PSY 3109 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Mindset, Thought Suppression, Learned Helplessness
28 Apr 2018
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Department
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Professor
November 9, 2017
Mindsets, Personal Control Beliefs, and Self-
Regulation
Mindsets
Even when people have the same goal, they can possess different mindsets that yield different patterns of goal
striving
-Ex. Just do it vs. Careful analysis of the pros and cons
A mindset is a cognitive framework
-It guides a person’s attention, information processing, and decision making
-It includes a person’s thinking about the meaning of effort, success, and failure
-It includes a person’s own personal qualities
It functions as a cognitive motivational system that produces many downstream consequences in one’s thinking,
feeling, and acting
-Different ways of thinking lead to different lifestyles and ways of coping to a situation
Mindsets have two, contrasting motivational systems within them, but people tend towards one system over the other
depending on the situation, personal characteristics, etc.
The Deliberative-Implemental Mindset
Two sequential ways of thinking to differentiate the patterns of thought that occurs during goal-setting versus that
which occurs during goal striving (Gollwitzer & Kinney, 1989)
Deliberative: open-minding way of thinking to consider the desirability and feasibility of a range of possible goals that
one might or might not pursue
-Goal deliberation and formulation of what to do (better mindset for goal setting)
-The focus is on motivation
•Involves all the decision making processes
-Person evaluates the pros and the cons of possible alternatives
Implemental: post-decisional close-minded way of thinking that considers only information related to goal attainment
and shields against non-goal-related considerations
-Planning and action to attain the goal (better mindset for goal striving)
-The focus on volition - concerns the ongoing maintenance and persistence of motivated action
•Involves all the post-decision processes
Setting the goal requires a different mindset from accomplishing the goal
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-NB: these mindsets are sequential
-Once the goal has been selected and committed to, people benefit from switching to an implement mindset (from a
deliberative mindset)
The Promotion-Prevention Mindset
Two different orientations people adopt during goal striving to distinguish an eager improvement-based regulatory
style from a vigilant security-based regulatory style (Higgins, 1997)
-NB: contrasting, not sequential, mindsets
-Usually have one mindset that is stronger than the other
Promotion: focus on advancing the self towards ideals by adopting an eager locomotion behavioural strategy
-Involves a sensitivity to positive outcomes - focus on making good things happen
-A striving to attain what one does not yet have
•“Just do it”
-Concern is with growth, advancement, and accomplishment
-When ideals are realized, the person will feel happy and satisfied
-When the ideals are left unrealized, the person will feel dejected (disappointed, dissatisfied, and sad)
-NB: people can form either a chronic or inducible promotion mindset
•Chronic: usually seen in individuals who have been socialized to belief that one matters in life is to make things
happen
-Tend to take more risk
-Focus on what they can get
-Have hopes, ideals, and aspirations
•Inducible: person may have promotion forces when they’re in an environment that signals possible gains and
opportunities for advancement
-Some situations may put people into a promotion mindset
Prevention: focus on maintaining one’s duties and responsibilities by adopting a vigilant behavioural strategy
-Involves a sensitivity to negative outcomes - focus on avoiding negative outcomes
-A striving to maintain and not lose what one already has
•“Do the right thing”
-People tend to be more cautious and want to avoid loss
-Concern is with safety, security, and responsibility
-When duty has been met, will feel relaxed and calm
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-When obligations are not met, will feel anxious (agitated, uneasy, afraid, and threatened)
-NB: can be chronic or inducible
•Chronic: person has been socialized to believe that what matters in life is preventing bad things from happening
-Will perform their duties in order to keep bad things at bay
•Inducible: can be induced by asking a person to focus on possible losses in terms of one’s social obligations
and responsibilities
How people view success and failure depends on their mindsets
-Promotion focus:
•Success means the presence of a gain
-Change has occurred that made the person advance a present state close to a desired ideal state
-Something good happened
-You succeed if you made some progress
-NB: success is motivating - motivates people to continue striving for the ideal
•Failure means a non-gain
-Inability to improve upon one’s current state
-Failure is not improving and staying where you are
-Failure does not a have a specific meaning; it is seen as a non-event
-NB: means that failure is not motivating
-Prevention focus
•Success means the absence of loss
-Person will strive to maintain a satisfactory state
Promotion
focus
Prevention
focus
-Attention to improvement
needs
-Goals are seen as ideals: hopes
and aspirations
-Situations signaling possible
gain
-Sensitivity is to positive outcomes
-Motivational orientation is to
attain gains
-Behavioural strategy is fast, eager,
locomotion
- Emotionality: cheerfulness versus
dejection
-Attention to security needs
- Goals are seen as oughts:
obligations, responsibilities
-Situations signaling possible
loss
-Sensitivity is to negative
outcomes
-Motivational orientation is to
prevent losses
-Behavioural strategy is cautious,
vigilant, assessment
-Emotionality: calm versus
agitation
Antecedents
Antecedents
Consequences
Consequences
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Document Summary
Even when people have the same goal, they can possess different mindsets that yield different patterns of goal striving. It guides a person"s attention, information processing, and decision making. It includes a person"s thinking about the meaning of effort, success, and failure. It includes a person"s own personal qualities. It functions as a cognitive motivational system that produces many downstream consequences in one"s thinking, feeling, and acting. Different ways of thinking lead to different lifestyles and ways of coping to a situation. Mindsets have two, contrasting motivational systems within them, but people tend towards one system over the other depending on the situation, personal characteristics, etc. Two sequential ways of thinking to differentiate the patterns of thought that occurs during goal-setting versus that which occurs during goal striving (gollwitzer & kinney, 1989) Deliberative: open-minding way of thinking to consider the desirability and feasibility of a range of possible goals that one might or might not pursue.
