Exam One Flashcards
(110 cards)
How is self regulation more than the effort full inhibition of impulses?
It is the process of advancing distal motivations rather than proximal motivations when the two are in contrast (long vs. short term)
The Hoffman study
Gave people PDAs and beeped them at random, asking them if there was one thing they want at the moment, and 70% of the time (out of 8 beeps), people reported that there was a desire. On42% of the occasion, they didn’t actually act in accordance with the desire; so resistance is very common too POINT: it’s important to study self control because people are experiencing desires and regulation of those desires frequently
Why do we study self regulation?
The failure to regulate our desires can be traced to the majority of problems in western society (addictions, criminal activity, teen pregnancy, infidelity, etc.) It is common to have desires and to resist those desires It is also related to positive outcome (I.e. School and work performance, health behaviors, not having the common colds of psychology)
Goals
-the starting point of the willful control of action -internal representations of desired states, where states are broadly construed as outcomes, events, or processes -goals are also known as: goal intentions, behavioral intentions, personal standards, needs, motives, etc. Think of them as mental representations of desired outcomes, where outcomes are consequences that accrue from many and often varied actions (I.e. Weight loss is an outcome, not an action)
Research on goals can be broadly divided into theories and studies of (3 things)
Goal setting (you decide what your goal is) Goal contents(you decide how you go about realizing that goal) Goal striving(you persevere in achieving the goal and acting in accordance with the goal contents)
Major theories of goal setting in social and health psychology include:
Social cognitive theory Protection motivation theory Theory of planned behavior
Social cognitive theory
Interplay of: Self efficacy Outcome expectancies (physical, social, or self evaluative) Proximal goals Impediments Behavior
Self efficacy (social cognitive theory)
One’s beliefs about one’s capacity to execute a response -how confident are you that you can do something, given obstacle X?
Example of self efficacy question (SCT)
How confident are you that you can stick to you low carb diet, even when there are tempting snacks around? Not at all confident-extremely confident
In what way is self efficacy NOT optimism in general?
-you may be confident that you can exercise but not confident that you can play the guitar -there has to be a point of reference; it is goal specific
Proximal goals
Intentions, decisions, what one aims to do and how determined one is to do it (level, commitment) -in other words, people’s decisions or intentions related to the goal: what is it that you aim to do to achieve the distal goal, and how committed are you to doing it?
Proximal goals example
-starting tomorrow, I intend to stick to a low carb diet Definitely will not-definitely will
Outcome expectancies (SCT)
One’s beliefs about the consequences of actions What you believe will happen if you achieve a goal
Example of outcome expectancies item
Sticking to a low carb diet will reduce my weight Very unlikely-very likely
Impediments (SCT)
The more impediments you perceive, the les likely you are to create long term, more ambitious goals If you’re confident that you can do something, you don’t see impediments as looming as large and are more likely to set a goal
Physical outcome expectancies
I’ll get fit, I’ll feel better, I’ll be more physically happy, I’ll be more healthy, etc.
Social outcome expectancies
God for building relationships, I’ll get a boyfriend, etc.
Self evaluative outcome expectancies
I’ll be happier, I’ll look better, I’ll feel good about myself, etc.
Accuracy of perceptions and goal theory
We don’t care about accuracy of expectancies or self efficacy; we care about how they relate to intention or motivation to achieve those outcomes
Self efficacy is associated with…?
-Setting higher standards in relation to goals -Greater effort, persistence and concentration -Adopting a flexible approach to overcoming problems -Treating errors as learning experiences -Lower stress arousal -Fewer intrusive negative thoughts and greater success visualization
Protection Motivation Theory
How do we respond to dangers, hazards, or threats? What makes us motivated to protect ourselves, literally? -not generalized like SCT or TPB, but it refers only to those behaviors where the failure to act could be dangerous -has most often been related to health behaviors *protection motivation* is just a fancy way of saying intention (specifically to protect ourselves)
Concepts of protection motivation theory
Threat appraisal Vulnerability Severity Fear/worry Coping appraisal Response efficacy Self efficacy Response costs
Threat appraisal and threat coping
You have to appraise a threat Depends on how vulnerable you feel to the threat, how severe you believe the threat to be, and how fearful or worried you are about the threat and appraise how you will manage and deal with that threat Depends on response efficacy (how effective you think a response will be in reducing harm), self efficacy (how effectively you think you can do that response), and response costs (your perception of the advantages or disadvantages of undertaking the recommended action)
Perceived vulnerability (PMT)
One’s beliefs about the likelihood of experiencing disease or harm -often, the people who are objectively the most vulnerable often think that they are in little risk, but it is PERSONAL perception of vulnerability that matters in terms of predicting how one will respond