of the limited time one has to accomplish one's most important goals. All of these questions can be addressed with empirical research.

Growth goals, maturity, and well-being

In 2 studies (125 college students and 51 adults), 2 forms of growth goals (exploratory and intrinsic) were compared with 2 forms of personality development (social-cognitive maturity and social-emotional well-being). Participants whose narratives of major life goals emphasized conceptual exploration were especially likely to have high levels of maturity (measured as ego development; J. Loevinger, 1976), whereas those whose goals emphasized intrinsic interests (K. M. Sheldon & T. Kasser, 1995) were especially likely to have high levels of well-being. Participants who had coherent hierarchies of growth goals on the levels of major life goals and everyday goals were especially likely to have high levels of personality development. Finally, growth goals accounted for some relationships between age and personality development. Growth goals are discussed in terms of intentional self-development and specific developmental paths.

Life goals: the concept and its relevance to rehabilitation

OBJECTIVE

Life goals are desired states that people seek to obtain maintain or avoid. These goals may influence motivation to participate in the rehabilitation process. The aim of this paper is to review the literature on life goals and the influence of life goals on the rehabilitation process.

METHODS

The MEDLINE, EMBASE, Psychlit and CINAHL databases were searched with the keywords goals, life goals, aim of life, meaning of life, motivation, assessment (identification) of life goals, goal planning, disability, coping and rehabilitation.

RESULTS

The initial search produced 917 abstracts. After going through these abstracts, 39 articles were selected for inclusion in the review. Age, gender, personality, experiences and society and environment influence life goals. Pursuit and attainment of life goals affect sense of well-being. Life goals are accessible to conscious awareness and can be identified. Several questionnaires are available for assessment of life goals. Different questionnaires assess different aspects of life goals. All except one of these questionnaires need to be tested for validity and reliability in a rehabilitation setting. Disabilities interfere with goal striving and result in emotional distress. Motivation to participate in a rehabilitation programme depends on concurrence between a patient's life goals and treatment goals. Incorporation of a subject's life goals into a management programme resulted in better outcomes in various physical and psychiatric disorders. There are no data on the efficacy of life goal-orientated rehabilitation programmes.

CONCLUSIONS

Life goals influence patients' motivation to participate in and compliance with treatment programmes. We still do not know whether rehabilitation programmes focusing on life goals make any difference in outcome. There is need for further studies in this area.

Goal construction, reconstruction and depressive symptoms in a life-span context: the transition from school to work

This study focused on investigating the kinds of personal goals young adults have when they are faced with the transition from school to work; the extent to which they reconstruct these goals as a consequence of their success in dealing with this transition; and how their goals influence their depressive symptoms. In order to investigate these research questions, 250 young adults who were facing a transition from school to work were studied at three points of the transition process: while they were still at school; 8 months after their graduation; and 1.5 years after it. At each measurement point, they were asked to complete the Personal Project Analysis, a revised form of Beck's Depression Inventory, and the Work Status Questionnaire. The results revealed that the outcomes of young adults' efforts to deal with the transition from school to work had consequences for the ways in which they reconstructed their goals: Those who were successful in this transition showed a decline in the number of personal goals that did not relate to the next stages of this particular developmental trajectory, whereas those who had problems turned to goals that concerned other life domains, as an alternative, compensatory control strategy. The results also revealed that the impact of personal goals on depressive symptomatology was moderated by individuals' life situations following the transition: Work-related goals reduced individuals' depressive symptoms only among those who had been able to find a job, whereas self-related goals decreased it in a moratorium-type of life situation.