Superordinate Goals Research Articles

Putting the ‘economy’ back in the circular economy

AbstractThis paper offers a business‐focused critique centring on the superordinate goal of circular economy (CE) strategy and advances an ideograph that can help economic planners and corporate leaders conceptualize CE strategies that meet the bifurcate goals of strengthening economic resilience while also attenuating resource footprints. The paper, based on critical discourse analysis (CDA) and supported by an extensive literature review, highlights the pervasive manner in which the CE is mischaracterized as a materials circulation (MC) strategy and demonstrates how an oft‐referenced ideograph—the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) Butterfly—graphically entrenches this characterization. The first contribution that this study makes centres on providing clarity on how CE principles can be integrated with corporate strategy to elevate competitive advantage through resource economic optimization (REO). The second contribution is the development of a reconceptualized ideograph—The Integrated Circular Economy (ICE) model—that better conveys how this strategic perspective on CE and be conflicted with economic networks to deliver better economic and environmental performance.

Reflections from the wading pool: Detoxifying racist psychological waters while submerged in their waves.

Psychology, like water, is not inherently toxic. However, historical and contemporary currents, particularly those pertaining to racism in the United States, have poisoned the field and caused harm to Black communities. As early-career scholars, the authors note both the importance of and challenges inherent in rectification, especially in light of the American Psychological Association's (APA) resolutions in 2021 aimed at addressing and redressing systemic racism within psychology and beyond. Through a primary focus on anti-Black racism and the use of an extended metaphor of water, we utilize personal reflection, interviews, and historical accounts to better understand how racism has impacted the field of psychology from within to better consider efforts to reduce its impact on the greater Black American community. We note how the APA was founded with and perpetuated racist scholarship and practice and consider the founding and subsequent resistance of the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) as a cautionary tale to depict what can happen when the water becomes too toxic. We then seek to use this history of internal dynamics to better understand a superordinate goal, that is, how to extend antiracism efforts outward. We interviewed venerable Black psychologists and provided our own recommendations to consider what is necessary to support healing among Black communities impacted by racism. We conclude by acknowledging that although the waves of psychology can be consuming, terse, and painful, our ability to detoxify the water is possible with perspectives that cultivate deep pools of inquiry, mutual understanding, and action. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

An image of what I want to achieve: How visions motivate goal pursuit

In a rapidly changing world, leaders are constantly searching for effective ways to motivate employees and drive change. Management scholars agree that an essential tool for inspiring and motivating employees is to communicate a clear vision of the future. Yet, there remains a significant gap in understanding how and why visions actually move individuals to action. The current study investigated the effects of visions on goal-pursuit in comparison to merely listing a “superordinate goal.” We argue that visions, that are high in mental imagery, are motivationally effective because (a) visions evoke positive affect, (b) vision-evoked positive affect spills over to goals derived from the vision, leading to affectively charged goals, (c) affectively charged goals are predictive of increased commitment, and (d) increased commitment contributes to goal progress. In a first experimental study (N = 128), the findings suggest that visions and vision-derived goals were both higher in positive affect than our control condition. In a second experimental study (N = 323), we replicated our results from Study 1. In addition, we extended these findings and showed that visions predict goal progress via vision-evoked positive affect, positive anticipatory affect related to prospective vision-derived goal attainment, and goal commitment. Taken together, our studies contribute to research on visions and goals by showing that visions exert their motivational effects by affectively charging activities related to them. From a practical perspective, our studies highlight the importance of visions as an effective tool in motivating work-related behaviors.

How reaching numerical roundness on subgoals affects the completion of superordinate goals

This research shows that consumers who achieve numerically round subgoals perceive a higher chance of accomplishing their superordinate goals compared to those who achieve numerically non-round subgoals. This effect is mediated by the shifts in motivation to accomplish superordinate goals. First, a pilot test presents preliminary evidence from a large secondary dataset of runners’ timings in a 10 k race. Then, the effect is tested in a series of scenario-based experiments by manipulating the round vs. non-round subgoals in a variety of contexts, such as credit score, running, weight loss and loyalty programs. This is followed by a study employing a game setting where participants make guesses and earn (round vs. non-round) points. Next, a field experiment manipulates the grading method of student exams in an actual course to utilize round vs. non-round scales. Finally, a lab experiment demonstrates the moderating role of goal progress level.

Effects of implementation intentions and regulatory fit on subjective binge eating

Introduction: Implementation intentions are if-then plans linking behavior with contextual features, thereby preventing goal shifts away from superordinate goals. Implementation intentions may be an addition to standard treatment for binge eating due to their limited use of cognitive resources. Implementation intention effects may be increased by matching implementation intentions to people's regulatory focus. Regulatory focus theory is a goal-pursuit theory emphasizing the relationship between peoples’ motivational orientations and the way they pursue goals. Methods: In a sample of students with subjective binge eating, reductions in binge eating were compared between two implementation intention conditions, one in accordance with participants’ regulatory focus and one opposite, and two control conditions with only goal setting. Results: Compared to control, both implementation intention conditions showed significant, long-lasting reductions in subjective binge eating. Regulatory focus showed no additional effects. Discussion: Three implementation intention sessions targeting subjective binge eating proved a promising intervention leading to long-term reductions in subjective binge eating. Future research should address its usefulness in clinical populations.

Breaking the Law of Inertia for Students with Poor Grit and Achievement: The Predictive Mechanism of Grit on the Short-Term and Long-Term Achievement

This study aimed to examine the predictive validity of junior high students’ grit (including perseverance of effort (PE) and consistency of interest (CI)) on their short-term and long-term academic achievements using a longitudinal survey design under the structural equation modeling framework. Data were collected on 236 junior high students (56.3% boys) in Taiwan across three years. The analytical results showed that PE successively influences students’ semester grades (as short-term achievements) in a unidirectional way. However, CI could not predict the consecutive semester grades. Furthermore, we found that both PE and CI did not directly predict students’ achievement on the scores of the Comprehensive Assessment Program (CAP, as long-term achievements). Only PE can indirectly associate with the CAP scores via students’ successive semester grades. The study results can be explained by the goal hierarchy of grit, where achieving good semester grades can be treated as the lower-order goals that are cohesively aligned with the superordinate goal to do well in the CAP. Strategies for fostering students’ perseverance of effort and implications for future research on educational equity are discussed.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems as multiteam systems: Navigating independence and interdependence in the leadership of startup communities

Entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) leadership is the orchestration of multiple groups to influence the effectiveness of an EE. Although singular leaders can influence ecosystems, EE leadership rarely works alone. EE leaders often function in interconnected groups from different organizations and are in the unique position of simultaneously leading their organizations (leadership within EEs) while providing leadership to the ecosystem itself (leadership of EEs). However, it is not clear how EE leadership groups work independently on their respective goals and interdependently on the superordinate goal of coordinating effective EEs. To address the lack of theory to explain this inherent characteristic of ecosystems, we adapt insights from group dynamics to develop a multi-level model of EEs as multiteam systems. We explain how EE teams devote attention to organizational and ecosystem leadership, identify four EE archetypes produced by different attentional configurations, and discuss how our main insight—effective EEs are multiteam systems—can change how scholars and practitioners view EEs.

Reflections on the Robbers Cave Experiment: Finding Lessons on Political Conflict, Racism, Xenophobia, and Business Environments

The Robbers Cave Experiment in the mid-1950s by Muzafer Sherif and his colleagues advanced the realistic conflict theory, whose main premise is that conflict is inevitable whenever two (or more) in-groups are brought together in mutual competition for scarce resources. This conflict is driven by prejudice and discrimination, and may take on various forms of hostilities and aggressions towards a competing out-group. However, a resolution of the conflict is possible when the two (or more) competing in-groups are forced to work together to attain mutually beneficial superordinate goals. Whereas the Robbers Cave Experiment suffers from serious questions of ethics and confirmation bias, the lessons that draw from the tested hypotheses have remained germane to the understanding of realistic conflict theory. In this study, the author seeks to reflect on this (in)famous experiment and draw poignant comparisons and lessons as they relate to some contemporary examples in political conflicts, racism, xenophobia, business workplaces, and mergers and acquisitions. The author repeatedly acknowledges the blurring influence of the criticisms of the experiment on the clarity of these reflections.

Of Maybugs and Men: A History of Philosophy of the Sciences of Homosexuality

Of Maybugs and Men: A History of Philosophy of the Sciences of Homosexuality

Ambition and extreme behavior: relative deprivation leads ambitious individuals to self-sacrifice.

Ambitious people are characterized by strong motivation toward great and valuable objectives, with the superordinate goal to gain respect and recognition from others. Recent literature regarding ambition demonstrated that it leads individuals to engage in extreme behavior. However, no previous research has investigated under which conditions the relation between ambition and extremism is enhanced. Across two studies, we tested the hypothesis that ambitious individuals are more prone to engage in extreme behavior in the face of relative deprivation (i.e., justice sensitivity), than their less ambitious counterparts. We confirmed our predictions employing a cross-sectional design with an American sample (Study 1) and an experimental design with an Italian sample (Study 2). The present research adds theoretical knowledge and empirical support to the existing literature on ambition, extreme behavior, and relative deprivation, and provides fruitful insight into strategies for preventing extremism.

Cooperation in the Time of COVID

Humans evolved to be hyper-cooperative, particularly when among people who are well known to them, when relationships involve reciprocal helping opportunities, and when the costs to the helper are substantially less than the benefits to the recipient. Because humans’ cooperative nature evolved over many millennia when they lived exclusively in small groups, factors that cause cooperation to break down tend to be those associated with life in large, impersonal, modern societies: when people are not identifiable, when interactions are one-off, when self-interest is not tied to the interests of others, and when people are concerned that others might free ride. From this perspective, it becomes clear that policies for managing pandemics will be most effective when they highlight superordinate goals and connect people or institutions to one another over multiple identifiable interactions. When forging such connections is not possible, policies should mimic critical components of ancestral conditions by providing reputational markers for cooperators and reducing the systemic damage caused by free riding. In this article, we review policies implemented during the pandemic, highlighting spontaneous community efforts that leveraged these aspects of people’s evolved psychology, and consider implications for future decision makers.

Conflict in Organisations: An Examination of its Types, Sources, Effects and Management Strategies

Conflict is generally common in all social life. It is an inevitable part of human resources in organisations as it relates to the situation of scarce resources, division of functions, power relations, role differentiation, interest, needs and aspiration. Like other terms, conflict generates considerable uncertainty, and the idea has grown to have numerous meanings and ramifications, creating nothing less than a semantic jungle, which leaves many scholars and administrators quite ambiguous about its meaning. This study examines the sources, effects, and strategies for the management of conflict in organisations. The pursuit of divided goals and struggle over scarce resources breed conflict. This study creates super-ordinate goals and the provisions of a stable, well structure that can minimise conflict. Understanding the importance of conflict management assists the manager in having an inclusive interpretation of the conflict and its effects on the organisation's productivity. The results would be beneficial to organisations' management since they lay the groundwork for understanding Conflict in Organisations, its effects, and management strategies. The study offered some suggestions and points for further research.

Kritische Diskursfähigkeit im Fremdsprachenunterricht Ein Beitrag zur Ausdifferenzierung eines Leitkonzepts schulischer Bildung

With their definition of the ability to participate in discourses, the German educational standards open venues for a primarily functional understanding of this superordinate goal of language education. However, such a notion of discourse literacies may be seen as anachronistic since discourses are always related to questions of power and values. Consequently, learners need to develop critical discourse literacy in addition to functional communicative skills. This article seeks to identify the critical components of the ability to participate in discourses and suggests a two-fold concept of critical discourse literacies. Against the background of a discussion of existing approaches to discourse literacies in language education, this contribution argues for both the development of an awareness of discursive structures and the consideration of human rights as a value base for critical (self)reflection when it comes to preparing learners for participation in global discourses.

Promoting prosocial behavior in an unequal world.

Amid a global pandemic and the climate crisis, there is an increasing need to understand how to promote largescale, coordinated action between different groups. Yet certain factors such as inequality can hinder cooperation. We aimed to establish how to orient groups toward a superordinate goal when they have unequal resources. Participants were divided into two 'countries' and asked to assemble LEGO bricks into food (by building pieces in a certain order) to prevent starvation among 'the people'. One 'country' had few LEGO bricks whereas the other had an abundance, and the only way to maximize food creation was for the groups to work together. We assessed the efficacy of three diverse interventions on superordinate behavior and attitudes: compassion meditation training (Study 1), lower inequality (Study 2), and the introduction of a pro-sharing group norm by a confederate (Study 3). Compassion meditation training and altering the degree of inequality between groups did not have a clear effect on collaborative action. Only the introduction of a pro-sharing group norm enhanced sharing behavior, made participants feel more cooperative and reduced fears of being compassionate toward others. Our findings speak to the importance of leadership in promoting coordinated action to address challenges that face the superordinate group.

Print Materials to Promote Physical Activities in Japan: Content Analysis from a Goal Theory.

Physical activity has significant health benefits for the heart, body, and mind. However, the percentage of people engaging in exercise routines is low in Japan. Goals are important components of motivation. Scholars suggest that appropriately setting both subordinate goals of what to do and superordinate goals of why to do it may motivate the audience and promote behavior. However, it is not known what goals are presented in print materials that promote physical activity. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the presented goals by performing content analysis of those materials in Japan. We collected print materials such as leaflets, brochures, and posters via website search. The presence of subordinate and superordinate goals and topics for each goal was analyzed. A total of 224 print materials were systematically collected and analyzed. The results showed that 14.3% of the print materials did not present any superordinate goals, whereas 100% of them presented subordinate goals. For superordinate goals, healthy aging was frequently presented. For subordinate goals, 67.4% presented only exercise. There is a difference in presenting goals between the private and government sectors. Since goals affect motivation and behavior change, it may be beneficial to incorporate the findings of the goal theory in future print materials.

التأثير الاجتماعي وتشكل المعايير والاتجاهات وفقًا للمقاربة النفسية الاجتماعية

The social influence is not limited to individuals who belong to a particular group, but can occur in various social and life situations. The social influence is not limited to individuals who belong to a particular group, but can occur in various social and life situations. Thus, the individual's attitudes, behaviors, values and standards are formed through his compliance, identification and internalization of the norms and attitudes of others, which will surely influence his behavior by following their expectations and their norms. In fact, the individual's membership in a group requires conformity to its norms and expectations, in order to avoid exclusion and punishment. Also, managing conflict between groups and changing attitudes and stereotypes towards members of the rival group can be achieved through the inclusion of superordinate goals that necessarily require coordination and cooperation between members of the two groups. Bringing about a change in attitudes and behavior of members can be done by group discussion (internal processes) or stimulated by external factors, such as the presence of a competing group or an external enemy that can prevent it from achieving its goals. Furthermore, the attitudes, judgments, thoughts and stereotypes of group members change according to the external relations of the group to which they belong. Therefore, the structure of the group and the nature of the relationships between its members are also affected by the nature of the external challenges.

Categorization Effect on Exercise Goal Progress Perception and Motivation: Moderating Role of Self-efficacy

PURPOSE This research explores the underlying mechanism that determines how people perceive their goal progress and its relation with their motivation and self-efficacy. METHODS Three hundred and sixty Koreans who participated in an online survey were given salient individual exercise goals (11 workouts), and they reported their self-efficacy, goal progress perception, and motivation. We conducted dummy variable multiple regression analysis (2 [absolute progress-low (27%) vs. high (73%)] X 2 [categorization vs. no-categorization]) and multiple moderated mediation analysis based on Process Model 7 and 21 (Hayes, 2017). RESULTS The findings showed significant interaction between categorization and absolute progress on progress perception. In low progress condition, the categorization group perceived more progress than no categorization group and contrary effect in high progress condition. For motivation, in low progress condition, categorization group was more motivated than no categorization group, and inverse effect in high progress condition. Moreover, there was no direct effect, but only low self-efficacy group played the moderating role between perceived progress and motivation in conditional indirect effect. Lastly, the result indicated significant multiple moderated mediation effect. CONCLUSIONS This research theoretically contributes to the domains of categorization and motivation. Sport marketers can utilize categorization as a strategy by breaking down yearly memberships into monthly categories based on consumers perceptions. Future research can include subsequent motivation after a superordinate goal is completed.

Influence of work specialization on realization of superordinate goals in selected non-governmental organizations in Naivasha Sub-County, Kenya

This study aims to determine the influence of work specialization on realization of superordinate goals in selected NGOs in Naivasha sub-county, Kenya. The study was underpinned by the systems-thinking and McKinsey’s 7s models. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. The target population consisted of 120 managers and members of the board of directors of eight NGOs in the Naivasha sub-county, Kenya. Using the Krejcie and Morgan formula and the stratified sampling technique, 92 respondents were selected to participate in the study. The research instrument was a self-administered questionnaire consisting of closed and open-ended questions. The thematic analysis method was used for qualitative data analysis, presented using narratives, while quantitative data was analyzed using frequencies and percentages. Inferential statistics analysis involved Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression analysis in establishing the relationship between work specialization and the realization of superordinate goals. The data was presented using tables. Research ethics were upheld when carrying out the study. This study found that work specialization had a statistically significant relationship with realization of superordinate goals in selected NGOs in Naivasha Sub-county, Kenya. Also, work specialization had a statistically significant influence on the realization of superordinate goals in selected NGOs in the Naivasha sub-county, Kenya, with a p-value of (p<0.05). This study recommends that a similar study be conducted to get other employees' and NGO beneficiaries’ perspectives on work specialization and realization of superordinate goals. The findings of this study will help NGOs to understand the cruciality of work specialization elements in realization of superordinate goals.

Preschoolers use the means principle in their moral judgments.

We ask whether moral judgment in preschool children observes a "means principle." It is well established that young children consider both the consequences and the goals of actions when making moral judgments; much less studied is the question of whether the means used to attain a given goal also matter. By obtaining preschoolers' judgments regarding when, if ever, it is permissible for 1 person to harm another as a means, we show, across 2 experiments, that children (N = 200 across 2 studies; Mage = 5.1 yrs.) use the means principle in their moral judgments. Subjects recognized not only when a harm was being used as a means but also situated that means appropriately with respect to the correct superordinate goal. In this respect, the preschoolers in this sample are like adults across a wide range of cultures. These findings have important implications for the understanding of moral development: young children can use an agent's means, and not just her goal, to make a moral judgment. We discuss the broader issue of whether, in light of emerging evidence for the means principle, there really are any moral universals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Converging vs diverging: The effect of visual representation of goal structure on financial decisions

Financial decisions often entail choices between multiple options, and the presence of multiple options can increase decision difficulty. The present work introduces an intervention to visually represent the dynamic relation between a financial goal and its associated options with either a converging diagram (in which multiple subordinate options visually flow inward and converge into a superordinate goal) or a diverging diagram (in which a superordinate goal visually flows outward and diverges into multiple subordinate options). Drawing on the visual-congruence literature, we propose that each diagram can increase processing fluency and facilitate goal intention when it enables a match with the monetary flow embedded in the financial goal. Specifically, for financial goals involving an inward monetary flow (e.g., saving or earning), a converging diagram provides a match and increases goal intention. In contrast, for goals involving an outward monetary flow (e.g., spending or donating), a diverging diagram provides a match, leading to greater goal intention. Implications for financial decisions are discussed.