Perspectives Continued The Cognitive Perspective Goal Se.docx

Perspectives Continued: The Cognitive Perspective: Goal
Setting and Self regulation
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MODULE ONE: PERSPECTIVESOver the next four weeks, we
will investigate the following motivational
themes/perspectives:1. Week one: evolutionary perspectives: 2.
Week two temperament- Elliott and Thrash, 20023. Week Three:
self regulation- Research: Carver, 20044. Week Four A.
learning: habits (summarize) B. cognitive dissonance
(summarize) week three
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The Cognitive Perspective on MotivationCognitions-mental
eventsThe cognitive perspective on motivationHow does a
person’s way of thinking and believing influence (motivate)
behavior?Includes mental constructs like beliefs, expectations,
goals, plans, judgments, values, and the self-conceptOur Focus:
Goal Setting, Implementing, Threat Assessment, Avoidance and
Self regulation

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Schematic of the TOTE Model
If Incongruous
If congruous
If Incongruous
The cognitive mechanism by which plans were believed to
energize and direct behavior.
Historical Model--
PLANS: The TOTE Model
= motivational energy
= motivational direction
TEST
Compare
Present State
With Ideal State
OPERATE
Act on
Environment
To Realize
Ideal State
TEST
Compare
Present State
With Ideal State
EXIT
Present State in

Congruity with
Ideal State
George Miller was considered a pioneer in the study of the
current day cognitive study of motivation. Above is a model he
constructed that depicts a relationship between the cognitive
construct called “planning” and behavior.
According to this cognitive model, we have mental
representations of our idealized behaviors, objects, and events.
We have an idea of how we’d like to look, how academically,
socially, professionally successful we should be…where our
pets go to the bathroom…basically anything that we perceive to
have some level of control over, we have an idealized image of
how that thing or event should be to us. Simultaneously, we are
also aware of our current status with respect to that idealized
end…we know how we look, whether we are performing well,
whether our pets are going in the ideal location.
If we detect a mismatch (Depicted as “TEST” in the diagram),
we feel discomfort. That discomfort is motivating and causes us
to formulate a plan and execute that plan into action (Depicted
as “OPERATE” in the diagram). So the incongruity provides the
energy to act and the plan provides the direction to get us closer
to the ideal state.
Following the model, after a period of action, we then test the
present state against the ideal, and as long as a discrepancy
exists, we continue to operate on the environment until
congruity between the ideal and current state is achieved.
This model was beneficial, in that it nicely depicted the moment
to moment influence that cognitive planning has on our
behavior.
For example, your text mentions actions directed at achieveing
a “good hair day”. This model implies that we must have an
ideal hair style in mind…so we fix our hair, look in the mirror
and perform the test. If there is a discrepancy, a plan to fix our
hair is devised and implemented. A test is run again, a plan of

action is initiated and this test, operate sequence continues until
we have reached the ideal…or run out of hair product, I guess.
To see an example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHZ9fsusMGc
Historical Model--
PLANS: CriticismIn summary: We detect and inconsistencyWe
formulate and enact a planWe detect and inconsistencyWe
formulate and enact a planPlans are viewed as fixed and
staticContemporary cognitive models allow a more dynamic and
flexible depiction of plan-directed behaviorRather than
activating an action sequence, incongruity gives rise to
corrective motivation which can take many forms:Change the
plan, change the behavior’s intensity, or drop the plan
altogether
Plans are viewed as fixed and static and become automatic as
further discrepancy is detected
Contemporary cognitive models allow a more realistic depiction
in which plans are adjustable and able to be revised
Note the flexibility of plan choice seen in the rubix cube
video…although the action was really fast and probably not
intelligible to us, the labeling of the action showed us that
different plans were being enacted in the process of reaching
the ideal solved state for the rubix cube.
The Motivating properties of
Discrepancy
Present state represents the persons
current status of how life is going.

Ideal state represents
how the persons
wishes life was going.When the present state falls short of the
hoped-for ideal state, a discrepancy is exposed.
It is the discrepancy-rather than the ideal state per se– that has
motivational properties.
Discrepancy creates the sense of wanting to change the present
state so that it will move
closer and closer toward the ideal state.
Present
State
Ideal
State
In instances of discrepancy, the person first envisions possible
outcomes that are different from the present situation. The
awareness of the mismatch between the present and what is
desired creates a sense of incongruity that is motivating. You
textbook mentions a very powerful application of this depiction
of the motivation power of discrepancy: it reads, “ Therefore,
when people ask” What can I do to increase motivation?” those
who study discrepancy-based motivation have a very practical
answer: basically create an ideal state in your mind, or more
precisely, create a present state-ideal state discrepancy
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Two Types of Discrepancy
Discrepancy reduction corresponds
to plan-based corrective motivation.
Discrepancy reduction is reactive,
deficiency overcoming, and revolves
around a feedback system.

Discrepancy creation corresponds to goal-setting motivation.
Discrepancy creating is proactive, growth pursuing, and
revolves around a “feed-forward” system.
Discrepancy Reduction
Discrepancy Creation
Based on the discrepancy-detecting
feedback that underlies plans and
corrective motivation.
Based on a “feed-forward” system
in which the person looks forward
and proactively sets a future,
higher goal.
Reduction underlies plans and corrective motivation. It is
initiated after receiving feedback about how well performance
lines up with idealized performance. (So the behavior has
already been enacted, now we are evaluating it). We determine
then, whether we are performing at a desired level.
Creation occurs before a behavior is initiated. It is the starting
point for any specific performance setting.
Updating the TOTE Model New areas of research followed the
TOTE modelModifications:Goal settingThe importance of
FeedbackSelf regulation of goal attainment and threat avoidance
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Goal Setting
A goal is whatever an individual is trying to accomplish.
* A goal is whatever an individual is trying to accomplish.
Why do goals work to increase performance?
A proactive version of a plan
They are motivating—force us to focus on a discrepancy
between present and ideal level of accomplishment
Adaptive Value of Goal SettingSetting goals yields higher
quality performanceExamples:Sit-ups, weightlifting, learn
textbook information, sell products, shoot archery, conserve
natural resources, lose weight, logging, word process, truck
driving tripsA few qualifiers though: goal effectiveness depends
upon two factors: goal difficulty and goal specificity
*A note here: in all of the remaining slides on goal setting, it is
implicitly assumed that an individual has set a goal..or someone
has set a goal for them and that person has ACCEPTED the goal
and is producing behavior in an attempt to meet that goal. See
the section in your text on goal acceptance for why this may not
always be the case.
In general, a person will perform better at almost any task if
they set a goal for themselves than if they don’t. Given the same
ability and experience, those who set goals will outperform
those who don’t.
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Adaptive Value of Goal SettingLinear relationship between
difficulty and performance
Goal Difficulty
In general, goals that are of higher difficulty translate into
enhanced performance. Easier goals yield decreased
performance.
So if we have a goal of running up 20 flights of stairs, a goal of
running 30 flights would be more difficult. They yield increased
performance because, when considering the definition of
motivation, difficult goals energize the performer (they work on
the initiation aspect of motivation). We tend to exert effort in
proportion to what the goal requires of us (again, assuming the
goal is accepted…if goals are too lofty, we see a decrement in
perf). So easy goals stim little effort, moderately challenging
goals stimulate moderate effort, and difficult goals stimulate
high effort.
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Adaptive Value of Goals SettingSpecificityHow clearly a goal
conveys expectations“Do your best” vs. “Get out your spelling
list, rehearse the word list 4 times and write each word 4
times”Specific=including something numericalSpecificity
produces consistency in performance across individuals
Specificity refers to how clearly a goal informs the performer
of what is to be done.
Do your best is a goal, but it is an ambiguous one that leaves
wide open the opportunity for people to apply multiple

translations and yields highly variable performance. So one
might look at the list, one might stick it under their pillow the
night before, one might rehearse it 20 times.
Specificity is important because it causes people to focus their
attention on what needs to be done and minimizes interpretation
and performance variability
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Adaptive ValueSummary: Goals will enhance performance
under specific circumstances:Difficult goals Energize the
performerIncrease effort and persistenceSpecific goalsDirect the
performer toward a specific course of actions, increase mental
and behavioral focusThey tell the person where to concentrate
attention and what specifically to doSo…specific, difficult
goals raise performance, yielding a net decrease in the ideal
performance-actual performance discrepancy
By energizing the performer, difficult goals increase the
performer’s effort and persistence. They increase persistence
because effort continues until the goal is reached. They make it
less likely that the person will stop prematurely
Specific goals also decrease the probability that the performer
will be distracted away from the task.
Example: I do “insanity workouts”. I never really set goals
when I first started them and I noticed myself not keeping up
and it made me actually kind of psyche myself out and not want
to do them. So…one evening, I specifically said to myself, just
do my best…this isn’t a competition. I noticed that I stopped
through almost every exercise during the final 15 minutes of the
workout and was mentally and physically exhausted and lacked

focus. It was like I was trying to do the workout without
actually being in the room, doing the workout The next time I
did that work out, I made a specific and difficult goal that I
would only stop for water after every 4 exercises. I made it
through the workout and felt physically tired, but mentally
sharp and energized—and I had worked substantially harder
than during the previous attempt. So, I have specifically seen
performance benefits when I set difficult and specific exercise
goals for myself.
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Caution:It is not automatic that proper goal setting will yield
performance gains:Performance depends on other factors,
besides motivation:Ability, training, coaching, resources
So, if two performers have comparable ability, training,
coaching and resources, then performers with difficult and
specific goals will likely outperform performers without those
kinds of goals. Practically speaking, when goals fail to affect
performance, it may not be a problem with the goal, but rather
with those other factors..so coaching, training, ability, and
resources should also be evaluated when considering causes for
poor performance.
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or, Knowledge of Results
Feedback documents the performer’s
progress towards goal attainment.
(1) Feedback defines performance
(2) Feedback acts as a reinforcer (or punisher)
Therefore, instructive to future goal setting efforts

The Adaptive Value of Feedback
The Fundamental Importance of Feedback
Above-standard
At-standard
Below-standard
Goal setting is only as effective as the quality of the feedback
that one receives after executing behavior to achieve that goal
Imagine how useless a goal of running a 6 minute mile would be
without a stop watch! Imagine how useless it would to be have a
goal of getting an A in the class if you never received test
results. There would be no way of informing the performer how
they are progressing or whether they are reducing the current
state-ideal state discrepancy.
One needs BOTH a goal and feedback in order to maximize
performance
(First read over 1 and 2 in slide and then discuss them together
with the text below)
Adaptive value
Providing emotional satisfaction or dissatisfaction
That emotional response is also motivating
Satisfaction breeds excitement, competence and perhaps goal
revision to a greater difficulty level
Dissatisfaction yield awareness of a discrepancy and causes us
to exert a great effort to minimize the discrepancy
Figure 8.3
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Application: Goal Striving, Threat Avoidance and the Role of
AffectThe current research articleCarver, 2004: Self Regulation
of Action and Affect Self-regulation involves the person’s
metacognitive (self) monitoring of how his or her goal-setting
progress is going.It is our ability to transform mental abilities
into task related skills In other words, it involves self
monitoring of your behavior AND evaluation of the productivity
of that behavior in achieving a goal or avoiding a threat
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AffectSome background info on this cognitive
model“Cybernetic Model”Interdisciplinary study of the
structure of complex systemsA cybernetic model works ONLY
in a closed loop fashion. Purpose: to define the functions and
workings of systems that have goals and participate in a circular
causal chain that moves fromaction (behavior), to sensing
(one’s current situation), to comparison (of situation with an
ideal) that will prompt further action
Carver uses the word “cybernetic” to describe what this model
is and how it works.
Interdisciplinary study of the structure of complex systems:
involves describing how communication processes, control
mechanisms and feedback processes work. So, it too relies on
feedback and produces a diagram of this feedback system in
action to show how we behave when employing self regulation.

A cybernetic model is a useful descriptor here, because by
definition, cybernetic models are those models that work ONLY
in a closed loop fashion.
What that means is that Carver sets up the specific items in that
model, joins them with arrows, and those arrows form a circle
(closed loop)…so that ONLY the items in the model affect it.
They relate to eachother and run together in a circular fashion.
Specifically, action only within the loop’s environment will
cause a change within that environment.
That change that occurs is manifest via feedback that will affect
how the system behaves.
Why cybernetic models do a better job of describing human
behavior than the TOTE modelShows how we can handle
multiple tasksDepicts our ability to focus on multiple goals at
once
Affect
Why cybernetic models do a better job of describing human
behavior than the TOTE model
Shows how we can handle multiple tasks
Depicts our ability to focus on multiple goals at once and how
that focus translates into a stream of actions that can shift
repeatedly from one goal to another
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Some background info on this cognitive
modelDefinitions:“Discrepancy Reducing” Behavior Feedback
LoopBehavior is produced to REDUCE any discrepancy
between a goal (ideal state) and one’s perception of a current
behavior (current state)Follows all of the properties of

“Discrepancy-Reduction” planning and goal seen in previous
slides Kinds of discrepancy that is produced: behavior is not
close enough; behavior has exceeded idealBehaviors that are
produced from perceived discrepancies are vastly different,
depending upon whether the discrepancy indicates failure to
meet the goal or exceeding the goal
Affect
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modelDefinitions:“Discrepancy Enhancing” Behavior Feedback
LoopBehavior is produced to push you away from, or to move
away from, a threat (ideal state), also called an “anti-goal”This
loop acts to ENLARGE the discrepancy between the anti-goal
and the current perceptionKinds of discrepancy that is
produced: behavior takes the person too close to the threat;
behavior has kept the person further from away from the
threatBehaviors that are produced from perceived discrepancies
are vastly different, depending upon whether the discrepancy
indicates failure to avoid the threat or exceeding the threat
Affect
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modelDefinitions:“Affect” LoopAffect indicates our desires and

whether those desires are being metLoop works simultaneously
with a behavior feedback loopHere, a comparison is made
between one’s current RATE of progress toward a goal (or away
from a threat) and one’s ideal RATE of progress.Types of
discrepancy: you are not going fast enoughYou are going too
fastThe kinds of affects that are produced will vary depending
upon the following:Whether the reference concerns a goal or a
threatWhether the rate is too slow or faster than intended
Affect
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Hints to Guide Your ReadingNote: the following are
suggestions that will IMMENSELY assist you in taking the quiz
and especially in preparing you for your exam…please be sure
to do this as you are reading, or as soon as you finishReading:
pgs 13-top of pg 27First, re-draw Carver’s model of self
regulation (figure 2.1)Secondly, define each of the terms in the
modelThirdly, please execute one iteration (that means use the
model in a step by step fashion) of the model with respect to a
goal that you have in this class. Here’s how:First…imagine a
good “Reference Value” (goal)…one with some sort of
numerical value in it (recall, a difficult and a specific goal
yields best performance)You also determine “The Current
Input”, execute “The Comparator” and determine an
“Output”Imagine this “Disturbance”: you experience car trouble
and are certain your school work will have to be put off for an
entire day while it gets fixed.Determine this disturbance’s
“Effect on the Environment”, and re-run the rest of the model to
see how your output could likely be affected.Next, instead of
using a Goal as a “Reference Value”, now substitute this

“Threat: you have determined that to avoid any contact with a
car, it is best to cross a street when vehicles are at least 100 feet
away from you. “ What would be the result of the comparator
function? What would be a possible output?
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Questions for Reflection:What kind of affect occurs when a goal
is going well? What type of behavior is likely produced?What
kind of emotion occurs when a goal is going poorly? What type
of behavior is likely produced?What kind of affect occurs when
a threat is going well (is being avoided)? What type of behavior
is likely produced?What kind of affect occurs when a threat is
going poorly (you are getting closer to the threat value)? What
type of behavior is likely produced?In which type of behavior
feedback loop are you trying to produce an output that moves
you closer to the ideal? In which behavior feedback loop are
you trying to produce an output that moves you away from the
ideal?How do these cybernetic models indicate when you could
or should shift from one reference situation to another. For
example, how do you know, according to these models, when to
shift from the reference of “spending time with my significant
other” to the reference of “earning a 90% on my chemistry
exam”?
Hints to Guide Your Reading
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Discussion Group Case StudyThe goal of this case study is to

get you to consider why or how failures in self regulation could
occur.Janie, a person with an avoidant temperament approaches
you, a clinical psychologist, and indicates that she is having an
anxiety problem. Specifically, she suffers from “generalized
anxiety” which means that she is chronically anxious and really
doesn’t know why. In other words, nothing in her environment
triggers anxiety, per se, she just feels anxious all the time.Why
should this make sense to you, knowing that she has an
avoidant, rather than an approach temperament?You decide to
use a cognitive therapy strategy to assist her in alleviating her
anxiety. In preparation for your first counseling session, you
create a cybernetic behavioral and affective feedback loop that
would indicate how an anxiety disorder would occur (NOTE:
the KIND of behavior feedback loop you use is critical to
understanding this task)So, pick you behavior loop. Next
indicate how a malfunction in the components would likely
create chronic anxiety that would lead to her anxiety disorder.
Look at each component, consider how it should function for a
person to have a normal affective life, and then consider how
that specific component could work improperly, thereby causing
an erroneous affective output.After identifying all of the
possible malfunctions, focus in on one and formulate a strategy
to help her regain adaptive self regulation that would decrease
her anxiety disorder.Discuss your thoughts with your group,
then post your collective feedback loop and explanation of the
malfunction within the class discussion.
MAKE THE QUIZ!!!

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