Distinguishing Emotion Regulation Success in Daily Life From Maladaptive Regulation and Dysregulation

ACADEMIC ABSTRACT

This paper aims to motivate research on emotion regulation success in naturalistic settings. We define emotion regulation success as achieving one's emotion regulation goal and differentiate it from related concepts (i.e., maladaptive regulation and dysregulation). As goals vary across individuals and situations, it is insufficient to conceptualize emotion regulation success as maximizing positive affect and minimizing negative affect. Instead, emotion regulation success can be measured through novel approaches targeting the achievement of emotion regulation goals. In addition to utilizing novel data analytic tools (e.g., response surface analyses), future research can make use of informant reports and observing ambulatory behavior or physiology. Considering emotion regulation goals when measuring daily emotion regulation success has the potential to answer key questions about personality, development, and mental health.

PUBLIC ABSTRACT

People differ in how they want to feel in daily situations (e.g., excited) and why they want to feel that way (e.g., to make others feel better), depending on factors such as culture or age. Although people manage their emotions to reach these goals, most research assessing emotion regulation success has not taken individual goals into account. When assessing if people successfully regulate their emotions, most research in daily life has been focused on whether people feel more positive or less negative. To help study emotion regulation success in a more thoughtful and inclusive way, we propose a new approach to conceptualizing emotion regulation success that incorporates individual differences in what motivates people to regulate and discuss future research directions and applications.

An Ecological Mobile Momentary Intervention to Support Dynamic Goal Pursuit: Feasibility and Acceptability Study

BACKGROUND

Individuals can experience difficulties pursuing their goals amid multiple competing priorities in their environment. Effective goal dynamics require flexible and generalizable pursuit skills. Supporting successful goal pursuit requires a perpetually adapting intervention responsive to internal states.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to (1) develop a flexible intervention that can adapt to an individual's changing short to medium-term goals and be applied to their daily life and (2) examine the feasibility and acceptability of the just-in-time adaptive intervention for goal pursuit.

METHODS

This study involved 3 iterations to test and systematically enhance all aspects of the intervention. During the pilot phase, 73 participants engaged in an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) over 1 month. After week 1, they attended an intervention training session and received just-in-time intervention prompts during the following 3 weeks. The training employed the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behavior (COM-B) framework for goal setting, along with mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII). Subsequent prompts, triggered by variability in goal pursuit, guided the participants to engage in MCII in relation to their current goal. We evaluated feasibility and acceptability, efficacy, and individual change processes by combining intensive (single-case experimental design) and extensive methods.

RESULTS

The results suggest that the digital intervention was feasible and acceptable to participants. Compliance with the intervention was high (n=63, 86%). The participants endorsed high acceptability ratings relating to both the study procedures and the intervention. All participants (N=73, 100%) demonstrated significant improvements in goal pursuit with an average difference of 0.495 units in the outcome (P<.001). The results of the dynamic network modeling suggest that self-monitoring behavior (EMA) and implementing the MCII strategy may aid in goal reprioritization, where goal pursuit itself is a driver of further goal pursuit.

CONCLUSIONS

This pilot study demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of a just-in-time adaptive intervention among a nonclinical adult sample. This intervention used self-monitoring of behavior, the COM-B framework, and MCII strategies to improve dynamic goal pursuit. It was delivered via an Ecological Momentary Intervention (EMI) procedure. Future research should consider the utility of this approach as an additional intervention element within psychological interventions to improve goal pursuit. Sustaining goal pursuit throughout interventions is central to their effectiveness and warrants further evaluation.

The impact of cognitive resource constraints on goal prioritization

Many decisions we face daily entail deliberation about how to coordinate resources shared between multiple, competing goals. When time permits, people appear to approach these goal prioritization problems by analytically considering all goal-relevant information to arrive at a prioritization decision. However, it is not yet clear if this normative strategy extends to situations characterized by resource constraints such as when deliberation time is scarce or cognitive load is high. We evaluated the questions of how limited deliberation time and cognitive load affect goal prioritization decisions across a series of experiments using a gamified experimental task, which required participants to make a series of interdependent goal prioritization decisions. We fit several candidate models to experimental data to identify decision strategy adaptations at the individual subject-level. Results indicated that participants tended to opt for a simple heuristic strategy when cognitive resources were constrained rather than making a general tradeoff between speed and accuracy (e.g., the type of tradeoff that would be predicted by evidence accumulation models). The most common heuristic strategy involved disproportionately weighing information about goal deadlines compared to other goal-relevant information such as the goal's difficulty and the goal's subjective value.

Self-regulatory processes in goal striving during excellent distance-running performances: A qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

Goal setting can improve endurance performance, yet how endurance performers maintain goal striving and bring it to a successful close has received limited attention. In this study, we investigated the self-regulatory processes employed by long-distance runners during goal striving in excellent competitive performances.

METHOD

Through in-depth, event-focused interviews, we explored 21 long-distance runners' experiences of goal striving in excellent competitive performances (M = 77.43 h post-race). Furthermore, we recruited 10 additional participants with relevant experiences (runner n = 7, coach n = 2; sport psychologist n = 1) for external member-reflection interviews.

FINDINGS

Through our matrix analysis, we interpreted that by contrasting their current and future goal status periodically throughout their excellent performances, using a process called mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII), this helped the runners to make decisions about whether to persist with a goal, or disengage from a goal and reengage with an alternative. Furthermore, our findings depict how these goal decisions unfolded when runners perceived they were behind, equalling, or exceeding their goal(s). We also illustrate how goal revision was used as an adaptive process to maximise performance, and to avert or manage action crises.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings extend theoretical understandings of goal striving and the self-regulatory processes endurance performers employ to attain and/or adapt their goals. Psychological support provided for athletes should go beyond simply setting goals, but also include training on mental frameworks such as MCII to manage goal-striving challenges and decisional conflict encountered during performances.

The mutual determination of self-efficacy to cope with cancer and cancer-related coping over time: a prospective study in women with breast cancer

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal impact of self-efficacy to cope with cancer on the cancer-related coping reactions of breast cancer patients and vice versa.

DESIGN AND MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES

Data from the BOUNCE Project (https://www.bounce-project.eu/) were used to address the hypotheses. Participants (N = 403) were enrolled in the study a few weeks after surgery or biopsy. Coping self-efficacy was assessed at baseline and six months later (M6). Cancer-related coping was assessed three (M3) and nine months (M9) after baseline. The analyses were performed using structural equation modeling with Mplus 8.6.

RESULTS

Baseline coping self-efficacy predicted all M3 coping reactions, while M6 coping self-efficacy also predicted changes in all but one M9 coping reaction. Moreover, one of the M3 coping reactions, that is, hopelessness/helplessness, predicted the changes in M6 coping self-efficacy. The relation between coping self-efficacy and one coping reaction (i.e. cognitive avoidance) was rather weak. Stability paths from M3 to M9 coping reactions were moderate to high.

CONCLUSION

The relationship between self-efficacy to cope with cancer and cancer-related coping is complex. New theoretical models are needed to more accurately describe the diverse aspects of this association.

Interruptions in healthcare: Modeling dynamic processes and effects at a team level

Interruptions are associated with increases in medical errors amongst healthcare professionals, yet interventions to reduce interruptions have not been widely successful. While interruptions can be problematic for the interruptee, they may be necessary for the interrupter to maintain patient safety. To understand the emergent effects of interruptions within a dynamic environment, we develop a computational model that describes how nurses make decisions about interruptions and the effects those decisions have at a team level. Simulations reveal the dynamic interplay between urgency, task importance, the cost of being interrupted and team efficiency, depending on the consequences of clinical or procedural error, and shed light on the ways that the risks from interruptions can be better managed.

Nomophobia and smartphone addiction amidst COVID-19 home confinement: the parallel mediating role of digital gaming and social media tools usage across secondary school students

Introduction

With the inevitable technological boom enforced by the COVID-19 lockdowns and online emergency remote teaching practices, the prevalence of nomophobia (NMP) and smartphone addiction (SA) among adolescents has become a pressing issue, which has come under scrutiny. However, the impact of social media tools usage (SMTU) and digital gaming behavior (DGB) on these phenomena remains unclear since there is little research focusing on the complex interplay among these variables. Regarding this context, the present study aimed to explore the parallel mediating role of secondary school students' SMTU and DGB in the relation between NMP and SA.

Methods

In line with this aim, we employed a cross-sectional design with a critical case sampling strategy and collected data through an online survey from a total of 427 secondary school students in Istanbul in the 2021-2022 academic year. In order to test the parallel mediation model, we employed multiple linear regression models by utilizing PROCESS models with 5000 BC bootstrap samples and 95% CI.

Results and discussion

Results illustrated that there was an increase in the prevalence of NMP and SA during the COVID-19 home confinement as consistent with the previous research. The results also indicated that among the multiple mediators, the mediating role of SMTU was significant in the relation between NMP and SA. This means NMP has direct and indirect significant impact on SA through SMTU. However, the mediating role of DGB was found nonsignificant in this relationship. Our results are robust and hold key contributions to both theoria and praxis in educational psychology research realm by disentangling the complex underlying mechanism between NMP, SMTU, DGB, and SA. On the practical side, our results provide insightful implications for school boards and researchers in the development of effective interventions.

Individual differences in everyday multitasking behavior and its relation to cognition and personality

Our ability to multitask-focus on multiple tasks simultaneously-is one of the most critical functions of our cognitive system. This capability has shown to have relations to cognition and personality in empirical studies, which have received much attention recently. This review article integrates the available findings to examine how individual differences in multitasking behavior are linked with different cognitive constructs and personality traits to conceptualize what multitasking behavior represents. In this review, we highlight the methodological differences and theoretical conceptions. Cognitive constructs including executive functions (i.e., shifting, updating, and inhibition), working memory, relational integration, divided attention, reasoning, and prospective memory were investigated. Concerning personality, the traits of polychronicity, impulsivity, and the five-factor model were considered. A total of 43 studies met the inclusion criteria and entered the review. The research synthesis directs us to propose two new conceptual models to explain multitasking behavior as a psychometric construct. The first model demonstrates that individual differences in multitasking behavior can be explained by cognitive abilities. The second model proposes that personality traits constitute a moderating effect on the relation between multitasking behavior and cognition. Finally, we provide possible future directions for the line of research.

Letting go or giving up? The influence of self-transcendence meaning of life on goal adjustment in high action crisis

When individuals pursuing personal goals encounter setbacks and failures, they often fall into a conflict between disengaging from and striving toward the goal, defined as an action crisis. The present study investigated the influence and mechanism of self-transcendence meaning of life (STML) on goal disengagement and reengagement during a high versus a low action crisis. Study 1 included situations with different action crises. In Study 1, participants with high STML exhibited significantly higher goal disengagement and reengagement during high action crisis compared with low action crisis. Study 2 replicated the findings in Study 1 using participants' personal goals by questionnaires, and further exhibited that action crisis had negative effect on self-efficacy for participants with low STML, and this process subsequently reduced goal adjustment. Interestingly, no mediation effect of self-efficacy was found between action crisis and goal adjustment among participants with high STML. Findings from the present study suggest that releasing obsessions and adopting a dialectical relationship between success and failure may help individuals in high action-crisis situations, and self-efficacy may provide flexibility and autonomy.

Why Do People (Not) Take Breaks? An Investigation of Individuals' Reasons for Taking and for Not Taking Breaks at Work

Although breaks can help employees stay energized and maintain high levels of performance throughout the day, employees sometimes refrain from taking a break despite wanting to do so. Unfortunately, few studies have investigated individuals' reasons for taking and for not taking a break at work. To address this gap, we developed a model for predicting employees' break-taking behaviors. We developed hypotheses by integrating theories of work stress, self-regulation, and the results of a qualitative survey conducted as part of the current research (Study 1). Specifically, we predicted that high workloads would be positively related to the desire to detach from work, but that at the same time, high workloads would also deter employees from actually taking breaks. Furthermore, we predicted that employees would be less likely to act upon their desire to take a break within an environment where breaks are frowned upon by supervisors and coworkers, relative to an environment where breaks are allowed and encouraged. The results of a daily diary study of full-time employees (Study 2) provided general support for these predictions. Altogether, this research provides insights into the manner in which employees' psychological experiences and characteristics of the work environment combine to predict break-taking.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10869-022-09866-4.

Better off without? Benefits and costs of resolving goal conflict through goal shelving and goal disengagement

Pursuing multiple goals with limited time often leads to goal conflicts that can be resolved by prioritizing some goal pursuits over others. This research examines proximal outcomes of two approaches to goal prioritization: Goal shelving (temporarily withdrawing from a goal) and goal disengagement (permanently withdrawing from a goal). We conducted an experiment (N = 214) to compare motivational and emotional consequences of resolving goal conflict through goal shelving and disengagement. Results suggest that goal shelving and disengagement are similarly effective at reducing different facets of experienced goal conflict, but people regret shelving goals less than disengaging from them. Together, these findings provide first evidence that goal shelving may allow people to “have their cake and eat it too:” to reap the benefits of goal prioritization while minimizing its costs.

Clarifying dynamics for organizational research and interventions: A diversity example

Interventions backfire for many reasons, one being that the dynamics governing a system are not well-understood. To better explain organizational phenomena, and to intervene in ways that yield desired consequences, an appreciation of the core insights from dynamics may be necessary to include into a researcher's toolkit. Although substantial buzz surrounds the term dynamics in organizational science, conceptual missteps are present in the literature, ultimately limiting its application. We provide a coherent description of what dynamics encompasses by (1) advancing a definition and of dynamics and comparing it to other longitudinal concepts, (2) proposing theoretical principles to help researchers apply dynamics concepts to their own research, and (3) demonstrating how dynamics may refine our ability to explain organizational phenomena and devise practical implications. Plain Language Summary Organizational researchers and practitioners are faced with many complex issues and understanding how they unfold over time is difficult. Those difficulties often lead to unexpected results when we try to address those issues. Viewing organizations from a more dynamic lens can shed light on how phenomena evolve over time as governed by the iterative application of mathematical rules. Illumination of dynamics can assist with better targeting interventions and understanding their potential effects. A dynamics lens also emphasizes continuing needs to improve research methods, such as collecting longitudinal data and engaging in computational modeling. To illustrate these points, we discuss how diversity interventions in organizations may be better understood once dynamics are applied. For example, organizations wishing to improve the diversity of their work forces must focus both on why underrepresented groups enter the organization and why they might leave. Focus on only one or the other is unlikely to generate the desired effect. Once identifying the drivers of both entering and leaving and how those factors might reinforce each other, interventions to improve diversity might be better targeted.

Red Tape and Community Workers’ Proactive Behavior During COVID-19: Applying the Job Demands–Resources Model

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, community workers’ proactive behavior has played a noteworthy role in the crisis response. Previous research has not highlighted this group and their proactive behavior. To address this important gap, drawing upon the job demands–resources (JD–R) model, this study explores how red tape affects proactive behavior and investigates the mediating role of lack of goal progress (LOGP) and the moderating role of public service motivation (PSM) in this relationship. Based on a two-wave survey with a sample of 656 community workers in China, we found a negative relationship between red tape and proactive behavior. Moreover, this study showed that LOGP mediated this relationship. Contrary to our hypothesis, PSM did not moderate the relationship between LOGP and proactive behavior. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications and can better inform community work during COVID-19.

Teachers Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Goal Conflicts Affect Teaching Motivation Mediated by Basic Need Satisfaction

Teaching is a highly demanding profession that requires handling multiple and potentially contradictory goals. Therefore, it is likely that teachers experience conflict between work-related goals on a daily basis. Intraindividual goal conflict may occur when individuals pursue multiple goals drawing on the same limited resources (resource-based goal conflict), or when two or more goals are incompatible in terms of goal attainment strategy or desired end states (inherent goal conflict). Because goal conflict is typically associated with negative effects such as attenuated motivation and wellbeing, teacher goal conflict may jeopardize teaching motivation. This cross-sectional study investigated the effects of in-service teachers' (N = 302) goal conflicts on their autonomous (intrinsic and identified regulation) and controlled (introjected and extrinsic regulation) teaching motivation and tested the satisfaction of teachers' basic need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness as mediators. In line with our hypotheses, results from structural equation modeling showed that frequently experiencing resource-based goal conflict leads to a lower satisfaction of the basic need for autonomy, which, however, was unrelated to teaching motivation. In contrast, frequently experiencing inherent goal conflict attenuates the satisfaction of the basic need for competence, which, in turn, positively predicted autonomous teaching motivation and negatively predicted extrinsic regulation. As expected, relatedness was not associated with the experience of goal conflict. The discussion focuses on differential effects of the two types of goal conflict on teaching motivation and on the relevance to expand research on teachers' intraindividual goal conflicts.

The Effect of COVID-19 on College Students’ Entrepreneurial Intentions

The new coronary pneumonia epidemic has had a tremendous impact on the world economic situation, causing a large number of enterprises to suffer from serious losses, but also bringing a large number of entrepreneurial opportunities. For college students, whether the opportunities brought by the epidemic can attract them to step into the entrepreneurial path becomes a question worthy of attention in the process of restoring economic vitality and guiding students’ employment and entrepreneurship. In this article, a mediation model was constructed and tested through 245 questionnaire data by combining event system theory, regulatory focus theory, and emotion cognitive evaluation theory. The results showed that defensive regulatory focus and fear of failure and facilitative regulatory focus and fear of failure were all able to continuously mediate the effect of event intensity of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic on the entrepreneurial intentions of college students.

The Relationship Between Perceived Leader Busyness and Perspective Taking and Interaction Behavior of Followers

How leaders influence followers have been a hot topic in both research and practice. Yet, prior studies have primarily focused on the impact of one leadership style, while overlooking how a leadership role may influence behavioral expressions of leaders. Particularly, being a leader means having to face time demands and workload pressure, and thus, busyness becomes a common phenomenon for leaders. Focused on perceived leader busyness, we had examined how it may influence employee interactions with leaders and how those interactions influenced leader evaluations of the performance of followers. Based on sensemaking theory, we propose that when followers have a high level of perspective taking, they are more likely to take avoidance behavior when perceiving leaders as of high busyness. Further, when followers engage in interaction avoidance behavior, leaders may consider followers as hiding errors or intentionally concealing their work process, which reduces positive evaluations (i.e., task performance and conscientiousness evaluation) while enhancing negative evaluation (i.e., deviance behavior) toward followers. We conducted two studies. Study one was conducted with a 25 participants interview and data of 297 employees to show scale validity of perceived leader busyness. Study two was conducted with 377 employees and their direct supervisors. Applying the complex modeling method, we found that followers with low-level perspective taking are less likely to engage in interaction avoidance behavior, even when perceiving leaders as high busyness; interaction avoidance behavior of followers has a positive relationship with counterproductive behavior evaluation of leaders, but a negative relationship with conscientiousness behavior evaluation. This study enriches the dyadic interactions between leaders and followers. In addition, it also shows the burden of perspective taking.

Revisiting the Happy-Productive Worker Thesis from a Eudaimonic Perspective: A Systematic Review

The happy-productive worker thesis (HPWT) is considered the Holy Grail of management research, and it proposes caeteris paribus, happy workers show higher performance than their unhappy counterparts. However, eudaimonic well-being in the relationship between happiness and performance has been understudied. This paper provides a systematized review of empirical evidence in order to make a theoretical contribution to the happy-productive worker thesis from a eudaimonic perspective. Our review covers 105 quantitative studies and 188 relationships between eudaimonic well-being and performance. Results reveal that analyzing the eudaimonic facet of well-being provides general support for the HPWT and a much more comprehensive understanding of how it has been studied. However, some gaps and nuances are identified and discussed, opening up challenging avenues for future empirical research to clarify important questions about the relationship between happiness and performance in organizations.

Why Do We Need Media Multitasking? A Self-Regulatory Perspective

In the digital world of today, multitasking with media is inevitable. Research shows, for instance, that American youths spend on average 7.5 h every day with media, and 29% of that time is spent processing different forms of media simultaneously (Uncapher et al., 2017). Despite numerous studies, however, there is no consensus on whether media multitasking is effective or not. In the current paper, we review existing literature and propose that in order to ascertain whether media multitasking is effective, it is important to determine (1) which goal/s are used as a reference point (e.g., acquiring new knowledge, obtaining the highest number of points in a task, being active on social media); (2) whether a person's intentions and subjective feelings or objective performance are considered (e.g., simultaneous media use might feel productive, yet objective performance might deteriorate); and finally (3) whether the short- or long-term consequences of media multitasking are considered (e.g., media multitasking might help attain one's present goals yet be conducive to a cognitive strategy that leads to lesser attentional shielding of goals). Depending on these differentiations, media multitasking can be seen as both a strategic behavior undertaken to accomplish one's goals and as a self-regulatory failure. The article integrates various findings from the areas of cognitive psychology, psychology of motivation, and human-computer interaction.

Integrating Models of Self-Regulation

Self-regulation is a core aspect of human functioning that helps facilitate the successful pursuit of personal goals. There has been a proliferation of theories and models describing different aspects of self-regulation both within and outside of psychology. All of these models provide insights about self-regulation, but sometimes they talk past each other, make only shallow contributions, or make contributions that are underappreciated by scholars working in adjacent areas. The purpose of this article is to integrate across the many different models in order to refine the vast literature on self-regulation. To achieve this objective, we first review some of the more prominent models of self-regulation coming from social psychology, personality psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. We then integrate across these models based on four key elements—level of analysis, conflict, emotion, and cognitive functioning—specifically identifying points of convergence but also points of insufficient emphasis. We close with prescriptions for future research.

Self-Regulatory Processes, Motivation to Conserve Resources and Activity Levels in People With Chronic Pain: A Series of Digital N-of-1 Observational Studies

Objectives

Motivational and self-regulatory processes during goal pursuit may account for activity patterns in people with chronic pain. This article describes a series of N-of-1 observational studies designed to investigate the influence of goal-related factors on fluctuations in motivation to conserve resources and objectively measured activity levels.

Methods

Four participants with chronic pain who attended a formal pain management program (PMP; 41–59 years old; three female) were recruited and completed digital daily diaries for 11–12 weeks. The daily dairies, delivered via text message, measured self-regulatory fatigue, goal self-efficacy, goal striving, perceived demands, pain, and motivation to conserve resources. Continuously worn accelerometers measured physical activity and sedentary time. Analyses were conducted individually for each participant. The effects of self-regulatory fatigue, goal self-efficacy, goal striving, perceived demands, and pain on motivation to conserve resources, physical activity and sedentary time were assessed with dynamic regression modeling.

Results

Different patterns of associations between the predictors and outcomes were observed across participants. Most associations occurred concurrently (e.g., on the same day). Perceived demand was the only variable to predict motivation to conserve resources, physical activity, and sedentary time. Motivation to conserve resources and sedentary time were most frequently predicted by goal striving and perceived demand. Self-regulatory fatigue and pain intensity both predicted motivation to conserve resources in two participants and sedentary time in one participant. Motivation to conserve resources predicted sedentary time in two participants.

Conclusion

This study was the first to examine the impact of fluctuations in self-regulatory processes on motivation to conserve resources and objective activity levels within individuals with chronic pain. The results generally supported recent affective-motivational views of goal pursuit in chronic pain. This study demonstrated that N-of-1 observational studies can be conducted with patients during a PMP using digital technologies. The use of these approaches may facilitate the application of personalized medicine.

A gender-sensitised weight-loss and healthy living program for men with overweight and obesity in Australian Football League settings (Aussie-FIT): A pilot randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Recent evidence shows that sport settings can act as a powerful draw to engage men in weight loss. The primary objective of this pilot study was to test the feasibility of delivering and to evaluate preliminary efficacy of Aussie-FIT, a weight-loss program for men with overweight/obesity delivered in Australian Football League (AFL) settings, in preparation for a future definitive trial.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

This 6-month pilot trial took place in Perth, Australia. Participants were overweight/obese (Body Mass Index [BMI] ≥ 28 kg/m2), middle-aged (35-65 years old) men. Participants were recruited in May 2018, and the intervention took place between June and December 2018. The intervention involved 12 weekly 90-min face-to-face sessions, incorporating physical activity, nutrition, and behaviour change information and practical activities delivered by coaches at 2 clubs. Data were collected at baseline and immediately postintervention. For trial feasibility purposes, 6-month follow-ups were completed. Outcomes were differences in weight loss (primary outcome) and recruitment and retention rates, self-reported measures (for example, psychological well-being), device-measured physical activity, waist size, and blood pressure at 3 months. Within 3 days of advertising at each club, 426 men registered interest; 306 (72%) were eligible. Men were selected on a first-come first-served basis (n = 130; M age = 45.8, SD = 8; M BMI = 34.48 kg/m2, SD = 4.87) and randomised by a blinded researcher. Trial retention was 86% and 63% at 3- and 6-month follow-ups (respectively). No adverse events were reported. At 3 months, mean difference in weight between groups, adjusted for baseline weight and group, was 3.3 kg (95% CI 1.9, 4.8) in favour of the intervention group (p < 0.001). The intervention group's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was higher than the control group by 8.54 min/day (95% CI 1.37, 15.71, p = 0.02). MVPA among men attracted to Aussie-FIT was high at baseline (intervention arm 35.61 min/day, control arm 38.38 min/day), which may have limited the scope for improvement.

CONCLUSIONS

Aussie-FIT was feasible to deliver; participants increased physical activity, decreased weight, and reported improvements in other outcomes. Issues with retention were a limitation of this trial. In a future, fully powered randomised controlled trial (RCT), retention could be improved by conducting assessments outside of holiday seasons.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12617000515392.

The psychology of task management: The smaller tasks trap

When people are confronted with multiple tasks, how do they decide which task to do first? Normatively, priority should be given to the most efficient task (i.e., the task with the best cost/benefit ratio). However, we hypothesize that people consistently choose to address smaller (involving less work) tasks first, and continue to focus on smaller tasks, even when this strategy emerges as less efficient, a phenomenon we term the “smaller tasks trap”. We also hypothesize that the preference for the smaller tasks is negatively related to individual differences in the tendency for rational thinking. To test these hypotheses, we developed a novel paradigm consisting of an incentive-compatible task management game, in which participants are saddled with multiple tasks and have to decide how to handle them. The results lend weight to the smaller tasks trap and indicate that individual differences in rational thinking predict susceptibility to this trap. That is, participants low in rational thinking preferred to start with a smaller (vs. larger) task and focused more on the smaller tasks regardless of their efficiency. Consequently, their overall performance in the task management game was significantly lower. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings and suggest possible interventions that may help people improve their task management.

Dynamic integration of forward planning and heuristic preferences during multiple goal pursuit

Selecting goals and successfully pursuing them in an uncertain and dynamic environment is an important aspect of human behaviour. In order to decide which goal to pursue at what point in time, one has to evaluate the consequences of one’s actions over future time steps by forward planning. However, when the goal is still temporally distant, detailed forward planning can be prohibitively costly. One way to select actions at minimal computational costs is to use heuristics. It is an open question how humans mix heuristics with forward planning to balance computational costs with goal reaching performance. To test a hypothesis about dynamic mixing of heuristics with forward planning, we used a novel stochastic sequential two-goal task. Comparing participants’ decisions with an optimal full planning agent, we found that at the early stages of goal-reaching sequences, in which both goals are temporally distant and planning complexity is high, on average 42% (SD = 19%) of participants’ choices deviated from the agent’s optimal choices. Only towards the end of the sequence, participant’s behaviour converged to near optimal performance. Subsequent model-based analyses showed that participants used heuristic preferences when the goal was temporally distant and switched to forward planning when the goal was close.

When we pursue our goals, there is often a moment when we recognize that we did not make the progress that we hoped for. What should we do now? Persevere to achieve the original goal, or switch to another goal? Two features of real-world goal pursuit make these decisions particularly complex. First, goals can lie far into an unpredictable future and second, there are many potential goals to pursue. When potential goals are temporally distant, human decision makers cannot use an exhaustive planning strategy, rendering simpler rules of thumb more appropriate. An important question is how humans adjust the rule of thumb approach once they get closer to the goal. We addressed this question using a novel sequential two-goal task and analysed the choice data using a computational model which arbitrates between a rule of thumb and accurate planning. We found that participants’ decision making progressively improved as the goal came closer and that this improvement was most likely caused by participants starting to plan ahead.

A qualitative exploration of mentally tough behaviour in Australian football

The primary aim of this research was to generate insight into observable mentally tough behaviours, or MTb, across different contexts (e.g., training and competition) in an Australian football (AF) environment. A second aim of this research was to explore the utility of MTb as a distinct concept, and identify common behavioural qualities associated with MTb that separate it from other similar constructs. In total, 10 experienced full-time football operations staff were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide, with inductive thematic analysis employed to analyse the data. Five main themes relating to MTb were identified: adaptive development, consistent training conduct, composed performance actions, responsible and accountable, and team supportive. Overall, the findings of the research provided preliminary support for the proposition that there exists a collection of MTb that are displayed more frequently by athletes considered to possess high levels of mental toughness compared to athletes who are perceived to have low levels of this psychological capacity. We propose a collection of necessary and sufficient behavioural qualities and a working definition of MTb to further our understanding of potential strategies to develop MT.

Life Crafting as a Way to Find Purpose and Meaning in Life

Having a purpose in life is one of the most fundamental human needs. However, for most people, finding their purpose in life is not obvious. Modern life has a way of distracting people from their true goals and many people find it hard to define their purpose in life. Especially at younger ages, people are searching for meaning in life, but this has been found to be unrelated to actually finding meaning. Oftentimes, people experience pressure to have a "perfect" life and show the world how well they are doing, instead of following up on their deep-felt values and passions. Consequently, people may need a more structured way of finding meaning, e.g., via an intervention. In this paper, we discuss evidence-based ways of finding purpose, via a process that we call "life crafting." This process fits within positive psychology and the salutogenesis framework - an approach focusing on factors that support human health and well-being, instead of factors that cause disease. This process ideally starts with an intervention that entails a combination of reflecting on one's values, passions and goals, best possible self, goal attainment plans, and other positive psychology intervention techniques. Important elements of such an intervention are: (1) discovering values and passion, (2) reflecting on current and desired competencies and habits, (3) reflecting on present and future social life, (4) reflecting on a possible future career, (5) writing about the ideal future, (6) writing down specific goal attainment and "if-then" plans, and (7) making public commitments to the goals set. Prior research has shown that personal goal setting and goal attainment plans help people gain a direction or a sense of purpose in life. Research findings from the field of positive psychology, such as salutogenesis, implementation intentions, value congruence, broaden-and-build, and goal-setting literature, can help in building a comprehensive evidence-based life-crafting intervention. This intervention can aid individuals to find a purpose in life, while at the same time ensuring that they make concrete plans to work toward this purpose. The idea is that life crafting enables individuals to take control of their life in order to optimize performance and happiness.

A Sustainable Project Management Strategy against Multitasking Situations from the Viewpoints of Cognitive Mechanism and Motivational Belief

In modern society, multitasking is necessary for a worker to accomplish a final goal by their deadline, which could be pursued for either a single goal or multiple goals. Moreover, a worker who has the authority to prioritize their tasks can make plans about the process of behavioral strategies to perform each task by making a to-do list. This strategy is a way of unpacking that which seems to affect the expectancy of goal attainment and heighten the value and importance of the goal. Otherwise, a worker could write a to-do list without specific action plans. These effects of unpacking and packing can be used as management strategies for multitasking engagement and could impact a worker’s cognition differently depending on the goal relations, including if there is a single goal or multiple goals. On the one hand, in pursuit of a single goal, unpacking can facilitate a worker’s judgment of the importance of the task. On the other hand, in pursuit of multiple goals, a worker’s judgment of one task’s importance can conflict with another task due to contradictory unpacking guidelines. Additionally, self-regulation as an intrinsic motivation empowers conscious intentions to neglect the cognitive effects of the to-do list. Therefore, those with low self-regulation tend to be encouraged by the effect of unpacking, but those with high self-regulation have the effects of unpacking inhibited. This theoretical model was constructed to identify the cognitive mechanism and the role of self-regulation on boundary conditions in regard to the different effects on unpacking. This study was confirmed via the two-way experiment (single- and multiple-goal x packing and unpacking) to explore the effects of the cognitive mechanism on task importance. The following test was performed via the three-way experiment, using an additional variable, the levels of self-regulation (low self-regulation and high self-regulation), to verify whether they inhibit cognitive effects. This study suggests that the judgment of task importance is different in accordance with goal relations, packing and unpacking, and self-regulations for sustainable management strategies of multitasking.

An Integrated Approach to Testing Dynamic, Multilevel Theory: Using Computational Models to Connect Theory, Model, and Data

Some of the most influential theories in organizational sciences explicitly describe a dynamic, multilevel process. Yet the inherent complexity of such theories makes them difficult to test. These theories often describe multiple subprocesses that interact reciprocally over time at different levels of analysis and over different time scales. Computational (i.e., mathematical) modeling is increasingly advocated as a method for developing and testing theories of this type. In organizational sciences, however, efforts that have been made to test models empirically are often indirect. We argue that the full potential of computational modeling as a tool for testing dynamic, multilevel theory is yet to be realized. In this article, we demonstrate an approach to testing dynamic, multilevel theory using computational modeling. The approach uses simulations to generate model predictions and Bayesian parameter estimation to fit models to empirical data and facilitate model comparisons. This approach enables a direct integration between theory, model, and data that we believe enables a more rigorous test of theory.

Commitment is Not Enough: A Longitudinal Investigation of Goal Commitment, Confidence, and Depressive Symptoms in Personal Goal Pursuit

Introduction: Symptoms of depression are associated with difficulty achieving personal goals. Empirical investigations suggest that depressed individuals do not differ from healthy controls in their commitment to personal goals (i.e., goal commitment), though they express less confidence in their abilities to achieve goals (i.e., goal-related confidence). Despite the relevance of motivational constructs, including goal commitment and confidence, to both depression and goal striving, there is a dearth of research examining these variables as they relate to depressive symptoms and goal progress across time.

Method: To address this gap, we tracked the goal pursuits of 139 undergraduate participants oversampled for elevated symptoms of depression at a large, Midwestern university at three time-points. Participants completed a baseline assessment that included The Center for Epidemiologic Studies—Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) and a free-response goal-setting activity. They were asked to report goal progress and re-rate commitment and confidence for any not-yet-attained goals 2 weeks later and, finally, to report on goal attainment at a 2-month follow-up.

Results: As predicted, the association between depressive symptoms and concurrently-reported goal commitment was not significant. However, less goal progress and early decreases in goal commitment and confidence reported at 2-week follow-up acted as indirect paths through which baseline depressive symptoms predicted poor longer-term goal outcomes.

Discussion: Future investigators could experimentally test the associations between these variables to better understand the ways in which manipulating one aspect of goal striving might causally influence the others.

Task performance influences general self-efficacy, even without increases in the skills required to achieve success

The current article tests whether task performance influences general self-efficacy without increases in the skills required to achieve success. To do so, an experimental design is applied in which participants predict a random future event, and the relationship between prediction task performance and self-efficacy is observed. This article also tests whether this specific performance/self-efficacy relationship is moderated by (a) perceived illegitimacy of predicting the future and (b) self-assessed ability to predict the future. The results show that prediction task performance indeed influences general self-efficacy, and neither of these two moderators has a significant effect on this relationship. Therefore, performance on a low-stakes task does influence general self-efficacy-at least temporarily. More importantly, task performance is shown to influence self-efficacy even without increases in the skills required to achieve success.

Mitigating influence of transcendence on politics perceptions’ negative effects

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how a cognitive process, transcendence, moderates the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics (POPs) and several work outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants across two studies (Study 1: 187 student-recruited working adults; Study 2: 158 information technology employees) provided a demographically diverse sample for the analyses. Key variables were transcendence, POPs, job satisfaction, job tension, emotional exhaustion, work effort, and frustration.

Findings

Results corroborated the hypotheses and supported the authors’ argument that POPs lacked influence on work outcomes when individuals possessed high levels of transcendence. Specifically, high levels of transcendence attenuated the decreases in job satisfaction and work effort associated with POPs. Additionally, transcendence acted as an antidote to several workplace ills by weakening the increases in job tension, emotional exhaustion, and frustration usually associated with POPs.

Research limitations/implications

This study found that transcendence, an individual-level cognitive style, can improve work outcomes for employees in workplaces where POPs exist. Future studies should use longitudinal data to study how changes in POPs over time affect individuals’ reported levels of transcendence.

Practical implications

Although it is impossible to eliminate politics in organizations, antidotes like transcendence can improve individuals’ responses to POPs.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to utilize an individual-level cognitive style to examine possible options for attenuating the effects of POPs on individuals’ work outcomes.

People as Means to Multiple Goals: Implications for Interpersonal Relationships

The present research examines the implications of having relationship partners who serve as means to multiple goals. Specifically, we test the hypotheses that (a) partners who serve more goals will be evaluated as more interpersonally close, supportive, and responsive than those who serve fewer goals, and (b) partners who serve more goals will be less common in social networks than those who serve fewer goals. Three studies ( N = 1,064) found consistent support for these hypotheses while examining relationships with all members of participants' active social network and their full range of goal pursuits. In addition, we found that the association between number of goals a partner serves and relationship evaluation is stronger for people who perceived their social networks as less (vs. more) instrumental on average, and among people who perceived their relationships as less close, less supportive, and less responsive, on average. Implications for close relationships are discussed.

Mitigating influence of transcendence on politics perceptions’ negative effects

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how a cognitive process, transcendence, moderates the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics (POPs) and several work outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants across two studies (Study 1: 187 student-recruited working adults; Study 2: 158 information technology employees) provided a demographically diverse sample for the analyses. Key variables were transcendence, POPs, job satisfaction, job tension, emotional exhaustion, work effort, and frustration.

Findings

Results corroborated the hypotheses and supported the authors’ argument that POPs lacked influence on work outcomes when individuals possessed high levels of transcendence. Specifically, high levels of transcendence attenuated the decreases in job satisfaction and work effort associated with POPs. Additionally, transcendence acted as an antidote to several workplace ills by weakening the increases in job tension, emotional exhaustion, and frustration usually associated with POPs.

Research limitations/implications

This study found that transcendence, an individual-level cognitive style, can improve work outcomes for employees in workplaces where POPs exist. Future studies should use longitudinal data to study how changes in POPs over time affect individuals’ reported levels of transcendence.

Practical implications

Although it is impossible to eliminate politics in organizations, antidotes like transcendence can improve individuals’ responses to POPs.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to utilize an individual-level cognitive style to examine possible options for attenuating the effects of POPs on individuals’ work outcomes.