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The Effects of Short-Term Personal Goals on Subjective Well-Being
Journal of Happiness Studies
Abstract
Several studies demonstrated that subjective well-being is associated with goal value and perceived progress but their validity is affected by methodological biases. Moreover, a few have analysed the influence of short-term goals. We aimed to analyse how the levels of and changes in short-term goals progress and value influence subsequent levels of and changes in subjective well-being. This study adopted a three-wave longitudinal design with one-month intervals. Four hundred nine participants (186 males; age 19–71) reported their subjective well-being and their two most important goals and rated each over time in terms of value and progress. A latent difference score model revealed that levels and increases in goal progress positively influenced subsequent levels of subjective well-being. Goal value increases led to decreases in negative affect. These findings provide insights on the promotion of subjective well-being. Given the importance of goal progress in promoting subjective well-being, we propose the implementation of goal-setting programmes that are aimed at fostering successful goal pursuit.
... When it comes to wellbeing, there are differences between the process of pursuing one's goal (goal pursuit) and the result (goal achievement); between engaging in goal pursuit and attaining a desirable goal (e.g., Kaftan & Freund, 2018). There is evidence that the level of goal progress, and the change in goal progress, can be more important than goal achievement for the relationship between goals and HWB (Hsee & Abelson, 1991;Klug & Maier, 2015;Steca et al., 2016). This gives backing to Carver and Scheier's (2001) principles of feedback control processes, where reducing the experienced discrepancy between the goal state and the state of reality at a fitting pace gives rise to positive affect (HWB). ...
... Our findings revealed that goal pursuit and goal achievement produce increases in hedonic wellbeing. The positive correlation between goal pursuit and HWB is well-established (Klug & Maier, 2015;Koestner et al., 2002), but the current findings add to previous studies that have shown a causal relationship by using a longitudinal, experimental design (MacLeod, Coates, & Hetherton, 2008;Steca et al., 2016). In our study, HWB increased after the intervention period where participants engaged in goal pursuit. ...
... When comparing the changes in wellbeing, we did not have a control group (i.e., a group that did not engage in goal pursuit), thus we cannot be sure that it was the goal pursuit per se that actually increased HWB. However, subjective wellbeing, which we used to measure HWB, is thought to reflect the actual conditions in a person's life and has been shown to be relatively stable over time (Costa, McCrae, & Zonderman, 1987;Schimmack, Schupp, & Wagner, 2008), but still sensitive to short-term goal pursuits (Steca et al., 2016). Thus, it is reasonable to assume that the observed increase in HWB during our study stems from goal pursuit and goal achievement. ...
... A metaanalysis (Klug & Maier, 2015) integrating 85 studies found a substantial association between successful goalstriving and subjective well-being (ρ = 0.43). A handful of longitudinal studies also support the prospective effects of goals on subjective well-being (Sheldon et al., 2010(Sheldon et al., , 2015Steca et al., 2016). For example, two dimensions of personal goals (value and progress) have been shown to predict increases in subjective well-being over time (Steca et al., 2016), and grit has been shown to be an especially strong predictor of goal attainment and, in turn, subjective well-being (Sheldon et al., 2015). ...
... A handful of longitudinal studies also support the prospective effects of goals on subjective well-being (Sheldon et al., 2010(Sheldon et al., , 2015Steca et al., 2016). For example, two dimensions of personal goals (value and progress) have been shown to predict increases in subjective well-being over time (Steca et al., 2016), and grit has been shown to be an especially strong predictor of goal attainment and, in turn, subjective well-being (Sheldon et al., 2015). ...
In cross-sectional research, subjective well-being and grit are found to be positively correlated. Their mutually reinforcing effects are particularly relevant for youth entering early adolescence because, during this developmental period, both well-being and grit have been shown to predict consequential outcomes later in life. However, their mutual relation has not yet been investigated in early adolescence. This study, therefore, examined the possibility of a virtuous cycle linking subjective well-being and grit during early adolescence. Self-report questionnaires of grit and subjective well-being were completed by N = 5291 children in China (47.6% girls; initial Mage = 9.69, SDage = 0.59) on six occasions over 3 academic years. In random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs), within-person changes in grit predicted within-person changes in subjective well-being 6 months later, and vice versa. Notably, analyses revealed an asymmetry in this cycle: paths from subjective well-being to grit were stronger and more reliable than the converse. Likewise, facet-level analyses showed that the predictive power of the perseverance component (of grit) and the affective component (of subjective well-being), respectively, was greater than the passion and cognitive components, respectively. These findings highlight the potential of boosting happiness for catalyzing positive youth development and, in addition, foreground the utility of studying these composite constructs at the facet level.
... Goals can furthermore be distinguished regarding their time horizon. Long-term goals take more than five years, medium-term goals take one to five years (Steca et al., 2016), and short-term goals take up to one year to achieve (Boersma et al., 2006). ...
... Two metaanalyses confirmed the high correlation between successful striving towards long-term goals and subjective well-being (Klug & Maier, 2015;Koestner et al., 2002). Steca et al. (2016) found a slightly weaker positive influence of short-term goal progress on subjective wellbeing. We hypothesize goal performance to positively affect subjective well-being (H5). ...
Digitalization has long since entered and transformed our professional lives, our interaction with companies, and our private lives. With the progress in digitalization in general and of individuals in particular, both opportunities and challenges arise. Digitalization represents a double-edged sword, with its vast potential on the one end and a number of risks and detrimental effects for individuals, such as technostress, on the other. Individuals need to navigate the opportunities provided by digitalization, as well as its risks, in all areas of their lives. Addressing digitalization in a way that is in the best interest of individuals requires a thorough understanding of developments, challenges, and possible interventions and solutions. Matt et al. (2019) propose a framework for studying the digitalization of individuals, which represents a holistic approach to structure, classify, and position research along different roles of individuals from a comprehensive set of research angles. By applying this framework as a guiding structure, this dissertation aims to advance knowledge for an improved, safer, and more deliberate navigation of digitalization for individuals in their roles as employees, customers, and themselves from the research angles design, behavior, and consequences. While building on and integrating qualitative research methods such as literature analysis and expert interviews, this dissertation mainly relies on the collection of empirical data and their quantitative analysis. This comprises several small- and large-scale surveys and field experiments, as well as analytical methods such as structural equation modeling, regression analysis, and cluster analysis. Chapter 2 of this dissertation discusses the digitalization of individuals in their role as employees. Chapter 2.1 covers workplace design in terms of equipment with digital workplace technologies (DWTs) and the user behavior of employees. It determines which DWTs exist and are used by individual employees in a comprehensive and structured fashion. Contributing to a deeper understanding of workplace digitalization, chapter 2.1 also demonstrates and elaborates how this overview of DWTs represents a basis for individualized digital work design as well as adequate interventions. Chapter 2.2 deals with the consequences of DWT user behavior. It focuses on the relationship between workplace digitalization, the negative consequence technostress, and possible countermeasures termed technostress inhibitors. By enabling a more detailed understanding of the underlying mechanisms as well as evaluating the effects of countermeasures, chapter 2.2 discusses the overall finding that workplace digitalization increases technostress. The dynamics of its different components and technostress inhibitors, however, require individual consideration at a more detailed level, as the interrelationships are not consistently intuitive. In chapter 3, the focus changes to individuals in their role as customers. As a response to increasing data collection by companies as well as increasing data privacy concerns of customers, chapter 3.1 focuses on the identification of a comprehensive list of data privacy measures that address these concerns. Furthermore, it is identified that the implementation of some of these measures would lead to increased customer satisfaction, demonstrating that there is an upside to data privacy for companies and that mutually beneficial outcomes for both involved parties are conceivable. Chapter 3.2 analyzes whether and how digital nudging can be applied to influence customers online shopping behavior towards the selection of more environmentally sustainable products in online supermarkets and how this influence differs with respect to individual customer characteristics. It determines the digital nudging element default rules to be generally effective and simplification to be effective among environmentally conscious customers. On a macro level, the findings contribute to a safer environment in which individuals live their lives, while at the individual level, they foster decision-making quality and health. Chapter 4 highlights the digitalization of individuals themselves. Chapter 4.1 deals with the design of a habit-tracking app that offers users autonomy in their goal-directed behavior. It is found that the provision of autonomy enhances well-being. Its exercise improves performance, which in turn positively affects well-being. Chapter 4.1 thus contributes insights into how digital technologies can foster the flourishing of users. As a summary, this dissertation aims to provide research and practice with contributions to a deeper understanding of how individuals as employees, customers, and themselves can successfully navigate digitalization.
... Long-term goals take more than five years, medium-term goals take one to five years (Steca et al. 2016), and short-term goals take up to one year to achieve (Boersma et al. 2006). ...
... Two meta-analyses confirmed the high correlation between successful striving towards long-term goals and subjective well-being (Klug and Maier 2015;Koestner et al. 2002). Steca et al. (2016) found a slightly weaker positive influence of short-term goal progress on subjective well-being. ...
Recent socio-technical developments caused by ongoing digitalization (e.g., robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, anthropomorphic systems) or the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., an increasing number of remote working employees and hence, increasing number of virtual collaboration) change the work environment and culture. Digital and smart workplace technol-ogies facilitate business processes and provide tools for efficient communication and (virtual) collaboration, “increasing the productivity of the workforce in the information age” (Attaran et al. 2019, p. 1). Especially in times of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital technologies play a crucial role in keeping us socially close, connected, and collaborative while increasing the phys-ical distance between humans. However, this development affects the health of employees (Tarafdar et al. 2013). In research, for example, it has long been known that the increased usage of digital technologies and media (DTM) may cause stress, leading to potentially harmful reac-tions in individuals. Research has noted this specific form of stress as technostress (Ayyagari et al. 2011; Tarafdar et al. 2007; Tarafdar et al. 2011; Tarafdar et al. 2019), which is an umbrella term for causes, negative organizational outcomes, and negative humanistic outcomes resulting from the use of DTM at work. The simultaneous consideration of humanistic (e.g., well-being, equality) and organizational outcomes (e.g., efficiency, productivity) is an integral part of a socio-technical system (Beath et al. 2013; Mumford 2006), which is at the core of the IS discipline (Bostrom et al. 2009; Chiasson and Davidson 2005). However, a review from Sarker et al. (2019) regarding published research articles in one of the top journals within the IS community revealed that most reviewed studies (91%) had focused exclusively on instrumental goals. They conclude that “many IS researchers have forgotten or ignored the premise that technologies need to benefit humankind overall (Majchrzak et al. 2016), not just their economic condition” (Sarker et al. 2019, p. 705). Especially as humanistic outcomes can lead to even more positive instrumental outcomes. Hence, Sarker et al. (2019) call for focusing on the connection between humanistic and instru-mental outcomes, enabling a positive synergy resulting from this interplay. For this reason, this dissertation adopts a socio-technical perspective. It aims to conduct re-search that links instrumental outcomes with humanistic objectives to ultimately achieve a healthier use of DTMs at the digital workplace. It is important to note that the socio-technical perspective considers both the technical component and the social component privileging nei-ther one of them and sees outcomes resulting from the reciprocal interaction between those two.Therefore, the dissertation focuses on the interaction while applying pluralistic methodological approaches from qualitative (e.g., semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions) and quantitative research (e.g., collection from a field study or survey research). It provides a theo-retical contribution applying both behavioral research (i.e., analysis of cause-and-effect rela-tionships) and design-oriented research (i.e., instructions for designing socio-technical information systems). Overall, this work addresses four different areas within the reciprocal interaction between the social and technical components: the role of the technical component, the role of the social component, DTMs fostering a fit between the technical and social compo-nents, and the imminent misfit between these two due to ongoing digitalization. First, to contribute to an understanding of the technical component’s role, this thesis presents new knowledge on the characteristics and features of DTM and their influence on employee health and productivity. Research on the design of digital workplaces examined different design approaches, in which information exchange and sharing documents or project support were regarded (Williams and Schubert 2018). However, the characteristics of DTM also play an es-sential role in the emergence of technostress (Dardas and Ahmad 2015). This thesis presents ten characteristics of DTM that affect technostress at an individual’s workplace, including a measurement scale and analysis on how these characteristics affect technostress. Besides, also, the provision of functional features by DTMs can affect instrumental outcomes or humanistic objectives. For example, affording users with certain kinds of autonomy regarding the config-uration of DTM while they work towards their goals could have a tremendous effect on pursu-ing goals and well-being (Patall et al. 2008; Ryan and Deci 2000). Therefore, this thesis presents knowledge regarding the design of DTM on the benefits of affording users with autonomy. Furthermore, it shows that merely affording more autonomy can have positive effects above and beyond the positive effects of the actualization of affordance. Second, to contribute to an understanding of the social component’s role, this thesis presents new knowledge on contextual and individual factors of social circumstances and their influence on employee health and productivity. In this context, the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the intensity of technostress among employees is considered, as work became more digital almost overnight. Therefore, this thesis provides empirical insights into digital work and its context in times of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on employees’ well-being, health, and productivity. Furthermore, measures to steer the identified effects if the situation in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic persists or comparable disruptive situations should re-occur are discussed. On the other hand, this research takes a closer look at the effect of an individual preference regarding coping styles in dealing with upcoming technostress. A distinction is made between the effects of two different coping styles, namely active-functional and dysfunctional, on strain as a humanistic outcome and productivity as an instrumental outcome. In the course of this, evidence is provided that coping moderates the relationship between the misfit within the socio-technical system and strain as proposed by the psychological theory of job demands-resources model (Demerouti et al. 2001). Third, to contribute to a successful fit between the technical and social components, this thesis presents frameworks and guidelines on the design of DTM, which understand the social com-ponent (here the user and her/his environment) and adjust accordingly to the needs of their users. Therefore, the thesis provides knowledge on the design of DTMs that support users in applying stress management techniques and build the foundation for stress-sensitive systems (i.e., systems that aim to mitigate stress by applying intervention measures on the social and technical component (Adam et al. 2017)). As a matter of fact, a framework for collecting and storing data (e.g., on the user and her/his environment) is developed and experiences with im-plementing a prototype for life-integrated stress assessment are reported. The experiences from this and the existing knowledge in the literature will finally be aggregated to a mid-range design theory for mobile stress assessment. To contribute to the fourth and last aspect, the imminent misfit within the socio-technical sys-tem due to ongoing digitalization, this thesis presents new knowledge regarding digital work demands that potentially affect both employees’ health and instrumental outcomes. The current version of technostress’s theoretical foundation was introduced more than ten years ago by Tarafdar et al. (2007). However, the interaction with and use of DTM has considerably changed along with the societal and individual expectations. Therefore, this thesis puts the current con-cept of technostress to test. As a result, a new theory of digital stress, as an extension of the concept of technostress, is proposed with twelve dimensions – instead of five dimensions within the concept of Tarafdar et al. (2007) – that could be hierarchically structured in four higher-order factors. This theory holistically addresses the current challenges that employees have to deal with digitalization. To sum up, this dissertation contributes to the IS community’s knowledge base by providing knowledge regarding the interaction between employees and their digital workplace to foster the achievement of humanistic and instrumental outcomes. It provides both behavioral research and design-oriented research while using pluralistic methodological approaches. For this pur-pose, this thesis presents knowledge about the different components within the socio-technical system, design knowledge on DTMs fostering the fit between these components, and an under-standing of an upcoming misfit due to the ongoing digitalization. Overall, this research aims to support the successful change towards a healthy digital workplace in the face of digitalization.
... Participants were given 60 s to verbally name as many of their short-term goals as possible and then, with no time limit, were asked to choose the two most important of those goals (following Steca et al., 2016); meanwhile, the experimenter entered all goals generated into Qualtrics. The process was repeated for medium-term goals and then long-term goals. ...
... The survey involved retaking the well-being and mood questionnaires and responding to two statements about progress made so far on each of the six chosen goals; surveys were personalized to include participants' own personal goals. The two statements were "I have made a great deal of progress concerning this goal" and "I have had quite a lot of success in pursuing this goal" (from Steca et al., 2016), with response scales from 0 to 100 (0 = completely disagree, 100 = strongly agree). As described a priori, the mean of these two responses was used as the main measure of goal progress. ...
Imagination is an adaptive ability that can be directed toward the pursuit of personal goals. Although there is a wealth of research on goals and on imagination, few studies lie at the intersection—little is known about individual differences in goal-directed imagination. In 153 adults, we examined how 28 aspects of goal setting, pursuit, and goal-directed imagination relate to mental health. Higher well-being and lower depressive symptoms were strongly linked (a) to having goals that were more attainable, under control, and expected to bring more joy and (b) to goal-directed imagination that was clearer, more detailed, more positive, and less negative. Importantly, the emotional valence of goal-directed imagination strongly predicted well-being at a 2-month follow-up even after controlling for mental health at baseline. These findings underscore the relevance of goal-directed imagination to well-being and depressive symptoms and highlight potential targets for goal- and imagery-based interventions to improve mental health.
... Goals can furthermore be distinguished regarding their time horizon. Long-term goals take more than five years, medium-term goals take one to five years [32], and short-term goals take up to one year to achieve [3]. ...
... Two meta-analyses confirmed the high correlation between successful striving towards longterm goals and subjective well-being [15,16]. Steca et al. [32] found a slightly weaker positive influence of short-term goal progress on subjective well-being. We hypothesize goal performance to positively affect subjective well-being (H5). ...
Positive self-tracking technologies support users in conducting personal analytics and aim to foster their users' goal attainment and well-being. A driver for these two is the experience of autonomy which can be afforded by self-tracking IS. In this paper, we examine the influence of autonomy affordance provided by self-tracking IS as well as its actualization on goal performance and well-being. For this purpose, empirical data was collected in a field experiment using a self-developed mobile self-tracking application. The results of a path analysis indicate that the mere provision of autonomy affordance is positively linked to well-being and that its actualization positively affects goal performance, in turn improving well-being. Contributing to design knowledge in positive computing and self-tracking IS as well as Affordance Theory, we find that the design of self-tracking IS should provide autonomy affordance to further both their users' goal performance and well-being.
... Participants were given 60 s to verbally name as many of their short-term goals as possible and then, with no time limit, were asked to choose the two most important of those goals (following Steca et al., 2016); meanwhile, the experimenter entered all goals generated into Qualtrics. The process was repeated for medium-term goals and then long-term goals. ...
... The survey involved retaking the well-being and mood questionnaires and responding to two statements about progress made so far on each of the six chosen goals; surveys were personalized to include participants' own personal goals. The two statements were "I have made a great deal of progress concerning this goal" and "I have had quite a lot of success in pursuing this goal" (from Steca et al., 2016), with response scales from 0 to 100 (0 = completely disagree, 100 = strongly agree). As described a priori, the mean of these two responses was used as the main measure of goal progress. ...
Imagination is an adaptive ability that can be directed towards the pursuit of personal goals. While there is a wealth of research on goals, and on imagination, few studies lie at the intersection—little is known about individual differences in goal-directed imagination. In 153 adults, we examined how 28 aspects of goal setting and goal-directed imagination relate to mental health. Higher well-being and lower depressive symptoms were strongly linked to having goals that were more attainable, under control, and expected to bring more joy; and to goal-directed imagination that was clearer, more detailed, and more positive. These variables also predicted greater goal progress two months later. Importantly, having more intrinsically rewarding goals predicted a decrease in depressive symptoms over time, while more positive imagination predicted an increase in well-being. These findings contribute to our understanding of goal-directed imagination, and highlight potential targets for goal- and imagery-based interventions to improve mental health.
... Striving toward personal goals appears important for mental health. Indeed, previous research has demonstrated that low personal goal striving is associated with depressive symptoms (Dickson & Moberly, 2013;Dickson, Moberly, O'Dea, & Field, 2016;Monti & Rudolph, 2017) and reduced well-being (Hennecke & Brandstätter, 2017;Steca et al., 2016;Wrosch, Scheier, Miller, Schulz, & Carver, 2003). This is particularly evident when striving for difficult goals because individuals frequently confront failure and are at increased risk of disengaging from their goals . ...
... First, CET may be a key factor in overcoming difficult situations and achieving important goals. An intervention that increases CET may contribute to the reduction and prevention of depression, because increasing CET maintains difficult goal strivings, which is associated with well-being (Dickson et al., 2016;Dickson & Moberly, 2013;Hennecke & Brandstätter, 2017;Monti & Rudolph, 2017;Steca et al., 2016;Wrosch et al., 2003). Moreover, although existing rumination interventions try to decrease rumination, which is included in AAT in processing mode theory, it may be more useful to increase CET in order to decrease depression. ...
Background and objectives:
Striving to attain personal goals is important for maintaining well-being. Previous research indicates that repetitive thoughts can influence the affect and cognition associated with personal goal strivings. Repetitive thought in the concrete-experiential processing mode improves affect and cognition after a negative event more than does repetitive thought in the abstract-analytic processing mode. We extend this prior work by examining whether repetitive thought directly influences the maintenance of personal goal strivings through a longitudinal survey.
Methods:
In Study 1, we examined the daily maintenance effect of repetitive thought on personal goal strivings using a multilevel analysis of 29 participants who reported their thoughts and goal strivings daily for one week. In Study 2, participants (N = 131) reported their thoughts and goal strivings over 10 weeks, and we examined the maintenance effect of repetitive thought on personal goal strivings every two weeks.
Results:
Highly repetitive thought in the abstract-analytic processing mode decreased the maintenance of short-term personal goal strivings in individuals with difficult goals. However, highly repetitive thought in the concrete-experiential processing mode increased the maintenance of long-term personal goal strivings in individuals with difficult goals.
Limitations:
The study participants were university students; therefore, we cannot generalize the results to clinical populations or other age groups.
Conclusion:
Interventions that increase repetitive thought in the concrete-experiential processing mode may be effective in facilitating long-term goal strivings in individuals attempting to overcome difficult situations and achieve important personal goals.
... According to Diener et al. [73], factors that might influence life satisfaction evaluations were demonstrated values and relevance of data, availability and attention, top-down bias, and evaluation standards. Interestingly, a strong relationship between life satisfaction and numerous desirable outcomes is consistently found [10,13,14,74,75]. These findings suggest that positive psychology research within the scope of English education programs can appear promising, especially where students' academic performance may be influenced by their overall life satisfaction. ...
This study examined the relationship between mastery goals, including task-based and self-based competence, and positive emotions, engagement, relationship, meaning, and accomplishment (PERMA), which may affect life satisfaction. Mastery goals, PERMA, and life satisfaction were examined using a relationship study model. The current study involved 260 English education programs, with 81 (31.2%) male students and 179 (68.8%) female students. AMOS 18 was used to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results of the current study demonstrate that task-based competence influences life satisfaction. In contrast, self-based competence was found not to affect life satisfaction. Analysis of SEM revealed significant influences of task-based competence on PERMA and no significant relationships between self-based competence and PERMA. PERMA partially mediates the influence of task-related competence on life satisfaction. The indirect effects of self-based competence on life satisfaction were observed through PERMA as a complete mediator. The novelty of the current research lies in its focus on mastery goals, the target population of college students, and the mediating role of PERMA. These contributions are critical, as teachers or instructors are responsible for developing student well-being and life satisfaction. Recently, there has been an increasing focus on promoting well-being in educational settings [1-4]. Humans inherently strive for happiness and a fulfilling life [5]. Seligman [6] coined the term 'flourishing' or 'well-being' to describe this pursuit of happiness and a good life. Previous studies have shown that psychological well-being is desirable for personal success [7] and achievement [8]. Despite the importance of psychological well-being, scholars have paid little attention to this topic, especially in the context of English education programs [9]. Therefore, exploring the relationship between psychological well-being and English education is important to better understand how these programs can promote fulfilling lives and support personal success. Findings from previous research on life satisfaction and happiness confirm that individuals who are happy and satisfied with their lives typically promote career adaptability [10], improve good development and reduce problem behaviors [11], promote social interaction [12], improve individual support [13], increase commitment [13, 14], and enhance achievement [15]. Research has shown that positive relationships with peers [16], children, and parents [17] can contribute significantly to happiness. However, it is surprising that university students between the ages of 15 and 40 are dissatisfied with their lives [18, 19]. For example, 25% of engineering students suffered from depression, 32% suffered from anxiety, and 20% reported suffering from stress.
... WDEP stands for wants, direction and doing, self-evaluation, and planning (Jusoh & Hussain, 2015). In this regard, some studies reported that having a meaningful life or perusing an appropriate goal are the important predictors of happiness (Klug &, Maier, 2015;Steca et al., 2016). Another study emphasized on the connectedness and social relations as the sociocultural source of love and belonging need in predicting happiness (Delhey & Dragolov, 2016). ...
Objective: The present study examined the effect of choice theory education on the happiness and self-esteem in university students. Methods: The statistical population consisted of all students of Qom universities. The study sample consisted of 30 students (7 males and 8 females per group) with low self-esteem (0 out of 10) and happiness (14 out of 87) levels. The subjects were randomly selected and assigned to the experimental and control groups by convenience sampling technique. To conduct the Pre-test and post-test, the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale were used. The test group members attended the choice theory education program weekly for 5 consecutive weeks, whereas the control group received no treatment. Results: After implementing the post-test, the collected data were analyzed using the Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS. The findings indicated that treatment program effectively increased the test group members' happiness (F=213.53, P<0.0005) and self-esteem (F=0.52, P<0.0005). Conclusion: The principles of choice theory can be implemented among graduate students to promote their happiness and self-esteem; in turn, it may lead to educational and social achievements.
... This study added life goals as another variable associated with academic self-efficacy and subjective well-being. There are studies revealing the relationship between life goals, individual goal setting and performing work towards goals with subjective well-being (Deci & Ryan, 2000;Litalien et al., 2013;Steca et al., 2016). Adolescents determining their long-term life goals and organising their life according to this purpose has great importance to ensure their lives have meaning and they are happy (Eryılmaz, 2010). ...
... While cancer-related goals may be important, the continued pursuit of other valued goals (e.g., meaningful experiences, social connection) is critical to ensure that individuals are living a life that is enjoyable and fulfilling [5,6]. This is evident in the association between the pursuit of valued goals and patient-reported health outcomes, including better subjective health and well-being [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Understanding patients' goals can also help with clinical decision making and the provision of goal-concordant care. ...
Purpose
Goals provide insight into what is important to an individual. We describe the development and application of a mixed methods approach to elicit goals and perceptions about goals in patients with advanced cancer.
Methods
Patients receiving first-line treatment for advanced lung cancer participated in semi-structured interviews about their goals. Participants self-generated goals, then selected and ranked their three most important goals and provided Likert scale ratings of goal-related perceptions (e.g., attainability, locus of control). Independent raters coded goals into content domains. One month later, participants reported perceived progress toward goals and facilitators of and barriers to progress.
Results
Participants (N = 75, Mage = 64.5 years, 59% female) identified goals across eight domains: social/role/relationship, everyday/practical, leisure/pleasure, psychological/existential/spiritual, major life changes or achievements, cancer treatment response/disease outcomes, palliative outcomes, and behavioral health improvement. Of all goals identified (N = 352), 72% of patients had at least one social/role/relationship goal, 68% had a leisure/pleasure goal, and 29% had a cancer treatment response goal. On average, participants considered their goals to be attainable, perceived a high degree of control over reaching goals, anticipated making “some” progress in the short term, and perceived a high likelihood of reaching goals in the future. Facilitators of progress included mental fortitude, feeling physically well, and social support. Barriers included cancer-related side effects, practical challenges, and COVID-19.
Conclusions
A majority of participant goals focused on meaningful engagement and living well. Goals were largely viewed as attainable and under participants’ control. Cancer clinicians may consider how to support patients in working toward valued goals in conjunction with oncology care.
... This lends some support to the research that items centring on the themes of planning, goals and progress share a functional homogeneity. This is in line with the three dimensions that Brunstein [58] found mediated the effects of goal achievement upon subjective well-being: the degree of commitment to one's goals, the attainability of the set goal states and progress towards set goals [59]. ...
Whilst the variables in quality of life and well-being can be separated into objective and subjective domains, there remains a dearth of multiple utility instruments that assess their impact upon quality of life. To address this, ten domains were identified in a preliminary exploratory literature search, and an exploratory review generated enough facets to represent each domain, with items developed to form a composite scale. A principal components analysis run on data collected from 210 participants produced seven factors: relationships, work, money, health, leisure, and life management, with the remaining four domains subsuming into a seventh composite subjective factor (mental state). Final items were collated into the new Clinical Quality of Life Scale (CLINQOL) and were tested against the Assessment of Quality of Life Instrument, the Personal Wellbeing Index–Adult, Positive and Negative Affect Scale, the Satisfaction with Life scale, and the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale. The CLINQOL demonstrated suitable reliability, with items within each category forming internally consistent subscales. The full scale score demonstrated satisfactory test–retest reliability and concurrent validity, correlating with all measures. Findings suggest that the CLINQOL captures critical clinical factors, and may be an acceptable instrument to assess quality of life and well-being.
... The quality of human life is greatly defined by the choice of goals or actions to reach a desirable end result . In everyday functioning, people take control of their own lives through the setting of goals, and if these goals are aligned with what is valuable to them, working towards and realizing such goals are associated with well-being (Hennecke & Brandstätter, 2017;Steca et al., 2016). Hence, goal-related theories of well-being have been formulated by various scholars (Bandura, 1988;Baumeister, 2016;Brunstein, 1993;Dweck, 1986;Emmons, 1989Emmons, , 2003Little, 1983;Little et al., 2017). ...
Harmony is recognized as fundamental to being and functioning well in philosophical traditions and empirical research globally and in Africa. The aim of this study was to explore and describe harmony as a quality of happiness in South Africa (N = 585) and Ghana (N = 420). Using a qualitative descriptive research design, participants’ responses to an open-ended question from the Eudaimonic-Hedonic Happiness Investigation (EHHI, Delle Fave et al., Soc Indic Res 100:185–207, 2011) on what happiness meant to them were coded according to the formalized EHHI coding manual. Responses that were assigned any of the following codes were considered: codes from the “harmony/balance” category in the “psychological definitions” life domain; and codes from any other life domain containing the words “harmony”, “balance”, or “peace”. This resulted in 222 verbatim responses from South Africa and 80 from Ghana that were analyzed using content analysis to get a sense of the experiential texture of harmony as a quality of happiness. Findings showed that happiness was often expressed as harmony and balance within and between intrapersonal, interpersonal, transcendental, and universal levels of functioning, with wholeness, interconnectedness, and synergy implied. These findings, resonating with philosophical reflections on harmony from Africa and elsewhere, suggest that harmony as a quality of happiness is essentially holistic and contextually embedded and that context-sensitive interdisciplinary approaches to theory building and intervention development pertaining to harmony are needed locally and globally.
... The quality of human life is greatly defined by the choice of goals or actions to reach a desirable end result . In everyday functioning, people take control of their own lives through the setting of goals, and if these goals are aligned with what is valuable to them, working towards and realizing such goals are associated with well-being (Hennecke & Brandstätter, 2017;Steca et al., 2016). Hence, goal-related theories of well-being have been formulated by various scholars (Bandura, 1988;Baumeister, 2016;Brunstein, 1993;Dweck, 1986;Emmons, 1989Emmons, , 2003Little, 1983;Little et al., 2017). ...
Positive mental health, and the validity of its assessment instruments, are largely unexplored in the Ghanaian context. This study examined the factor structure of the Twi version of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form and explored the prevalence of positive mental health in a sample of rural Ghanaian adults (N = 444). A bifactor exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) model fit the data better than competing models (confirmatory factor analysis [CFA], bifactor CFA, and ESEM models). We found a high omega reliability coefficient for the general positive mental health factor (ω = .97) and marginal reliability scores for the emotional (ω = .51) and social well-being (ω = .57) subscales, but a low reliability score for the psychological well-being subscale (ω = .41). Findings support the existence of a general mental health factor, and confirm the underlying three-dimensional structure of mental health, but suggest that caution should be applied when interpreting subscale scores, especially for the psychological well-being subscale. Based on Keyes’s criteria for the categorical diagnosis of the presence of positive mental health, 25.5% of the sample were flourishing, with 74.5% functioning at suboptimal levels (31.1% languishing, 41.4% with moderate mental health) and may benefit from contextually relevant positive psychological interventions, which may also buffer against psychopathology.
... The quality of human life is greatly defined by the choice of goals or actions to reach a desirable end result . In everyday functioning, people take control of their own lives through the setting of goals, and if these goals are aligned with what is valuable to them, working towards and realizing such goals are associated with well-being (Hennecke & Brandstätter, 2017;Steca et al., 2016). Hence, goal-related theories of well-being have been formulated by various scholars (Bandura, 1988;Baumeister, 2016;Brunstein, 1993;Dweck, 1986;Emmons, 1989Emmons, , 2003Little, 1983;Little et al., 2017). ...
Psychology is concerned with human behaviour, therefore all psychologies are contextually-embedded and culturally informed. A movement towards globalising psychology would invariably diminish the localised socio-cultural situatedness of psychology, and instead seek to advance a dominant Euro-American centred psychology even in regions where such applications do not fit. The emergence of strong voices, and theoretically grounded and empirically supported positions from the global South in general and sub-Saharan Africa in particular, in studies of well-being allows for the opportunity to explore and describe an Africa(n) centred positive psychology. Acknowledging the limitations of cross-cultural psychological approaches, which have encouraged the uncritical transportation of Euro-American centred concepts and values, in this chapter we utilise assumptions from critical, cultural and African psychology to present our initial thoughts about a culturally embedded, socially relevant and responsive, and context respecting Africa(n) centred positive psychology. This challenge warrants consideration of early contributions to the study of well-being, its current data-driven positivist tendency, as well as African worldviews grounded in interdependence, collectivism, relatedness, harmony with nature, and spirituality. For an Africa(n) centred positive psychology, it is also essential to consider questions of epistemology, ways of knowing about the world and the human condition, context respecting knowledge, and theory building. Drawing on current scholarly evidence in sub-Saharan Africa, which emphasises relationality and societal values and norms shaping experiences of well-being, we propose future directions and discuss implications for empirical research and theory building within positive psychology which seeks to centre Africa and African experiences.
... The quality of human life is greatly defined by the choice of goals or actions to reach a desirable end result . In everyday functioning, people take control of their own lives through the setting of goals, and if these goals are aligned with what is valuable to them, working towards and realizing such goals are associated with well-being (Hennecke & Brandstätter, 2017;Steca et al., 2016). Hence, goal-related theories of well-being have been formulated by various scholars (Bandura, 1988;Baumeister, 2016;Brunstein, 1993;Dweck, 1986;Emmons, 1989Emmons, , 2003Little, 1983;Little et al., 2017). ...
Child marriage has been identified as a violation of human rights and an obstacle to promoting the development goals concerning gender, health and education. All these impacts undermine the development of the girl child. Despite the potential for negative outcomes, the presence of intrinsic and extrinsic resources can buffer the adverse effects (e.g., psychological, physical and economic impact) of early marriage. This study employed a qualitative exploratory, descriptive design to explore and describe protective resources utilised by married girls in the Northern region of Ghana to cope with the challenges in their marriage and to promote positive outcomes. Using semi-structured interviews, data was collected from 21 married girls who were aged between 12 and 19 years. Findings, from a thematic analysis of data, showed that intrinsic resources that promoted positive outcomes included possession of resilience attitudes, the use of help-seeking and active coping, and in some instances avoidance coping for problems they perceived as unsolvable. Extrinsic resources included interpersonal support networks, however, participants reported limited access to community and NGO support, which were also identified as protective resources. Policy makers and clinicians should consider a social justice approach in evaluating and recommending protective resources to girls in early marriages when working to promote their well-being. In so doing, attention should be placed on making external support systems accessible to married girls.
... Ryan and Deci (2000) proposed that self-determination and subjective well-being are enhanced when psychological needs, i.e. competence, autonomy and relatedness, are met, while the otherwise self-determination and subjective well-being will be diminished. Steca et al. (2016) argued that the progress of a goal positively influences subjective well-being, meanwhile the increase in goal value leads to the decrease of negative effects. A longitudinal study revealed that life goals prospectively predicted environmentally responsible behaviour, therefore life goals are not only important to individual well-being but also the well-being of the next generations (Unanue et al., 2016). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore changes in life goal importance and subjective well-being, and to uncover if life goal importance predicts subjective well-being of people in the northeast of Thailand.
Design/methodology/approach
The data of two surveys conducted in 2006 ( n = 184) and 2016 ( n = 184) were used. The samples were selected by using multiple sampling techniques and subsampled by age and gender. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, independent t -test and multiple linear regression.
Findings
Paired sample t -test revealed that the change of individual parameters under extrinsic life goals are most evident, these parameters include owning a big house, free of debts, owning amenities, living in clean and pleasant environment, having fewer children, children obtaining formal education, good behaviour of children and good health. The authors also found that two parameters under relational life goal were found different (good family relationship, hosting community events and activities). Satisfaction with living conditions deteriorated while satisfaction with life improved. The model from 2005 confirms that life goal importance predicts subjective well-being, while the opposite with the 2016 model. The direction of prediction of extrinsic, intrinsic and relational life goal importance on subjective well-being between 2006 and 2016 models are in opposite direction.
Originality/value
The study extends the authors understanding of the link between the importance of life goals and subjective well-being, which was previously confined to the advancement towards life goals (goal achievement).
... Dans le même sens, plusieurs études ont trouvé des corrélations significatives entre les diverses caractéristiques des projets personnels et la satisfaction de vie des individus (Bedford-Petersen et al., 2019;Helgeson, 2019;Palys & Little, 1983;Steca et al., 2016), les comportements liés à la santé (Presseau et al., 2010), l'anxiété (Boudreaux & Ozer, 2013;Van Damme et al., 2019), la dépression (Boudreaux & Ozer, 2013;Helgeson, 2019;Van Damme et al., 2019), les affects négatifs (Boudreaux & Ozer, 2013;Carver & Scheier, 1998), etc. Chambers (2007 souligne que le langage utilisé par les individus pour communiquer leurs projets est porteur de sens. Par exemple, le projet « faire des études » peut être exprimé comme une activité (étudier), comme un accomplissement prolongé (obtenir un certificat en psychologie), comme un accomplissement instantané (avoir A+ dans tous les cours) ou comme un état (être le premier de classe). ...
... goal setting, monitoring, feedback), which supports previous findings [19]. The positive effect of personal goal attainment on individual well-being has been largely recognised (eg, [31]) and the goal regulation process has been specifically described by Carver and Scheier [32] as a discrepancy-reducing feedback loop, in which individuals are motivated to self-regulate their actions according to feedback to achieve a specific goal. Our findings suggest that the availability of self-regulation features may allow users to self-organise their experiences and behaviour and hence, as proposed by Self-Determination Theory [33], foster experiences of autonomy. ...
Background
Although smartphone apps might support physical activity (PA), engagement with them tends to be low.
Objective
This study aimed to examine potential users’ needs and preferences regarding their engagement with PA apps during a first exposure to a never-used PA app and after 2 weeks’ usage.
Methods
A longitudinal, one-arm qualitative study was conducted with potential PA app users. At baseline, participants (N=20) were asked to explore 1 of 3 randomly allocated PA apps while thinking aloud. Semistructured interview techniques allowed participants to elaborate on their statements. After 2 weeks, follow-up interviews explored participants’ (n=17) lived experiences of real-world app use. Verbal reports from both time points were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.
Results
Features that promote a fair and simple user experience, support users’ self-regulation skills, and address users’ exercise motives were considered important for engagement both during a first exposure and after a 2-week use of PA apps. Features that support users’ need for relatedness as well as those that facilitate users to implement their intentions were expected to be important for engagement mainly during a first exposure to PA apps. Proactive and tailored features that integrate behavioral, psychological, and contextual information to provide adaptive exercise plans and just-in-time support were considered relevant to sustain engagement over time.
Conclusions
App features that address users’ exercise motives, promote self-regulation, and fulfill users’ need for relatedness might promote engagement with PA apps. Tailored and proactive features were expected to promote sustained engagement.
... When analyzing the association between diff erent positive correlates, there is progression in the proposition of eff ective strategies to raise the levels of well-being in the population. For example, by identifying the infl uence of personal goals on SWB, it is possible to delineate interventions to raise well-being levels by targeting, developing and strengthening personal goals and objectives (Steca et al., 2016). ...
Este estudio realizó una revisión integradora de la producción científica (nacional e internacional) sobre el bienestar subjetivo (BS) de los niños/as y adolescentes en el período 2005 a 2016. Con PubMed, PsycINFO, SciELO, PEPSIC, LILACS e IndexPsi se identificaron 43 estudios después de la aplicación de los criterios de inclusión/exclusión. La mayoría de los estudios fueron internacionales (empírico, transversal, cuantitativo, correlacional) en estudiantes adolescentes. Se encontró un número creciente de publicaciones centradas en aspectos positivos, que indican la relación entre BS y variables abordadas en la Psicología Positiva, con énfasis en el afrontamiento, optimismo, gratitud y curiosidad. Sin embargo, la necesidad de diferenciar entre BS y constructos relacionados se hace cada vez más necesaria. Además, hay una brecha en cuanto a estudios con población no normativa y niños. Por último, cabe destacar que una ciencia que tiene como objetivo estudiar el desarrollo positivo y promoción del bienestar debe prestar atención a la diversidad de contextos y etapas del ciclo de vida.
... Participants in this study also highlighted the need for features that support the self-regulation of behavior to achieve personal exercise goals (eg goal setting, monitoring, and feedback), which supports previous findings [19]. The positive effect of personal goal attainment on individual well-being has been largely recognized [31] and the goal regulation process has been specifically described by Carver and Scheier [32] as a discrepancy-reducing feedback loop in which individuals are motivated to self-regulate their actions according to feedback to achieve a specific goal. Our findings suggest that the availability of self-regulation features might allow users to self-organize their experiences and behavior and hence, as proposed by self-determination theory [33], foster experiences of autonomy. ...
BACKGROUND
Although smartphone applications (apps) may support physical activity (PA), engagement with them tends to be low.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to examine potential users’ needs and preferences regarding their engagement with PA apps.
METHODS
A longitudinal, one-arm, qualitative study was conducted with potential PA app users. At baseline, participants (N=21) were asked to explore one of three randomly allocated PA apps whilst thinking aloud. Semi-structured interview techniques allowed participants to elaborate on their statements. After two weeks, follow-up interviews explored participants’ (N=17) lived experiences of real-world app use. Verbal reports from both time points were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.
RESULTS
Features that support self-regulation, those that address users’ exercise motives, and features that foster a sense of relatedness were considered important for engagement. Proactive and tailored features that integrate behavioural, psychological and contextual information to provide adaptive exercise plans and just-in-time support were expected to be important for engagement.
CONCLUSIONS
App features that address users’ exercise motives, promote self-regulation, and fulfil users’ need for relatedness may promote engagement with PA apps. Tailored and proactive features were expected to promote sustained engagement.
... Also, similar results show that the variables such as assertiveness need [25], learned resourcefulness [66], respect need [26,29], and competence need [23,27,28,30] are significant predictors of happiness. Furthermore, findings show that having a purposeful and meaningful life, or having a successful goal pursuit in life are also significant predictors of happiness [67][68][69][70]. ...
... Behavior motivated by hope requires the goal to be potentially attainable, yet uncertain. Goal seeking and goal attainment represent a foundation for well-being, for as a person approaches and attains goals, positive affect results (Steca et al. 2016). Pathways represent a mental mapping process to identify multiple strategies toward the desired goal. ...
The Children’s Hope Scale is one of the most commonly used self-report measures of a child’s future oriented goal motivation. This study presents a reliability generalization on both the internal consistency and test-retest reliability estimates for the Children’s Hope Scale. While 225 published works were analyzed 4.2% authors did not report reliability estimates for their study and 10.7% induced from a previous study. The average internal consistency score (N = 164) was .81 (95% CI = .79 -- .82) and the test-retest (N = 15) at .71 (95% CI = .64 -- .78) respectively. An analysis of variance showed that non-English language samples produced moderately lower (albeit still acceptable) Cronbach’s Alpha estimates. The results of the reliability generalization suggest the score reliabilities produced by the Children’s Hope Scale are acceptable across samples. The findings of this study paired with the growing number of validation studies suggest researchers can use of the Children’s Hope Scale with increased confidence.
... We follow Laguna et al. (2016) in treating these four components as key to personal goal realization. Progress towards personal goal realization is important to individuals' subjective wellbeing (Steca et al. 2015). ...
We examined four types of stability and change in values during young adulthood. 270 respondents (aged 20-28, 54% female) completed the Portrait Values Questionnaire at three time points, separated by 4 years. Rank-order stability coefficients of the 10 values averaged .69 (T1-T2) and .77 (T2-T3). The mean importance of conservation, self-transcendence, and power values increased over time, the mean importance of achievement values decreased, and openness to change values remained stable. For 75% of respondents, the correlations of the within-person value hierarchies exceeded .45 from T1 to T2 and .61 from T2 to T3. Correlations among individual change scores for the 10 values formed coherent patterns of value change that mirror the circular structure of Schwartz’s theory.
... We follow Laguna et al. (2016) in treating these four components as key to personal goal realization. Progress towards personal goal realization is important to individuals' subjective wellbeing (Steca et al. 2015). ...
Past research on individual-level differences has revealed associations between affect, positive beliefs and goal realization. Goal realization, however, varies not only between individuals (the individual level) but also within individuals according to goal (the goal level). This study analyzed family-related personal goals at both levels, examining how positive affect, negative affect and positive orientation are related to personal goal realization. The participants were 205 adults (mean age = 35.74 years); they evaluated five personal goals related to family life and completed assessments of positive orientation. Multilevel structural equation modeling demonstrated that both at the individual level and at the goal level positive orientation and positive goal-related affect were positively related to personal goal realization in family domain. Negative goal-related affect was negatively related to personal goal realization at both levels. Positive orientation, both at the individual level and as a cross-level interaction, moderated the relationship between positive goal-related affect and personal goal realization.
This aim of the study is to examine the varying functions of basic needs satisfaction in predicting happiness, self-esteem, and creative personality among university students using a choice theory-based perspective. A sample of 1100 university students completed self-report scales of happiness, self- esteem, creative personality, and University Students’ Basic Needs Scale. Multiple regression analysis revealed that satisfying the need for survival, freedom, fun or entertainment, love and belonging, contribute to self-esteem and happiness among university students. Furthermore, satisfying the need for freedom, power, entertainment, love and belonging, contribute to creative personality. The findings provided supportive evidence for the major hypothesis of the choice theory, demonstrating that happiness increases as the satisfaction of basic needs increases. Furthermore, the basic needs satisfaction contributes to self-esteem and creative personality.
The self-concordance model proposes that the concordance of goals and meaning may be associated with higher levels of well-being. But is this the case for specific life domains such as the interpersonal relationships domain? Are the patterns of goals and meaning alignment the same for different sociodemographic subgroups? As no studies could be sourced on this topic, this study explores these dynamics. Open-ended questions on important goals and meaningful things, a sociodemographic questionnaire, and selected well-being questionnaires were administered to a multicultural South African sample (N = 585) in a convergent parallel mixed methods research design. The content of the qualitative data were coded and converted to quantitative data. Associations between alignment patterns and selected sociodemographic variables were explored via contingency tables and Pearson’s chi-square test. A MANOVA was performed followed by a series of one-way ANOVAs to explore associations between alignment patterns and well-being variables. Alignment patterns were found to be associated with age, gender, level of education, and work status, and the MHC-SF (total score) index of well-being. Despite the statistically significant association of alignment patterns with the MHC-SF, the self-concordance model was not supported in this study with reference to the interpersonal relationships domain, as the both-goal-and-meaning pattern did not reveal a higher level of well-being compared to other patterns as predicted by the self-concordance model.
Whilst the assessment of quality of life (QoL) and well-being has burgeoned in the past 50 years, there still remains relatively little research into its treatment in psychology, in spite of the launching of such approaches as positive psychology to widen the ambit of interventions to promote well-being. We posit that there are a number of outstanding QoL areas that could be integrated into standard therapeutic procedures, and that this would this result in an increase in well-being as a therapeutic outcome. To investigate this an exploratory search of the literature was undertaken of associations between improvements in a life domain and increased well-being or QoL. Ten domains (relationships, work, money, health, and leisure, mindfulness, self-esteem, resolution of past life events, mental style and life management skills) were identified. In view of the substantial evidence of the cumulative impact of these domains upon well-being, it is proposed that conducting a unidimensional clinical intervention that focuses only on the presenting issue is not sufficient. Implications and possible therapeutic pathways are discussed and it is recommended that practitioners include such QoL domains in their assessment, case formulation, and intervention planning.
Purpose
To examine how the risky use of smartphone in nursing students affects their daily goals.
Design and Methods
A total of 419 nursing students participated in this study. A Descriptive Data Form, Smartphone Addiction Scale‐Short Version, and Daily Goals Scale were used to collect the data.
Findings
According to our study results; students who are afraid of forgetting or losing their phone have a higher risk of being smartphone addiction. As the risks of students' smartphone addiction increase, their daily goal setting levels decreased.
Practice Implications
The risky use of smartphone effects negatively daily goals setting. Education and counseling programs that will prevent the risky use of smartphones and the associated risk of addiction should be provided for nursing students.
Introduction: Symptoms of depression are associated with difficulty achieving personal goals. Empirical investigations suggest that depressed individuals do not differ from healthy controls in their commitment to personal goals (i.e., goal commitment), though they express less confidence in their abilities to achieve goals (i.e., goal-related confidence). Despite the relevance of motivational constructs, including goal commitment and confidence, to both depression and goal striving, there is a dearth of research examining these variables as they relate to depressive symptoms and goal progress across time.
Method: To address this gap, we tracked the goal pursuits of 139 undergraduate participants oversampled for elevated symptoms of depression at a large, Midwestern university at three time-points. Participants completed a baseline assessment that included The Center for Epidemiologic Studies—Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) and a free-response goal-setting activity. They were asked to report goal progress and re-rate commitment and confidence for any not-yet-attained goals 2 weeks later and, finally, to report on goal attainment at a 2-month follow-up.
Results: As predicted, the association between depressive symptoms and concurrently-reported goal commitment was not significant. However, less goal progress and early decreases in goal commitment and confidence reported at 2-week follow-up acted as indirect paths through which baseline depressive symptoms predicted poor longer-term goal outcomes.
Discussion: Future investigators could experimentally test the associations between these variables to better understand the ways in which manipulating one aspect of goal striving might causally influence the others.
The present study examined how individuals in an organizational training program regulated both their performance goals and effort in response to goal–performance discrepancies (GPDs), as well as the impact of individual differences (goal orientation) on these processes. Four hundred and sixty‐two employees participating in a high‐fidelity training simulation for a pharmaceutical sales position were observed over the course of 10 days to examine how they altered both their goals and individual effort in response to performance feedback they received from the organization. Consistent with past research conducted outside of the workplace, the results indicated that both goal revision and effort expenditure were significantly related to the GPDs experienced by individuals such that individuals receiving feedback that they were performing below their goal were likely to both set less challenging future goals and exert more effort. Results also suggested that this relationship was moderated by the employee's learning goal orientation (LGO) and performance‐avoid goal orientation. Individuals with a strong LGO were more likely to address GPDs by increasing effort, whereas those with a strong performance‐avoid orientation tended to utilize goal revision to address their GPDs. Theoretical and applied implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.
The present article includes separate meta-analyses showing that self-concordance and implementation intentions are significantly positively associated with goal progress. Study 1 confirmed the positive relations of both self-concordance and implementation intentions to weekend goal progress. Study 2 confirmed the positive relation of self-concordance with monthly progress on New Year's resolutions but failed to find a direct benefit for implementation intentions. Both studies, however, obtained a significant interaction effect indicating that goal self-concordance and implementation intentions combined synergistically to facilitate goal progress. The article also reports a meta-analysis and results from the 2 studies that demonstrated that goal progress was associated with improved affect over time.
This study is aimed at investigating the dimensionality of the situational version of the Brief COPE, a questionnaire that is frequently used to assess a broad range of coping responses to specific difficulties, by comparing five different factor models highlighted in previous studies. It also aimed at exploring the relationships among coping responses, personal goal commitment and progress. The study involved 606 adults (male = 289) ranging in age from 19 to 71. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we compared five models and assessed relationships of coping responses with goal commitment and progress. The results confirmed the theoretical factor structure of the situational Brief COPE. All the 14 dimensions showed acceptable reliability and relationships with goal commitment and progress, attesting the reliability and usefulness of this measure to evaluate coping responses to specific events.
Most people would agree that facing goal conflict is a negative experience. However, many, but not all empirical studies actually show a negative relationship between goal conflicts and well-being: goal conflicts apparently differ in their effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of the level of goal self-concordance (i.e., to what extent goals are pursued with self-determined motivation) for people’s affective reactions to goal conflicts due to resource constraints. Analyses of goal conflicts experienced at work by N = 647 junior scientists shed light onto the role of levels of self-concordance of the conflicting goals on the way the goal conflict is experienced. Results show that goal self-concordance explains variance in affective reaction beyond goal importance and goal attainability. More specifically, conflicts between two goals with high levels of self-concordance are associated to rather positive affect (e.g., excited). In contrast, conflicts between two goals with low levels of self-concordance are associated to rather negative affect (e.g., frustrated). Overall, these results emphasize the need to consider goal properties in future research on goal conflicts.
This study examined the effects of global autonomous motivation and global perceived control on young adults’ adaptive goal striving and emotional well-being. We reasoned that autonomously motivated participants who also perceive high levels of control would make accelerated progress with the pursuit of their most important goal and experience associated increases in emotional well-being. By contrast, we predicted that these benefits of autonomous motivation would be reduced among participants who perceive low levels of control. A 6-month longitudinal study of 125 college students was conducted, and self-reported global autonomous motivation, global perceived control, progress towards the most important goal, and emotional well-being were assessed. Regression analyses showed that the combination of high baseline levels of global autonomous motivation and global perceived control was associated with accelerated goal progress after 6 months, which mediated 6-month increases in emotional well-being. These benefits were not apparent among autonomously motivated participants who perceived low levels of control. The study’s findings suggest that global autonomous motivation and perceived control may need to work together to foster adaptive goal striving and emotional well-being.
The personal project is proposed as a new unit of analysis for the study of personality in its social, physical and temporal context. A sequential model of personal projects is proposed in which the major stages of project inception, planning, action, and termination are described in detail and related to dimensions of individual differences. A new methodology for assessing personal project content and structure is introduced, including techniques for assessing interproject impact and linkages with values and actions. The relevance of a projectanalytic approach to recent issues in environmental psychology is discussed. It is proposed that personal projects methodology might serve as a coupling device between the fields of personality and environmental psychology.
In recent studies of the structure of affect, positive and negative affect have consistently emerged as two dominant and relatively independent dimensions. A number of mood scales have been created to measure these factors; however, many existing measures are inadequate, showing low reliability or poor convergent or discriminant validity. To fill the need for reliable and valid Positive Affect and Negative Affect scales that are also brief and easy to administer, we developed two 10-item mood scales that comprise the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The scales are shown to be highly internally consistent, largely uncorrelated, and stable at appropriate levels over a 2-month time period. Normative data and factorial and external evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for the scales are also presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
The study examined the relations between personal project level of abstraction, project conflict and psychological well-being. The revised Little's Personal Project Inventory was completed by 167 adults around the age of 30, and the amount of conflict experienced between the projects as well as the level of depression and life satisfaction were rated. Level refers to the degree of generality versus specificity of the projects. Project level of abstraction and conflict were negatively related to each other. Abstract projects were appraised as meaningful and they tended to be stressful. Abstract and stressing projects were typical of depression and of single persons. Conflict was interpreted practically, reflecting, for instance, lack of time, and it characterized less meaningful projects. Blue collar workers had less conflicting project systems than groups with middle level or academic education. Project level of abstraction and project conflict were not related to life satisfaction or gender. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The question of how affect arises and what affect indicates is examined from a feedback-based viewpoint on self-regulation. Using the analogy of action control as the attempt to diminish distance to a goal, a second feedback system is postulated that senses and regulates the rate at which the action-guiding system is functioning. This second system is seen as responsible for affect. Implications of these assertions and issues that arise from them are addressed in the remainder of the article. Several issues relate to the emotion model itself; others concern the relation between negative emotion and disengagement from goals. Relations to 3 other emotion theories are also addressed. The authors conclude that this view on affect is a useful supplement to other theories and that the concept of emotion is easily assimilated to feedback models of self-regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
To investigate how women's and men's personal goals change during the transition to parenthood, the authors studied 348 women (152 primiparous and 196 multiparous) and 277 of their partners at 3 times: early in pregnancy, 1 month before the birth, and 3 months afterward. At each measurement, participants completed the Personal Project Analysis questionnaire (B. R. Little, 1983). The results showed that during pregnancy women became more interested in goals related to childbirth, the child's health, and motherhood and less interested in achievement-related goals. After the birth women were more interested in family and health-related issues. These changes were more substantial among the primiparous than among the multiparous mothers. Although the men's personal goals changed during the transition to parenthood, these changes were less substantial than those found among the women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Recently, much progress has been made by those advocating the trait perspective in personality in explicating an underlying dispositional structure to individual differences, to the attributes individuals "have." A cognitive perspective on personality can complement this description, providing a view of what G. W. Allport (1937) called the "doing" side of personality, by focusing on how these dispositions are cognitively expressed and maintained in social interaction. This perspective shows how individuals interpret life tasks of work, play, intimacy, power, and health, in light of their most accessible schemas, envisaging alternative future selves, and devising cognitive strategies to guide behavior. Strategic problem solving has its benefits and its costs because an effective solution to one life problem often creates other new problems. Therefore, a central question about the adaptiveness of personality is raised by this approach. How do individuals modify their schemas, tasks, and strategies in light of experience? A structural approach to personality can reveal much about basic stabilities, and an emphasis on the doing side can contribute knowledge of the mutability of personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Whether you're a manager, company psychologist, quality control specialist, or involved with motivating people to work harder in any capacity—Locke and Latham's guide will hand you the keen insight and practical advice you need to reach even your toughest cases. (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)
We examine the controversial practice of using parcels of items as manifest variables in structural equation modeling (SEM) procedures. After detailing arguments pro and con, we conclude that the unconsidered use of parcels is never warranted, while, at the same time, the considered use of parcels cannot be dismissed out of hand. In large part, the decision to parcel or not depends on one's philosophical stance regard- ing scientific inquiry (e.g., empiricist vs. pragmatist) and the substantive goal of a study (e.g., to understand the structure of a set of items or to examine the nature of a set of constructs). Prior to creating parcels, however, we recommend strongly that in- vestigators acquire a thorough understanding of the nature and dimensionality of the items to be parceled. With this knowledge in hand, various techniques for creating parcels can be utilized to minimize potential pitfalls and to optimize the measure- ment structure of constructs in SEM procedures. A number of parceling techniques are described, noting their strengths and weaknesses.
This paper addresses issues of causal direction in research on subjective well-being (SWB). Previous researchers have generally assumed that such variables as domain satisfactions, social support, life events, and levels of expectation and aspiration are causes of SWB. Critics have pointed out that they could just as well be consequences (Costa and McCrae, 1980; Veenhoven, 1988). In some contexts this has been referred to as the top-down versus bottom-up controversy (Diener, 1984). The main purpose is to propose a general statistical model which holds promise of resolving this controversy. The model can be used when three or more waves of panel data are available. It is used here to assess causal direction between six domain satisfactions (marriage, work, leisure, standard of living, friendship and health) and SWB. Data are drawn from four waves of an Australian Quality of Life panel survey (1981–1987) with an initial sample size of 942.
This paper addresses issues of causal direction in research on subjective well-being (SWB). Previous researchers have generally
assumed that such variables as domain satisfactions, social support, life events, and levels of expectation and aspiration
are causes of SWB. Critics have pointed out that they could just as well be consequences (Costa and McCrae, 1980; Veenhoven,
1988). In some contexts this has been referred to as the top-down versus bottom-up controversy (Diener, 1984). The main purpose
is to propose a general statistical model which holds promise of resolving this controversy. The model can be used when three
or more waves of panel data are available. It is used here to assess causal direction between six domain satisfactions (marriage,
work, leisure, standard of living, friendship and health) and SWB. Data are drawn from four waves of an Australian Quality
of Life panel survey (1981–1987) with an initial sample size of 942.
The present studies examined the role of independent and interdependent goal pursuits in the subjective well-being (SWB) of
Asian and European American college students. In Study 1, the authors found that independent goal pursuit (i.e., goal pursuit
for fun and enjoyment) increased the benefit of goal attainment on SWB among European Americans but not among Asian Americans.
In Study 2, the authors found that interdependent goal pursuit (i.e., goal pursuit to please parents and friends) increased
the benefit of goal attainment on the SWB of Asian Americans, whereas it did not increase the benefit of goal attainment on
the SWB of European Americans. In Study 3, the authors found that whereas interdependent goal pursuit increased the benefit
of goal attainment, independent goal pursuit did not increase the benefit of goal attainment among Japanese college students.
Altogether, the present findings suggest that independent and interdependent goal pursuits result in divergent affective consequences
across cultures.
Both laypersons and social scientists typically assume that psychological well-being or happiness is a response to objective circumstances or events. The present study contributes to recent literature showing that stable individual differences are more useful than life circumstances in predicting well-being. Responses to items from the General Well-being Schedule were examined for 4942 men and women surveyed in a follow-up of a national sample. Results showed substantial stability for well-being scales for total group and demographically defined subgroups, and stability coefficients were as high for those who had experienced changes in marital or employment status or state of residence as for those who had not. These findings point out the need for caution in interpreting well-being scores as indices of the quality of life, because well-being is strongly influenced by enduring characteristics of the individual.
This book presents a thorough overview of a model of human functioning based on the idea that behavior is goal-directed and regulated by feedback control processes. It describes feedback processes and their application to behavior, considers goals and the idea that goals are organized hierarchically, examines affect as deriving from a different kind of feedback process, and analyzes how success expectancies influence whether people keep trying to attain goals or disengage. Later sections consider a series of emerging themes, including dynamic systems as a model for shifting among goals, catastrophe theory as a model for persistence, and the question of whether behavior is controlled or instead 'emerges'. Three chapters consider the implications of these various ideas for understanding maladaptive behavior, and the closing chapter asks whether goals are a necessity of life. Throughout, theory is presented in the context of diverse issues that link the theory to other literatures.
A new methodology for the systemic appraisal of personal project systems was utilized as an approach to understanding perceived life satisfaction. Variables derived from the Personal Projects Matrix were shown to explain variability in reported life satisfaction in two separate, studies, one with a university sample, the other in a small community. High life satisfaction was found to be associated with (a) involvement in projects of high short-term importance that were highly enjoyable and moderately difficult, and (b) the presence of a social network that shared project involvements and offered social support. A cross-validation analysis revealed that the results obtained with the larger university sample generalized to the community group. The studies reported below were based on three interrelated assumptions: (a) that perceptions of life satisfaction are related to the way in which individuals structure and organize their projects and concerns; (b) that these projects and concerns may be conceived as being organized in systems whose properties can be assessed; and (c) that indexes based on such measurement will explain significant proportions of variance in global measures of perceived life satisfaction.
The question of how affect arises and what affect indicates is examined from a feedback-based viewpoint on self-regulation. Using the analogy of action control as the attempt to diminish distance to a goal, a second feedback system is postulated that senses and regulates the rate at which the action-guiding system is functioning. This second system is seen as responsible for affect. Implications of these assertions and issues that arise from them are addressed in the remainder of the article. Several issues relate to the emotion model itself; others concern the relation between negative emotion and disengagement from goals. Relations to 3 other emotion theories are also addressed. The authors conclude that this view on affect is a useful supplement to other theories and that the concept of emotion is easily assimilated to feedback models of self-regulation.
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.
Personal goals play a leading role in directing behavior and influencing well-being. Thus, it is important to assess goal dimensions promoting effective goal pursuit. The current research aimed at identifying the best predictors of goal pursuit, operationalized as perceived goal progress, among goal-related variables and individual differences in dispositional optimism. Two studies examined the influence of optimism on goal progress, commitment, expectancy, value, and conflict. Moreover, the mediation effect of expectancy in the relationships among optimism, commitment and progress was assessed.
Large-scale surveys using complex sample designs are frequently carried out by government agencies. The statistical analysis technology available for such data is, however, limited in scope. This study investigates and further develops statistical methods that could be used in software for the analysis of data collected under complex sample designs. First, it identifies several recent methodological lines of inquiry which taken together provide a powerful and general statistical basis for a complex sample, structural equation modeling analysis. Second, it extends some of this research to new situations of interest. A Monte Carlo study that empirically evaluates these techniques on simulated data comparable to those in largescale complex surveys demonstrates that they work well in practice. Due to the generality of the approaches, the methods cover not only continuous normal variables but also continuous non-normal variables and dichotomous variables. Two methods designed to take into account the complex sample structure were investigated in the Monte Carlo study. One method, termed aggregated analysis, computes the usual parameter estimates but adjusts standard errors and goodness-of-fit model testing. The other method, termed disaggregated analysis, includes a new set of parameters reflecting the complex sample structure. Both of the methods worked very well. The conventional method that ignores complex sampling worked poorly, supporting the need for development of special methods for complex survey data.
This article reports the development and validation of a scale to measure global life satisfaction, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Among the various components of subjective well-being, the SWLS is narrowly focused to assess global life satisfaction and does not tap related constructs such as positive affect or loneliness. The SWLS is shown to have favorable psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and high temporal reliability. Scores on the SWLS correlate moderately to highly with other measures of subjective well-being, and correlate predictably with specific personality characteristics. It is noted that the SWLS is suited for use with different age groups, and other potential uses of the scale are discussed.
Nothing is so insufferable to man as to be completely at rest, without passions, without business, without diversion, without effort. Then he feels his nothingness, his forlornness, his insufficiency, his weakness, his emptiness. (Pascal, The Pensees, 1660/1950, p. 57). As far as we know humans are the only meaning-seeking species on the planet. Meaning-making is an activity that is distinctly human, a function of how the human brain is organized. The many ways in which humans conceptualize, create, and search for meaning has become a recent focus of behavioral science research on quality of life and subjective well-being. This chapter will review the recent literature on meaning-making in the context of personal goals and life purpose. My intention will be to document how meaningful living, expressed as the pursuit of personally significant goals, contributes to positive experience and to a positive life. THE CENTRALITY OF GOALS IN HUMAN FUNCTIONING Since the mid-1980s, considerable progress has been made in under-standing how goals contribute to long-term levels of well-being. Goals have been identified as key integrative and analytic units in the study of human Preparation of this chapter was supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. I would like to express my gratitude to Corey Lee Keyes and Jon Haidt for the helpful comments on an earlier draft of this chapter.
This article provides a quantitative review of the link between successful goal pursuit and subjective well-being (SWB). The meta-analysis integrates the findings of 108 independent samples derived from 85 studies. Results revealed a significant association between successful goal striving and SWB (ρ = .43). Moderator analyses showed that the association
was larger when (a) successful goal pursuit was defined as goal progress, instead of goal attainment, when (b) SWB was measured as SWB (positive indicators), instead of ill-being (negative indicators), when (c) the SWB measure matched the goal content, instead of lacked conceptual correspondence, and when (d) the data collection took place in an individualistic culture, instead of a collectivistic culture. Discussion centers on the interpretation of moderators, theoretical implications, and directions for future research.
A new methodology developed by the 2nd author (see record
1983-26972-001) for the systemic appraisal of personal project systems was used as an approach to understanding perceived life satisfaction. Variables derived from the personal projects matrix were shown to explain variability in reported life satisfaction in 2 separate studies with 178 university students (aged 18–64 yrs) and 72 residents (aged 15–77 yrs) of a rural/suburban community. High life satisfaction was associated with (a) involvement in projects of high short-term importance that were highly enjoyable and moderately difficult and (b) the presence of a social network that shared project involvements and offered social support. A cross-validation analysis revealed that the results obtained with the larger university sample generalized to the community group. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
the purpose of this chapter is to outline the beginnings of a motivational approach to personality, focusing on idiographic goal strivings, or "personal strivings" / an objective of this chapter is to demonstrate that this approach has the potential to integrate the personological and social-experimental orientations to motivation
current conceptions of motivation / historical background / personal strivings as units of analysis / relation to motives and values
assessing personal striving / generation of striving lists / striving specification task / striving assessment scales / striving instrumentality matrix / coding of strivings / unconscious motivation
empirical work on personal strivings / subjective well-being / conflict among strivings and well-being / conflict over expressing emotion and well-being / self-complexity and affective reactivity / personal strivings and personality traits / personal strivings and action identification theory / personal strivings and the self-concept / clinical implications / on the origin of personal strivings (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Mediation models are used to describe the mechanism(s) by which one variable influences another. These models can be useful in developmental research to explicate the relationship between variables, developmental processes, or combinations of variables and processes. In this article we describe aspects of mediation effects specific to developmental research. We focus on three central issues in longitudinal mediation models: the theory of change for variables in the model, the role of time in the model, and the types of indirect effects in the model. We use these themes as we describe three different models for examining mediation in longitudinal data.
This article examines the adequacy of the “rules of thumb” conventional cutoff criteria and several new alternatives for various fit indexes used to evaluate model fit in practice. Using a 2‐index presentation strategy, which includes using the maximum likelihood (ML)‐based standardized root mean squared residual (SRMR) and supplementing it with either Tucker‐Lewis Index (TLI), Bollen's (1989) Fit Index (BL89), Relative Noncentrality Index (RNI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Gamma Hat, McDonald's Centrality Index (Mc), or root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA), various combinations of cutoff values from selected ranges of cutoff criteria for the ML‐based SRMR and a given supplemental fit index were used to calculate rejection rates for various types of true‐population and misspecified models; that is, models with misspecified factor covariance(s) and models with misspecified factor loading(s). The results suggest that, for the ML method, a cutoff value close to .95 for TLI, BL89, CFI, RNI, and Gamma Hat; a cutoff value close to .90 for Mc; a cutoff value close to .08 for SRMR; and a cutoff value close to .06 for RMSEA are needed before we can conclude that there is a relatively good fit between the hypothesized model and the observed data. Furthermore, the 2‐index presentation strategy is required to reject reasonable proportions of various types of true‐population and misspecified models. Finally, using the proposed cutoff criteria, the ML‐based TLI, Mc, and RMSEA tend to overreject true‐population models at small sample size and thus are less preferable when sample size is small.
This study evaluated the sensitivity of maximum likelihood (ML)-, generalized least squares (GLS)-, and asymptotic distribution-free (ADF)-based fit indices to model misspecification, under conditions that varied sample size and distribution. The effect of violating assumptions of asymptotic robustness theory also was examined. Standardized root-mean-square residual (SRMR) was the most sensitive index to models with misspecified factor covariance(s), and Tucker-Lewis Index (1973; TLI), Bollen's fit index (1989; BL89), relative noncentrality index (RNI), comparative fit index (CFI), and the ML- and GLS-based gamma hat, McDonald's centrality index (1989; Mc), and root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) were the most sensitive indices to models with misspecified factor loadings. With ML and GLS methods, we recommend the use of SRMR, supplemented by TLI, BL89, RNI, CFI, gamma hat, Mc, or RMSEA (TLI, Mc, and RMSEA are less preferable at small sample sizes). With the ADF method, we recommend the use of SRMR, supplemented by TLI, BL89, RNI, or CH. Finally, most of the ML-based fit indices outperformed those obtained from GLS and ADF and are preferable for evaluating model fit. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The paper presents a model of orientation to the future in terms of three processes; motivation, planning, and evaluation. To test this model a total of 154 11-, 15- and 18-year-old adolescents were interviewed about their goals and hopes for the future. Seven observed variables were estimated and a model including three latent constructs was tested using the LISREL VI computer program. The planning construct consisted of the amount of knowledge, the complexity of plans and their level of realization. The evaluation construct included internality, estimation of the likelihood that the goals would be realized and an overall emotional evaluation of the future. The motivation construct consisted of one observed variable, extension. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the model fitted the data, thus providing support for the theoretical model.
This study addressed the relations among personal strivings (daily goals) and future life goals and worst fears. Eighty undergraduate participants (62 women, 18 men) listed their daily goals, their ultimate life goals, and their worst fears, and completed questionnaire measures of subjective well-being. Daily goals were content-analyzed for relevance to attaining life goals or avoiding worst fears. Daily goals that were instrumental to life goals or that avoided worst fears were rated as more important but also more difficult by participants. Working on daily goals avoiding one's worst fears was negatively related to measures of subjective well-being, controlling for daily goal progress, difficulty, ambivalence, and importance. Working on daily goals that were instrumental to one's life goals only weakly predicted well-being. The avoidance of worst fears interacted with daily goal appraisals such that individuals who experienced little progress at daily goals that served to avoid their “worst case scenario” experienced the lowest levels of subjective well-being. In addition, progress at daily goals that were relevant to accomplishing one's life goals was significantly more strongly related to subjective well-being than progress at daily goals that were unrelated to one's life goals. Results indicate that daily goals are used to enact life goals and avoid worst fears and that these means–end relations have implications for well-being.
Subjective well-being (SWB) comprises people's longer-term levels of pleasant affect, lack of unpleasant affect, and life satisfaction. It displays moderately high levels of cross-situational consistency and temporal stability. Self-report measures of SWB show adequate validity, reliability, factor invariance, and sensitivity to change. Despite the success of the measures to date, more sophisticated approaches to defining and measuring SWB are now possible. Affect includes facial, physiological, motivational, behavioral, and cognitive components. Self-reports assess primarily the cognitive component of affect, and thus are unlikely to yield a complete picture of respondents' emotional lives. For example, denial may influence self-reports of SWB more than other components. Additionally, emotions are responses which vary on a number of dimensions such as intensity, suggesting that mean levels of affect as captured by existing measures do not give a complete account of SWB. Advances in cognitive psychology indicate that differences in memory retrieval, mood as information, and scaling processes can influence self-reports of SWB. Finally, theories of communication alert us to the types of information that are likely to be given in self-reports of SWB. These advances from psychology suggest that a multimethod approach to assessing SWB will create a more comprehensive depiction of the phenomenon. Not only will a multifaceted test battery yield more credible data, but inconsistencies between various measurement methods and between the various components of well-being will both help us better understand SWB indictors and group differences in well-being. Knowledge of cognition, personality, and emotion will also aid in the development of sophisticated theoretical definitions of subjective well-being. For example, life satisfaction is theorized to be a judgment that respondents construct based on currently salient information. Finally, it is concluded that measuring negative reactions such as depression or anxiety give an incomplete picture of people's well-being, and that it is imperative to measure life satisfaction and positive emotions as well.
Subjective well-being (SWB) is an important indicator of quality oflife. SWB can be conceptualized as a momentary state (e.g., mood) aswell as a relatively stable trait (e.g., life satisfaction). Thevalidity of self-reported trait aspects of SWB has been questioned byexperimental studies showing that SWB judgments seem to be stronglycontext dependent. Particularly, momentary mood seems to have a stronginfluence on global SWB judgments. To explore the ecological validity ofthese conclusions a non-experimental longitudinal self-reportstudy with three occasions of measurement was conducted(N = 249). The associations between momentarymood ratings and global judgments of SWB (life satisfaction,satisfaction with life domains, frequency and intensity of emotions) aswell as personality ratings (self-esteem, optimism, neuroticism,extraversion) were analyzed in a multistate-multitrait-multiconstructmodel. This model takes (a) measurement error, (b) occasion-specificdeviations, and (c) stable interindividual differences into account. Itis shown that the variability in global SWB judgments and personalityratings is relatively small and much smaller than the variability inmood. Furthermore, the occasion-specific associations between moodstates, on the one hand, and global SWB and personality ratings, on theother hand, are relatively small and inconsistent. All global SWB andpersonality variables are more strongly related to mood on the traitlevel than on the occasion-specific deviation level. Therefore, incontrast to experimental studies, occasion-specific mood effects do notseem to be inherently important in ecological measurement settings.
Subjective well-being (SWB) comprises people’s longer-term levels of pleasant affect, lack of unpleasant affect, and life
satisfaction. It displays moderately high levels of cross-situational consistency and temporal stability. Self-report measures
of SWB show adequate validity, reliability, factor invariance, and sensitivity to change. Despite the success of the measures
to date, more sophisticated approaches to defining and measuring SWB are now possible. Affect includes facial, physiological,
motivational, behavioral, and cognitive components. Self-reports assess primarily the cognitive component of affect, and thus
are unlikely to yield a complete picture of respondents’ emotional lives. For example, denial may influence self-reports of
SWB more than other components. Additionally, emotions are responses which vary on a number of dimensions such as intensity,
suggesting that mean levels of affect as captured by existing measures do not give a complete account of SWB. Advances in
cognitive psychology indicate that differences in memory retrieval, mood as information, and scaling processes can influence
self-reports of SWB. Finally, theories of communication alert us to the types of information that are likely to be given in
self-reports of SWB. These advances from psychology suggest that a multimethod approach to assessing SWB will create a more
comprehensive depiction of the phenomenon. Not only will a multifaceted test battery yield more credible data, but inconsistencies
between various measurement methods and between the various components of well-being. Knowledge of cognition, personality,
and emotion will also aid in the development of sophisticated theoretical definitions of subjective well-being. For example,
life satisfaction is theorized to be a judgment that respondents construct based on currently salient information. Finally,
it is concluded that measuring negative reactions such as depression or anxiety give an incomplete picture of people’s well-being,
and that it is imperative to measure life satisfaction and positive emotions as well.
Self‐help interventions are an accessible, first‐step treatment for depression. Well‐being interventions focus on increasing people's resources and bringing about positive feelings and behaviours and could enhance self‐help interventions for depression by increasing well‐being as well as reducing depression. The present study tested the effectiveness of a self‐help, well‐being intervention (Goal‐setting and Planning, GAP) in both increasing well‐being and reducing depression within a sample from a depression self‐help organization. We used a cross‐over design, with half of the participants allocated to GAP ( n = 26) and half to a wait‐list control group ( n = 29). After 5 weeks, the wait‐list control group also received GAP. Compared with wait‐list controls, those allocated to GAP showed an overall positive change, with individual significant decreases in negative affect and trends towards significant decreases in depression and increases in positive affect and life satisfaction post‐intervention. Within a cross‐over design, the wait‐list controls also received GAP. In the whole sample that received GAP, there were significant increases in positive affect and life satisfaction and significant decreases in negative affect and depression, post‐intervention and at 5‐week follow‐up, relative to baseline. These findings demonstrate that GAP is a useful intervention for people with symptoms of depression, influencing both levels of well‐being and depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Key Practitioner Message
Self‐help interventions have been found to be effective in depression.
There are positively focused self‐help interventions that have been designed to increase well‐being in the general population.
In the present study, one such intervention—Goal‐setting and Planning (GAP) Skills training was found to improve well‐being and reduce depression in those with a long history of depression.
Computationally intensive structural equation modeling (SEM) approaches have been in development over much of the 20th century, initiated by the seminal work of Sewall Wright. To this day, sample size requirements remain a vexing question in SEM based studies. Complexities which increase information demands in structural model estimation increase with the number of potential combinations of latent variables; while the information supplied for estimation increases with the number of measured parameters times the number of observations in the sample size – both are non-linear. This alone would imply that requisite sample size is not a linear function solely of indicator count, even though such heuristics are widely invoked in justifying SEM sample size. This paper develops two lower bounds on sample size in SEM, the first as a function of the ratio of indicator variables to latent variables, and the second as a function of minimum effect, power and significance. The algorithm is applied to a meta-study of a set of research published in five of the top MIS journals. The study shows a systematic bias towards choosing sample sizes that are significantly too small. Actual sample sizes averaged only 50% of the minimum needed to draw the conclusions the studies claimed. Overall, 80% of the research articles in the meta-study drew conclusions from insufficient samples. Lacking accurate sample size information, researchers are inclined to economize on sample collection with inadequate samples that hurt the credibility of research conclusions. Guidelines are provided for applying the algorithms developed in this study, and companion software encapsulating the paper’s formulae is made available for download.
Many factors are known to be associated with psychological well-being. However, it is much less clear whether those factors
actually cause well-being and, hence, whether there is any practical value in trying to manipulate those factors to increase well-being.
The proposed study addresses both the theoretical and practical issues by testing the effectiveness of an empirically-derived,
brief psychological intervention to increase well-being in a non-clinical, unselected sample. The intervention focused on
developing goal setting and planning (GAP) skills, which are known to be linked to well-being, potentially have widespread
effects, and are amenable to intervention. Within a quasi-experimental design, participants received three, 1-h, group sessions
(Study 1) or completed the programme individually in their own time (Study 2). Those taking part in the intervention, both
individually and in a group, showed significant increases in subjective well-being, compared to their respective control groups
not receiving the intervention. The results provide preliminary support for the view that (a) goal setting and planning skills
have a causal link to subjective well-being and (b) that such skills can be learned to enhance well-being.
This study addressed the relations among personal strivings (daily goals) and future life goals and worst fears. Eighty undergraduate participants (62 women, 18 men) listed their daily goals, their ultimate life goals, and their worst fears, and completed questionnaire measures of subjective well-being. Daily goals were content-analyzed for relevance to attaining life goals or avoiding worst fears. Daily goals that were instrumental to life goals or that avoided worst fears were rated as more important but also more difficult by participants. Working on daily goals avoiding one's worst fears was negatively related to measures of subjective well-being, controlling for daily goal progress, difficulty, ambivalence, and importance. Working on daily goals that were instrumental to one's life goals only weakly predicted well-being. The avoidance of worst fears interacted with daily goal appraisals such that individuals who experienced little progress at daily goals that served to avoid their "worst case scenario" experienced the lowest levels of subjective well-being. In addition, progress at daily goals that were relevant to accomplishing one's life goals was significantly more strongly related to subjective well-being than progress at daily goals that were unrelated to one's life goals. Results indicate that daily goals are used to enact life goals and avoid worst fears and that these means--end relations have implications for well-being.