Positive Psychology: Goals & well being L3

Flashcards covering key vocabulary terms related to goals, well-being, intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation, and goal-setting strategies from the lecture on Positive Psychology.

Values

Identifying these can help make life decisions, decide on goals, and ensure behavior matches what is important.

Goals

Help achieve desirable states, avoid undesirable states, organize knowledge, and give life meaning, structure, and direction.

Challenges of Positive Psychology

Not knowing what leads to positive outcomes, not knowing how to do those things, and not doing them in daily life.

Cognitive Subjective Well-being (SWB)

Life satisfaction, influenced by the extent to which one achieves goals or makes goal progress.

Affective Subjective Well-being (SWB)

Relates to positive and negative emotions, including anticipatory emotions and outcome-related emotions.

Goals Conducive to Basic Psychological Needs

Goals related to relatedness, competence, and autonomy are more likely to increase well-being.

Intrinsic Motivation

Engaging in an activity because it is inherently enjoyable, where the activity and outcome are inseparable (means-end fusion).

Extrinsic Goals

Motivated by external rewards such as wealth, fame, or appearing glamorous.

Intrinsic Goals

Pursued because of internal motivation, focusing on psychological growth, satisfying relationships, improving the world, or feeling healthy.

Well-being & Extrinsic Goals

Over-emphasizing financial successes and valuing extrinsic goals is related to negative outcomes like anxiety, depression, lower self-esteem, and lower quality relationships.

Well-being & Intrinsic Goals

Pursuing self-acceptance and a feeling of community is associated with greater well-being and psychological fulfillment.

Approach Goals

Goals framed around achieving a positive outcome (e.g., 'my goal is to get an A or B'), associated with higher positive emotions and SWB.

Avoidance Goals

Goals framed around avoiding a negative outcome (e.g., 'my goal is to avoid getting lower than an A'), associated with lower positive emotions and SWB.

Process Focus

Salience of the means or process of goal pursuit, characterized by being proximal, concrete, and contextualized, leading to more successful goal achievement and higher affective well-being.

Outcome Focus

Salience of the ends or outcome of goal pursuit, providing a clear standard of comparison between actual and desired states.

Benefits of Process Focus

Associated with more successful goal pursuit, higher affective well-being, better behavioral control, clear guidelines, increased intrinsic appeal, effort as a heuristic, and higher value placed on the process.

Procrastination

Leads to lower subjective well-being and task performance; negatively related to process focus.

Self-concordance

How well a goal is consistent with a person’s developing interests and core values; leads to more effort in pursuit.

Small Goals

Goals that are Self-Selected, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Linked to one’s life, and Time-Limited.