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Positive affect as informational feedback in goal pursuit
Motivation and Emotion
|March 23, 2011
Summary
Positive affect can either deactivate or activate goal pursuit. This study found that positive affect decreases goal activation when competing goals are present, but increases it when no competing goals exist.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Positive affect's role in goal pursuit is debated, with potential to both deactivate and activate goals.
- Theories suggest positive affect signals goal progress (deactivation) or sustained commitment (activation).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how positive affect influences cognitive goal activation.
- To examine the moderating role of competing goals in the affect-goal activation relationship.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted to examine the cognitive activation of goals after a promise to complete them.
- The influence of positive affect on goal deactivation versus activation was analyzed, with competing goals as a moderator.
Main Results:
- Positive affect led to decreased goal activation when competing goals were present.
- Conversely, positive affect resulted in increased goal activation when competing goals were absent.
Conclusions:
- Competing goals moderate the effect of positive affect on goal activation.
- Understanding this moderation is key to predicting goal deactivation versus continued pursuit.
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