On Evaluative Readiness for Goal Pursuit: Testing Theoretical and Practical Questions of Breadth, Mechanism, and Causal Impact on Behavior

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

One of the oldest mysteries of human behavior concerns when and why people are able to stick successfully to their most important goals. For example, what distinguishes the person who is able to give up smoking, or refrain from overeating, or stay in school from someone is unable to do so? This research project, which includes 3 experiments, focuses specifically on the role of non-conscious mental processes in successful self-control behavior. The first experiment examines when a goal (e.g., staying healthy and thin) might increase people's negative evaluations of activities or behaviors that would compromise the goal (e.g., fatty and unhealthy foods). The second experiment focuses on how a goal leads to such changes in people's evaluations of stimuli that might influence the pursuit of the goal. The third experiment examines whether it is possible to experimentally alter people's non-conscious mental processes in order to improve their ability to stick to the goals they identify as most important to them. A fundamental strength of this proposal is that it examines the role of non-conscious mental processes in successful self-control. By addressing key questions about how and when goals change people's evaluations of the stimuli around them, this work has the potential to significantly transform the field's understanding of effective self-control. In addition, findings from this research are likely to inform the development of new interventions and therapies for improving people's self-control.