Fitzsimons Gráinne M, Shah James Y
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
J Pers Soc Psychol. 2008 Aug;95(2):319-37. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.95.2.319.
Findings from 6 experiments support the hypothesis that relationship evaluations and behavioral tendencies are goal dependent, reflecting the instrumentality of significant others for the self's progress toward currently active goals. Experiments 1 and 3 found that active goals can automatically bring to mind significant others who are instrumental for the activated goal, heightening their accessibility relative to noninstrumental others. Experiments 2-5 found that active goals cause individuals to evaluate instrumental others more positively, draw closer to them, and approach them more readily, compared with noninstrumental others. Experiment 6 found that people who engage in goal-dependent interpersonal evaluations are more successful, receiving higher grades. Implications for understanding the social nature of self-regulation and the impact of personal goals on interpersonal relationships are discussed.
6项实验的结果支持了这样一种假设，即关系评估和行为倾向取决于目标，反映了重要他人对自我朝着当前活跃目标前进的工具性作用。实验1和3发现，活跃的目标能够自动唤起对实现该活跃目标有帮助的重要他人，从而使他们相对于无帮助的他人更容易被想起。实验2至5发现，与无帮助的他人相比，活跃的目标会使个体对有帮助的他人评价更高，与他们更亲近，也更愿意接近他们。实验6发现，进行基于目标的人际评估的人更成功，成绩更高。本文还讨论了这些结果对于理解自我调节的社会本质以及个人目标对人际关系的影响。
