TITLE:
Behavioral and Experiential Self-Regulations in Psychological Well-Being under Proximal and Distal Goal Conditions
AUTHORS:
Peter Horvath, Vanessa McColl
KEYWORDS:
Self-Regulation; Motivation; Goal Conditions; Psychological Well-Being
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.4 No.12,
December
18,
2013
ABSTRACT:
This study
examined the relationship of goal-related components of cybernetic, behavioral,
and experiential self-regulations to psychological well-being under two types
of conditions, the pursuit of intrinsic goals in general and specific intrinsic
goals for the academic term. In an online survey, undergraduates (N = 186) completed global measures of
psychological well-being, behavioral and experiential self-regulations, and
rated themselves on goal-related self-regulatory components. Correlations indicated that most of the cybernetic,
behavioral and experiential self-regulatory variables were associated with each
other and with well-being. In terms of the goal-related self-regulatory
components, when pursuing intrinsic goals more generally, the experiential self-regulatory
component of enjoyment of the activity predicted well-being. However, when
pursuing intrinsic term goals, the cybernetic self-regulatory component of
perceived goal progress and the behavioral self-regulatory component of self-reinforcement
for goal progress predicted well-being. The findings extend theoretical
conceptualizations of psychological well-being by integrating compatibilities
between cybernetic, behavioral, experiential self-regulatory processes and
motivational conditions.