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Enhancing Congruence between Implicit Motives and Explicit Goal Commitments: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial
Ramona M Roch1, Andreas G Rösch1, Oliver C Schultheiss1
1Department of Psychology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU)Erlangen, Germany.
Frontiers in Psychology
|September 29, 2017
Summary
Enhancing personal goal congruence with implicit motives improved well-being. This study found that motivational feedback and congruence-enhancement training (CET) increased motive-goal fit, suggesting its importance in therapy.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Motivational Psychology
Background:
- Personal goal pursuit misaligned with implicit motives is linked to reduced emotional well-being and increased depression.
- Understanding and enhancing motive-goal congruence is crucial for improving psychological health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate an intervention aimed at increasing motive-goal congruence.
- To assess the intervention's impact on participants' emotional well-being.
Main Methods:
- Seventy-four students were randomized into motivational feedback (FB), FB + congruence-enhancement training (CET), or a control group.
- Implicit motives, personal goals, happiness, depressive symptoms, and life satisfaction were measured before and after the intervention.
Main Results:
- Participants in the FB and CET groups showed increased agentic (power and achievement) motive-goal congruence.
- A trend towards reduced depressive symptoms was observed in treated groups, but other well-being measures did not change significantly.
- Increases in motivational congruence correlated with improved affective well-being, though not significantly mediating depressive symptom reduction.
Conclusions:
- Motivational congruence can be effectively enhanced through targeted interventions.
- Changes in motive-goal congruence are associated with improvements in affective well-being.
- Implicit motives should be considered in therapeutic discussions about personal goals.
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