Impact of personal goals on self-regulation processes elicited by daily negative events.

Abstract

A diary study examined the impact of personal goals on appraisals, self-regulatory processes, and affect in response to daily negative events. Participants, who were pretested on a goal inventory, completed a diary in which they described and rated the most bothersome event twice each day for 2 weeks. Events were later coded for goal relevance and self-focused attention. Goal-related events were appraised as more serious and personally important, were associated with more negative moods during the rating period, and elicited stronger self-regulatory responses (higher levels of self-focused attention, self-concept confusion, and rumination). The relation between goal relevance and mood was mediated by the self-regulatory variables. Nomothetic and idiographic relations among the diary variables (ignoring goal relevance) also implicated self-regulatory processes in responding to negative events.

Goals and Depressive Symptoms: Cross-lagged Effects of Cognitive versus Emotional Goal Appraisals

“…Pomaki (&) Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2527-2136 West Mall, V6T 1Z4 Vancouver, BC, Canada e-mail: gpomaki@psych.ubc.ca depression posit that dysfunctional cognitions about the self, the world, and the future can lead to a depressive response to negative events (e.g., Abramson, Metalsky, & Alloy, 1989;Beck, 1987). Similarly, self-regulation theories propose that maladaptive goal appraisals may increase vulnerability to depressive symptomatology because they can disrupt the process of pursuing and attaining valued personal goals (Bandura, 1991;Ford, 1992;Hyland, 1987;Lavallee & Campbell, 1995;Rehm, 1977). In contrast, other approaches would cast cognitions (Simons, Garfield, & Murphy, 1984) and emotional arousal (e.g., Clark, Watson, & Mineka, 1994) as correlates of depressive symptoms rather than etiological factors.…”

Empowered self-development and continuous learning

“…People who are self-managing, monitor and evaluate progress toward their goals on their own (Lavalee & Campbell, 1995). People stop self-regulation when they abandon or derogate the importance of a goal (Pyszczynski & Greenberg, 1987).…”

Effects of Rumination and Initial Severity on Remission to Cognitive Therapy for Depression

“…Nolen-Hoeksema & Wisco, In Press). Furthermore, CT also improves problem-solving thereby enabling patients to make progress toward important goals which if unattained can cause rumination (Lavallee & Campbell, 1995;Martin & Tesser, 1996).…”