Romana Kadzikowska-Wrzosek
Szkoła Wyższa Psychologii Społecznej, Wydział Zamiejscowy w Sopocie
Abstract:
Two experimental studies examined how intention implementation, individual differences in formulation of goals, and efficiency in action control, affect subjective evaluation of the progress of „personal projects” (Little, 1980). It was assumed that intention implementation can compensate for difficulties in formulation of goals and for the low efficiency of action control. The theoretical framework was Peter. M. Gollwitzer’s (1996) action phase theory, the model of personality proposed by Tadeusz Mšdrzycki (2002) and Julius Kuhl’s (1996) theory of strength of volition. Study 1 (N=91) demonstrated that implementation of intention increased evaluation of the progress of „personal projects” by participants with low level of „goal orientation”. Study 2 (N=85) confirmed the positive effect of implementation of intention on subjective evaluation of progress in goal attainment. The state-oriented participants evaluated their progress higher under the intention implementation instruction whereas the evaluation of progress by action oriented participants did not depend on the instruction. These results were interpreted as confirming the compensatory effects of implementation intentions on the efficiency of action control mechanisms.
Keywords: intention implementation, state vs. action orientation, personal projects, goal orientation, subjective evaluation
Cite this article as:
Kadzikowska-Wrzosek, R. (2011). Subjective evaluation of progress in goal attainment: The effect of intention implementation and of individual differences in formulation of goals and strength of will. Psychologia Społeczna, 16, 49–66.