Pursuit Of Goals Research Articles

Depressive symptoms and goal pursuit: Between-person and reciprocal within-person effects in a multi-wave longitudinal study.

Depressive symptoms, goal progress, and goal characteristics are interrelated, but the directionality of these relationships is unclear. In a 6-wave longitudinal study (N = 431; 2002 total surveys), we examine the bidirectionality of the relationships between depressive symptoms, goal characteristics (commitment, self-efficacy, and perception of other's support), and goal progress for academic and interpersonal goals at 2-week intervals. Separate random-intercept cross-lagged panel models were tested for each goal characteristic across both goals. At the within-person level, goal progress significantly positively predicted commitment, self-efficacy, and perception of others' support for the goal. Most of the other hypothesized paths were nonsignificant, including paths between depressive symptoms and progress. At the between-person level, all variables were significantly correlated, with some effects significantly larger for the interpersonal than the academic goal. The results suggest that when it comes to depressive symptoms and goal pursuit, general tendencies may be more important than variations over 2-week intervals.

Emotional clarity in daily life is associated with reduced indecisiveness and greater goal pursuit.

Affect-as-information theory posits that understanding of one's emotions (i.e., emotional clarity) can be leveraged to make decisions and attain goals. Furthermore, recent work has emphasized the dynamic nature of emotional clarity and its fluctuations in daily life. Therefore, we sought to test how momentary emotional clarity, experienced in everyday life, would be associated with levels of indecisiveness and goal pursuit. Following affect-as-information, we hypothesized that emotional clarity would be associated with lower indecisiveness but greater goal pursuit. We also hypothesized that indecisiveness would be associated with less goal pursuit with momentary emotional clarity being a potential moderator of this association. Adults (N = 215, Mage = 44.3) experiencing a range of depression, a disorder characterized by indecisiveness, completed a self-report measure of indecisiveness and 2 weeks of experience sampling assessing momentary emotional clarity, goal pursuit, and negative affect. Momentary emotional clarity showed robust links to lower indecisiveness and greater goal pursuit that were not accounted for by negative affect. We did not observe a link between indecisiveness and goal pursuit. Emotional clarity appears to play a role in motivational and cognitive processes that unfold in daily life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Elite track and field athletes’ perspective and experiences of osteopathic treatments: A descriptive phenomenological study

Background and objectivesDespite widespread osteopathic intervention, elite athletes' preferences for osteopathic care remain unclear, with limited evidence on musculoskeletal management. This study aimed to investigate elite track and field athletes’ perspectives on their experiences of osteopathic treatment to inform the development of integrated models of care. MethodsPurposive sampling was used during the enrolment phase. Semi-structured interviews were utilised to obtain data, and they were first piloted on two participants. A descriptive phenomenological method was used to undertake an inductive analysis of the interviews. Three following interviews were carried out to confirm data saturation. ResultsData saturation was reached with 13 participants (female = 6; male = 7). Participants’ ages ranged from 20 to 36 years old. The analysis showed 1 overarching theme, “Elite athletes look for a trusted specialised osteopath in their team to enhance their awareness and pursuit of specific goals,” 3 themes, and 17 categories. Themes were: “Elite athletes perceive the need to build a helping relationship with the osteopath based on trust”, “Elite athletes expect that the increase in body awareness influences the outcome of the osteopathic treatment leading to performance enhancement, injury prevention and biomechanical adjustments” and “Elite athletes are satisfied and feel more self-confident when they have consistent access to a specifically trained osteopath who works in an interdisciplinary team”. ConclusionResults from the present study can lead to quantitative experimental designs for efficacy studies and integrated models of care that take into account, not just organisational and social factors but also technical factors.

Design and analysis of zero-energy and carbon buildings with renewable energy supply and recycled materials

Given the notable consumption of fossil fuels, buildings prioritize their energy utilization. This paper’s aim is to explore the primary strategies in attaining zero-energy and zero-carbon buildings. The investigation employs two specialized software programs: Design Builder, which analyzes energy usage, and PV Syst, which evaluates renewable energy requirements. The study is conducted in Fort Myers, USA, and Dubai, UAE, leveraging diverse regional and climate discrepancies, and real-world data on zero-energy and carbon constructions for comparison and validation. Within the Design Builder software, the research examines four strategies, with the first serving as the realistic baseline. By implementing the second strategy, utilizing internal shading devices such as Shade Roll, a reduction of 376 kWh in Fort Myers and 591 kWh in Dubai is achieved. The third strategy encompasses the deployment of blind-type internal shading systems, resulting in reductions of 212 kWh in Fort Myers and 348 kWh in Dubai. The fourth strategy involves integrating renewable energy via photovoltaic panels, injecting 323.5 kWh in Fort Myers and 2237 kWh in Dubai into the power grid for lighting purposes. Furthermore, 3200.5 kWh and 4722 kWh of energy are respectively injected into the grid for heating in Fort Myers and Dubai. Cooling, however, necessitates additional energy from the grid, amounting to 2243.94 kWh in Fort Myers and 9211.64 kWh in Dubai. In the pursuit of zero-carbon goals, the implementation of suitable low-carbon recycled materials, in place of primary building materials, reduces carbon dioxide emissions from 79 tons to 7.315 tons in Fort Myers and 7.038 tons in Dubai. By employing appropriate materials, the zero-carbon objective is attained.

THE TURNING POINT OF THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKIYE: TURNING EAST

In the late twentieth century, after the end of the Cold War, the world underwent a significant transformation, leading to a multipolar system. This shift was characterized by the rise of various regional powers seeking to play a prominent role in global politics. The Republic of Turkiye, in particular, has been actively seeking to assert its position in the contemporary international order. This article examines the complexities of Turkish foreign policy, analyzing its legal framework, current aspects, priorities, and strategic approaches. Additionally, it explores the shift in Turkish foreign policy towards Eastern regions, away from its historical dependence on the West and towards the concept of "Turkish World", particularly in relation to Turkic-speaking countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus. In addition, the paper provides theoretical insights into the impact of foreign policy and diplomacy on various stakeholders, as well as the potential of soft power tools in the pursuit of foreign policy goals.

Individual preferences in multiple goal pursuit: Reconsidering the conceptualization and dimensionality of polychronicity

AbstractWith increasing demands in work and life, successful self‐regulation of multiple goals becomes critical to the well‐being and performance of individuals and organizations. When pursuing multiple goals, individuals may use different strategies and have divergent preferences toward these strategies. Polychronicity, or the preference for multitasking over sequential tasking, has long been considered a unidimensional construct with two opposing ends. To empirically test this assumption, we reconstructed existing polychronicity items to explore a new scale that measures preferences separately and synthesizes different operationalizations of multitasking (i.e., concurrent tasking and task switching) (study 1). We found that multitasking and sequential preferences, while related, have distinct components and can co‐occur within individuals, challenging the traditional bipolar assumption (study 2). Finally, we used a behavioral task‐switching paradigm to simulate a multitasking environment. We found that consistent with past research, the preferences were not associated with behavioral performance but were associated with subjective experience (study 3). Our findings suggest that assuming multitasking and sequential preferences are completely antithetical can be an oversimplification. This research opens opportunities for future research on multiple goals.

How Does the Digital Economy Influence the Pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals?

Our study aims to examine the impact of the digital economy on sustainable development during international financial crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the current war between Russia and Ukraine. To do this, we collected an annual dataset from 1990 to 2022 for twenty-eight developed and twenty-five developing countries, to identify links between environmental, socio-economic, and proxy indicators of the digital economy. We estimate these links using the Within and GLS methods and use the Hausman (1978) test for individual effects to determine the nature of these links. Our results show that the digital economy has made a positive and significant contribution to sustainable development. For developing countries, mobile technologies have positive and significant effects on sustainable development, whereas, in developed countries, these effects are less elastic. The Internet has a positive and significant effect on the Human Development Index. While trade openness plays a driving role in environmental performance, it has a negative impact on equitable and sustainable development.

Sky-Scanning for Energy: Unveiling Rural Electricity Consumption Patterns through Satellite Imagery’s Convolutional Features

The pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals has highlighted rural electricity consumption patterns, necessitating innovative analytical approaches. This paper introduces a novel method for predicting rural electricity consumption by leveraging deep convolutional features extracted from satellite imagery. The study employs a pretrained remote sensing interpretation model for feature extraction, streamlining the training process and enhancing the prediction efficiency. A random forest model is then used for electricity consumption prediction, while the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) model assesses the feature importance. To explain the human geography implications of feature maps, this research develops a feature visualization method grounded in expert knowledge. By selecting feature maps with higher interpretability, the “black-box” model based on remote sensing images is further analyzed and reveals the geographical features that affect electricity consumption. The methodology is applied to villages in Xinxing County, Guangdong Province, China, achieving high prediction accuracy with a correlation coefficient of 0.797. The study reveals a significant positive correlations between the characteristics and spatial distribution of houses and roads in the rural built environment and electricity demand. Conversely, natural landscape elements, such as farmland and forests, exhibit significant negative correlations with electricity demand predictions. These findings offer new insights into rural electricity consumption patterns and provide theoretical support for electricity planning and decision making in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Taking a tiny step back: The impact of planning on a bumpy goal pursuit

Taking a tiny step back: The impact of planning on a bumpy goal pursuit

Developmental Trajectories of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Goals From Early to Late Adolescence and the Association with Internalizing and Externalizing Problems.

Although numerous studies have explored the causes and consequences of intrinsic and extrinsic life goals, the developmental trend of life goals during adolescence has not been well understood. To address this research gap, this study explored the developmental changes of the pursuit of intrinsic and extrinsic goals during early, middle, and late adolescence, and examined the relation between life goals and internalizing/externalizing problems from a developmental perspective. A total of 4703 Chinese adolescents from primary (N = 1819, 47.8% girls, Mage T1 = 9.34, SDage T1 = 0.58), middle (N = 1525, 47.5% girls, Mage T1 = 12.47, SDage T1 = 0.59), and high school (N = 1646, 51.9% girls, Mage T1 = 15.45, SDage T1 = 0.65) participated in this two-year, three-wave longitudinal study. The results revealed that the pursuit of intrinsic goals increased among primary school students, but decreased among middle and high school students. Conversely, the pursuit of extrinsic goals exhibited a consistent increase among adolescents in primary, middle, and high school. Girls have higher initial levels of intrinsic goals than boys in primary school, and boys' intrinsic goals declined faster than girls' in middle school. Additionally, the initial level and developmental rate of intrinsic goals among three developmental stages were significantly associated with internalizing/externalizing problems, with lower initial level, slower growth rate, and faster decline rate being associated with more internalizing and externalizing problems. The significant association between the initial level and developmental rate of extrinsic goals and internalizing/externalizing problems were mainly observed among late adolescents, with higher initial level and growth rate being associated with more internalizing and externalizing problems. These findings delineate the differences in developmental trends between intrinsic and extrinsic goals, underscore the robust relation between intrinsic goals and internalizing/externalizing problems, and figure out the development-stage differences in the relation between extrinsic goals and internalizing/externalizing problems.

What can heroes and villains teach young audiences? A research brief investigating the values emphasized in family-rated Walt Disney films

ABSTRACT Due to the popularity of Walt Disney Studio films and characters, and the fact that young audiences often emulate their favorite Disney characters’ actions, an understanding of the values depicted by Disney’s popular heroes and villains is warranted. Guided by the model of intuitive motivation and exemplars, and extending previous work investigating broader altruism and egoism in Disney films, we content-analyzed the population of N = 442 family-rated (i.e. G- and PG-rated) Walt Disney Studio film synopses to extract the specific values depicted by films’ heroes and villains and examined the extent to which values depicted as socially desirable were predictive of audience reception (i.e. IMDb.com ratings and votes). Results from this research brief revealed that (1) heroes were more likely to violate personal safety considerations in pursuit of upholding care, loyalty, competence, autonomy, and relatedness, (2) villains were more likely to violate care and fairness in pursuit of power goals, and (3) films emphasizing the desirability of care, loyalty, and relatedness values were more popular with audiences via IMDb votes. Implications of these results are discussed.

Global environmental sustainability trends: A temporal comparison using a new interval-based composite indicator

Assessing progress on the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals is crucial for evaluating the sustainability of a Country, although this is not easy, considering the interdependencies or interconnections of individual goals with others, and the fact that there are several indicators for each goal. The aims of this research are: (1) to propose a novel interval-based environmental sustainable composite index (ESI) suitable to monitor the worldwide environmental SDGs' implementation at national scale, (2) to solve the problem of missing data in large databases and the subjectivity in computing a composite index (CI), (3) to group and compare statistically countries according to the ESI, and (4) to represent spatially the results to identify areas of the world more or less environmentally sustainable than others. Clustering and Sankey diagrams have supported the temporal and spatial analysis of ESI trends, showing that Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, and several European countries have been the most sustainable in 2019. The novelty of this indicator is that each country presents an ESI central value, the most probable value of the composite indicator, and a range, which represents the uncertainty given by the lower and upper bounds. In this sense, it is possible to better interpret the results of the composite indicator, while simultaneously obtaining a measure of the uncertainty of the results. The composite indicator can be used to monitor countries’ vulnerability towards the unsustainability risk, as well as countries that are not able to escape from a sort of “unsustainability trap”.

Does Our Self-Talk Influence Our Success in Pursuing Goals? Relationships Between Self-Talk Valence, Personality Traits, and Goal Attainment

Does our self-talk influence our success in pursuing goals? Research on this topic, largely limited to sports psychology, has shown evidence of self-talk’s association with goal achievement. Drawing from sports literature, we predicted a positive association between self-talk valence and goal attainment among college students in their everyday goal pursuit. Additionally, we examined how neuroticism and extraversion related to goal attainment and whether self-talk valence mediated these relationships. Our sample comprised 190 students from a Canadian university who completed in-lab surveys on self-talk content and frequency, goal attainment, and personality traits. Linear regressions found that self-talk valence and extraversion positively correlated with goal attainment, while neuroticism showed a negative correlation. Mediation analyses found that self-talk valence partially mediated the relationship between these personality traits and goal attainment. Overall, the results supported our hypotheses. Future research should utilize longitudinal design and alternative measures of goal achievement to establish causal relationships.

Musicians' pursuit of expertise-related goals is characterised by strategic regulation of functional and counterproductive affect.

Emotion regulation is an important part of effective goal pursuit. Functional accounts of emotion regulation suggest that the attainment of challenging goals may be supported by regulating emotions which promote utilitarian over hedonic outcomes. When pursuing the challenging, long-term goal of acquiring expert musical skills and knowledge, musicians may wish to prioritise whichever emotions are most conducive to attaining this goal, even if those emotions are not necessarily positive. Via an online questionnaire, musicians (N = 421) answered questions concerning their musical experience and their expertise-related practice goals. They also reported how strongly they experienced different emotions during practice, and how strongly they desired to either increase or decrease the intensity of those same emotions. Data were analysed using inferential frequentist statistics and Bayesian mixed effects models. Evidence ratios (ER) > 19 were considered strong evidence in favour of an effect. Our analysis showed that musicians experienced and desired strong levels of positive emotions in their practice. In addition, they reported greater desire to intensify positive compared to negative emotions [paired t (420) = 58.13, p < 0.001]. Our Bayesian mixed effects model provided strong evidence that greater desire to intensify anger increased the probability that an observation derived from a musician with stronger expertise-related goals [Est = 0.70; Odds (Est > 0) > 9,999]. In addition to anger, higher levels of expertise-related goals were increasingly predicted by less strong desire to intensify guilt and gloom and greater desire to reduce downheartedness (all ER > 19). Overall, musicians had a strong, general desire to intensify positive emotions during their musical practice. However, musicians with higher levels of expertise-related goals increasingly indicated a nuanced approach regarding how they desired to regulate certain negative emotions. Findings suggest that musicians engage in selective and sophisticated emotion regulation behaviour that aligns with their long-term commitment to develop musical expertise. They may prioritise emotions which may be functionally beneficial, whilst avoiding emotions which may be counterproductive or undermine efforts. Findings from this study contribute to our understanding of expertise-related, domain-specific emotion regulation behaviour and may inform the design of prioritised musical practice strategies.

Sustainable chitin-derived elastomers via grafting strategy with tunable mechanical and adhesion properties

With increasing environmental awareness and the pursuit of sustainable development goals, environmentally friendly sustainable thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) derived from natural resources are highly desired to replace traditional TPEs. However, preparing sustainable TPEs with high mechanical properties and multifunctionality from biobased feedstocks remains a significant challenge. In this work, a series of chitin-graft-poly(acrylamide-co-2-ethylhexyl acrylate) (Chitin-g-P(AM-co-EHA)) copolymers were synthesized through reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The tensile strength of Chitin-g-P(AM-co-EHA) copolymers can be tuned over a wide range from 1.0 to 7.3 MPa by adjusting the chitin and PAM contents. Benefiting from the brush-like architecture, Chitin-g-P(AM-co-EHA) copolymer exhibits improved mechanical properties over its linear counterparts. Moreover, these Chitin-g-P(AM-co-EHA) copolymers show good adhesion performance on different substrates. The shear strength can achieve 7.5 MPa for Chitin0.8-PAM50, which is high enough for commercial applications. The combination of chitin and grafting strategy can promote the development of strong chitin-based sustainable elastomers. This approach can be further utilized to design novel high-performance biobased elastomers and adhesives derived from natural resources.

Analysis of Career Development Path Based on the Three Comprehensive Practice Education Models of Medical Laboratory Technology

This paper expounds on the connotation of the three complex practical education models of medical laboratory technology and its application in career planning. Through the cooperation and resource sharing of schools, enterprises, and hospitals, the 33 Complex realizes the close integration of theoretical teaching and practice and provides comprehensive preparation for students' clinical practice and employment. This paper further discusses the career planning strategies of medical laboratory technology students based on this model, including personal positioning, goal setting, and career development path analysis. Through the analysis of typical career development cases, the challenges and opportunities in the industry are revealed. Finally, this paper discusses the positive impact of the three complex models on career development, including the promoting role of resource sharing and the advantages of career development under mutual benefit and win-win results. It looks forward to the future trends and challenges.

On the experience of goals: Differentiating goal‐generic value from goal‐specific value

AbstractWe distinguish between goal‐specific value, which refers to the intrinsic and extrinsic benefits associated with a particular goal (“value derived from the goal”), and goal‐generic value, which refers to the benefits associated with having, pursuing, or completing a goal in general (“value derived from a goal”). Motivation theory and research have traditionally, if tacitly, sought to explain decision‐making (e.g., What to prioritize? How much to invest?) based on goal‐specific value. But several goal‐related decision regularities are not easily explained by accounting for goal‐specific value alone, such as online workers choosing a lower‐paying assignment (over a higher‐paying assignment) if it allows them to complete the last step in a sequence and college students electing to do more work sooner (rather than less work later) if it provides them closure. Accounting for goal‐generic value—such as the positive experiences of purpose, progress, closure, and accomplishment—offers additional insight into people's decisions. More generally, auditing goals in a way that accounts for both goal‐specific value and goal‐generic value is crucial for understanding goal pursuits.

Confidence and barriers: Analysis of factors associated with timely routine childhood vaccination in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic

Routine childhood vaccination is a crucial component of public health in Canada and worldwide. To facilitate catch-up from the global decline in routine vaccination caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and toward the ongoing pursuit of coverage goals, vaccination programs must understand barriers to vaccine access imposed or exacerbated by the pandemic. We conducted a regionally representative online survey in January 2023 including 2036 Canadian parents with children under the age of 18. We used the COM-B model of behaviour to examine factors influencing vaccination timeliness during the pandemic. We assessed Capability with measures of vaccine understanding and decision difficulty, and Motivation with a measure of vaccine confidence. Opportunity was assessed through parents' self-reported experience with barriers to vaccination. Twenty-four percent of surveyed parents reported having missed or delayed one of their children's scheduled routine vaccinations since the beginning of the pandemic, though most parents reported having either caught up or the intention to catch up soon. In the absence of opportunity barriers, motivation was associated with timely vaccination for children aged 0–4 years (aOR = 1.81, 95 % CI: 1.14–2.84). However, experience with one or more opportunity barriers, particularly clinic closures and difficulties getting an appointment, eliminated this relationship, suggesting perennial and new pandemic-associated barriers are a critical challenge to vaccine coverage goals in Canada.

Response styles to positive affect during a positive psychology intervention for veterans with PTSD and moral injury: Preliminary results from a moral elevation intervention pilot trial.

Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or moral injury are at risk of maladaptive response styles to positive emotions, such as emotional numbing. A potential pathway to target problematic responses to positive affect is a positive psychology intervention that elicits moral elevation-feeling inspired after witnessing someone perform a virtuous act. This study aims to examine responses to positive affect in a pilot trial of a web-based moral elevation intervention titled, MOVED: Moral Elevation Online Intervention for Veterans Experiencing Distress Related to PTSD and Moral Injury. Method: Veterans who reported moral injury distress and probable PTSD were randomized into an intervention or control condition (n = 48). We examined repeated measures data during the trial and focused on three subscales of the Response to Positive Affect Questionnaire: rumination on positive mood and somatic experiences (emotion-focus), rumination on positive aspects of the self and pursuit of relevant goals (self-focus), and efforts to dampen positive moods (dampening). Three multilevel models were fitted with time and condition as predictors and subscale scores as outcomes. Qualitative data reported at intervention sessions was also reviewed and coded based on the three subscales. Veterans in the MOVED condition reported more positive rumination than the control condition for both emotion-focus (b = 2.70, p = .023) and self-focus styles (b = 2.90, p = .003). There was no group difference in the dampening style. Qualitative responses after elevation-eliciting exercises and session-based goals were most frequently coded as including emotion-focused positive rumination, followed by dampening, then self-focused rumination. These results provide preliminary evidence that a moral elevation intervention might contribute to positive responses to positive affect in a sample predisposed to emotional numbing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Achievement goals of the social peer-group and the entire class: Relationships with Students' individual achievement goals

The importance of students' goal pursuit is well documented, yet little is known about how motivations of significant peers relate to students' individual goals. Accordingly, we investigated relationships between student's perceptions of peers' goals, peers' reported goals, and individual achievement goals of 472 Israeli high-school students in 26 classrooms. Both goals of the social peer-group (i.e., group of classmates a student spends much time with), and all classmates' goals were related to individual goals. Individual mastery goals had stronger links with social peer-group's mastery goals than with all classmates' mastery goals. Perceived peer goals were significantly related to individual goals after accounting for classmates' and social group's goals, suggesting that both perceived and actual reports are informative, likely targeting different processes of peer-group influence. Simultaneous examination of all classmates' and of particular social groups' goals suggests that focusing on certain groups rather than the entire classroom is beneficial when promoting mastery.