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Relative Effects of Forward and Backward Planning on Goal Pursuit
Abstract
Considerable research has shown that planning plays an important role in goal pursuit. But how does the way people plan affect goal pursuit? Research on this question is scarce. In the current research, we examined how planning the steps required for goal attainment in chronological order (i.e., forward planning) and reverse chronological order (i.e., backward planning) influences individuals' motivation for and perceptions of goal pursuit. Compared with forward planning, backward planning not only led to greater motivation, higher goal expectancy, and less time pressure but also resulted in better goal-relevant performance. We further demonstrated that this motivational effect occurred because backward planning allowed people to think of tasks required to reach their goals more clearly, especially when goals were complex to plan. These findings suggest that the way people plan matters just as much as whether or not they plan.
... According to Rahim [12] greater complexity makes it harder for small set of decision-makers to get sufficient information to make decisions within a reasonable timeframe Furthermore, Hibbard et al. [13], Jia et al. [14] and Zsambok et al. [15], showed that the degree of complexity and the number of trade-offs that can be integrated into decision-making is basic to understanding how individuals make decisions. Park et al. [16] show that goal complexity and goal pursuit are negatively related in such a way that the motivation to pursue a goal decreases as the complexity of the plan increases. Grant et al. [17] suggest that the simpler the decision-making process is, the higher the benefit for the organization. ...
... To analyze perceived complexity differences, we used the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), which is designed for relative measurement [25]. According to Saaty, "the ultimate scope of the AHP is that of using pairwise comparisons between alternatives as inputs, to produce a rating of alternatives" [16]. The eigenvector enabled us to derive the priority scale of values from a matrix of comparisons. ...
The proposed study examines the notion that software project managers do not necessarily choose the optimal Gantt chart while planning a software project. This suboptimal choice is biased by psychological perceptions of complexity, as well as by perceptions of risk level (anxiety). We claim that since the optimal plan is naturally more complex, the perceived complexity of Gantt charts influences project managers’ decisions and, when possible, causes them to avoid it. We assume that a “complexity adjustment” algorithm that would enable project managers to adjust the complexity of the Gantt chart to the required level of complexity will allow the manager to choose from among all relevant possible plans the one that meets project’s constraints, while the structural relationships between plan’ work units are at the level of complexity preferred by the manager (e.g., preference for serial activities over parallel ones). Such “feature” will enable managers to adjust the required level of complexity according to work-related anxiety levels. To assist in defining the research question and the relevant manipulations, a pre-test examined the perceived complexity of different basic relationships between work units (serial vs. parallel) and the perceived level of work-related anxiety.
... Insights about the meaning of personal history can be further increased by using philosophical and cultural insights to analyze the meaning to be gained by wisely contributing to broader societal and world needs. Having this wider perspective increases the flexibility to use both forward and backward planning (Park et al., 2017). This perspective helps to avoid unproductive paths, which often are revealed by difficulties in planning action steps when experiencing a block. ...
Society has embraced mentoring and coaching as two professional roles that contribute significant value to society,
organizations, and individuals. However, these two roles often overlap in function and purpose which has led to general
confusion about their respective contexts, purposes, capabilities, and performance expectations. The aim of this paper is to
differentiate the characteristics of mentoring and coaching guiding practitioners to Process Education resources and providing
strategies for best practices. Further, the integration of these roles is depicted. A person who is capable of performing the roles
of both performance mentor and self-growth coach can help clients learn how to play both roles for themselves.
... Planning order has been found to be critical to achieving targets in numerous studies. Park et al. (2017) investigated how the steps required for planning in chronological order (i.e., Forward Planning) and reverse chronological order (i.e., Backward Planning) affect target pursuit. It has been argued that Backward Planning can generate distinctive insights and perspectives not available in traditional Forward Planning, thereby allowing decision-makers to focus on information that would otherwise be overlooked. ...
Long-term planning of urban drainage systems aimed at maintaining the sustainability of urban hydrology remains challenging. In this study, an innovative multi-stage planning framework involving two adaptation pathways for optimizing hybrid low impact development and grey infrastructure (LID-GREI) layouts in opposing chronological orders was explored. The Forward Planning and Backward Planning are adaptation pathways to increase LID in chronological order based on the initial development stage of an urban built-up area and reduce LID in reverse chronological order based on the final development stage, respectively. Two resilience indicators, which considered potential risk scenarios of extreme storms and pipeline failures, were used to evaluate the performance of optimized layouts when land-use changed and evolved over time. Compared these two pathways, Forward Planning made the optimized layouts more economical and resilient in most risk scenarios when land-use changed, while the layouts optimized by Backward Planning showed higher resilience only in the initial stage. Furthermore, a decentralized scheme in Forward Planning was chosen as the optimal solution when taking costs, reliability, resilience, and land-use changes into an overall consideration. Nevertheless, this kind of reverse optimization order offers a novel exploration in planning pathways for discovering the alternative optimization schemes. More comprehensive solutions can be provided to decision-makers. The findings will shed a light on the exploration of optimized layouts in terms of spatial configuration and resilience performance in response to land-use changes. This framework can be used to support long-term investment and planning in urban drainage systems for sustainable stormwater management.
... The most important consideration in goalsetting is that the beginning is not the starting point. Backward planning results in higher motivation and better performance (Park, Lu & Hedgcock, 2017; U.S. Department of the Army, 2015). Start with the end goal and work backwards, from end to beginning, to outline the steps needed for goal achievement. ...
Many arts and cultural organizations seek increased diversity and inclusion; however, these ideals can be simpler in concept than conception. Each are different values that must be implemented in tandem for success. The author challenges organizations to look internally and acknowledge that if they are not representative of the communities they claim to serve, then the organization is not serving the communities they claim to represent. Data and analysis from five years of case studies on Intiman Theatre’s programming reveal practical actions organizations can take to improve diversity and increase inclusion. Through research the author outlines a 12- step plan in three phases, awaken, broaden, and commit, enabling organizations to access their Possibility Spectrum. First presented as a workshop at the Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE) 36th annual conference hosted by Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, this article updates research, findings, and case studies with the latest available information.
... Plans can be simple, such as if-then implementation intentions (Gollwitzer, 1996), or complex, such as a conservation plan for how to save the red panda species from extinction (Glatston, 1994). Mental simulation can occur as forward planning, starting with the step closest to the present, or as backward planning, starting from the step closest to the goal (Park et al., 2017). In all these different forms of planning, simenb1996@gmail.com ...
Even though planning is generally helpful in goal pursuit, people do not always choose to plan. The inclination to plan might depend on whether we focus on what we seek to approach or what we seek to avoid. In two pre-registered experiments, we tested the relative effect of approach versus avoidance motivation on willingness to plan (total N=1349). With outcome framing as the experimental manipulation, participants were randomly assigned to either an approach or an avoidance condition, and then indicated their willingness to plan their study activities before an upcoming exam. Contrary to predictions, the results showed no significant difference in willingness to plan depending on condition in either experiment. There was mixed support for the importance of anticipated affect and perceived distance as process mechanisms: While Experiment 1 showed that participants who experienced the day of the exam as closer in time were more willing to plan their study preparations (regardless of condition), we found no mediational effects through perceived distance or anticipated affect. In Experiment 2, anticipated affect intensity mediated the association between motivation and willingness to plan, where participants induced to approach motivation predicted greater intensity of anticipated affect upon achieving their goals, and thus were more willing to plan, than participants induced to avoidance motivation. However, such mediational effects without a main effect remain ambiguous and should be interpreted with caution. Seen as a whole, the results suggest that the effect of different motivation types on the willingness to plan may be different than previously thought: They may not influence this aspect of goal striving.
... و متعددة إيجابية نفسية اتج نو للتخطيط ، منها يعزز تكيفي نشاط أنه ة المستقر غير الخارجية امل العو مختلف تجاه نة المر الفعل ردود (Michael, et al, 2001) ، المسار على نفسه لوضع الذاتية الفرد تهيئة على يعمل أنه كما السلبية النتائج وتجنب المرجوة النتائج و األهداف تحقيق أجل من الصحيح ( Hallgeir & Roy, 2018 .) ك إلى الفرد ميل من التقليل على التخطيط يعمل ما الوقت إهدار ، المهام استكمال في التسويف وعدم ، دور يؤدى أنه عن فضال أفضل بشكل المهام أداء اجل من التردد وعدم ام االلتز و الذاتي الضبط (Park, et al , 2017) . الرضا تحقق التي امل العو من التخطيط يعد ذلك إلى باإلضافة ليوت ا و شيلدون اسة در أشارت المثال سبيل فعلي السعادة و (Sheldon & Elliott,1999) الرضا مصادر أحد تعد أهداف تحديد علي الفرد ة قدر إلى ، وشارك وسميث كاسر و شليدون من كل اسة در وتوصلت (Sheldon, Kasser, Smith & Share,2002) تون وهيثر وكوتس أندوي و (Andrew, Coates & Hetherton, 2008) تون بار اسة ودر ( Barton, 2009 (Shinobu, Park, Heiwa, Jennifer, Hazel, Carol, Love & Christopher, 2018) Garcia, et,al,2013, Cloninger: ,Lee, & Chae, 2015, Dinica, , Demenescu, ,Lord, Krause, Kaiser, & Horn, 2015, Müller, Panksepp, & Kiefer ,2016 (Gallagher, 2014, Pedrelli, Nyer, David, Jonathan, Holt, Bril, Alert, Fisher, Maurizio & Farabaugh,2015 Reed, Bruch & Haase, 2004, Rogers, Creed & Glendon, 2008, Fayga & Kamal, 2011 .) ...
... Both individuals and organizations might use the process model to "backward plan" (Park, Lu, & Hedgcock, 2017), beginning with the specification of behavior change goals, then identifying the appraisals that would lead to such goals, the attentional processes that would make those appraisals more likely, and, finally, the situational features that would give rise to those perceptions. Relatedly, we recommend conducting a behavior change "premortem" (Klein, 2007)-vividly imagining a future in which behavior did not change and then identifying likely failures at each stage in the process model. ...
Despite rapid growth in the empirical research on behavior change, modern science has yet to produce a coherent set of recommendations for individuals and organizations eager to align everyday actions with enduringly valued goals. We propose the process model of behavior change as a parsimonious framework for organizing strategies according to where they have their primary impact in the generation of behavioral impulses. To begin, individuals exist in objective situations, only certain features of which attract attention, which in turn lead to subjective appraisals, then finally give rise to response tendencies. Unhealthy habits develop when conflicting impulses are consistently resolved in favor of momentary temptations instead of valued goals. To change behavior for the better, we can strategically modify objective situations, where we pay attention, how we construct appraisals, and how we enact responses. Crucially, behavior change strategies can be initiated either by the individual (i.e., self-control) or by others (e.g., a benevolent employer).
Objective
The scarcity of successful implementation of integrated modular curriculum in Pakistan created a lack of evidence-based insight into the process of curriculum transformation. We explored the issue by exploring challenges faced by faculty in implementing integrated modular curriculum.
Methods
An exploratory qualitative study was conducted in 2019-2020, data collected from November 2019 to August 2020, at undergraduate medical colleges in Lahore and Rawalpindi, with semi-structured online interviews of well experienced 11 faculty members. Two levels of faculty were sampled; one completed a successful implementation in two medical colleges, and another in transition process. Transcribed interviews were analyzed on Atlas.ti software.
Results
Challenges were identified in five inter-connected dimensions: integrated modular curriculum (IMC) development, implementation, faculty transformation/change, institutional and regulatory body context.
Conclusion
The curricular shift precipitates demoralizing challenges at multiple levels & directions. The identified themes and connections provide the framework for a well-informed curricular shift.
In the last two years, consumers have experienced massive changes in consumption – whether due to shifts in habits; the changing information landscape; challenges to their identity, or new economic experiences of scarcity or abundance. What can we expect from these experiences? How are the world's leading thinkers applying both foundational knowledge and novel insights as we seek to understand consumer psychology in a constantly changing landscape? And how can informed readers both contribute to and evaluate our knowledge? This handbook offers a critical overview of both fundamental topics in consumer psychology and those that are of prominence in the contemporary marketplace, beginning with an examination of individual psychology and broadening to topics related to wider cultural and marketplace systems. The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology, 2nd edition, will act as a valuable guide for teachers and graduate and undergraduate students in psychology, marketing, management, economics, sociology, and anthropology.
En la actualidad, los proyectos de construcción están sometidos a una gran
complejidad e incertidumbre debido a los múltiples interesados que forman parte
de sus procesos. Además de ello, cada vez se enfrentan a plazos y costos más
reducidos, lo que genera que muchos de ellos se enfrentes a sobrecostos y que
se excedan los plazos contractuales. Ante este problema, diversas metodologías
han surgido con el fin de gestionar el costo y presupuesto de los proyectos, pero
dichas metodologías se enfocan más en los procesos y no en las personas,
quienes son las que finalmente entregan el proyecto de construcción. Es así que
la siguiente investigación propone e implementa una metodología de gestión de
personas basada en la filosofía lean, que permita reducir la incertidumbre en un
proyecto de infraestructura deportiva.
Project managers commonly adopt suboptimal work plans, even when optimal plans are readily accessible. This research identifies a factor that elicits this seemingly irrational behavior: the perceived complexity of the optimal work plan, as reflected in the plan’s Gantt chart representation. Four controlled experiments show that among experienced project managers presented with a work plan explicitly stated to be optimal, those who view a low-complexity plan are more likely to adopt the plan compared with project managers who view a high-complexity plan. Work-related stress triggered by exposure to the work plan is shown to mediate the effect.
Grit—the tendency to pursue especially long-term goals with both passion and perseverance—has been shown to predict high achievement in a range of individual performance domains. We make a case for introducing the concept of grit to the organizational behavior literature. To begin, we elaborate the conceptual foundations of grit, highlighting ways in which grit differs from related traits and situating grit in the broader literature on goal pursuit. We then discuss three organizational antecedents—leadership, culture, and job design—that can encourage grit at work. Next, we discuss how and under what circumstances encouraging grit can improve workplace outcomes such as employee retention, work engagement, and job performance. We conclude with suggestions for future research at the intersection of psychology and organizational behavior.
Even though planning is generally helpful in goal pursuit, people do not always choose to plan. The inclination to plan might depend on whether we focus on what we seek to approach or what we seek to avoid. In two pre-registered experiments, we tested the relative effect of approach versus avoidance motivation on willingness to plan (total N=1349). With outcome framing as the experimental manipulation, participants were randomly assigned to either an approach or an avoidance condition, and then indicated their willingness to plan their study activities before an upcoming exam. Contrary to predictions, the results showed no significant difference in willingness to plan depending on condition in either experiment. There was mixed support for the importance of anticipated affect and perceived distance as process mechanisms: While Experiment 1 showed that participants who experienced the day of the exam as closer in time were more willing to plan their study preparations (regardless of condition), we found no mediational effects through perceived distance or anticipated affect. In Experiment 2, anticipated affect intensity mediated the association between motivation and willingness to plan, where participants induced to approach motivation predicted greater intensity of anticipated affect upon achieving their goals, and thus were more willing to plan than participants induced to avoidance motivation. However, such mediation effects without a main effect remain ambiguous and should be interpreted with caution. Seen as a whole, the results suggest that the effect of different motivation types on the willingness to plan may be different than previously thought: They may not influence this aspect of goal striving.
Cliënten hebben behoefte aan ondersteuning om doelen te stellen en te bereiken. Dit vraagt van de publieke hulp- en dienstverlening een context die niet afstraft, maar die daar rekening mee houdt. Een context die ondersteunt of versterkt. Een context waarbinnen een cliënt zijn zelfsturing zo veel mogelijk kan vormgeven. Onderdeel van die context zijn instrumenten, hulpmiddelen en technieken die mensen helpen bij het stellen en bereiken van doelen en het oplossen van problemen. Chronische stress heeft immers tot gevolg dat doelgericht gedrag lastig is. Mensen vallen vooral terug op routines en gewoonten die niet per se bijdragen aan of zelfs ook maar bedoeld zijn voor het oplossen van problemen. Een gestrest brein vindt bewust, doelgericht en zelfgereguleerd gedrag, waarbij een relatie wordt gelegd tussen een actie en een uitkomst in een veranderende context vaak lastig. Instrumenten gericht op doelbereiking kunnen cliënten stippen op de horizon bieden en ondersteuning bij het uitwerken van de stappen die nodig zijn om daar te komen. Ze kunnen naast ondersteuning ook bijdragen aan het versterken van de executieve vaardigheden die essentieel zijn om doelen te bereiken. Bovendien kunnen instrumenten een rol spelen bij het opbouwen en aanleren van nieuwe routines en gewoonten waardoor cliënten vaker het gedrag kunnen gaan vertonen dat hen helpt in het oplossen van hun problemen en het bereiken van hun doelen.
Background
A number of ways to conduct research are designed to maximise the likelihood that evidence from research is quickly transferred into practice. This includes action research and partnership research between researchers and policy makers. Such approaches focus research effort on questions of highest relevance to practice and policy so as to create ownership of the results. However, such approaches on their own do not necessarily visualise or illuminate possible pathways of action or create a sense of personal connection to these possible actions.
Aims and objectives
Our intent is to foster high-level engagement with possible project findings by policymakers and researchers involved in partnership research. We describe a simple, creative, innovative device: production of co-authored mock (i.e., fake) in-house abstracts of peer reviewed papers as an aid in this process This occurs in advance of knowing real results of the study. The fake abstracts process described here occurs within a research-policy maker-practitioner partnership studying the scaling-up of childhood statewide obesity prevention programs and the electronic monitoring system being used to track progress.
Key conclusions
The fake abstracts are a tool for identifying priority interests among a large data set. They act as a trigger to uncovering different interpretations of findings among the team. They foster discussion and mental rehearsal of actions based on different scenarios. And they help the team coordinate participation in the analysis and writing-up of the real findings. They also represent a hypothetical variety of research endpoints which also assist with maintaining project momentum during long phases of analysis.
Fantasy realization theory states that when people contrast their fantasies about a desired future with reflections on present reality, a necessity to act is induced that leads to the activation and use of relevant expectations. Strong goal commitment arises in light of favorable expectations, and weak goal commitment arises in light of unfavorable expectations. To the contrary, when people only fantasize about a desired future or only reflect on present reality, expectancy-independent moderate goal commitment emerges. Four experiments pertaining to various life domains supported these hypotheses. Strength of goal commitment was assessed in cognitive (e.g., making plans), affective (e.g., felt attachment), and behavioral terms (e.g., effort expenditure, quality of performance). Implications for theories on goal setting and goal striving are discussed.
People frequently underestimate the time needed to complete tasks and we examined a strategy – known as backward planning – that may counteract this optimistic bias. Backward planning involves starting a plan at the end goal and then working through required steps in reverse-chronological order, and is commonly advocated by practitioners as a tool for developing realistic plans and projections. We conducted four experiments to test effects on completion time predictions and related cognitive processes. Participants planned for a task in one of three directions (backward, forward, or unspecified) and predicted when it would be finished. As hypothesized, predicted completion times were longer (Studies 1–4) and thus less biased (Study 4) in the backward condition than in the forward and unspecified conditions. Process measures suggested that backward planning may increase attention to situational factors that delay progress (e.g., obstacles, interruptions, competing demands), elicit novel planning insights, and alter the conceptualization of time. © 2016. The authors license this article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
The classic goal-gradient hypothesis posits that motivation to reach a goal increases monotonically with proximity to the desired end state. However, we argue that this is not always the case. In this article, we show that motivation to engage in goal-consistent behavior can be higher when people are either far from or close to the end state and lower when they are about halfway to the end state. We propose a psychophysical explanation for this tendency to get "stuck in the middle." Building on the assumption that motivation is influenced by the perceived marginal value of progress toward the goal, we show that the shape of the goal gradient varies depending on whether an individual monitors progress in terms of distance from the initial state or from the desired end state. Our psychophysical model of goal pursuit predicts a previously undiscovered nonmonotonic gradient, as well as two monotonic gradients.
Backcasting is a planning methodology that is particularly helpful when problems at hand are complex and when present trends are part of the problems. When applied in planning towards sustainability, backcasting can increase the likelihood of handling the ecologically complex issues in a systematic and coordinated way, and also to foresee certain changes, even from a self-beneficial point of view, of the market and increase the chances of a relatively strong economic performance. To that end, backcasting should be performed from a set of non-overlapping principles that are general enough to be helpful in the coordination of different sectors of society and in business, as well as to cover relevant aspects of sustainability. Such principles are helpful when developing reliable non-overlapping indicators for monitoring of the development when coordinating various measures from different sectors of the society or within individual firms with each other, and when handling trade-offs in a relevant way. Furthermore, the transition can benefit from being undertaken in a strategic step-by-step manner, by which such investments search for those that combine two qualities: (i) technical flexibility to serve as platforms for future investments in line with non-overlapping principles of sustainability, and (ii) good possibilities of giving relatively fast return on investment. This framework for planning is developed together with the Natural Step, a non-government organization, and in collaboration with a network of scientists and business. Examples are given from firms applying the framework.
A topology of complex tasks is derived from four fundamental task attributes; and implications for both basic and applied research are examined.
Expectancy effects on behavior depend on whether relevant expectations are activated and used. When people contrast their fantasies about a positive future with negative aspects of impeding reality, a necessity to act is experienced that leads to the activation and use of expectations. When people only fantasize about a positive future or only ruminate about impeding reality, no necessity to act is experienced and expectations fail to be activated and used. In two experiments with different paradigms (a salience procedure and a reinterpretation procedure) and distinct fantasy themes (getting to know an attractive stranger and successfully combining work and family life), participants mentally contrasted a positive future with impeding reality, fantasized about a positive future, or ruminated about impeding reality. Expectations of success guided behavioral commitment towards fantasy realization only when a positive future was mentally contrasted with impeding reality. The findings have implications for the emergence of goals and the recent realism versus optimism debate.
Compared the effects of 2 kinds of self-instructional plans (temptation-inhibiting and task-facilitating) on the performance of 48 3-5 yr olds in a resistance to temptation paradigm. In the experimental situation, Ss were motivated to work on a repetitive task in the face of tempting distractions. Presence and absence of the 2 plans were varied in a 2 * 2 design. Both plans were task relevant, but one suggested that the S direct his or her attention away from the temptation (temptation-inhibiting plan), while the other suggested that the S direct his or her attention toward the task (task-facilitating plan). Dependent measures assessed time spent working and amount of work completed by Ss in each condition. Results show that Ss' performance was significantly improved in temptation-inhibiting but not in task-facilitating self-instructional plan conditions. Implications for the nature of cognitive processes which mediate successful resistance to temptation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Implementation intentions are specific plans regarding how, when, and where to pursue a goal (Gollwitzer). Forming implementation intentions for a single goal has been shown to facilitate goal achievement, but do such intentions benefit multiple goals? If so, people should form implementation intentions for all their goals, from eating healthily to tidying up. An investigation into this question suggests that the benefits of implemental planning for attaining a single goal do not typically extend to multiple goals. Instead, implemental planning draws attention to the difficulty of executing multiple goals, which undermines commitment to those goals relative to other desirable activities and thereby undermines goal success. Framing the execution of multiple goals as a manageable endeavor, however, reduces the perceived difficulty of multiple goal pursuit and helps consumers accomplish the various tasks they planned for. This research contributes to literature on goal management, goal specificity, the intention-behavior link, and planning.
Previous research suggests making plans is generally beneficial for self control. Yet in five experiments we find that planning does not always benefit everyone. Although planning tends to aid subsequent self control for those who are in good standing with respect to their long-term goal, those who perceive themselves to be in poor goal standing are found to exert less self control after planning than in the absence of planning. This occurs because considering a concrete plan for goal implementation creates emotional distress for those in poor goal standing, thereby undermining their motivation for self regulation.
In four studies, we show that consumers’ savings can be increased or decreased merely by changing the way consumers think about their saving goals. Consumers can (a) either specify or not specify an exact amount to save (goal specificity), and (b) they can focus on either how to save, or why to save (construal level). We find that specific goals help consumers save more when the saving goal is construed at a high level, but non-specific goals help consumers save more when the saving goal is construed at a low level. We obtain the same pattern of results with anticipated saving success and actual savings. Mediation analyses reveal that for high-level construers specific (vs. non-specific) goals lead to success because they are perceived to be more important. However, specific (vs. non-specific) goals are also perceived as more difficult, which is more discouraging for low-level construers.
Prospective hindsight involves generating an explanation for a future event as if it had already happened; i.e., one goes forward in time, and then looks back. In order to examine how shifts in perspective might influence people's perceptions of events, we investigated two possible factors: temporal perspective (whether an event is set in the future or past) and uncertainty (whether the event's occurrence is certain or uncertain). In the first experiment, temporal perspective showed little influence while outcome uncertainty strongly affected the nature of explanations for events. Explanations for sure events tended to be longer, to contain a higher proportion of episodic reasons, and to be expressed in past tense. Evidence from the second experiment supports the view that uncertainty mediates not the amount of time spent explaining, but rather subjects' choice of explanation type. The implications of these findings for the use of temporal perspective in decision aiding are discussed.
A general theoretical model of tasks is presented in which the three essential components of all tasks are products, (required) acts, and information cues. These components are defined and are then used to derive three analytical dimensions of task complexity: component complexity, coordinative complexity, and dynamic complexity. Various indexes which can be used in the quantification of these constructs are also presented. Two examples which illustrate the calculation of some of the indexes for a relatively simple task and a relatively complex task are presented and the relationship between task complexity and task performance is briefly discussed.
The classic goal-gradient hypothesis posits that motivation to reach a goal increases monotonically with proximity to the desired end state. However, we argue that this is not always the case. In this article, we show that motivation to engage in goal-consistent behavior can be higher when people are either far from or close to the end state and lower when they are about halfway to the end state. We propose a psychophysical explanation for this tendency to get "stuck in the middle." Building on the assumption that motivation is influenced by the perceived marginal value of progress toward the goal, we show that the shape of the goal gradient varies depending on whether an individual monitors progress in terms of distance from the initial state or from the desired end state. Our psychophysical model of goal pursuit predicts a previously undiscovered nonmonotonic gradient, as well as two monotonic gradients.
In many choices they make—-for example, choosing between a movie and a play or deciding whether to attend a sports game shortly before a birthday party—-consumers are guided by how they expect an event will make them feel. They may predict their feelings by forecasting (imagining their feelings when the impacting event occurs, then considering how those feelings might change over time) or by backcasting (imagining their feelings in a future period, then considering how those feelings might be different were the impacting event to happen). Four studies show that backcasters expect events to have a greater hedonic impact than do forecasters, largely because they think more about the impacting event. The studies also reveal that backcasters consider other information that forecasters tend to ignore. Economics Version of Record
From a motivational-volitional perspective, a first prerequisite for medical adherence is that people walk away from a health care provider (or from medical instructions obtained elsewhere) with a strong intention (goal) to act on the advice or instructions given. Second, and equally important, people need to effectively translate their goals into action, not only right after the advice has been given but also weeks and months thereafter. What facilitates the setting of adherence goals, and what guarantees acting on them? In this chapter we try to answer both of these questions, starting with the issue of goal setting and continuing with the problem of goal implementation. More specifically, we outline self-regulatory strategies that help people set adherence goals and attain them.
Holding a strong goal intention ("I intend to reach Z!") does not guarantee goal achievement, because people may fail to deal effectively with selfregulatory problems during goal striving. This review analyzes wether realization of goal intentions is facilitated by forming an implementation intention that spells out the when, where, and how of goal striving in advance ("If situation Y is encountered, then I will initiate goal-directed behavior X!"). Findings from 94 independent tests showed that implementation intentions had a positive effect of medium-to-large magnitude (d= .65) on goal attainment. Implementation intentions were effective in promoting the initiation of goal striving, the shielding of ongoing goal pursuit from unwanted influences, disengagement from failing courses of action, and conservation of capability for future goal striving. There was also strong support for postulatad component processes: Implementation intention formation both enhanced the accessibility of specified opportunities and automated respective goal-directed responses. Several directions for future research are outlined.
The theoretical distinction between goal intentions ("I intend to achieve -c") and implementation intentions ("I intend to perform goal-directed behavior y when I encounter situation z"; P. M. Gollwitzer, 1993) is explored by assessing the completion rate of various goal projects. In correlational Study 1, difficult goal intentions were completed about 3 times more often when participants had furnished them with implementation intentions. In experimental Study 2, all participants were assigned the same difficult goal intention, and half were instructed to form implementation intentions. The beneficial effects of implementation intentions paralleled diose of Study 1. In experimental Study 3, implementation intentions were observed to facilitate the immediate initiation of goaldirected action when the intended opportunity was encountered. Implementation intentions are interpreted to be powerful self-regulatory tools for overcoming the typical obstacles associated with the initiation of goal-directed actions.
The present study tested a model explaining how the core self-evaluations (i.e., positive self-regard) concept is linked to job and life satisfaction. The self-concordance model, which focuses on motives underlying goal pursuit, was used as an explanatory framework. Data were collected from 2 samples: (a) 183 university students (longitudinal measures of goal attainment and life satisfaction were used) and (b) 251 employees (longitudinal measures of goal attainment and job satisfaction were utilized). In both studies, the core self-evaluations concept was positively related to goal self-concordance, meaning that individuals with positive self-regard were more likely to pursue goals for intrinsic and identified (value-congruent) reasons. Furthermore, in both studies, goal self-concordance was related to satisfaction (job satisfaction in Study 1 and life satisfaction in Study 2).
The authors propose and test a model of multiple-goal pursuit that specifies how individuals allocate effort among multiple goals over time. The model predicts that whether individuals decide to step up effort, coast, abandon the current goal, or switch to pursue another goal is determined jointly by the emotions that flow from prior goal progress and the proximity to future goal attainment, and proximally determined by changes in expectancies about goal attainment. Results from a longitudinal diary study and 2 experiments show that positive and negative goal-related emotions can have diametrically opposing effects on goal-directed behavior, depending on the individual's proximity to goal attainment. The findings resolve contrasting predictions about the influence of positive and negative emotions in volitional behavior, critically amend the goal gradient hypothesis, and provide new insights into the dynamics and determinants of multiple-goal pursuit.
The current research examined the self-enhancement, motivational, and behavioral implications of subjective distance to future goals. Study 1 revealed that students felt subjectively closer in time to anticipated success than to expected failure on a midterm, which may refect a self-protective mechanism keeping self-threats at bay. Additionally, those who felt more distant from the exam performed more poorly (controlling for expectations). Conceivably, increased psychological distance, while self-protective, might also reduce goal pursuit motivation. In Study 2, frst-year students who were induced to feel close to their graduation reported greater academic motivation than those induced to feel far from graduation. In Study 3, we examined a model of how distancing predicts motivation, which subsequently promotes goal-oriented behavior. Participants who felt close to an upcoming aptitude test were more motivated to prepare for and to perform well on the test, and in turn, practiced more for the test.
The concepts of goal and intention have not been adequately differentiated in the work motivation and goal-setting literatures. As discussed in theories of intentional behavior (Ajzen, 1985; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Kuhl, 1985; Ryan, 1970), intention is a cognitive representation of both means and end, and, thus, is a broader concept than goal. It is argued here that an examination of the nature and role of intentions in the motivational process helps clarify several issues in the work motivation literature, including the process by which assigned goals influence behavior.
Mental simulations enhance the links between thought and action. The present research contrasted mental simulations that emphasize the process required to achieve a goal versus the outcome of goal achievement. For 5 to 7 days prior to a midterm examination, college freshmen mentally simulated either the process for doing well on the exam (good study habits) or simulated a desired outcome (getting a good grade) or both. A self-monitoring control condition was included. Results indicated that process simulation enhanced studying and improved grades; the latter effect was mediated by enhanced planning and reduced anxiety. Implications of process and outcome simulations for effective goal pursuit are discussed.
Fifty-six 3-person groups performed the Winter Survival exercise (which supposes a plane crash in the wilderness in winter). Assigned goals (in terms of deviation of the groups' ranking of the relative importance of various survival objects from experts' ranking) and time pressure were manipulated. Group-set goal difficulty, group efficacy, perceived time pressure, information seeking (i.e., knowledge seeking regarding the task through the "purchase" of clues), and group performance were assessed. Perceived time pressure negatively affected group efficacy (p < .10). Both assigned goals and group efficacy influenced the level of group-set goals, which in turn affected group information seeking. The seeking of task-relevant information through the purchase of clues was the only direct predictor of group performance.
Retrospective thinking occurs whenever one remembers something from the past, but one can also think retrospectively about hypothetical future events, by imagining that the event has already transpired and then working backward in the mind from the future toward the present. Designers, artists, planners, and other creative individuals utilize retrospective thinking when they mentally envision the object they wish to create and then thinkabout how it might be constructed. Some theorists and some previous research have suggested that forward and backward thinking are different cognitive processes, but there has been little investigation on the nature of these differences. This article examines the literature and describes a laboratory study designed to investigate retrospective thinking as a technique for increased idea generation. Subjects (n=64) were professional planners and managers with an average business experience of over 20 years. In a planning task, significantly more ideas were generated in the retrospective thinking mode than in the prospective mode, but the ideas were not found to be of greater quality. Evidence emerged that a subset of subjects were better able to make use of the retrospective technique, suggesting that selection along with training may be appropriate for the technique's mosteffective use.
This paper presents a cognitive model of the planning process. The model generalizes the theoretical architecture of the Hearsay-II system. Thus, it assumes that planning comprises the activities of a variety of cognitive “specialists.” Each specialist can suggest certain kinds of decisions for incorporation into the plan in progress. These include decisions about: (a) how to approach the planning problem; (b) what knowledge bears on the problem; (c) what kinds of actions to try to plan; (d) what specific actions to plan; and (e) how to allocate cognitive resources during planning. Within each of these categories, different specialists suggest decisions at different levels of abstraction. The activities of the various specialists are not coordinated in any systematic way. Instead, the specialists operate opportunistically, suggesting decisions whenever promising opportunities arise. The paper presents a detailed account of the model and illustrates its assumptions with a “thinking aloud” protocol. It also describes the performance of a computer simulation of the model. The paper contrasts the proposed model with successive refinement models and attempts to resolve apparent differences between the two points of view.
People tend to underestimate how long it will take to complete tasks. We suggest that one reason people commit this planning fallacy is that they do not naturally “unpack” multifaceted tasks (e.g., writing a manuscript) into subcomponents (completing the literature review, general discussion, references section, etc.) when making predictions. We tested this interpretation by asking participants to estimate how long it would take them to complete one of several tasks: holiday shopping in Experiment 1, “getting ready” for a date in Experiment 2, formatting a document in Experiments 3 and 5, and preparing food in Experiment 4. Participants prompted to unpack the task provided longer—and, in Experiments 3–4, less biased—estimates of how long the task would take than did participants who did not. Experiment 5 showed that the debiasing influence of unpacking is moderated by task complexity: the more multifaceted the task, the greater the influence of unpacking.
Sustainable development is a highly complex problem area, which will probably call for major changes of industrialized societies in the long run. How could futures studies contribute to a policy forming process directed to these problems? And what kind of knowledge about the future is most needed? It is argued that a backcasting approach, due to its problem-solving character, is well suited to these kinds of long-term problems. Fundamental theoretical assumptions behind backcasting are traced. One conclusion is that the merits of backcasting should be judged in the context of discovery rather than in the context of justification. Also, if one is inclined to see teleology as a specific form of understanding, beside causality, then backcasting becomes interesting. Backcasting studies typically aim at providing policy makers and an interested general public with images of the future as a background for opinion forming and decisions.
Mental simulation provides a window on the future by enabling people to envision possibilities and develop plans for bringing those possibilities about. In moving oneself from a current situation toward an envisioned future one, the anticipation and management of emotions and the initiation and maintenance of problem-solving activities are fundamental tasks. In the program of research described in this article, mental simulation of the process for reaching a goal or of the dynamics of an unfolding stressful event produced progress in achieving those goals or resolving those events. Envisioning successful completion of a goal or resolution of a stressor--recommendations derived from the self-help literature--did not. Discussion centers on the characteristics of effective and ineffective mental simulations and their relation to self-regulatory processes.
Typescript. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Stanford University, 1983. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 307-328). Photocopy.
Researchers often conduct mediation analysis in order to indirectly assess the effect of a proposed cause on some outcome through a proposed mediator. The utility of mediation analysis stems from its ability to go beyond the merely descriptive to a more functional understanding of the relationships among variables. A necessary component of mediation is a statistically and practically significant indirect effect. Although mediation hypotheses are frequently explored in psychological research, formal significance tests of indirect effects are rarely conducted. After a brief overview of mediation, we argue the importance of directly testing the significance of indirect effects and provide SPSS and SAS macros that facilitate estimation of the indirect effect with a normal theory approach and a bootstrap approach to obtaining confidence intervals, as well as the traditional approach advocated by Baron and Kenny (1986). We hope that this discussion and the macros will enhance the frequency of formal mediation tests in the psychology literature. Electronic copies of these macros may be downloaded from the Psychonomic Society's Web archive at www.psychonomic.org/archive/.
Two studies explored whether perfectionism moderates the impact of implementation intentions on goal progress. Study 1 used an implementation intention manipulation to examine the effects of these plans in interaction with perfectionism on the progress of New Year's resolutions. Study 2 added a repeated implementation intention condition and monitored affect and monthly goal progress. The results of both studies revealed a significant backfire effect of the implementation intentions on goal progress for participants high on a particular dimension of perfectionism (socially prescribed perfectionism). These perfectionists reported doing significantly worse at reaching their personal goals when they were asked to formulate implementation intentions than when they completed a control exercise. There also was evidence that implementation planning aroused negative affect for socially prescribed perfectionists. These results are the first to suggest that implementation planning may be contra-indicated for individuals with self-critical tendencies.
Corruption in the public sector erodes tax compliance and leads to higher tax evasion. Moreover, corrupt public officials abuse their public power to extort bribes from the private agents. In both types of interaction with the public sector, the private agents are bound to face uncertainty with respect to their disposable incomes. To analyse effects of this uncertainty, a stochastic dynamic growth model with the public sector is examined. It is shown that deterministic excessive red tape and corruption deteriorate the growth potential through income redistribution and public sector inefficiencies. Most importantly, it is demonstrated that the increase in corruption via higher uncertainty exerts adverse effects on capital accumulation, thus leading to lower growth rates.
Systematic errors in performance are an important aspect of human behavior that have not received adequate explanation. One such systematic error is termed post-completion error; a typical example is leaving one's card in the automatic teller after withdrawing cash. This type of error seems to occur when people have an extra step to perform in a procedure after the main goal has been satisfied. The fact that people frequently make this type of error, but do not make this error every time, may best be explained by considering the working memory load at the time the step is to be performed: the error is made when the load on working memory is high, but will not be made when the load is low. A model of performance in the task was constructed using Just and Carpenter's (1992) CAPS that predicted that high working memory load should be associated with post-completion errors. Two experiments confirmed that such errors can be produced in a laboratory as well as a naturalistic setting, and tha...
Time in perspective: A Psychology Today survey report
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A cognitive model of planning
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