Lecture 2: Setting SMARTER Goals Flashcards
self-control and pursuing goals
Pursuing a new goal requires self-control and typically, we don’t have it
can we have conflicting goals?
We can, but to be productive, we have to make sure that our goals aren’t in conflict with each other
which ingredients of self-control come more easily?
standards and monitoring come fairly easily, but overcoming our self-control strength limitations is more difficult
ego-depletion paradigm
if people do consecutive self-control tasks, they perform poorer on the second task
what tasks is the ego-depletion paradigm present for?
all self-control tasks, even if they’re very different from each other
implications of ego depletion research
- The self-control as a limited resource hypothesis remains tenable
- Mediation by glucose seems untenable
smaart goals
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Approach-oriented
Realistic
Time-framed
what does it mean for a goal to be acheivable?
it’s under your control
why is it best for goals to be approach-oriented?
It’s easier to find the path to approach something than to avoid something
what does it mean for a goal to be realistic?
optimally challenging
2 types of time-framed goals
distal & proximal goals
distal goal
a distant goal you care about, but doesn’t motivate you day-to-day
proximal goal
objectives that are achievable in the short term
how can we reach more of our personal goals?
- Don’t pursue too many goals at the same time
- Frame our goal pursuits in a SMAART way
- Try to boost your beliefs of self-efficacy so that you are ready to achieve the goal
- Augment the goals with implementation plans
self-efficacy
beliefs about your ability to successfully perform certain actions
self-efficacy vs. self-esteem & ability
Not the same thing as self-esteem or actual ability
self-esteem vs. extraversion
Self-esteem is correlated with extraversion but they aren’t the same thing
what’s the optimal amount of self-efficacy?
It’s good to have self-efficacy that’s a little higher than your actual abilities
benefits of self-efficacy
- Focus your attention more effectively
- Exert more effort
- Optimism in the face of obstacles
boosting self-efficacy study method (Koestner et al. 2006)
- Had participants report their most important NY resolution
- They randomly assigned participants to the neutral or self-efficacy boost condition
- They asked participants to rate the extent to which they possess the resources and skills necessary to attain their New Year’s resolution on a 9-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 9 (very much)
- Participants rated their goal progress and self-efficacy after 1 month
neutral condition (Koestner et al. 2006) boosting self-efficacy study
list 3 possible outcomes to attain and 3 negative outcomes to avoid
Self-efficacy boost condition (Koestner et al. 2006) boosting self-efficacy study
write about
1) A goal they had already achieved that was similar
2) An individual similar to themselves who already attained the same goal
3) An individual who could encourage them in their pursuit
boosting self-efficacy study findings (Koestner et al. 2006)
people in the self-efficacy boost condition made greater progress, which was linked to a change in self-efficacy
importance of implementation plans
- Goal intentions alone do not guarantee success of actions
- Goal-setting should be followed by planning
