McGill University.
J Pers. 2017 Dec;85(6):893-905. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12296. Epub 2017 Feb 15.
Action crises describe the intrapsychic conflicts individuals experience when they feel torn between further goal pursuit and goal disengagement. The present investigation introduces autonomous and controlled motivation as independent predictors of action crisis severity, beyond known personality-level predictors (action orientation) and novel personality-level predictors (Neuroticism and Conscientiousness).
Using a multi-wave prospective longitudinal design and multilevel modeling (MLM), we followed students pursuing three personal goals across an academic semester (N = 425 undergraduates; 76% female; 57% Caucasian; M = 20.2, SD = 2.3). In two follow-up surveys, participants reported on the severity of their action crises, goal progress, and symptoms of depression.
Results suggest that autonomous motivation shields individuals from experiencing action crises, whereas controlled motivation represents a risk factor for developing action crises beyond personality-level predictors. Furthermore, MLM revealed that autonomous motivation is a significant predictor of action crisis severity at both the within- and between-person levels of analysis. Action crises mediate both the relationship between autonomous motivation and goal progress, and the relationship between controlled motivation and symptoms of depression.
The implications of these findings for the prevention of action crises and motivation research are discussed.
行动危机描述了个体在追求进一步目标和脱离目标之间感到内心冲突时所经历的内心冲突。本研究将自主和受控动机作为行动危机严重程度的独立预测因素，超越了已知的人格水平预测因素（行动取向）和新的人格水平预测因素（神经质和尽责性）。
使用多波前瞻性纵向设计和多层建模（MLM），我们在一个学术学期内跟踪了追求三个个人目标的学生（N=425 名本科生；女性占 76%；白种人占 57%；M=20.2，SD=2.3）。在两次随访调查中，参与者报告了行动危机的严重程度、目标进展和抑郁症状。
结果表明，自主动机使个体免受行动危机的影响，而受控动机则是人格水平预测因素之外发展行动危机的风险因素。此外，MLM 还表明，自主动机是在个体内和个体间水平分析中行动危机严重程度的重要预测因素。行动危机在自主动机和目标进展之间的关系以及控制动机和抑郁症状之间的关系中起中介作用。
讨论了这些发现对预防行动危机和动机研究的意义。
