1 University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
2 Ohio University, Athens, USA.
Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2018 Jan;44(1):24-36. doi: 10.1177/0146167217730368. Epub 2017 Sep 21.
The current research examines factors that facilitate or undermine goal pursuit. Past research indicates that attempts to reduce self-uncertainty can result in increased goal motivation. We explore a critical boundary condition of this effect-the presence of alternative goals. Though self-regulatory processes usually keep interest in alternative goals in check, uncertainty reduction may undermine these self-regulatory efforts by (a) reducing conflict monitoring and (b) increasing valuation of alternative goals. As such, reminders of alternative goals will draw effort away from focal goals for self-uncertain (but not self-certain) participants. Across four studies and eight supplemental studies, using different focal goals (e.g., academic achievement, healthy eating) and alternative goals (e.g., social/emotional goals, attractiveness, indulgence), we found that alternative goal salience does not negatively influence goal-directed behavior among participants primed with self-certainty, but that reminders of alternative goals undermine goal pursuit among participants primed with self-uncertainty.
当前的研究考察了促进或阻碍目标追求的因素。过去的研究表明，减少自我不确定性的尝试可以提高目标动机。我们探讨了这种效应的一个关键边界条件——存在替代目标。尽管自我调节过程通常可以控制对替代目标的兴趣，但不确定性的减少可能会通过以下两种方式破坏这些自我调节努力：(a) 减少冲突监测，(b) 增加对替代目标的评估。因此，替代目标的提醒会将自我不确定（但不是自我确定）参与者的注意力从焦点目标上转移开。在四项研究和八项补充研究中，我们使用了不同的焦点目标（例如，学业成就、健康饮食）和替代目标（例如，社交/情感目标、吸引力、放纵），发现自我确定被激发的参与者中，替代目标的凸显不会对目标导向行为产生负面影响，但自我不确定被激发的参与者中，替代目标的提醒会破坏目标追求。
