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Inspired to get there: The effects of trait and goal inspiration on goal progress
Abstract
The present investigation examined the effects of trait and goal inspiration on goal progress. Undergraduate students reported three goals they intended to pursue throughout the semester and completed measures of trait and goal inspiration as well as measures of personality traits. Participants then reported on goal progress three times at monthly intervals throughout the semester. Result showed that trait inspiration predicted goal progress, and that this effect was fully mediated by goal inspiration and held after controlling for the Big Five personality traits. Additional within-person analyses of goal inspiration showed that most of the variance in goal inspiration was due to between-person individual differences. Furthermore, analyses of the direction of causality between goal inspiration and goal progress revealed a bi-directional relationship. Discussion focused on the implications and future directions for research on inspiration.
... Inspiration contributes to both individual development and positive social change. It frees people from ordinary mundanity, drives people to take action, and leads to increased innovation (Das et al., 2022;Kast et al., 2003;Milyavskaya et al., 2012;Oliver et al., 2012;. First, inspiration frees people from ordinary preoccupations and basic needs. ...
... Second, inspiration provides a sense of motivation that works in multiple domains (Klein et al., 2018;Thrash & Elliot, 2003). It is future-and action-oriented, driving people to pursue their goals (Milyavskaya et al., 2012) and take action (Chen et al., 2020, Das et al., 2022Hayes, 2020;Klein et al., 2018). Third, inspiration also promotes the generation of ideas and improves the quality of creative products . ...
... Inspiration opens up new possibilities and drives people toward the actualization of such new ideas (Thrash, 2021;Thrash & Elliot, 2004). It plays a critical role in relieving people from their ordinary preoccupations (Chen et al., 2020;Dubay, 1999;Oliver et al., 2012), motivating people to pursue goals and passion in multiple domains (Das et al., 2022;Hayes, 2020;Klein et al., 2018;Milyavskaya et al., 2012), improving creativity and innovations , and thus helps people achieve their full potential and bring positive change to both individuals and society. However, few studies have examined what factors elicit inspiration and how these factors do so. ...
... Directed by such cognitively generated motivation, people guide their actions anticipatorily (Bandura, 2015); they set goals, anticipate likely outcomes of future actions, and plan courses of actions to achieve these goals. Goal realization, understood as engagement in goal-directed behavior that leads to progress in personal goal attainment (Bagozzi et al., 2003;Little, 2006;Milyavskaya et al., 2012), is therefore considered one of the adaptive personal characteristics. Moreover, progress and attainment of meaningful goals is linked to well-being (e.g., Emmons, 2003;Sheldon et al., 2010). ...
... To demonstrate why a new measure is needed, it is worth analyzing the problems faced when evaluating personal goals. Usually, with some notable exceptions (e.g., Milyavskaya et al., 2012;Sheldon et al., 2010), single items were used for goal evaluations. As an illustrative example we use the Personal Projects Analysis (PPA; Little & Gee, 2007). ...
... Because reliability of single item evaluations is usually unknown (test-retest correlations are rarely available), as a remedy some researchers combined several PPA dimensions into scales, for example, using the total score on five single-item dimensions (Laguna et al., 2017). A similar solution was applied in other studies (e.g., Milyavskaya et al., 2012;Sheldon et al., 2010). Thus developed, the scales were then evaluated psychometrically; their factorial structure and reliability were estimated. ...
Background
This paper presents the results of three studies allowing the design and initial validation of the Daily Goal Realization Scale (DGRS). Goal realization refers to the engagement in goal-directed behavior that leads to progress in personal goal attain-ment; it is considered one of the adaptive personal characteristics.
Participants and procedure
Three studies, including an initial study to develop and select the items (Study 1), an intensive longitudinal study (Study 2), and a multiple goal evaluation study (Study 3), tested factorial structure, reliability and validity of the measure.
Results
Multilevel confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the unidimensional structure of the DGRS (obtained in Study 1) both at the individual and goal level, captured as daily goal realization (Study 2) and as multiple goal realization (Study 3). The va-lidity of the DGRS was supported by meaningful associations with other goal evaluations (Study 3). As expected, the DGRS was positively related to evaluations of progress in goal achievement, engagement, likelihood of success, and goal im-portance. The DGRS also demonstrated measurement invariance allowing for meaningful comparisons of scores between men and women.
Conclusions
The findings indicate that the DGRS is a brief and reliable idiographic measure of daily goal realization. The scale has excel-lent internal consistency and good criterion validity.
... 871). It is a mental process that motivates an individual to achieve advanced knowledge or wisdom (Das, Saha, et al., 2022;Milyavskaya et al., 2012) or a momentary occurrence when individuals believe themselves as capable of turning an imaginative idea into a workable reality (Dai et al., 2022;Milyavskaya et al., 2012). Like, Dai et al. (2022) observed that inspiration induces people to drive ideas into realisation and, hence, is considered a motivational condition. ...
... 871). It is a mental process that motivates an individual to achieve advanced knowledge or wisdom (Das, Saha, et al., 2022;Milyavskaya et al., 2012) or a momentary occurrence when individuals believe themselves as capable of turning an imaginative idea into a workable reality (Dai et al., 2022;Milyavskaya et al., 2012). Like, Dai et al. (2022) observed that inspiration induces people to drive ideas into realisation and, hence, is considered a motivational condition. ...
... This aspect is intriguing because the psychological work experiences of FLEs can affect their attitudes, emotions, and behaviors in the workplace (Hackman, 1980), ultimately influencing the organization's performance (Harter et al., 2010). Various empirical studies, especially in leadership research (e.g., Bass, 1988;Grant & Hofmann, 2011;James & Lahti, 2011;Larwood et al., 1995;Shamir et al., 1998), entrepreneurship research (e.g., Bhansing et al., 2018;Wartiovaara et al., 2019), social psychology research (e.g., Milyavskaya et al., 2012;Thrash & Elliot, 2003;Thrash et al., 2017), and organizational research (e.g., An & Youn, 2018;Avramenko, 2013;Straume & Vittersø, 2012;Watkins, 2020), have shed light on the benefits of being inspired. ...
... Other outcomes examined by psychological research are productivity, efficiency (Thrash et al., 2010a), goal-striving (Milyavskaya et al., 2012), self-determination, work mastery, perceived competence, positive affect (Thrash & Elliot, 2003), and hedonic and eudaimonic well-being (Thrash et al., 2010b). ...
Delivering excellent service offerings is critical to physical retailers’ long-term success. In this context, frontline employees (FLEs) have become the key players in creating value for customers and represent a key opportunity, particularly for service-focused retailers, to strengthen the future of physical retail. Facing changing consumer behaviors due to the aftermath of COVID-19 and increasingly fierce competition from established offline and new online competitors, physical retailers struggle to stay competitive without cutting payroll expenses for FLEs. In response to this dilemma, scholars recognized the importance of FLEs customizing their services to customer needs to enhance service interactions at the physical point of sale (POS) in so-called adaptive service offerings. Understanding the factors that affect adaptive service offerings, specifically in retail, is important because physical retail is heavily disrupted by the progressive shift from product to customer experience. As a result, retailers must educate FLEs on why and how to adapt service offerings and provide the right work settings. Consequently, physical retailers need to reengage with their customers by positioning themselves as providers of inspiring shopping experiences to increase their share of wallets, cross-selling, and profitability. FLEs are one important source of such inspiring shopping experiences. This dissertation contributes to a better understanding of how retailers can promote FLE inspiration by extending Wilder et al.’s (2014) study and testing a more comprehensive framework of adaptive service offerings that considers psychological mechanisms, namely FLE inspiration. My findings can help physical retailers train their FLEs more effectively. Building on the qualitative data from 293 FLEs in the DACH region (Study 1), two online survey studies were conducted, in the UK (Study 2) with 248 FLEs, and with 525 FLEs from the German-speaking DACH area (Study 3) to test this new model. The findings showed that FLE inspiration significantly mediates the effect of retailers’ perceived service climate and FLEs’ structural empowerment on three FLE variables, namely empathy, anticipation, and creativity. These three FLE-level variables precede adaptive service offerings. Most importantly, the combined findings of the three studies provide strong support for FLE inspiration mediating the relationship between FLEs’ immediate work environment and their attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. These findings offer managers practical insights into how they can inspire their FLEs and improve service offering adaptation.
... Conscientious people tend to be high in trait inspiration, in addition to having high goal inspiration (Milyavskaya et al., 2012); when they feel effective and proud of their accomplishments, achievement strivers' emotional and motivational resources may be utilized and strengthened. As Milyavskaya et al. (2012) theorized, goal progress and goal inspiration may have a reciprocal relationship which creates the upward spiral of successful goal pursuit. ...
... Conscientious people tend to be high in trait inspiration, in addition to having high goal inspiration (Milyavskaya et al., 2012); when they feel effective and proud of their accomplishments, achievement strivers' emotional and motivational resources may be utilized and strengthened. As Milyavskaya et al. (2012) theorized, goal progress and goal inspiration may have a reciprocal relationship which creates the upward spiral of successful goal pursuit. The overall beneficial outcome of the upward spiral is that individuals are transformed, such that they become "more creative, knowledgeable, resilient, socially integrated, and healthy" (Fredrickson, 2004, p. 153). ...
One effective route to increasing well-being is through the pursuit of activities which suit a person’s personality strengths (i.e., person-activity fit). People who strive for achievement tend to organize their behaviors in ways that promote goal attainment and well-being. We tested the hypothesized process that achievement striving would lead to increased well-being over time through feelings of competence and flow. A secondary aim was to describe the types of personally valued activities and whether activity type facilitates competence and flow. Undergraduate students (N = 346 at Time 1; N = 244 at Time 2) completed an online survey measuring personality, personally expressive activities, basic psychological need satisfaction, flow, and well-being at two timepoints ~ 4 months apart. Two coders thematically coded activities into seven types (e.g., reading and writing, hobbies). We used cross-sectional and longitudinal serial mediation models to test our hypothesis with eudaimonic (life worth) and hedonic (life satisfaction) well-being, controlling for sample characteristics (recruitment source and term). Achievement striving was positively correlated to competence and well-being, but the indirect effects did not show that well-being is boosted by feeling competent and in flow during in personally expressive activities, cross-sectionally or longitudinally. Perceived competence was comparable across activity types, although flow was highest in reading and writing activities. While achievement strivers tended to feel happy and competent at personally expressive activities, the mechanistic pathway to well-being is not yet clear. Future studies might recruit larger sample sizes and utilize smaller time lags (e.g., ecological momentary assessment).
... Inspiration has served as an intermediary between what triggers it and one's behavior in the future (Thrash et al., 2010). Studies have indicated experiencing inspiration increases people's progress toward goals, their sense of well-being, and whether they believe their lives are purposeful (Milyavskaya et al., 2012;Thrash et al., 2010). Natural landscapes have inspired people by linking them to the vastness of landscapes and the perception of nature's power (Fredrickson & Anderson, 1999). ...
... This study utilized a qualitative inquiry into two group experiences of U.S. National Parks to examine what individuals find inspirational when they experience natural landscapes and why. Inspirational experiences are important to characterize because inspiration promotes creativity, well-being, purpose, gratitude, and goal achievement (Milyavskaya et al., 2012;Thrash et al., 2010). In addition, inspiration, as a psychological construct, is not well characterized in the outdoor literature. ...
Background: As a psychological construct, inspiration has not received extensive examination in the outdoor literature. Inspiration can be characterized in terms of evocation, motivation, and transcendence. Purpose: This qualitative study explored the experience of inspiration in response to natural landscapes utilizing Bergson's qualitative multiplicity, the experience of co-occurring heterogeneous elements. Methodology/Approach: Survey respondents participated in a traveling field course visiting 19 U.S. National Parks in 2015 ( n = 15, 26 days) and 14 parks in 2017 ( n = 15, 18 days). Respondents described inspirational experiences in each park. Findings/Conclusions: Qualitative analysis of responses revealed a characteristic pattern: landscape features, landscape qualities, and affective responses. Participants cited vertical features, vastness, and beauty as triggers of inspiration, and characterized inspiration in terms of awe, wonder, and sublimity. Implications: This study describes inspiration in the outdoors, with implications for planning direct experiences of natural landscapes to maximize inspiration.
... Thus, the model by Thrash and Elliot (2003) conceptualizes inspiration not only as a state but also as a personality trait. This suggests that, as a result of individual differences, some people generally experience more inspiration than others (Milyavskaya et al., 2012). This makes inspiration a quantifiable phenomenon which can therefore be measured. ...
... In addition, the AIS facilitates measurement of inspiration, which according to Milyavskaya et al. (2012) is important because it knows whether or not a person is inspired to contribute to the progress of academic goals. Although an instrument that measured inspiration was already in use, it only explored the frequency and intensity of the construct in a gen-eral and broad scope (Thrash & Elliot, 2003). ...
Introduction.Inspiration is a concept that is used in different disciplines; however, there is no instrument that measures its impact in the academic sphere. In this sense, the present study aims to develop and validate a measurement instrument for academic inspiration (AIS).Method.A total of 7,871 university students from different careers from a private university in Lima, Peru participated. Statistical techniques were used for latent variables and the rec-ommendations of the standards for educational and psychological tests proposed by American Educational Research Association et al. (2014) were followed for their construction.Results.The AIS is representative and relevant in the content of its items (Aiken's V> .70). In relation to its internal structure, it is organized into three factors, which are consistent with the theoretical proposal, and it was verified by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) with ex-cellent adjustment indices (CFI = .98, RMSEA = .08, WRMR = 2.44). Furthermore, this structure is invariant according to gender and is conceptually related tovariables such as satis-faction (r≥ .80) and academic commitment (r ≥ .59).Discussion and Conclusion.The AIS is a measurement instrument that has evidence of va-lidity, factorial invariance, and good reliability of its scores. Therefore, it can be used in fu-ture studies in the academic context.
... Thrash and colleagues (Thrash & Elliot, 2004;Thrash et al., 2014) note recipients of inspiration often have a need to share the inspiration with others; the inspiration is not the end experience but simply one link in a transmission in pursuit of higher goals. While social interactions as sources of inspiration have not been investigated to any great extent (e.g., Milyavskaya, Ianakieva, Foxen-Craft, Colantuoni, & Koestner, 2012), Hart (1993) noted that it would be instructive to study collective inspiration, i.e., how people may be inspired by others at a place or event. Indeed, Margaret Mead's famous aphorism, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has" is really all about the transmission of inspiration from a small group to others. ...
... • setting goals, particularly successful in people with high trait inspiration (Milyavskaya et al., 2012); ...
Inspiration has been an under-studied phenomenon in the interpretation field. This paper presents the results of a systematic literature review of psychological literature related to inspiration, revealing nine characteristics of inspiration. Of particular interest was the contrasting meanings of inspiration as inspired by and inspired to, and that inspiration is transmissible, positive, individual, transcendent, unexpected, and holistic, and requires receptivity, which may be cultivated. Each characteristic was related to the field of interpretation in practice. After this review of the literature, we propose that giving consideration to inspiration-based interpretation may provide useful insights for practice as a constructivist approach to interpretation. Further exploration into the topic is warranted.
... Of the Big 5 traits, inspiration converges most strongly with openness to experience (Thrash & Elliot, 2003;; it also correlates positively with extraversion (an indicator of approach temperament; Elliot & Thrash, 2002) but is unrelated to neuroticism (an indicator of avoidance temperament). These Big 5 findings support the opennessapproach model (see also Milyavskaya, Ianakieva, Foxen-Craft, Colantuoni, & Koestner, 2012). ...
... Researchers have expanded the nomological net to include a variety of other variables including aesthetic experience (Wanzer, Finley, Zarian, & Cortez, in press), nostalgia (Stephan, Sedikides, Wildschut, Cheung, Routledge, & Arndt, 2015), mental toughness (Gucciardi, Jackson, Hanton, & Reid, 2015), and goal progress (Milyavskaya et al., 2012). ...
... Extensive research suggests that inspiration plays an essential role in the creative process (Milyavskaya, Ianakieva, Foxen-Craft, Colantuoni, & Koestner, 2012;Thrash, Elliot, Maruskin, & Cassidy, 2010;Thrash, Maruskin, Cassidy, Fryer, & Ryan, 2010). In entrepreneurship, practitioners often witness and refer to moments of inspiration that have enabled the recognition and exploitation of major entrepreneurial opportunities. ...
... Evocation refers to the fact that inspiration is evoked and unwilled; one does not feel directly responsible for becoming inspired (Thrash & Elliot, 2004). Transcendence refers to how inspiration brings about an awareness of something that is better or more important than one's usual concerns (Milyavskaya et al., 2012). Finally, once individuals are inspired, they experience a compelling approach motivation to transmit, actualize, or express their new vision . ...
The role of entrepreneurial inspiration has largely been overlooked in the entrepreneurship literature. Recent findings in the psychology literature indicate that inspiration plays a key role in creative processes and may have significant transformative effects on cognition, affect, and behavior. The objective of this study is to define the construct, review the literature, and propose a theory for understanding the role of inspiration in entrepreneurship. We show that our theory can answer unresolved questions in entrepreneurship.
... Nostalgia strengthened participants' motivation to pursue their most important goal. We (Stephan et al., 2015, Study 6) obtained the same finding in an experiment where we manipulated nostalgia with the ERT and measured motivation for goal pursuit with the adapted Milyavskaya et al. (2012) procedure. In addition, we asked two independent judges to code the types of goals that participants listed. ...
... In an effort to specify the effect of nostalgia on goal pursuit, we (Sedikides et al., 2017, Experiment 2) manipulated nostalgia via the ERT and assessed goal pursuit with another modification of the Milyavskaya et al. (2012) procedure. Specifically, we asked participants to respond to five statements, such as "I am motivated to pursue this goal," but this time with regard to both their most important goal and least important goal (presented at random). ...
p>Nostalgia is “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past” (Pearsall, 1998, p. 1266). This dictionary definition aligns well with lay conceptions (i.e., prototype analysis; cf. Rosch, 1978). Laypeople (Hepper, Ritchie, Sedikides, & Wildschut, 2012) across 18 cultures (Hepper et al., 2014) think of the construct “nostalgia” as encompassing fond, rose-colored, and personally important (i.e., self-defining) memories of one’s childhood or relationships, but also as encompassing pining and wishing for momentary returns to the past. They think of it, then, as a bittersweet (albeit more positive than negative) emotion that is relevant to the self and close others. Both content analyses of nostalgic narratives (Abeyta, Routledge, Roylance, Wildschut, & Sedikides, 2015; Holak & Havlena, 1998; Wildschut, Sedikides, Arndt, & Routledge, 2006, Studies 1-2) and in vivo manipulations of nostalgia (Baldwin, Biernat, & Landau, 2015; Wildschut et al., 2006, Studies 5-7; Stephan, Sedikides, & Wildschut, 2012) have corroborated these properties of the emotion.</p
... As previously mentioned, there are series of benefits that derive from inspiration experiences that may be particularly beneficial for higher education students: improvement of task performance, learning, efficiency, progress towards personal goals, productivity, work-mastery motivation, the pursuit of multiple majors, and creativity (Milyavskaya et al. 2012;Oleynick et al., 2014;Thrash, Elliot et al. 2010). Although further investigation is necessary to understand how all these variables relate in this context, this study is an initial approach to comprehend how inspiration benefits undergraduate students. ...
Teachers are an important source of inspiration for their students. Although educational research considers inspiration to be an important motivational construct that generates positive results for students, the different conceptual interpretations of the construct have made its study difficult. This situation is accentuated in the context of Latin America, due to the scarcity of empirical studies that contribute to its understanding. Considering the teacher as a source of inspiration and based on the inspiration model of Thrash & Elliot (2003, 2004), this study seeks to understand how students experience inspiration. Twenty university students were interviewed about their experiences of inspiration about their professors. The interviews were evaluated through thematic analysis. The results revealed 5 themes that highlight the characteristics of the inspiring teacher. Additionally, the thematic analyzes verified the existence of the three characteristics of the inspiration model (evocation: 1 theme, transcendence: 3 themes, and motivation: 4 themes). The study contributes by laying the foundations for formulating a guide that characterizes the inspiring teacher. As well as formulate positive insights focused on the characteristics of inspiration that allow students to transcend professionally through their university studies.
... In a more recent study, Milyavskaya et al. (2012) found that inspiration predicts achievements of individual goals. They also highlighted that goal progress may act as an additional mediator of the impact of inspiration on wellbeing. ...
Background: This study was motivated by the need to invigorate research on inspiration, especially within the domain of management. The authors’ objective was to devise a unifying structure for theory building and provide an overview of emergent constructs on inspiration research. Thus, the incremental contribution of the study is that the authors reviewed extant relevant literature and enhanced the focus on research on inspiration in management.
Methods: We performed a literature search on empirical studies on inspiration from 15 June to 31 August 2022. We retrieved English articles published between 2003 and 2022. The information sources were Ebscohost, ProQuest, Science Direct, and Scopus. Risk of bias was assessed regarding review methods and the relevance of review to the research questions. We developed a data extraction sheet for the data collection process, considering the systematic review goals to ensure that all the pertinent data was retrieved.
Results: Six out of 224 articles were identified for the final review. The excluded articles did not meet the either one or all of the inclusion criteria. The results revealed that there is a vast knowledge gap awaiting empirical research which can have a far-reaching impact on society and management; for instance, the impact of inspiration on performance and the role of moderators such as spirituality, visioning capability, gender variation, and linguistic proficiency.
Conclusion: This study recommends that research on inspiration focuses to crystallize inspiration as a construct, identify various dimensions of inspiration, and then firm up a general theory of inspiration with robust empirical evidence. There is a need to expand the scope of the IS by developing and trying out newer competing scales.
... Moreover, inspiration is associated with much more than creativity alone. Thrash and Elliot (2003) documented a series of empirical connections between inspiration and the behavioral activation system (as further evidence concerning the importance of this phenomenon for action), the personality factors of extraversion and openness to experience (Milyavskaya et al., 2012, also found slight correlations with agreeableness and conscientiousness), intrinsic motivation, work mastery, perceived confidence, self-esteem, and optimism. ...
Is creativity good, bad, or neutral? Although creative outcomes can serve malevolent purposes, we argue the underlying processes that support creative expression—what we call here the Creativity Ethos—lean toward the good in human nature. The dimensions of this Ethos can be metaphorically grouped under three main colors, Blue, Yellow and Red, related to cognition and personality, socioemotional interactions, and motivation, respectively. Blue processes are flexibility and openness, Yellow processes are perspective-taking and compassion, and Red processes are passion and inspiration. In the end, a well-developed Creativity Ethos can be compared to a rainbow that showcases how different colors valorize each other; further, they can all be enhanced through co-creation, leading to emergent changes in the world. However, there are also cases in which these components are underdeveloped, which may lead to less benevolent outcomes via profiles we call the “idle activist,” “selfish CEO,” and the “potential fanatic.” We end with reflections on why discussions of the Creativity Ethos are important not only for positive and humanistic psychology, but for any discipline, including Possibility Studies, interested in developing wise and humanizing forms of creativity.
... Future investigations could paint a more complete picture by addressing missing links in the process. Given that optimism [47], inspiration [48], and authenticity [49] facilitate goal-pursuit, research would test whether these three variables mediate the effect of nostalgia on goal-pursuit. Also, research might examine more systematically the downstream consequences of nostalgia (through optimism, inspiration, and authenticity) on psychological well-being, decision-making, and behavior. ...
Nostalgia, an approach-oriented emotion, has motivational consequences. In particular, nostalgia raises optimism and inspiration, strengthens the pursuit of one’s important goals, appears to encourage financial risk-taking, activates the intrinsic or authentic self, and galvanizes the desire to change one’s addictive behavior. Nostalgia, a past-oriented emotion, has strong implications for the future. We discuss boundaries of these effects, highlight lacunae in the literature, and point to promising research directions.
... These were exploratory results (not preregistered), but they do replicate some past research on these traits and personal goal progress [91][92][93] . Conscientiousness was unrelated to goal progress, adding to the mixed literature on the role of conscientiousness in personal goal pursuit 91,92,94,95 . ...
Self-regulation has been studied across levels of analysis; however, little attention has been paid to the extent to which self-report, neural, and behavioral indices predict goal pursuit in real-life. We use a mixed-method approach (N = 201) to triangulate evidence among established measures of different aspects of self-regulation to predict both the process of goal pursuit using experience sampling, as well as longer-term goal progress at 1, 3, and 6-month follow-ups. While self-reported trait self-control predicts goal attainment months later, we observe a null relationship between longitudinal goal attainment and ERPs associated with performance-monitoring and reactivity to positive/rewarding stimuli. Despite evidence that these ERPs are reliable and trait-like, and despite theorizing that suggests otherwise, our findings suggest that these ERPs are not meaningfully associated with everyday goal attainment. These findings challenge the ecological validity of brain measures thought to assess aspects of self-regulation. Self-regulation helps people to achieve their goals, and has been studied across modalities. Here, the authors present longitudinal evidence suggesting that common neural and behavioral measures of self-regulation derived from laboratory tasks do not predict everyday goal pursuit.
... Inspiration indicates an individual's urge to attain a higher knowledge state (Hart, 1998;Das et al., 2021a). Past literature explained inspiration as a personality trait as well as a temporary state (Böttger et al., 2017;Milyavskaya et al., 2012). As a trait, inspiration is a distinguishing quality or characteristic of a person that activates behaviour by initiating intrinsic motivation (Thrash et al., 2010). ...
Rising income and the aspirations of the middle-class have resulted in the emergence of a new category of luxury brands popularly known as "masstige brands". Researchers have attempted to establish masstige branding and masstige marketing as a differentiated research domain from luxury marketing. As an attempt to this end, the current study, which is confined to women's fashion clothing brands, investigates whether various luxury consumption values are equally applicable in inspiring masstige purchase. In addition, this study investigates whether dimensions of perceived authenticity of a masstige brand moderate the association between various consumption values and masstige purchase intention. By employing an online survey, 462 useable responses were collected from middle-income female consumers in India and analysed using PLS-SEM and multi-group analysis. The findings show that functional, experiential and symbolic consumption values inspire masstige fashion purchase but the zero-moment-of-truth consumption value does not. Quality and sincerity (but not heritage) dimensions of perceived brand authenticity enhance the consumption value perceptions leading to masstige purchase. This study is the first of its kind to examine the applicability of various luxury consumption values in masstige consumption besides testing the moderating effect of perceived brand authenticity.
... This inspiration an external marketing stimulus triggers leads customers to feel "inspired to" do something (Böttger, 2015). Past studies have indicated that customers in the "inspired to" state are motivated to actualize, emulate, or act on the qualities an inspiration source exemplifies, whether it is a marketing stimulus or a SMI (Böttger et al., 2017;Milyavskaya et al., 2012). For example, the more a marketing stimulus, such as a brand's mobile AR app (e.g., a Lego AR Playgrounds app), inspires customers psychologically, the more they are likely to feel the urge to adopt and use the app to make virtual creations (e.g., virtual Lego characters or blocks), which in turn, may motivate them to purchase the real Lego blocks (Rauschnabel et al., 2019). ...
Drawing on customer inspiration and social default theories, we investigated the mechanism by which consumers are “inspired by” social media influencers (SMIs) and “inspired to” adopt the SMIs’ exemplars as their own social defaults (standard default options that are socially desirable to like and follow). We investigated whether SMIs’ personality-determined traits [attractiveness (H1) and credibility (H2)] and content-determined traits [closeness (H3) and interactivity (H4)] led consumers to feel “inspired by” SMIs; whether consumers’ “inspired by” state led them to feel “inspired to” adopt the SMIs’ exemplars as their own social defaults (H5); and whether consumers’ “inspired to” state affected their behavioral and emotional responses: choice imitation (H6) and social glue (H7). To offer more nuanced implications, we examined whether the inspiration mechanism between consumers and SMIs differed between male and female consumers. We analyzed our model via SEM and probit regression analyses using survey data from 455 U.S. consumers’ responses.
... Inspired individuals inspire others, who can go on to inspire yet more; social movements are often the results of transmissible inspiration, while brilliant teachers can inspire more brilliant teachers and so on. Transmissible inspiration is not necessarily an individual characteristic; communities of people can act to inspire other communities to take actions and do important work, although this kind of inspiration has not been deeply investigated (e.g., Milyavskaya et al., 2012). ...
While the idea of inspiration spans the history of the field, inspiration as a topic has been an under-studied phenomenon in the interpretation field. Thirty-three professional interpreters from 21 agencies across North America participated in dialog on the topic of inspiration in interpretation through Internet-based World Café sessions. The dialog was rich and thoughtful, and revealed that these interpreters believed that inspiration is the goal of interpretation and that the nine characteristics of inspiration identified in the literature and reviewed in our prior publication were relevant to interpretation: that inspiration is two-sided, transmissible, positive, individual, transcendent, unexpected, holistic, requires receptivity, and receptivity may be cultivated. Identified barriers to using an inspiration-based approach in interpretation included meeting the needs of agencies, and particularly the agency’s needs for quantitative measurements of attendance and impacts.
... According to psychologists, this is your authentic self" (adapted from Baldwin et al., 2015, Study 3). Participants subsequently responded to the Southampton Authenticity Scale, which comprises five items adapted from Fleeson and Wilt (2010) and Milyavskaya et al. (2012; for validational information, see Kelley et al., 2021). Sample items are "I am motivated to pursue my authentic self" and "I want to put more time and effort into pursuing my authentic self" (1 = not at all, 9 = extremely; M = 6.07, ...
We propose that the emotion of awe (i.e., challenge that exceeds the scope of one's mental structures, requiring cognitive accommodation) awakens self-transcendence (i.e., reaching beyond one's self-boundary), which in turn invigorates pursuit of the authentic self (i.e., alignment with one's true self). This process has implications for prosociality. We supported our theoretical model in 14 studies (N = 4,438) using distinct awe manipulations or measures, employing different assessments of authentic-self pursuit, testing participants both in laboratory and field settings, and involving samples from both collectivistic and individualistic cultures. In Studies 1-2 (N = 828), dispositional awe was positively associated with authentic-self pursuit and induced awe motivated authentic-self pursuit. In Studies 2-9 (N = 2,461), dispositional awe was positively associated with, and induced awe strengthened, authentic-self pursuit via self-transcendence. These effects were independent of pride and happiness. In Study 10 (N = 281), self-smallness (i.e., a sense of self as small and insignificant), albeit induced by awe, did not account for the unique effects of awe on authentic-self pursuit via self-transcendence. Finally, in Studies 11-14 (N = 868), awe-induced authentic-self pursuit was linked with higher general prosociality, but lower inauthentic prosociality. The findings invite a reexamination of awe's relation with the self, while highlighting the complexity and intricacy of that relation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
... Inspiration is a promising target of study because it is richly associated with a range of positive outcomes, while its absence is described by lay people as something akin to depression [5]. It can help humans access more creativity [6], productivity, and happiness [7], facilitates progress towards goals [8], and promotes both hedonic (pleasure-oriented) and eudaimonic (growth-oriented) well-being [9], [10]. In quantitative analyses of inspiration, Thrash et al. showed that inspiration positively correlates with positive affect, the work-mastery component of the need for achievement (but negatively with its competitiveness component), and intrinsic motivation (but negatively with extrinsic motivation) [1]. ...
... Inspiration can also serve as a mediator between stimuli that evoke it and future behavior (Thrash et al., 2010). Studies indicate that inspiration influences what people do, how people feel, and the extent to which people believe they are living lives of purpose (Milyavskaya et al., 2012;Thrash et al., 2010). Natural landscapes have the potential to inspire people in ways that can impact these areas by "connecting them to the expansiveness of the landscape and an awareness of the sheer power of nature" (Fredrickson & Anderson, 1999, p. 210). ...
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the relationship between natural landscapes and inspiration through the lens of topophilia—the affinity people have for certain places or landscape features. Participants were students on a traveling college field course called American Ecosystems. The 2015 course (n=15, 26 days) visited 19 U.S. National Parks, Monuments, and Grasslands. The 2017 course (n=15, 18 days) visited 14 locations. On both courses, students studied the flora, fauna, ecology, climate, geology, landforms, and environmental issues associated with each location. Four factors emerged that encouraged inspiration: 1) vertical landscape features, 2) direct and varied experience of place, 3) overcoming personal challenges provided by the landscapes, 4) novel experiences. Students ranked landscapes as more inspirational if they spent more time there, had opportunity to see and learn about them from a greater number of vantage points, and had more direct and varied experiences within them. Subscribe to JOREL
... Inspiration is a promising target of study because it is richly associated with a range of positive outcomes, while its absence is described by lay people as something akin to depression [5]. It can help humans access more creativity [6], productivity, and happiness [7], facilitates progress towards goals [8], and promotes both hedonic (pleasure-oriented) and eudaimonic (growth-oriented) well-being [9], [10]. In quantitative analyses of inspiration, Thrash et al. showed that inspiration positively correlates with positive affect, the work-mastery component of the need for achievement (but negatively with its competitiveness component), and intrinsic motivation (but negatively with extrinsic motivation) [1]. ...
Inspiration moves a person to see new possibilities and transforms the way they perceive their own potential. Inspiration has received little attention in psychology, and has not been researched before in the NLP community. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first to study inspiration through machine learning methods. We aim to automatically detect inspiring content from social media data. To this end, we analyze social media posts to tease out what makes a post inspiring and what topics are inspiring. We release a dataset of 5,800 inspiring and 5,800 non-inspiring English-language public post unique ids collected from a dump of Reddit public posts made available by a third party and use linguistic heuristics to automatically detect which social media English-language posts are inspiring.
... Inspiration is defined as a mental process aiming to attain a higher state of knowledge (Hart, 1998). It is referred to as a state where one finds the means to translate a creative idea into something concrete (Milyavskaya et al., 2012). Inspiration is both a trait and a state (Böttger et al., 2017). ...
Purpose: The present study investigates the role of middle-class consumers’ need for uniqueness (CNFU), susceptibility to interpersonal influence (CSII), inspiration, and behavioral intentions toward masstige products. Specifically, this study examines the differential effects of CNFU dimensions, the underlying mechanism of consumer inspiration, and the moderating role of CSII in the purchase intentions toward masstige products.
Design/methodology/approach: Two studies were carried out to test the proposed relationships. Study 1 examines the differential effect of CNFU dimensions and the mediating role of consumer inspiration for data collected from tier 1 cities in India. Study 2 replicated Study 1 findings for the jewelry masstige products and tested the moderating role of CSII for data collected from tier 2 cities. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings: The study findings confirm the differential effects of CNFU dimensions on inspiration and its mediating role in masstige products' purchase intentions. Furthermore, the study found that CSII moderates the effect of CNFU dimensions on inspiration toward masstige (jewelry) purchase intentions. Status does not determine masstige purchase intention.
Research limitations: The present study was carried out in the emerging market of India. Future studies should replicate the study findings in other emerging markets.
Practical implications: The study findings have important implications for marketers of masstige brands in developing effective marketing strategies in emerging markets.
Originality: The study is among the few studies to investigate the differential role of CNFU dimensions and inspiration for masstige brands in an emerging market context.
Keywords: Masstige; Consumer need for uniqueness; Inspiration; Customer susceptibility to interpersonal influence; Emerging market; India.
... This inspiration an external marketing stimulus triggers leads customers to feel "inspired to" do something (Böttger, 2015). Past studies have indicated that customers in the "inspired to" state are motivated to actualize, emulate, or act on the qualities an inspiration source exemplifies, whether it is a marketing stimulus or a SMI (Böttger et al., 2017;Milyavskaya et al., 2012). For example, the more a marketing stimulus, such as a brand's mobile AR app (e.g., a Lego AR Playgrounds app), inspires customers psychologically, the more they are likely to feel the urge to adopt and use the app to make virtual creations (e.g., virtual Lego characters or blocks), which in turn, may motivate them to purchase the real Lego blocks (Rauschnabel et al., 2019). ...
... So by opening up possibilities for self-actualization, children gain in confidence and develop a 'sense of their own value…through the project' (Deb). Thus, an iterative process takes place in which artists provide children with a safe place, in nature, in which creative self-expression is valued and, thereby, those children develop feelings of competence and self-determination (Shalley & Gilson's inner confidence: 2004) and are more likely, as a result, to excel and achieve mastery (hence positively reinforcing SDT; Milyavskaya et al., 2012;Ryan & Deci, 2000). This is illustrated particularly well through an account given by Debbie in her interview: I was working in a school…where they'd come and asked me to make a giant nest with a particular class and they were taking it in turns to send groups of about eight out at a time… so I had four groups over the day. ...
There is increasing concern about children’s mental well-being and an urgent need for research into how to support positive mental health; including as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Alongside this is the heightened awareness about diminished access to green spaces and diminished exposure to the arts for children. Our research aims to show the potential for addressing these three issues in tandem through a qualitative case study exploring the work of one charity, Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination (CCI). The charity undertakes arts-based projects in nature with children. In particular, this article considers the implications of CCI artist pedagogues’ perceptions of their nature-based practice for children’s well-being. The research comprised a ‘talk and draw’ focus group followed by individual interviews with CCI artists. Findings show artist pedagogues’ work has the potential to support aspects of children’s well-being through promotion of agency, developing confidence and providing inspiration to support creativity.
... Study 6 (N = 77 undergraduates) asked whether nostalgia-evoked inspiration, as per the above-mentioned mediational sequence, is also linked to strength of goal pursuit (i.e., nostalgia ⇒ social connectedness ⇒ self-esteem ⇒ inspiration ⇒ goal pursuit). Following nostalgia induction (with the Event Reflection Task), this study assessed social connectedness, self-esteem, and inspiration (with the same measures as in Studies 4-5), as well as strength of goal pursuit (after Milyavskaya, Ianakieva, Foxen-Craft, Colantuoni, & Koestner, 2012). Specifically, participants listed their most important goal and subsequently rated the extent to which they were motivated at the moment to pursue it on five items (e.g., "I want to ...
Nostalgia, a sentimental longing for the past, is an ambivalent—albeit more positive than negative—emotion. Nostalgia is infused with sociality, as it refers to important figures from one’s past or to momentous life events that include those figures. Dispositional nostalgia is related to prejudice reduction via increases in a form of sociality, empathy. Experimentally induced nostalgia fosters sociality, operationalised as social connectedness (sense of acceptance). Social connectedness, in turn, has downstream consequences for (1) inspiration and goal-pursuit, (2) self-continuity and wellbeing, as well as (3) inclusion of an outgroup member in the self or outgroup trust and intergroup contact intentions. At the collective level, nostalgia confers sociality benefits to the ingroup (favourable attitudes, support, loyalty, collective action, barrier to collective guilt), but is also associated with negative sides of sociality such as outgroup rejection and exclusion. Collective nostalgia’s sociality is amenable to exploitation and can have controversial ramifications.
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... Inspiration served as the focal moderator in the current study because research suggests it is reliably associated with change in cognition and affect. Researchers have shown that individuals who feel inspired report increased positive affect (Böttger, Rudolph, Evanschitzky, & Pfrang, 2017;Thrash & Elliot, 2004;Thrash, Elliot, Maruskin, & Cassidy, 2010), creativity (Thrash, Maruskin, Cassidy, Fryer, & Ryan, 2010), and perceptions of goal progress (Milyavskaya, Ianakieva, Foxen-Craft, Colantuoni, & Koestner, 2012), and they tend to perceive inspiration as not being under one's volitional control (e.g., emanating from an environmental or spiritual influence; Thrash & Elliot, 2004). ...
Building upon psychological momentum theory, we draw an analogy between motivational constructs proposed herein and the physical principles of mass, inertia, and momentum. From these principles, we derived constructs representing academic inertia in states of both low and high momentum. The sample consisted of 105 African American college students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of a newly developed scale yielded support for two distinct factors reflecting low momentum state inertia (LMSI) and high momentum state inertia (HMSI). The conditional relationship between LMSI and HMSI was then examined with inspiration as a moderating variable. Consistent with our prediction, results indicated that the relationship between LMSI and HMSI was positive and significant at low levels of inspiration, while this slope was not significant at high levels of inspiration. Implications for cognitive-affective factors that may inhibit or facilitate psychological momentum in the context of academic functioning are discussed.
... Souitaris, Zerbinati and Al-Laham (2007) found that feeling inspired is central to entrepreneurship education and increases students' intention to start a business. It is closely related to personal growth and optimal functioning in the work place (Straume & Vittersø, 2012), is key in obtaining goals (Milyavskaya, Ianakieva, Foxen-Craft, Colantuoni, & Koestner, 2012) and influences positive affect and vitality (Thrash, Elliot, Maruskin, & Cassidy, 2010). Moreover, investigated writing processes and established that generating creative ideas and being inspired are distinct and that ideas precede inspiration. ...
This study focused on the context in which entrepreneurship in the cultural and creative industries (CCI) takes place. We investigated entrepreneurs’ inspiration, which refers to a specific type of motivation that allows the transformation of creative ideas into creative products. To explain this, we operationalised ‘passion for work’, which measures how passionately engaged entrepreneurs are with their work, as well as ‘localised passion’, which measures the passion others in one’s proximity have for their work. Ten locations throughout the Netherlands composed of creative entrepreneurs made up the setting of this study. Our results show that localised passion has two components (passion atmosphere and passion in others), which have a positive effect on inspiration. Moreover, there is a mediating role of passion for work in this relationship.
... Being inspired to has been related to assimilative behaviors, in that a person is motivated to try to attain the qualities of the person or thing they were inspired by (Hoyt, 2013) and to exert increased effort toward a goal (Thrash & Elliot, 2004). Measured as a motivational state, positive emotion scholars have empirically linked feeling inspired to easier adjustments during life transitions (Lockwood, Shaughnessy, Fortune, & Tong, 2012), increased efficiency and increased goal progress (Milyavskaya, Ianakieva, Foxen-Craft, Colantuoni, & Koestner, 2012), as well as creativity, productivity, and enhanced well-being (Thrash, Eliot, et al. 2010;Thrash, Maruskin, Cassidy, Fryer, & Ryan, 2010). ...
Responding to burgeoning scholarship examining discrete positive emotions, the overarching goals of the current review are to provide a summary of 28 enjoyable emotions and to offer an initial classification of these emotions into families. The families of discrete enjoyable emotions, many proposed for the first time, are as follows: (1) Self-praising emotions (authentic pride, fiero, naches, feeling respected), (2) other-praising emotions (admiration, elevation, gratitude, inspiration), (3) past-oriented emotions (forgiveness, nostalgia, relief), (4) future-oriented emotions (anticipatory enthusiasm, courage, determination, hope), (5) hazardous emotions (lust, schadenfreude, hubristic pride), (6) affectionate emotions (love, attachment love, tenderness, positive empathy), (7) arousal-defined emotions (euphoria, serenity), (8) violation-elicited emotions (amusement, awe, curiosity, positive surprise).This review describes how the 28 enjoyable emotions were selected, outlines the classification process generating the families of enjoyable emotions, provides a brief summary of current scholarship on each emotion, and concludes with a discussion of fertile future directions.
... Now, the term "muse" is used to depict a source of creativity for any field that requires creative insight (Miller & C'Debaca, 1994;Thrash & Elliot, 2004). Empirical psychologists have recently turned their attention to inspiration and examined whether muses can be elevated from their mythical origins to a scientific level (Milyavskaya, Ianakieva, Foxen-Craft, Colantuoni, & Koestner, 2012). ...
We propose that openness to aesthetics and the experience of art enhances individuals' creativity by imbuing them with a sense of inspiration. Although previous literature has claimed that aesthetic experiences increase creativity, there is a shortage of empirical evidence documenting the psychological process that underlies this effect or testing whether it can transfer to domains outside of the arts. To shed light on the process mechanism and test the domain-generality of the effect, we investigated the relationships among appreciation of art, inspiration, and creativity in four studies. Participants with open attitudes toward aesthetic experiences were more likely to be inspired and therefore better able to generate creative solutions (Study 1). Appreciating works of art brought about inspiration, which in turn enhanced creativity (Study 2). Finally, the power of art appreciation extended to a business environment, where it enhanced performance in product design, brand-naming, and problem solution generation (Studies 3a and 3b).
... Because inspiration involves vivid imagination of the desired outcome, one's approach motivation is guided by specific and concrete goals, which are known to facilitate action and goal attainment (Locke & Latham, 1990). Indeed, inspiration has also been found to predict goal attainment (Milyavskaya, Ianakieva, Foxen-Craft, Colantuoni, & Koestner, 2012), which is likely to enhance well-being, particularly given the meaningfulness of the pursuits. The transmission process renders the inspired individual a participant in the sweep of history, connecting the individual to her sources of inspiration and to others who she may inspire in turn (Plato, 1936). ...
In this chapter, we examine the role of inspiration in the promotion of well-being. We begin by reviewing conceptualizations of inspiration and theory concerning the two most prominent well-being traditions: hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being. We then present theoretical arguments for a role of inspiration in promoting hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, and we present empirical evidence in support of such effects. In the final section, we argue that inspiration may be regarded as an indicator of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in its own right. However, the two-tradition hedonic-eudaimonic perspective fails to provide an adequate historical-intellectual foundation for the type of well-being that inspiration represents. We conclude that inspiration is a paradigmatic exemplar of a third type of well-being—self-transcendent well-being—that has deep historical roots but that has been neglected by psychologists to date.
... Next, we assessed motivation by adapting a procedure developed by Milyavskaya, Ianakieva, Foxen-Craft, Colantuoni, and Koestner (2012), and used by Stephan et al. (2015, Study 6). We instructed participants to list five important goals and identify the most important one. 1 Then, we asked them to reflect on the event they described in the beginning of the experiment and, with 1 Two independent coders read through participants' most important goal and proceeded to identify three themes: social (e.g., having a family, having good relationships with family and friends), agentic (e.g., being successful, graduate with good grades), and hedonic (e.g., being happy, enjoying life). ...
This research focused on existential and motivational implications of the emotion of nostalgia. Nostalgia (relative to control) increased meaning in life, which, in turn, galvanised intentions to pursue one’s most important goal (Experiment 1) and to pursue one’s most important, but not least important, goal (Experiment 2). The basic pattern held in two cultures (British and Danish) independently of positive affect. This is first evidence that nostalgia has specific motivational consequences (i.e., pursuit of more, but not less, important goals) and transmits these consequences via meaning in life. Also, this is first evidence that meaning is associated with specific motivational consequences. Discussion considers the relevance of the findings for the emotion and motivation literatures.
... Subsequently, we assessed meaning in life with a 4-item measure (Hepper et al., 2012). Finally, we assessed motivation for goal pursuit relying on a procedure developed by Milyavskaya, Ianakieva, Foxen-Craft, Colantuoni, and Koestner (2012), and adapted by Stephan et al. (2015, Study 6). We instructed participants to write down five important goals and then identify the most important one. ...
Nostalgia—defined as sentimental longing for one’s past—is a self-relevant, albeit deeply social, and an ambivalent, albeit more positive than negative, emotion. As nostalgia brings the past into present focus, it has existential implications. Nostalgia helps people find meaning in their lives, and it does so primarily by increasing social connectedness (a sense of belongingness and acceptance), and secondarily by augmenting self-continuity (a sense of connection between one’s past and one’s present). Also, nostalgia-elicited meaning facilitates the pursuit of one’s important goals. Moreover, nostalgia acts as a buffer against existential threats. In particular, it shields against meaning threat, and buffers the impact of mortality salience on meaning, collective identity, accessibility of mortality-related thoughts, and death anxiety. Finally, nostalgia confers psychological benefits to individuals with chronic or momentary meaning deficits. These benefits are higher subjective vitality, lower stress, and regulation of meaning-seeking in response to boredom. Taken together, nostalgia helps people attain a more meaningful life, protects from existential threat, and contributes to psychological equanimity.
Drawing on previous conceptualizations of inspiration and the motivational theory of role modeling, this study reports on the development and testing of a donor inspiration framework in a peer‐to‐peer giving context. This framework proposes that individuals become inspired by a source, most likely peer fundraisers, to donate for a particular social cause. Based on observable donor data (N = 8697) that were scraped from the platform of a large peer‐to‐peer fundraising campaign, the results confirm that donor inspiration is a driver of donation behavior. The authors find that the peer fundraisers, the social cause, or a combination can function as the source of inspiration. The findings offer an initial conceptualization for donor inspiration, with concrete implications on donor recruiting strategies, and the design and implementation of peer‐to‐peer campaigns.
The study intends to establish a comprehensive relationship between newly introduced variables like Inspiration, Academic Inertia and its dimensions with Academic Procrastination and Engineering Self-Efficacy in the context of Sophomore Slump phenomenon. This study was conducted on 303 Second Year Computer Science, Mechanical, and Electronics Engineering Students under the STEM discipline at the Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India. The tools used for the study were the Academic Procrastination scale by Yockey (2016), the Engineering Self- Efficacy scale by Mamaril et.al (2016), the Academic Inertia Scale by Deemer et al. (2021), and the Inspiration scale by Elliot and Thrash (2003). Regression analysis confirmed the predictive role of a Lower Momentum state of Inertia on Academic Procrastination and Engineering Self-Efficacy on a Higher Momentum state of Inertia. Engineering self-efficacy and the High Momentum state of Inertia are also found to predict Inspiration significantly and positively. Lower Momentum state of Inertia negatively predicted Inspiration. These findings are in line with the previous study by Deemer et al. (2021). Moreover, Confirmatory factor analysis under structural equation modelling was conducted on the hypothesized relationship that was supposed to exist between the chosen variables of the study. The goodness of fit indices obtained were “CFI 0.91, TLI 0.901, Cmin/Df 1.498, RMSEA 0.05, and SRMR 0.0723”. All these fit
indices estimands indicate empirical confirmation of the hypothesized role of inspiration on the predictive relationship of Low Momentum State of Inertia on Academic Procrastination and Engineering Self-Efficacy on High momentum state of Inertia. Education implications in the context of the sophomore slump phenomenon for second- year engineering undergraduates forming part of STEM education are discussed
We examine the causal direction of the relation between (grandiose agentic) narcissism and self-assessed intelligence (SAI). We manipulated narcissism with a validated procedure. In Studies 1-2, high (vs. low) narcissism increased SAI. In Study 2, SAI mediated the effect of narcissism on academic goal-pursuit, expected academic achievement, and psychological wellbeing. The findings have implications for the nature of SAI and for gender differences on narcissism and SAI.
Self‐transcendent emotions are positive emotions that arise out of other‐focused appraisals. These emotions shift attention from the self to the needs and concerns of others. Limited work, however, focuses on self‐transcendent emotions and the underlying cognitive and behavioural mechanisms by which they benefit organizations. We review the disparate streams of research on self‐transcendent emotions and detail the thought‐action repertoires of four self‐transcendent emotions (compassion, gratitude, inspiration, and awe), explaining how each contributes to effective organizational functioning. Central to achieving this aim is the broaden‐and‐build theory. We show how the four self‐transcendent emotions broaden cognitive processes and build the necessary resources leading to specific positive organizational outcomes. We conclude our review with four themes: (a) the importance of delineating levels of analysis in self‐transcendent emotion research, (b) acknowledging contextual and cross‐cultural differences shaping the experience of self‐transcendent emotions, (c) addressing measurement concerns, and (d) the examination of other self‐transcendent emotions. In effect, we synthesize the positive psychology and organizational behaviour literature, generating a framework that prompts theoretical and practical considerations for the role of self‐transcendent emotions in organizations.
Training plays a central role in the pursuit of conservation goals, and it is vital to know if it is having the desired effect. However, evaluating the difference it makes is notoriously challenging. Here, we present a practitioner's perspective on overcoming these challenges and developing a framework for ongoing evaluation of a conservation training programme. To do this, we first created a theory of change, describing the pathway of change we expect from training delivery to conservation impact. This provided the clarity and structure needed to identify indicators of change in the short, medium and long term. For data collection, we utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods to provide a more complete understanding of the change expected and capture any that might be unexpected. However, the more time that passes since a training event, the more difficult it becomes to attribute results; in response, we shifted predominantly to the use of qualitative methods to understand the long-term results achieved. After 3 years of implementation, this framework has enabled us to measure the difference our training makes to individuals and their work, and to provide evidence for the contribution it makes to achieving conservation impact. We believe that the lessons learnt can be used to improve the evaluation of training activities across the conservation sector and maximize the impact they achieve.
Entrepreneurship in higher education increasingly values entrepreneurial creativity as a key driver to enhance the innovation ability of university students. This study examines the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial creativity under a newly proposed framework that recognizes the role of inspiration in the creativity processes, and administered questionnaires among 1873 students across 36 universities in China, who have participated in entrepreneurship classes or maker space. Results reveal that effectiveness of entrepreneurship education has a strong positive correlation with entrepreneurial creativity, which is partially mediated by entrepreneurial inspiration through a bootstrap method test and a robustness test of the SEM model. This finding contributes to understanding the process of enhancing entrepreneurial creativity and promoting university creativity through entrepreneurship education.
There are currently a multitude of theories, models, and constructs that seek to explain the process of goal pursuit and how to maximize goal attainment. In this paper, we review existing research on the goal pursuit process and propose a model that integrates evidence from a variety of theories and perspectives. The proposed integrative model of goal pursuit explains the process of goal pursuit from inception to attainment (or abandonment) and addresses the influence of the broader social context and the dynamics that may arise when pursuing multiple goals. We also highlight how our integrative model of goal pursuit builds on specific prior theories and models of goal pursuit and self-regulation, and outline implications for future research and practice
This article proposes and tests a dual-route and dual-effect model to explain the ways in which branded videos can inspire consumers and thereby produce further effects. Inspiration entails both being-inspired-by and being-inspired-to routes. Through a persuasion effect, derived from the be-inspired-by route, inspiring branded videos motivate consumers to find meaning in life. In turn, they feel gratitude for such inspiring content and its source, which leads to more favorable video and brand attitudes and a more positive persuasion effect. Through a personal growth effect, derived from the be-inspired-to route, inspiring branded videos motivate consumers to appreciate the meaning of life. In turn, they seek out important personal goals and enter into a high hope state, which benefits their subjective well-being. The findings of three studies support this proposed model, in which inspiring, self-transformative branded videos evoke positive outcomes for both consumers and brands.
Professional and amateur artists seek inspiration from viewing the works of others to enhance their creativity. This paper focuses on inspiration for artistic creation through art viewing by reviewing psychology studies on what types of artwork promote individuals’ inspiration for creation (inspiring artwork) and how they experience inspiration through their art appreciation (the appreciation process). In particular, we claim that a dual focus—that is a focus on both evaluating the artworks of others and reflecting on one's own art making—is a core mechanism for inspiration. Further, we present a theoretical framework to explain the types of creative outcomes expected in line with such a dual focus.
Inspiration plays a central role in the creative process. The research literature on inspiration developed only recently due to inconsistency in definition and due to the presumption that inspiration is unimportant relative to effort. The authors introduce a validated conceptualization of inspiration and review empirical evidence that inspiration predicts creativity, serves a transmission function, promotes productivity, and complements exertion of effort. Inspiration is then distinguished from insight and other constructs. Finally, the authors consider the broader cultural phenomenon of inspiration contagion. Inspiration is infectious, such that inspired writers inspire their readers, particularly readers high in openness to experience.
Prior research attributes the positive effects of passion on professional success to intrapersonal characteristics. We propose that interpersonal processes are also critical because observers confer status on and support those who express passion. These interpersonal benefits of expressing passion are, however, contingent on several factors related to the expresser, perceiver, and context. Six studies, including entrepreneurial pitches from Dragons’ Den and two pre-registered experiments, establish three key findings. First, observers conferred status onto and increased their support for individuals who express passion; importantly, expressing passion affected how admired—but not how accepted—someone was. Second, these effects were weaker when passion was expressed in an inappropriate manner/context, and when observers disagreed with the target of expresser’s passion. Third, in competitive contexts, expressing passion became threatening and decreased the support individuals received from others. These results demonstrate that passion’s effects travel, in part, through the gravitational pull exerted by expressing passion.
Introducing customers to new ideas lies at the heart of marketing, yet surprisingly little is known about customers’ state of inspiration within this domain. This article reviews prior conceptualizations of general inspiration in psychology and introduces customer inspiration as a customer’s temporary motivational state that facilitates the transition from the reception of a marketing-induced idea to the intrinsic pursuit of a consumption-related goal. The authors develop and validate a two-state, 10-item customer inspiration scale that consists of inspired-by and inspired-to states. The scale development process begins with item generation, followed by five studies: (1) scale purification and initial validation, (2) exploration of the nomological network, (3) tests for the experimental and predictive validity, (4) replication within a field experiment, and (5) assessments of generalizability and boundary conditions. Empirical results reveal sound psychometric properties of the scale, demonstrate its unique position in relation to established marketing constructs, and support experimental and predictive validity. Applying the scale in marketing practice offers a new way for firms to increase demand, motivate customers’ exploration behavior, and build customer loyalty.
Previous research has shown that self-concordant goals are more likely to be attained. But what leads someone to adopt a self-concordant goal in the first place? The present research addresses this question by looking at the domains in which goals are set, focusing on the amount of psychological need satisfaction experienced in these domains. Across three experimental studies, we demonstrate that domain-related need satisfaction predicts the extent to which people adopt self-concordant goals in a given domain, laying the foundation for successful goal pursuit. In addition, we show that need satisfaction influences goal self-concordance because in need-satisfying domains people are both more likely to choose the most self-concordant goal (among a set of comparable choices), and are more likely to internalize the possible goals. The implications of this research for goal setting and pursuit as well as for the importance of examining goals within their broader motivational framework are discussed.
The present article reviews recent research on motivational factors that influence the success of personal goals. Although achieving progress on personal goals is made difficult by limitations in self-regulatory strength, it is argued that individuals who feel autonomous regarding their goals will benefit in distinct ways. The issue of autonomy concerns whether a goal reflects an individual's interests and personal values versus whether it is adopted because of social pressures or expectations of what an individual "should do." Recent research indicates that autonomous goal motivation can lead directly to greater goal progress by allowing individuals to exert more effort, experience less conflict, and feel a greater sense of readiness to change their behaviour. It also allows individuals to make better use of implementation plans specifying how, when, and where they will enact goal-directed behaviours. Support from other people (health care providers, etc.) can play a vital role in facilitating goal pursuits, especially when such support enhances feelings of autonomy. Successful goal progress results in enhanced positive affect and reduced negative affect, particularly if the goal pursuits involved satisfaction of intrinsic psychological needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A hierarchical model of approach and avoidance achievement motivation was proposed and tested in a college classroom with 178 undergraduates. Mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals were assessed and their antecedents and consequences examined. Results indicated that mastery goals were grounded in achievement motivation and high competence expectancies; performance-avoidance goals, in fear of failure and low competence expectancies; and performance-approach goals, in achievement motivation, fear of failure, and high competence expectancies. Mastery goals facilitated intrinsic motivation, performance-approach goals enhanced graded performance, and performance-avoidance goals proved inimical to both intrinsic motivation and graded performance. The proposed model represents an integration of classic and contemporary approaches to the study of achievement motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Used 91 sales representatives to test a process model that assessed the relationship of conscientiousness to job performance through mediating motivational (goal-setting) variables. Linear structural equation modeling showed that sales representatives high in conscientiousness are more likely to set goals and are more likely to be committed to goals, which in turn is associated with greater sales volume and higher supervisory ratings of job performance. Results also showed that conscientiousness is directly related to supervisory ratings. Consistent with previous research, results showed that ability was also related to supervisory ratings of job performance and, to a lesser extent, sales volume. Contrary to expectations, 1 other personality construct, extraversion, was not related to sales volume or to supervisory ratings of job performance. Implications and future research needs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Examined relations between characteristics of personal goal strivings (e.g., importance, past attainment, effort) and components of subjective well-being (positive and negative affect and life satisfaction). 40 undergraduates generated lists of their personal strivings and rated each striving on a series of dimensions. Ss also recorded their moods and thoughts by use of an experience-sampling method on 84 occasions over a 3-wk period. Positive affect was found to be most strongly related to striving value and past fulfillment, whereas negative affect was associated with low probability of future success, striving ambivalence, and between-striving conflict. Striving importance and instrumentality (low conflict) were the strongest predictors of life satisfaction. Possible explanations for the connections between striving fulfillment and positive affect and between striving conflict and negative affect are discussed. It is concluded that the concept of personal striving is a useful heuristic device for understanding individual differences in subjective well-being. The concept is proposed as an alternative to the traditional trait approach to personality. (71 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study examined the extent to which 3 dimensions of personal goals (commitment, attainability, and progress) were predictive of students' subjective well-being over 1 semester. At the beginning of a new term, 88 Ss provided a list of their personal goals. Goal attributes and subjective well-being were measured at 4 testing periods. Goal commitment was found to moderate the extent to which differences in goal attainability accounted for changes in subjective well-being. Progress in goal achievement mediated the effect of the goal commitment × goal attainability on subjective well-being interaction. Results are discussed in terms of a need for addition and refinement of assumptions linking personal goals to subjective well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The influence of inspiration on well-being was examined in 4 studies. In Study 1, experimental manipulation of exposure to extraordinary competence increased positive affect, and inspiration accounted for this effect. In Study 2, trait inspiration predicted an increase in positive hedonic and eudaimonic well-being variables (positive affect, life satisfaction, vitality, and self-actualization) across a 3-month period, even when the Big 5 traits, initial levels of all well-being variables, and social desirability biases were controlled. In Study 3, both trait inspiration and personal goals inspiration predicted increases in positive well-being variables across a 3-month period. In contrast, well-being did not predict longitudinal change in inspiration. Study 4, a diary study, extended the relation between inspiration and well-being to the within-person level of analysis. For given individuals, variations in inspiration across mornings predicted variations in evening levels of positive well-being variables. These effects were mediated by purpose in life and gratitude. These studies provide converging evidence that inspiration enhances well-being and document 2 parallel mediating processes.
Holding a strong goal intention ("I intend to reach Z!") does not guarantee goal achievement, because people may fail to deal effectively with selfregulatory problems during goal striving. This review analyzes wether realization of goal intentions is facilitated by forming an implementation intention that spells out the when, where, and how of goal striving in advance ("If situation Y is encountered, then I will initiate goal-directed behavior X!"). Findings from 94 independent tests showed that implementation intentions had a positive effect of medium-to-large magnitude (d= .65) on goal attainment. Implementation intentions were effective in promoting the initiation of goal striving, the shielding of ongoing goal pursuit from unwanted influences, disengagement from failing courses of action, and conservation of capability for future goal striving. There was also strong support for postulatad component processes: Implementation intention formation both enhanced the accessibility of specified opportunities and automated respective goal-directed responses. Several directions for future research are outlined.
This article examines the relationships between classical trait units as represented by the five-factor model (e.g., Digman, 1990) and personal action construct (PAC) units as measured by Personal Projects Analysis (Little, 1983). One hundred and forty-seven students were administered the NEO Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1985) and two components of Personal Projects methodology during their first term in university. Neuroticism and Conscientiousness were related to problematic and positive project systems, respectively, with these effects generalizing across the academic and interpersonal project domains. Extraversion and Agreeableness were also associated with positive evaluations of personal projects, particularly in the interpersonal domain. Openness was distinctively linked with project initiation and value congruency. We suggest theoretical and applied implications of using PAC methods to expand and refine the classical trait research agenda.
Two studies used the self-concordance model of healthy goal striving (K. M. Sheldon & A. J. Elliot, 1999) to examine the motivational processes by which people can increase their level of well-being during a period of time and then maintain the gain or perhaps increase it even further during the next period of time. In Study 1, entering freshmen with self-concordant motivation better attained their 1st-semester goals, which in turn predicted increased adjustment and greater self-concordance for the next semester's goals. Increased self-concordance in turn predicted even better goal attainment during the 2nd semester, which led to further increases in adjustment and to higher levels of ego development by the end of the year. Study 2 replicated the basic model in a 2-week study of short-term goals set in the laboratory. Limits of the model and implications for the question of how (and whether) happiness may be increased are discussed.
This article provides a meta-analysis of the relationship between the five-factor model of personality and 3 central theories of performance motivation (goal-setting, expectancy, and self-efficacy motivation). The quantitative review includes 150 correlations from 65 studies. Traits were organized according to the five-factor model of personality. Results indicated that Neuroticism (average validity = -.31) and Conscientiousness (average validity = .24) were the strongest and most consistent correlates of performance motivation across the 3 theoretical perspectives. Results further indicated that the validity of 3 of the Big Five traits--Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness--generalized across studies. As a set, the Big Five traits had an average multiple correlation of .49 with the motivational criteria, suggesting that the Big Five traits are an important source of performance motivation.
Inspiration has received little theoretical or empirical attention within psychology. Inspiration is conceptualized herein as a general construct characterized by evocation, motivation, and transcendence. In Studies 1a and 1b, a trait measure of inspiration was developed and was found to have strong psychometric properties. Studies 2a-2c documented a nomological network consistent with the present conceptualization. Study 3 related inspiration to the holding of U.S. patents. Study 4 linked trait inspiration to daily experiences of inspiration, extended the nomological network to the state level, documented antecedents and consequences, and established incremental validity. This research provides a foundation for further study of inspiration, both as a general construct and in specific content domains (e.g., religion, creativity, interpersonal relations).
The authors examined the core characteristics, component processes, antecedents, and function of state inspiration. In Studies 1 and 2, inspiration was contrasted with baseline experience and activated positive affect (PA) using a vivid recall methodology. Results supported the tripartite conceptualization of inspiration. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that inspiration may be decomposed into separate processes related to being inspired "by" and being inspired "to." Study 3 found that daily inspiration is triggered by illumination among individuals high in receptive engagement, whereas activated PA is triggered by reward salience among individuals high in approach temperament. Approach temperament was also implicated in being inspired "to." Inspiration and activated PA appear to serve different functions: transmission and acquisition, respectively.
This study examined the extent to which 3 dimensions of personal goals-commitment, attainability, and progress-were predictive of students' subjective well-being over 1 semester. At the beginning of a new term, 88 Ss provided a list of their personal goals. Goal attributes and subjective well-being were measured at 4 testing periods. Goal commitment was found to moderate the extent to which differences in goal attainability accounted for changes in subjective well-being. Progress in goal achievement mediated the effect of the Goal Commitment × Goal Attainability on Subjective Well-Being interaction. Results are discussed in terms of a need for addition and refinement of assumptions linking personal goals to subjective well-being.
The major patterns of self-regulatory failure are reviewed. Underregulation occurs because of deficient standards, inadequate monitoring, or inadequate strength. Misregulation occurs because of false assumptions or misdirected efforts, especially an unwarranted emphasis on emotion. The evidence supports a strength (limited resource) model of self-regulation and suggests that people often acquiesce in losing control. Loss of control of attention, failure of transcendence, and various lapse-activated causes all contribute to regulatory failure.
This article reports a qualitative research study of the experience of inspiration in ordinary persons. Results gleaned from analysis of 70 in-depth interviews suggest that this phenomenon is a significant and distinct epistemic event that many people experience. As such, this evidence may help to shift the center of gravity of knowing away from the exclusivity of a narrow form of rational empiricism. Although inspiration cannot be willed, it may be cultivated. Experiences described as the absence of inspiration seem to correspond to common mental health complaints.
This study prospectively tracked the self-change attempts of 200 New Year's resolvers over a 2-year period in order to more fully understand the coping determinants of maintenance and the natural history of lapses and relapses. Seventy-seven percent maintained their pledges for 1 week but only 19% for 2 years. Successful resolvers reported employing significantly more stimulus control, reinforcement, and willpower than the unsuccessful over the 2 years; social support and interpersonal strategies failed to predict success before 6 months but did so thereafter. Counterconditioning and fading were retrospectively nominated as the most efficacious coping strategies; paucity of willpower and failure of stimulus control were reported as the most hindering to maintenance. Fifty-three percent of the successful group experienced at least one slip, and the mean number of slips over the 2-year interval was 14. Slips were typically precipitated by a lack of personal control, excessive stress, and negative emotion.
When time is limited, researchers may be faced with the choice of using an extremely brief measure of the Big-Five personality dimensions or using no measure at all. To meet the need for a very brief measure, 5 and 10-item inventories were developed and evaluated. Although somewhat inferior to standard multi-item instruments, the instruments reached adequate levels in terms of: (a) convergence with widely used Big-Five measures in self, observer, and peer reports, (b) test–retest reliability, (c) patterns of predicted external correlates, and (d) convergence between self and observer ratings. On the basis of these tests, a 10-item measure of the Big-Five dimensions is offered for situations where very short measures are needed, personality is not the primary topic of interest, or researchers can tolerate the somewhat diminished psychometric properties associated with very brief measures.
Although the self-concordance of goals has been repeatedly shown to predict better goal progress, recent research suggests potential problems with aggregating autonomous and controlled motivations to form a summary index of self-concordance (Judge, Bono, Erez, & Locke, 2005). The purpose of the present investigation was to further examine the relations among autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and goal progress to determine the relative importance of autonomous motivation and controlled motivation in the pursuit of personal goals. The results of three studies and a meta-analysis indicated that autonomous motivation was substantially related to goal progress whereas controlled motivation was not. Additionally, the relation of autonomous motivation to goal progress was shown to involve implementation planning. Together, the three studies highlight the importance for goal setters of having autonomous motivation and developing implementation plans, especially ones formulated in terms of approach strategies rather than avoidance strategies. The present research suggests that individuals pursuing goals should focus relatively greater attention on enhancing their autonomous motivation rather than reducing their controlled motivation.
Hypotheses involving mediation are common in the behavioral sciences. Mediation exists when a predictor affects a dependent variable indirectly through at least one intervening variable, or mediator. Methods to assess mediation involving multiple simultaneous mediators have received little attention in the methodological literature despite a clear need. We provide an overview of simple and multiple mediation and explore three approaches that can be used to investigate indirect processes, as well as methods for contrasting two or more mediators within a single model. We present an illustrative example, assessing and contrasting potential mediators of the relationship between the helpfulness of socialization agents and job satisfaction. We also provide SAS and SPSS macros, as well as Mplus and LISREL syntax, to facilitate the use of these methods in applications.
An integrative model of the conative process, which has important ramifications for psychological need satisfaction and hence for individuals' well-being, is presented. The self-concordance of goals (i.e., their consistency with the person's developing interests and core values) plays a dual role in the model. First, those pursuing self-concordant goals put more sustained effort into achieving those goals and thus are more likely to attain them. Second, those who attain self-concordant goals reap greater well-being benefits from their attainment. Attainment-to-well-being effects are mediated by need satisfaction, i.e., daily activity-based experiences of autonomy, competence, and relatedness that accumulate during the period of striving. The model is shown to provide a satisfactory fit to 3 longitudinal data sets and to be independent of the effects of self-efficacy, implementation intentions, avoidance framing, and life skills.
Most contemporary personal goal research aggregates across goals, perhaps masking important differences between goals. We assessed this risk by examining both similarities and differences between the goals that participants pursued in five important social roles. Previous relevant findings (Cantor, Norem, Niedenthal, Langston, & Brower, 1987) and self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) were used to predict between-role differences in goal appraisal dimensions. Although theoretically meaningful differences were found across child, employee, romantic, friendship, and student goals, and also across within- and between-subject levels of analysis, all goals were essentially the same in one important way: Making longitudinal progress in them predicted positive change in accompanying role-circumstances and role-satisfaction (excepting friendship goals). This indicates that researchers do not necessarily lose information by aggregating, and affirms that goal-attainment is generally desirable.