Motivation II: Chapter 11

Goal

the incentive that is chosen to be acquired or achieved

Source of Goal: Affect

positive or negative emotional feeling that the anticipated goal produces. positive affect leads to approach, negative affect leads to avoidance

Source of Goal: Valence

subjective value of a stimulus produces psychological demand. stimuli with the highest valence are selected as goals

* goals satisfy both psychological and physiological needs

Source of Goal: Self-Efficacy

one's capability to perform a task

* success raised self-efficacy which increases goal motivation

* failure lowers self-efficacy which decreases goal motivation

Source of Goal: People

social comparison used to set performance goals

Goal Level

hierarchical rank of a goal; based on value of a goal. higher level goals have higher value.

e.g., passing class leads to degree which leads to better jobs

Goal Difficulty

how hard it is to achieve a goal

*difficult goals produce greater performance than easy goals; higher goal level & difficulty associated with greater outcomes because of the additional effort required

Achievement Valence

satisfaction obtained from achieving a goal.

Important to set high goals, but not so high that the likelihood of failure is greater than that of success.

Goal Imagery

visualizing a goal

Goal Specificity

how precisely a goal is envisioned which leads to an increase of planning

Goal Level AND Specificity

goal level (energizing function) affects the amount of work that is done, while goal specificity (directing function) affects the variability of performance.

Expected Utility Theory

choices are made according to the expected utility, not the actual

formula: utility x subjective probability = expected utility

Subjective Probability

personal estimate that a goal can be achieved

Framing

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Goal Commitment

process by which a person becomes set to achieve a goal. it includes factors: persistence, determination, effort and time expenditure in the pursuit of said goal

Feedback

tells one how they are progressing towards their goal. goals do not motivate behavior if feedback is not provided.

Script

highly stereotyped sequence of behavioral acts. step by step place to achieve a goal

Plans

abstract series of behavioral acts necessary for achieving a goal. it is more general than a script

*subgoals must be met to reach final goal

Level of Aspiration

person's desire to excel, do better, or gain something not currently possessed.

Goal Thoughts (2 types)

1. respondent thoughts - daydreams or fantasies about achieving a goal, they intrude into conscious thought

2. operant thoughts - mental attempts to develop strategies to achieve a goal

Cognitive Map

mental image of the relationship among features in the environment and the goal. it gives one a sense of their current location in relation to attaining a goal

e.g., finding when you parked your car when leaving the grocery store

What happens when expected utility theory predict that all prospects would be chosen equally?

- how the questions are framed determine the emphasis on gaining or losing, influencing the choices we make

- gains with a higher probability of success are preferred even if the value of the gain is low. losses that have a lower probability of occurring are preferred even if the value of the loss has a higher value

What happens when the probability of either prospect is very low?

- people prefer trying to win the higher amount and trying to avoid of losing the larger amount

- UTILITY will highly determine the choice in this case