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    Sheldon 01 Self-Concord Happy

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    mee SSS Ban Tasha ie Self-Concordance, Goal Attainment, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Can There Be an Upward Spiral? Kennon M. Sheldon and Linda Houser-Marko University of Missouri—Columbia Two studies used the sl-concardance model of healthy gol striving (K. M. Sheldon & A. J. ie, 1989) to examine the motivational jroceses by which people can increas their level of well-eing Ahring x period of time and then msintsin the gain or pethaps ferese i even frter daring the nex Died of time. In Study 1, esterng feshmen with self-oncordant ietvation beter attained their Istemester goals, which ia tur predicted increased adjustment and greater sel-concordance for the ext semester's goal. Increased self concordance in tur predicted even beter goal atanment rig the 2nd semester, which led o further increases in adjusment and to higher levels of ego development by the end ofthe yer. Stay 2 replicated the basic model in &2-week study of shorten ale stn he laboratory. Limits of he model and implications forthe question of how and whether) happiness may be incensed ae dscssed ‘The “pursuit of happiness” is a right accorded w all US, citizens. Bur is the attempt to become happier than we already ate 8 futile quest? Genetic determinist models of happiness suggest that it may be, because level of subjective well-being may be largely determined st birth, If so, then fluctuations away from, fone's own characteristic level of happiness may be only random, temporary, or even illusory (Lykken & Tellegen, 1996). This, “futility” conclosion has also been suggested by research concern- ing adaption level (Headey & Wearing, 1989). For example, al- though lotiery winners usually experience a short-term surge in measured well-being, they are typically no happier 1 year later than they were before (Argyle, 1987; Diener, Sub, Lucas, & Smith, 1999), Thus, the following question arises: Can people pursue increased happiness in such a way tht itis not only attained but, also lasts and perhaps leads 9 even more happiness? We used a five-wave panel design and path-modeling tech niques to testa two-cycle model, in which initial sef-concondant motivation Sheldon & Elliot, 1999) predicts good goal attainment uring the frst cyele. Attainment leads to increased well-being and even more pesitive motivation for the second cycle of striving, ‘which leads to even better attsinment and further increases in well-being. The supportive results presented below indicate that, self-concordant motivation may indeed play an important instiga ing role in such a process. In other words, when people strive “for the right reasons,” they may be abl to initiate an “upward spiral” of positive cutcomes (Ryff & Singer, 1998), with each outcome ‘Kenpon M. Seldon and Linda Houser Marko, Deparment of Payctol- ‘ony, Univesity of Misvour—Columbi, This research was supported by 2 gran from dhe Research Bose ofthe Universiy of Missouri—-Columbi ‘We thank Andrew Blt, Ross Geen, and lan McGregor fr their comments 0 euler versions ofthis acl Correspondence concerning this article should be addested to Kennon M. Sheldon, Deparment of Psychology. University of Missouri~-Colurm bia, 230 East Medlester Hall, Columbia, Mistor, 65211, Electronic mai, may be son 0 sheldonk@missoureds 12 tending to transfer momentum onto the next phase of the sequence However, we also found some interesting limits to this hypothe- sized process ‘The Self-Concordance Model ‘The self-concordance model is rooted in self-determination the cory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985, 1991). Extensive research in the SDT tration has demonstrated the negative effects that control ling social contexts can have on individuals’ motivation, pefor- mance, and adjustment within that domain, Specifically, such contexts may sap individuals’ intrinsic motivation, depress their well-being, and forestall their ability o internalize the doing of ‘what has to be done. For example, an overbearing teacher might take the fun out of mathematics and aso fil to persusde children of the importance of mastering math concepts. ‘The sel-concordance model extends SDT by focusing on peo- ple’s broad personal goal statements, rather than focusing on domain-specific motivation and the situational factors that can influence it (Sheldon, in press). This shift enables researchers to ‘consider proactive motivation and the difficult question of how individuals select (and perhaps misselest) global life initiatives from among the potentially bewildering array of possbiltes (Schwartz, 2000) The self-concordance model also extends SDT. by exploring in detail the longitudinal processes by which initial positive motivation promotes later positive outcomes. For exam- ple, Sheldon and Eliot (1999) used path-modeling techniques to show that sef-concordant goat pursuit promotes sustained effort over time, which leads to greater progress in goals, which leads to more satisfying daily experiences, which lea finally to changes in global weil-being. Thus, as one can se, the mode! is intended t0 address the entire “conatve cycle” (Kanter, 1989; Lite, 1993) by which individuals strive over time, more or less successfully, 10 meet their own needs. From a phenomenological perspective, self-concordance refers to the feeling of ownership that people have (or Jo not have) regarding their self-ntied goals. Even though all idiographic sgoals are self-generated in a nominal sense, past research as AN UPWARD SPIRAL? 153 ‘suggested that “not all personal goals are personal” in an experi- ‘ential sense (Sheldon & Elliot, 1998, p. $46)—dhat is, some people ‘have litle feeling of choice in pursuing their goals, despite the fact ‘that they themselves generated them, As we indicated above, when such is the ease, people are unlikely to do well in their goals (Sheldon & Elliot, 1999) orto henefit as much emotionally even if they do sucesed at them (Sheldon & Kasser, 1998). In short, a person's inability o fully accept and internalize his or her own sated goals may significantly impede that person's attempts to effect positive change in his or her lif, ‘We operationally defined se-concordance as the rted extent to ihich people pursue their set of personal goals with feelings of intrinsic interest (Csikszentmihalyi, 1993) and identity congruence (Bronstein & Gollwitzer, 1996; Lite, 1993), rather than with, feelings of introjected guilt and external compulsion (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 1991). According to SDT, these four types of mo vation (intrinsic, identified, introjected, and extemal) represent a continuum of internalization ranging from very much, t0 some, 0 none at all (Deci & Ryan, 1991; Ryan & Connell, 1989). We assumed that in the special ease of personal goals, such ratings, index the degree to which the goals match or well represent the person's enduring values and developing interests that is, they hep indicate whether the person i “correct” inthe conscious goals that he oF she selects. Sheldon and Kasser (1995, 1998) reported data consistent with this assumption, in that participants with higher self-concordance scores perceived more linkages between their goals and their long-term values and better enjoyed the process of goal pursuit ‘We should note that other methodologies might also be used 0 assess how well a person's goals fit that person. For example, researchers have examined matches between participants’ goals ‘and their social motives (Brunstein, Schultheiss, & Graessman, 1998), personal resources (Diener & Fujita, 1995), and personality, traits (McGregor, McAdams, & Little, 2000) as predictors of positive outcomes. An advantage ofthe methodology that we used inthe present article is that it provides a link to salient research and theory concerning the nature of optimal moxivation, cognitive functioning, and psychosocial development (Deci & Ryan, 1991). In this light, we construed our measure as indexing the extent to which « person has access to important organismic resources and integrative capacities during the period of striving. “Thus far, the slf-concordance model deseribed above has been applied to only one conative cycle; that is, the outcomes of a particular striving eycle have never been “fed back into the sys- tem” and examined as potential causes of later outcomes in sub- sequent cycles, Accordingly, an important and as yet unexamined question forthe model is whether goalrlated gains lat overtime and whether they in some way influence later performance. Ifthe ‘ins afforded by iil selfconcordance in turn have influence on Tater self-concordance, and thus on even Ter gins, then the {quality of an individuals initial motivation becomes an even more important ise and a potentially important focus for interventions (Sheldon, Kasser, Smith, & Share, in press). IG instead, goal- related gains in adjustment are merely random fluctuations, after which individuals quickly return to their own baselines (Lykken & ‘Tellegen, 1996), then the imponance of goal ataioment is dimin- ished. In our research program, we assume that such gains are not, arbitrary or transient but rather represent one ofthe most important means by which the “sel-constructing living systems” (Ford, 1987) that we call human beings can enhance and develop themselves. Objectives of the Present Study Extending the Self:Concordance Model to New Outcomes In addition to generalizing the set-concordance model to two consecutive striving eyces (as we discussed above), in the present research, we also extended past rescarch by using important new ‘outcome measures. Aldhough the model has been applied thas far only co predict changes in self-reported mood and life satisfaction, we reasoned that self-concontance should have positive effects on almost any outcome because sef-concordance (in theory) repre sents the most optimal or organismically integrated state of per- sonal functioning. In the fist and most important study, we fo- cused on the important real-world outcome of adaptation t0 college—namely, which incoming freshmen best adjust t0, and ‘even thrive in, their challenging new circumstances? ur primary measure of adaptation was th often-used Student Adjustment to College Questionnaire (SACQ: Baker & Sityk, 1984), which assesses emotional adjustment, social adjustment, academic adjustment, and institutional attachment. Use of the ‘SACQallowed us to compare our results with other findings inthe college counseling literature (Brooks & DuBois, 1995; Gerdes & Mallinckrodt, 1994). [n addition, we used the Extended Objective Measure of Identity Stans (EOMIS; Adams, Bennion, & Huh, 1989) co measure changes in level of ego development from the beginning to the end ofthe freshman year (Hy & Loevinger, 1996;, Marcia, Waterman, Matteson, Archer, & Orlofsky, 1993), atempt- ing to further extend the generalizability ofthe self-concordance ‘model 10 the question of how global personality development ‘occurs. Finally, we examined Freshman-year grade point average GPA; conrolling for American College Test [ACT] scores) as a third “new outcome variable, one with obvious real-world ramifications Going Beyond Past Studies of Freshman Adjustment ‘Most prior personality-based research concerning college a= justment has bad substantial imitations, Fist, most studies inthis area are cross-sectional (Rice, FitzGerald, Whaley, & Gibbs, 1995), meaning that predictors are measured simultaneously with ‘outcomes. Although such results are offen interpreted in causal terms, i is only by using within-subject, longitudinal designs and bby measuring change in a variable that one can plausibly argue that ‘hypothesized predictor hus had a causal effect on that variable (Cohen & Cohen, 1983), Second, athough many different person- ty variables have been studied as predictors of incoming fresh= ‘men's adjustment, ineluding ego strength (Fukunisht, 1996), locus ‘of control (Martin & Dixon, 1994), and the Big Five personality traits (Brooks & DuBois, 1995), few personality studies have used dynamic (ie. motivational) constwets. There is good reason to believe that goal and modivational constructs are especially impor- tant for understanding students’ adjustment (Cantor & Langston, 1989), An additonal advantage of our approach is that personal goals possess significant changeablity and malfeability (Emmons, 1989), Thus, goal assessment may offer counselors substantial leverage in trying to help students or clients to clarify and perhaps 154 SHELDON AND HOUSER-MARKO change their desires and objectives (Sheldon et al, in press; Wadsworth & Ford, 1983). Examining the Stability of Gains in Well-Being Finally, we were also able to examine the questions raised inthe ‘opening section of this article. Is it possible not only to attain ‘enhanced happiness through one's goal pursuits but aso to attain ‘even greater happiness through one’s subsequent pursuits? Or do people instead tend to slip back to their original condition, regard less of what happens during the second cycle of stiving? Specific Models Tested in the Present Studies AS a fist step, we again tested essential paths from prior self-concordance research (Sheldon & Elliot, 1999), In particular, Wwe examined shether earlier findings linking selé-concordance to attainment, and attainment to increased well-being, could be rep licated for the expanded set of outcome variables. Because of the repeated-cyeles design, these hypotheses could be tested twice: ‘once in the fist striving period using the full sample and once in the second period using a somewhat reduced sample (due to triton) More important, we examined linkages among variables reac ing across the (wo successive striving periods, using LISREL ppah-modeling techniques (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1993). Figure 1 presents the integrated two-cycle model that was tested using all five waves of data. As one can see in Figure 1, we reasoned that self-concordant initial motivation would promote goal attainment during the first period, which would lead to increased well-being and performance atthe end of the period. Regarding the linkage between cycles, we expected that fist-period attainment would lead to increased self-concordance regarding goals forthe second Period. in other words, “success begets further success,” in large pant because it enhances participants’ sense of ownership oftheir Personal initiatives, in addition to enhancing participants’ conf dence in their goal-setting skills and their expectancies regarding future attainment (Bandura, 1989). We further hypothesized that, this increased self-concordance would be linked to even greater attainment ducing the second cycle, which would lead to even further increaes in well-being, tis important to note that our mode! predicts only an indirect effect from sef-concordance to increased wel-being, rather than & direc effect mediated by goal atainment (Holmbeck, 1997). This, lack of a direct relationship between intial seléconcordance and later outcomes is important, given that increased sel-concordance is itself a Imer outcome. If there were a direct effect, then self. concordance would, in effect, be producing more of itself. In such a model, those who happened to start out in the top half of the self-concordance distribution would tend to move themselves ever higher within that distribution over time, an obvious ilogicay. Instead, self-concordance merely provides better starting, condi- tions forthe sustained striving process that must follow. I is also, ‘important to note that in our model, enbanced well-being does not play a causal role in the second cycle; instead it isa sie effect, with the dynamic “action” being carried by increased self concordance and increased goal attainment, Ancillary Analyses in Study 1 Im one ancillary set of analyses, we attempted to validate key constructs (specifically, sef-concondance and psychological ad- jusiment) by using non-self-report as well as self-report method logies. We did this because these rather subjective constructs are susceptible to many possible biases and distorting influences. IF Knowledgeable observers can agree on the evel of a participant's adjustment or the quality of his or her motivation, then theoretical interpretations of self-report results are given new weight. How- ‘ever, if observers’ reports do not converge with the participant's ‘own judgments, then there is reason to doubt the importance of self-report results. We expected to find significant convergences among these sources of information. [As a second set of ancillary analyses, we examined whether ‘models would be supported even when we controlled fora relevant trait variable, namely, neuroticism. OF course, neuroticism is aa important determinant of well-being and may itself be largely ‘genetically determined (Lykken & Tellegen, 1996). To find that ‘goal-related outcomes persist when neuroticism is partialed out of the equation would support the argument that goal pursuits are important vehicles to new well-being regardless of one's chara: teristic tits and temperament (Elliot & Sheldon, 1998). ln fac, we expected this to be the case, given that neuroticism is presum: ably 8 stable trait and should not have a strong influence on the process by which individuals change theic levels of well-being ‘over time. In contrast, goal variables represent the person's ener- sized initiatives for change and should be able 19 produce such change, if anything can. ‘As a final Study 1 ancillary analysis, we also examined whether aggregate goal progress during the year would predict increases in ego development from the beginning to the end of the freshman year. In other words, might the grester overall goa attainment help Sel-Concordance | | 1" period | [increased Set Increased Increased Adjustment for 1 Stiving — | >) Attainment |->} Concortancetfer [->} attainment [+] from beginning of 2” period 2 Striving period | | in 2 period | "| period to end of 2" Period Increased Agjustment ftom beginning of fst Period to endo 1" end Figure 1. Twoveyce path model seed bythe present stasis AN UPWARD SPIRAL? 155 participant to better consolidate theie personal identities (Sheldon ‘eal in press)? Consistent with our assumption tha personal goat Pursuit and atainment are important means by which people can develop themselves, and also consistent with our supposition that autainment-related gains in adjustment or well-being are more than transient fluctuations, wee hypothesized tha such a relation would indeed be found ‘Summary and Hypotheses ‘The primary purpose of Study 1 was to test the integrative two-cycle path mode! presented in Figure 1, using increased stu~ dent adjustment, increased self-concondance, and better than ex pected academic performance as outcomes. Before arriving at this full test, however, we first (a) examined the convergence of self-report motivation and adjustment measures with measures ‘based on parent and peer reports; (b) tice tested important prop ‘sitions within the single-cyele model, once foreach semester; and (6) examined whether the self-concordance to attainment and at- ‘ainment 10 adjustment effects within the single-cycle model would persist even after the effects of participants’ level of neu- rotcism was partialed out. Finally, after the full st, we examined \hether adjustment gains made inthe fst eycle lasted through the second cycle, or whether intially progressing participants instead tended to regress back to their stating point during the second cycle. Study 1 Method Participants All prticpans were first-year students in the class of 2002 atthe Univesity of Missouri—Columbia. Some participants were recruited by rail duing the summer price to mticuain, and others were recruited ‘fom introductory psychology classes during the fist 2 weeks of the Semester All participants were offeed a $25 monetary inventive for ‘Completing the enti Yearlong study, and inoductry psychology students ‘were aleo offered experimental credit for thee parcpation inthe stay. "Although 299 stents completed a preliminary questionaire, oly 189 followed through to complete all first Semester assessments This sample of 189, on whom we tested the frst-emeser model, consisted of 1 men tnd 158 women. Although we usualy observe such gender imbalances in ‘ur udergradute samples, the magne of he difference this partc- ‘lar sample was unexpected. Helping to mitgnte concerns regarding gear cralzaiity, however, supplementary analyses revealed neither main ef- fects noc moderator effects of gender on important variables and relationships. Thus, we do ot fuer discuss gender ‘One hundred and founcen ofthe 189 fistsemester participants conin- ‘ved on to compet all assessments during the second semester. The 14 ‘aricipats who competed the entice study ditlered in several ways frm the 75 who dropped oa ater te fst semester (eis discussed below). The fenfre twocycie or five-wave model could be tested only for te 114 Parcipants who completed all pas ofthe study General Procedure and Time Line Ihneresed participants completed the preliminary quetonaare packet a tome. This qustionnaite packet included he ntl identity staas measure and a measire of partiipats' expected adjustment to eolege. Paricipants Irought these completed packets to the laboratory eal inthe semester at hich time they were asked to generate and rate a set of eight personal goal forthe semester. Paicipants also completed 2 12-iem neuroticism scale at this time (Costa & MeCrae, 1989). During this inital period parents were also mailed questionnaires, which asked each area rate, (separately) how wel they expected their cil 0 cust college, wing the same inventory thatthe child was given. Midway through the semester, Ptcpants were mailed a short quesonnaize assessing their degree of aiainment of thee eight gels, which they completed and mailed back 0 1s They resrned othe laboratory in December to complete the adjustment measure again this time wit espect other atal eve of adjustmca © college hat semester Tn January fee Chests break, participants again turned w the lab to generate and rte personal goals, this time conceming the second semester. They were allowed to stain the old goals if they wished. In ealy March, parcipams were again mailed short questionaie that assessed thei atsiament of their goals Also included inthis maiing were three sealed envelopes, which participants were asked 10 give to close frends sae associates (fered 1038 “pecs”. Each envelope comsined a ques tionnaire incoting some of tbe adjustment measores, which the peer compleed with reference to the participant. Pees were offered a Totery incentive to complete the questionnaire and returned these forms diet 10 us In ate Apel er early May participants resurned to the lb a inal time, toagain complete the djusrent measure a well the Final deniy Sus Measures Goals. The goal assessinent procedure was based on the personal projects model (Lite, 1993), Separate asessnens were cried ou at he Deginning of each semester, each inthe manne deserbed below. Goals were defined as “projects that we think about, plan for, eany out, and sometimes (hough not always) complete or succeed at." After being shown ‘xamples, participants sete asked to list eight goals that would lat “at least trough the end ofthe semester” Goal sted y acta participants include “pet goa grates,” “yet avolved in campus organization.” "get, 1 know lots of people," "don’t gin weigh." nd “all my parents once 3 week” ‘Next, partcpans rated why they were pursuing each goal in tems of| ach of four diferent reason: extemal (ou srive fortis goal because somebody else wants You t, oF because te situation seems 0 compe it. Inuojected Ufou strive for ths goal because you would fel ashamed, uly, or ancous if you did’) desi (You sive for this goa! because ‘ow really believe thot ita important goal to have, and ininsc (You ‘rive for this goal becaute ofthe enjoyment or stimaation which hat ga Drosides you). AV (nota all becaute ofthis reason) to 9 (completely Decause of this reason) scale 92s used. As noted in the introduction, we assumed that inthe cave of selpenerated personal goal, sich etings feflec the degree to which the goals match the person's impli values and imereats (Sheldon & Eliot, 1998, 1999) As in past researc, single Self concordance sore was compued by summing te eight identified and the eight itisi ratings and then robiatng the eight extetal and te ight intojected tings (Cronbach's a= 78 forthe fs semester and.75, Tor the second semester. Midway through each semester, participants completed a questionaire in which they were asked, “How well re you doing in each goal” sing 21 (0 at all ell) 10 7 (very well scale. First-semester and second Semester atainment scores were compoted by averaging these ratings cso the eight gos. " ttion analyses revealed no dflerence between the $0 immediate dropouts and the 189 remaining paticpans in tens of expected asst ‘ment, denty status, fife sil, or ACT scores, suggesting hat these ely ‘ropouts were different from the rest of ou sample 156 ‘SHELDON AND HOUSER: MARKO General motivation for college. Ie the preliminary questionnaire packet, we also asked parieipants wo rate thei general motivation for tending college in terms ofthe same four reasons (external, intojeted. ‘denied, and inn). We used thse four ratings to create a self coneoeiant college motivation variable, which we examined a a conver- feat measore of sel-concordance in persooality. In addition, we asked fich parent to rate the participant's motivation for atending college i terms ofthe same four reasons. Selfconcotdant college motivation vasi- ables were created separately for each parent. These wo parent variables ‘were aio used to validate and suppor the parcipan’sselEzepots of seif-concordance. Despite follow-up eters, not all parents returned the ‘geestonnsres (156 of the mothers and 137 ofthe fers of the 189 Firstsemeserparipuns returned the quesonnaize). Thus the sample size for these analyses was somewhat reduced fom the fll sample siz ‘Adjusment. As woted euler. our primary measure of adjustment was the SACQ (Baker & Sirk, 1988), This a well validated 67 tem inven tory tat hasbeen widely used in he college counting literature (Brooks £& Dulics, 1995; Gerdes & Mallinchzok, 1984), The inventory contains four subscales: Social Adjustment, Emotional Adjustment. Insationa, [Atchment, and Academic Adjustment. Baker and Siyk reported that the subscales can be examined separately ra glabl score can be used. In the present stay, we focused primarily on the global score because we did not, have hyprtesessbout which specific faces of alusiment shoud be most, inpuenced by se terated goa! pursuit In the pciminary questionnaire, the SACO items were worded somewhat iferemty than they were in ter administrations peifaly, participants were asked how they expected 10 feel during he fst semester athe university (See Baker, MeNei, Sry, 1985). Am expected adjustment score was computed by averaging all items (ater appropriae recodigs). This expected adjustment variable was used primaily asa covariate, 1 focus the firs-semeseranayees on changes (positive or negative) in paricpans’ ajustment, relative to ther ov expected levels of adjustment. The SACQ was administered again in December and in April by asking participans how they felt atthe present, time. Possomester 1 and Postsemeser 2 adjustment scores were computed from these ratings “The same STitem quesonnaite was also administered 10 cach part, asking the parents how thy expected their child to fel during the fst, semester of college. Mothers’ expected adjustment and fathers’ expected adjustment variables were derived from these rtngs, These variables were ned to help validate participants’ sefxeported adjustment. As we noted hove, the sample iz for these parent variables was somewhat smaller than the fal sample size. Tn aon, im March, the thee pers selected by the paticipant were ‘sch asked to complete the Social Ajustnent snd Emotions Adjostment subscales ofthe SACQ, with respect to the paneipant’s current level of adjustment. For each respondent, we combined the two subscales 1 6om- ‘ute a pee’s acta! adjustment variable Not all peers returned these ‘questonzlrs. We averaged the responses that ere recived (, 2, oF 3) to crete single score foreach participant. OF course partcipants for whom no peer reumed the questionnaire bad missing dat on his variable ts, as We noted above, the sample sie for these peer variables was ‘someshat smaller than the all sample size. Pee-rated SACQ scores were also used to help validate patiipan' se repos of adjustment. ‘deny stam, Because levels of ego development change slowly. iat ll, during the college years (Cohn, 1998; Marci et al, 1995), we me sued this construct ony twice, a he beginning and the end of te su. Specially. we twice administered the EOMIS (Adams et al, 1989), ‘which was developed to represent he vartons in entity satu specified by Erksoniandevelopmeata theory (Erikson, 1963; Maria etal, 1993) 1s our study. we incladed bot the eighttem Occupational Lent scale and the composite Ovtem measure of interpersonal identity (which ad dresses sex roles, friendship, recreation, and dating: see Adams et al, 1989), Inclsion of thee two measures enabled ust examine our dynamic ou variables as pedis of two important outcome: students” ability 0 ‘comoidnte their career plan and their ability 10 consolidate their social, ‘entities within the new milieu, To cesecontnaous variables for come Tational analysis, foreach consvuct and measurement occasion, we com puted a singe achieved identity score by summing the achieved tems and Subiretng the difasion items.” We also compute an agsezate achieved ‘dentiy score by averaging all ive subscales (vocational iad and the four subtypes of inerpersonal identi). This variable allowed an omibus test ofthe hypothesis of ego developmental change. “Academic performance. tthe end of he yea, the university registrar provided us wih data on participants incoming ACT scores (he required tes atthe University of Missour, thei fall GPA, and thie spring GPA. Fall GPA and spring GPA wore used as primary outcome measures, ACT sores were used asa covariate to feu the ayes on academe perfor ‘mance relative to measured academic ably. Results Descriptive Statistics ‘Table 1 provides descriptive statistics forall major study vat ables in the temporal order in which they were measured. As. we noted above, there were no gender differences for any of these variables. However, some within-subject differences emerged among measures repeated over the first and second semesters Specifically, the sample as a whole experienced a significant decline in SACQ adjustment from expected {0 post-first semester (M = 15.15 vs. 14.95, respectively), 1188) = 1.98, p< 08. Suggesting that these differences do not merely represent the gap between expected and actual, there was also a marginally sigaifi- ceant decline for those who remained in the study between the ‘ost-first-semester and the post-second-semester actual adjustment scores (M = 15.13 vs, 14.95, respectively), (113) = 1.86, p <.07. Finally, there was also a marginally significant decline in GPA ‘between the fall and spring semesters, (113) = 1.84, p <07, for ‘those who remained inthe study. These findings concur with other results suggesting that the freshman year i difficult and takes atoll ‘on students (Sher, Wood, & Gotham, 1996). It is interesting however, that there was also significant sample-wide increase in "The Insiuionsl Atachment and Academic Adjustment subecales ‘were omited from the peer questionnaires in the interest of brevity, We Should note tat rezesion analyses reveled tha the Social Adjsiment and Emotional Adjustment subscales together accounted foe 88% and 86% ofthe variance. respectively, in participants’ expected adjustment and postfistsemester adjustment scores, suggesting tat including ooly the ‘Emotional Adjustment and Social Adjustment subscales in the per ques ‘onnires sil allowed a close approximation ofthe total score that pers ‘wouldve provided given the opperniy * One approach wih such daa iso use median splits to asign partic: ‘pants to particular identity caleporie ie, achieved, foreclosed, moro rium, or dffosed; Marcia eta, 1993). However, the data generated by s0ch a procedure ze problematic i two way. Fist, ategrical dua are ot easily amenable 1o correlational analyses ofthe ype presented below. ‘Second, asignment ocatgory is made relative to sample means: thas. 2 particular sample is unusually mature or immature, median splis may result in miseategorization of many participants (Waterman, 1999), To voi these problems and to rede the data, we chose to create cominuous fegodevelopment variables by subtracting difusion from achievement scores (A, Waterman, personal communication, October 19, 1999). Al ‘though this procedure didnot ake moratoriim and frelorae scores ito account, this was deemed aceptable given the inherent ambiguity involved In locating the later two constructs om continuum of ego development. AN UPWARD SPIRAL? 157 Table 1 Descriptive Statistics for Primary Study Variables Variable ” 80 Ina nd Ist semester ‘Combined ACT score 2638377 Expected adjustment om ee Achieved identity nat rae im Istsemestr self concordance 59533189 Newrotcism 2m ana Ietsemestratinment ap os? 8 Pose iscsemester adjusenent Mos a7 Iatsemester GPA, ee Ce ary 2nd semester "and semester sof oncordance ssl 4st 2ndsemester atuiament rey rey Prst-2nd-semeser adjustment ass last te 2nd-semester GPA 32900 OSB ts ‘Achieved entity i235 ese ‘Note. ACT = American College Test; GPA = grade point average aggregate identity achievement from the beginning to the end of the year, (113) = 310, p < 01. This finding suggests that personal growth may sill occur even as a person experiences stress- of trauma-teated reductions in immediate happiness or adjustment (see Tedeschi, Parks, & Calhoun, 1998). No between- semester differences were observed for the alsinment or self concordance variables. Validational Correlations ‘Table 2 provides correlations between self-reported and other- reported SACQ adjustment measures. As one can see, there was, significant convergence between these measures. It is notable that, the mothers and fathers’ expected adjustment variables were more strongly associated with their children’s expected adjustment than, with children’s later actual adjustment, which is logical given how ‘much closer in time and context these intial ratings were. In a Similar manner, peer-rated adjustment (data collected late in the second semester) was most closely associated with postsecond> semester adjustment, also as one would expect, assuming that ‘observers’ reports were sensitive to the participants’ state at 2 particular moment in time. Demonstrating further convergence among measures, mothers’ and fathers ratings correlated 48 (x 131, p< .O1), mothers’ ratings correlated .27 with later peer Table2 ratings (n = 79, p <8), and fathers’ ratings correlated 28 with peer ratings (n = 72, p < 08). ‘Table 3 provides the coreations between parent-rated motiva tion for college attendance and the three participaat-rated motiva- tion measures. AS one ean see, both mothers’ and fathers ratings of participants’ self-integrated reasons for attending college were associated with participants’ self-rated integrated reasons for al- tending college. In addition, these two parent variables were si- nificantly associated with participants’ first-semester goal self concordance, These findings suggest that, at a given moment in time, participants were in a more or les slf-nteprated motiva- tional state, on which both they and observers could agree. How- ‘ever, this state also seemed to be amenable to change, given that, pareats’ ratings of initial concordant college motivation were not associated with participants’ second-semester goal self ‘concordance (see Table 3) and also given that participants” fist- semester and second:-semester goal self-concordance measures only correlated .48 (i.e, the test-retest coefficient was not eX ‘wemely high). Testing the Single-Cycle Model Again, the primary point ofthe study was co testa simultaneous two-cycle model of how postive change and development can ‘cur, focusing on initial self-concordant motivation as an impor- tant instigating variahle, However, before proceeding to this most complex analysis, we first tested the basic single-cycle model, separately in each ofthe two semesters, to examine its replicailty lover two different time periods with wo somewhat different samples. Accoeding to this model, self:concordant motivation pro- ‘motes better goal attainment, Goal atainment in turn leads to Increases in performance and adjustment-related outcomes. “Table 4 presents correlations between the first-semester vari- ables. As one can see, self-concordance was positively associated with goal atainment (» = .28, p <.01), which is consistent with the assumption of a direct effect of initial sel-integrated mativa- tion on later attainment, To examine the effects of attainment on positive outcomes, we conducted a regression analysis to predict post-firt-semester adjustment. Expected adjustment was entered in the frst step, to focus the longitudinal analysis on adjustment relative to expectations, and was a highly significant predictor, as ‘we expected. Attainment was entered atthe second step and Was found to have a significant effect (B = 32, p < 01), supporting ‘the assumption that doing well in one's goals over a period of time Correlations Between Self-Reported Adjustment and Parent- and Peer-Reported Adjustment Mothers’ expected djstment Seltseponted adjustment Expected adjustment 322" 56) Post Ist-semerterajstment 178 (186) 24° (103) Post 2nd-semesteraljustnent ters reports of patcpans’adustment Fathers’ expected Pees? actual juste 20° (137) 19 @n 16} (137) 21° 1) 22198) S09) Nowe Puen’ expected adjustment ratings and participants sereprted adjustment ratings were made in ‘August and September, prior to or near the beginning ofthe first semester eer” actual adjustment ratings Were ‘bade in Marc, near he end of the second semester. Sample tzes is) foreach eorelation ae in parehes. We spe 0s p< Ob 158 Table3 SHELDON AND HOUSER-MARKO Correlations Between Self Reported Concordance Measures and Parent-Reported Concordance Measures Parca reported variable Mosher’ rating of self-concondnce of parcpans" reasons for Fathers’ cating of sl-concordance ‘of panicipant reasons for Selérepoted variable tending college ending college Set-concondant reasons for tending colle 258) 40" (135) SetRceartant reasons for pursing Ist-erestr goals 20° 156) 17" (36) seltconeordant reasons for poring 2nsemester goals 196 (123), 14,108) None ‘omelation are piven in pareatese. Spee. p< OL is an important means by which one can become (relatively) better adjusted. To determine whether the effect was specific to particular forms of adjustment, we conducted follow-up analyses examining, ‘each of the four subscales of the SACQ separately (Social Adjust- ment, Emotional Adjustment, Academic Adjustment, and Insitu- tional Attachment, as measured in December), also controlling for the appropriate expected adjustment scores. Attainment was found to have significant positive effects in every case A second regression used fall GPA as the dependent measure [ACT score was entered a the first step, and attainment was entered at the second step. As we expected, ACT score was significant in this analysis (B = 51, p < 01), Most important, atainment manifested the predicted significant effect (B= 18, p <_01) at Step 2. We next tested the same single-cycle model for the second semester, Before doing this, however, we conducted atition anal- yses to find out ifthe 75 participants who dropped out after the first semester differed from the 114 participants who remained. AS revealed by 1 tests, the dropouts did not dfer from the remaining prtcipants on any of the initia variables (ie., expected adjust- ment, life skis, fits-semester self-concordance, of goal expec- tancies). However, the dropouts were marginally significantly lower in mid-semester goal attainment, (187) = 1.82, p < 10; achieved a significantly lower fall GPA, (187) = 3.50, p < 01; and were also lower in postfrst-semester adjustment, 1187) = 2.80, p <.05.Itis perhaps most evealing, that they were lower in ACT score (M = 25.23 vs. 27.09), (187) = 341, p <.01 ‘Table 4 All atings were made pir to or near the beginning ofthe ist semester. Sample sizes (ns) foreach ‘measured the previous year. This pattern suggests that, although study dropouts expected to do as well in their goals and expected to adjust as well overall, their more limited academic ability cconduced to poorer performance and lower actual adjustment and also led them to withdraw from our study. Thus, the second- semester model was tested (below) on 2 somewhat more able ‘group of students Table 5 presents the correlations between all major second- semester variables, As one can see, slf-concordance was again Positively associated with attinment (r = .34, p < 01), which was again consistent with our assumption of a direct relationship between these two variables. A regression was conducted with [postsecond-semester adjustment as the dependent messure, Post- first-semester adjustment was entered atte frst step to focus the ‘analysis on changes in adjustment relative to the end ofthe frst semester. As we noted above, the adjustment test-setest coefficient as significant, At Step 2, the second-semester attainment variable ‘was significant (B =" 20, p < .01), again indicating that goal attainment was one means by which individuals became better adjusted, relative to others in the sample. Separate analyses of the four SACQ subscales revealed significant effects of attainment on positive change forall except the Emotional Adjustment subscale We then conducted a second regression analysis, with spring GPA as the dependent measure. ACT score was entered in the first sep. Second:-semester attainment was entered atthe second step and was again found to predict academic performance, controlling for academic ability (B = .17, p <.08). First Semester: Correlations Between Major Variables (N = 189) Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 1. Expected adjustment | — 2 Seltconcerdance ae = 3 Atsinment Sos eee 4 Pos-istsemester ajusment age Dae agee 5. Semester GPA We age pee ae 6 ACT score 15 03 o 26 e Nowe. GPA = grade point average: ACT = American College Test Tp eos. Mp e On AN UPWARD SPIRAL? 159 Table 5 Second Semester: Correlations Between Major Variables (N~ 114) Variable 1, Post-tstsemester adjustment 2, Setf-concondance 3 Atainment 4. Post-2nd semester adjustment 5. Semester GPA 6. ACT score 05, p= As an ancillary analysis, we controlled for neuroticism while examining the effects of selfeoncordance on attainment and of atainment on increased adjustment in both semesters. In the frst, semester, neuroticism had its own negative effect on goal attain- meat (B= ~24, p < 01), but self-concordance remained signif Jcant (B = 19, p< O1). Goal atainment also remained a signif ‘cant predictor of increased adjustment (B = 28. p <.01) with neuroticism in the equation; it i interesting that neuroticism pre- dicted decreased adjustment following the fist semester (B =.31, p < 01), In the second semester, self-concordance also remained a significant predictor of goal atainment with neuro cism in the equation (B = 32, p < 01}; neuroticism was not significant. Gal atainment continued to predict positive changes in adjustment (B = 20, p < 01) with neurotieism in the equation, and neuroticism agein predicted decreased adjustment from the beginning to the end of the semester ( = 18, p < 5). ‘As fina ancillary analysis, we examined whether participants had changed their goals between the ftst and second semesters, A count was made of how many of the second-semester goals were the same as those in the first semester (M = 2.57, 3D = 2.56). This variable did not affect any of the aforementioned results. Testing the Proposed Linkage Between the Two Semester Models AAs Figure 1 shows, we hypothesized that strong goal attainment uring the first semester would promote increases in self- ‘concordance from the First to the second semester (Sheldon eta, in press) To test this hypothesis, we regressed second-semester selfconcordance on frst-semester self-concordance and fist ‘semester goa attainment. In this analysis (N= 114), the test-retest coefficient for self-concordance was significant (B = 42, p < (01); more important, fistsemester goal attainment was also si nificant (B= 23, p < 01). This finding indicates tha the gains in self-knowledge or self-asurance afforded by attaining one's goals in one cycle may enable one to select more sel appropriate goals, in the next cyele or feel more identification with and interest in ‘whatever goals one selects Testing the Entire Two-Cycle Model Next, we used the LISREL 8 program (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1993) to simultaneously test the entire yearlong model. First, we focused on SACQ adjustment, specifying paths as shown in Fig lure 1.* In addition to these theoretically derived paths, we also included paths from expected adjustment to post GPA = grade point average: ACT = Amenian College Tes. adjustment, from postfirs-semeser adjustment to post-second Semester adjustment, from fist-semester seléconcorlance. to secont-semester slfconcordance, and from fst-semester goal atiinment to second-emester goa attainment. We added the tater constraints to focus the analysis on change in these constructs ‘unfolding over tine All specified paths were found to be significant inthis mode ‘To evaluate the overall fit of the model, we examined the chi square statistic. We also examined the goodness-of-fit index (GED, the ft statistic recommended by Joreskog and Srbom (1993) the normed fit index (NFI), which has long been popular in the structural equation modeling (SEM) literature Tanaka, 1987) and the comparative ft index (CFT; Bene, 1990), which can eomect for the NFV's tendency to underestimate fit in small samples Nonsinificant chi-square values and fit indices of 90 or greater axe typically held indicate good it Tanaka, 1989) “Although the aforementioned model represented the data well cco othe formal fit statistics (GH = 95, NFI= 91, CEI = 98), chi-square was significant, (11, N = 112) = 2078, p < 04, suggesting an imperfect ft, Modification indices suggested that a path should be included from expected adjustment 10 first semester goal attainment. Is notable that in eater longitudinal rodeling. we were also led to include such a path (sce Sheldon & it, 19, Studies 1 and 3}; agin, it appears tht inal adjus- ment or well-being may have been an important predictor of Iter postive outcomes, consistent withthe Findings of Feist, Bodner, Jacobs, Miles, and Tan (1995). Inclusion of this path yielded the following quite adequate fit statistics: 200, N = 192) = 9.46, p< 50; GH = 98; NFI = 96; and CFI = 1.00. Notably, os we expected, change in adjustment following the first semester was nota predictor of futher positive outcomes inthe secon semester: instead seemed tobe more of aside effect of fst-semester goal “To addess our second major dependent measure, GPA. we ran the model again, tis time including ive addtional paths: ACT score ofall GPA, fst-semestr goal attainment to fall GPA, ACT Score 1 spring GPA. second-semester goal atainment to spring GPA, and fall GPA to spring GPA. Model ft was good but rot excelent, (28, N= 112) = 44.88, p < 03; GFI = 93; NEL 39; and CHI = 95, largely beease the path fom increased 203) lausinment inthe second semester to increased GPA in the second “We did ot estimate ltet variables in these analyses because the participant toparametes rao would bave been prohibitively smal. n ed, we used our standard composting procedare. 160 SHELDON AND HOUSER-MARKO semester (controlling for ACT score and for fall GPA) was not significant. Given the sheer number of variables included withia, ‘the model and the fact that every central study finding could be represented within it, however, we believe that the overall con- | Semester |—>| Concorancstor {=> Atanmen {>| meng of Soa ftanment || 2° Somosor nz Semester to end of 2* Goat Semester_| | Somest ae or Tnereased Acjatment —— Increased Adusment Tighe Sping GPA] fer paper cncatngeracr | Store a for Fat GPA Ee scree teecee Tighe Fal GPa contoting for ACT ‘igure 2. Stay (: Parameter estimates forte tworeycle path model, Al coefficients srester than or equal to 19 are significant atthe 05 level or betes. Tesi-reiet and contol variable coefficients ae omited. GP? trade point average: ACT = American College Test. AN UPWARD SPIRAL? 161 better able to attain those goals over the semester, which in curn Fed 1 increased adjustment, Goal attainment yielded an additional benefit in that high-achieving participants felt @ greater sense of self-determination in their second-semester goals, which in turn Predicted even higher levels of attainment during the second semester. Study 1 also showed thet the effets were not reducible 1 neuroticism, as well as provided validationsl peer and parent data regarding the self-report adjustment and sef-concontance ‘measures. In addition, Stody 1 showed that increased adjustment itself had no causal impact. Instead, it was in essence a side effect, ‘whereas goal variables caried the real dynamic impetus imo the second semester Is an upward spiral of ever-increasing well-being possible? The final set of analyses from Study 1 provided mixed support for this, ‘dea. I appears that one can increase one's level of well-being from the study baseline by doing well at personal initiatives during 4 first stiving cycle. However, few participants were able 10 increase their well-being sil further in absolute terms, during the second cycle, Nevertheless, we believe it sno smal feat simply (0 ‘maintain a higher level of well-being than before, as those who did well in both semesters were able o do. We helieve these findings ‘cary an inspirational but also a realistic message: You can hope to ‘make yourself happier, bu it will take hard work to get there and, more hard work to stay there. It is interesting that the Study 1 results also suggest that one can increase one's level of ego evelopment through one's goal attainments. These latter types of, ‘ns, which involve movement upward along a continuum of ‘stages, are presumably less tenuous and more lasting (Marcia et al 1993), In Study 2, we sought co test our two-cycle model in a 2-week longitudinal study to examine its applicability in a much different span of time. To find support for the model in a study of shoner {erm goals and fluctuations would help establish generalizability {or the motivatioast processes being studied. To this end, we assessed participants’ self-concordance for an initial set of goals, set in the laboratory, We then assessed ther level of goal attain ‘ment and their sense of positive personal change 1 week later, again assessing their feelings of self-concordance regsrding their goals. Finally, we assessed their attainment and their sense of positive personal change again, 2 weeks after the beginning ofthe study. We intended to use LISREL modeling to fst the fit ofthe same two-cycle model as was tested in Study 1 Study 2 Method Participants and Procedure Paricipants were 9 undergraduates who participated in the study for xtra crotit in a psychology course. Patipuas atended a laboratory ‘omputersesion during which they selected & personal goals to pursue ‘dori the ext 2 weeks. They completed a follow-up E-mail question- ‘aie 1 week Iter and another follow-up E-mail questionnste 2 weeks Inter. The gap betsven the inital session and the fst E-mail questionaire enabled ws 0 model he rst par ofthe sequence presented in Figure I. and the gap hence the fist and the second F-msil questionnsie enabled ss (to model the second part ofthe inked sequence Measures Parcipants were presented with list of 32 persona goals that person might pursue, all of which were commonly observed ia our goa! stulies (Sheldon 4 Wi, 2000) The list was balanced with representative nim bes of approach versus avoidance goals (Elo. Sheldon, & Church, 1997), and goals with exasc versus nase content (Sheldon & Kasse, 1998, Example goal incladed "do well im school,” “avoid fesing inferior to ‘other.” and "he close with my giiendboytiond.” Participants were asked to select goa from this st that they would be willing to pursue in the next 2 weeks Alter setig on set of § gots, participants proceeded to rate each goal fon the four peccived locus of causality (PLOC) dimensions described above, using a It Ssale, A Time I seléconcordace sere was derived inthe same way asin Sudy 1 by summing the inuinsc and idenied ‘atngs and den subtracting the external and injected ratings (Cron backs @ = 80, ‘One eek late, participants were sen an E-mail questionnaire in which ‘hey rated thei progress in each goal daring the past week, sing a1 (none) 10 5 (very much) scale. A Time 2 progress score was computed by sveraging these eight ratings. In tis quesonnaire, pancipants made PLOC ratings agai, using the same scale as befor. A Tine 2 self cxmcordance sore was computed rom tes ating (Cronbach's a> 88) 'At an indicator of posive wellbeing ar personal change, the frst E-mail questionnaire als asked participants to onside how goal pursuit had aeied thee “struggle 1 gr0W and develop as a person” (RYE & Singer, 1998; Seldon etal. in ress). A (none 05 (very much) scale was used, anda Time 2 sense-of growth core was computed by averaging the eigh ratings Thee was no Time 1 sense-ot-rowth variable becase the consuct refered othe proces of stving, which had no yet beg the nil session. Therefore, in Study 2th well-being outcome forthe first cycle was revospective sease of growth ony, not measured change i sense of grow 'A second E-mail quesionnire containing frther questions about progress and sense of growth was seat I weck later. Tine 3 progres and ‘Time 3 sense-of growth vrabls were computed fro thes aig nthe same way as before. Nowbly. ia the second cycle. it was possible w ty © predict change incur well-being indicator, However bees this was no posible in the fist cycle, Sudy 2 di oot allow us to examine the Persistence of positive change in well-being (ie, the question of the Stability of well-being suns). Results ‘Table 6 presents corelations between the six study variables. Consistent with the results of Study 1, selfeoncordance at the ‘beginning of a cycle predicted greater goal attainment by the end ofthat cycle. Specifically, Time | self-concordance was associated with Time 2 progress and Time 2 sef-concordance was associated with Time 3 progress. ‘We then tested the same summary path model that was tested in Study 1 by using LISREL 8 software Joreskog & Sorbom, 1993; see Figure 1). In addition to the theoretically derived paths pre: sented in Figure 1, test-fetest paths were also included from ‘Time 2 sense of growth to Time 3 sense of growih, from Time 2 progress to Time 3 progress, and from Time 1 self-concordance to ‘Time 2 self-concondance. The latter constraints were added to focus the analysis on participants’ rank-order changes in these ‘constructs, unfolding over time, All specified paths were found be significant in this modet, withthe exception of the path from Time 2 self-concordance 10 ‘Time 3 progress, which was marginally significant (p <.07, two-tailed). These parameter estimates are presented in Figure 3. 162 Table 6 Study 2: Correlations Benween Major Variables SHELDON AND HOUSER-MARKO Variable 1, Tine { seltconcordance ae 2 Time 2 selbeoncordance ~ 3. Time 2 progress 26 ote 4. Time 3 progress is aa 5. Time 2 sense of growth 7 20" 9 aie To assess overall model fit, we again examined chi-square, GFT, NF, and CFL Chi-square indicated good-fiting model, x°7, 94) = 8.47, p> .29. GFI, NF, and CFI were 97, 94, and 99, respectively, ako indicating a good fi. In short, the basic rwo- cycle model of Study 1 was replicated in Study 2 Discussion Study 2 provided a second test of our integrated longitudinal path model, again finding reasonably good support for the model, this time in @ much shorter time frame, Specifically, the results again indicated that “success may breed more success,” in that, those who did well during the Ist week reported stronger engage- ‘ment and identification with their goals following the Ist week, a fact that predicted even better goal attainment and thus enhanced well-being following the 2nd week. In Study 2, itis clear that it was participants’ experience oftheir goals that changed after the first eycle, not the appropriateness of their actual goal choices, because participants didnot have the opportunity to select new goals after the Ist week. In other words, because the measure ‘changed when the goals did not, these results suggest that the self-concordance measure can index transient feelings regarding goals, well as the “fit” of goals with stable personality. How- ever, itis also worth noting that the goals in Sy 2 were not self-generated bu, rather, were selected from a prespecified list. Ta this context, the question of changing feclings regarding goals may have more relevance, and the question of whether the person can, generate self- appropriate goals in an open-ended assessment may have less relevance, = 19 20" 7 nee doe ge General Discussion ‘These 1wo studies tested an ambitious longitudinal path model ‘ofthe motivational processes by which people “pursue happiness” more or less successfully. We believe our personal goal method- ‘ology provides an ideal tool for addressing this question because personal goals represent the proactive efforts of individuals to satisfy their needs and to shape their lives in positive new diree- tions (Ryff & Singer, 1998; Kasser & Sheldon, 1998; Sheldon et alin press). Another advantage of goal constructs is that although they demonstrate enough temporal subility to have a sustained impact ove time (Emmons, 1989), they are also changeable atthe fonset of a new context or period of time. Thus, they are sensitive to and reflect the influence of both the recent past and the social ecology in which the participant is embedded (Cantor, 1994; Lite, 1993), Finally, precisely because of their malleability and self ‘motivational potential, idiographic personal goals may provide ‘opportune targets for interventions (Wadsworth & Ford, 1983). In other words, one way t0 help people to better ‘may be to help them to better identify and pursue personal goals (Diener et al, 1999; Sheldon eta, in press). ‘The present research focused on one potentially important factor influencing successful goal pursvit—namely, participants’ ability to seleet“Self-concordant” goals, that is, ones that well represent (according to theory) thei implicit interests, values, and growth twends. We assume that this is a dificult skill, requiring both accurate selfperceptual abilities and the ability 10 resist social pressures that may sometimes push one in inappropriate directions (Dei & Ryan, 1991; Sheldon, in press). Results indicate that 20 15 Time sot] 24{ time Tire senenge |" Tie ane Concorance | Atainment -™ inser” |g! Feneichange Concordance 8 0 Time 2 Sense Time 3 change Growth inSeee Siow ‘igure 3. Suady 2 Parameter estites fr the two

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