Michael Lancaster

7/23/2017

Psychology 1010

Signature Project:

Motivation and Goal Setting in Relation to

Happiness
Introduction:

Can happiness be linked to goal setting and motivation to achieve those goals? According

to some researchers they can absolutely be linked. The idea that an emotion can be linked to

something that is so easily controlled during day to day life was something that I found

extremely compelling. This correlational process is what this paper will investigate further

through a literature review of our text book and three peer-reviewed articles.

Literature Review:

My first resource regarding this topic was the text book Experience Psychology 3rd

Edition by King (2015). In the text book it discusses the fact that intentional activities like

being physically active, expressing kindness, showing gratitude, being optimistic, dwelling less

on negative experiences, and engaging in positive self-reflection all enhance positive affect

(King, 2015). It goes on to discuss that these actions, along with the pursuit of goals leads to

increased happiness. This increased happiness is attributed to working towards ones personal

well-being. From this part of the text book I learned about different actions that can be added to

the pursuit and achievement of goals that can be used to increase happiness.

The first article I reviewed is titled Goal Motives, Well-Being, and Physical Health:

Happiness and Self-Realization as Psychological Resources Under Challenge written by

Miquelon and Vallerand (2006). Researchers conducted a total of three studies linking goal

motives, well-being, and physical health. The first study linked self or autonomous goals with

happiness and self-realization with a positive association. Along with this result the first study

showed that controlled goals had a negative association with self-realization as well as physical

symptoms but did not affect happiness. The second study repeated the findings of the first study
but added an additional result that academic stress helped to regulate the effects on self-

realization and physical symptoms. The third study replicated the first two studies and added that

a coping mechanism for academic stress further regulated the effects on self-realization. What I

took from this article is that self or autonomous goals have the best effect on happiness and self-

realization. I would attribute this to the fact that we get to pick those goals based on what we are

passionate about. I also thing that the reason that academic goals and stress did not affect overall

happiness is because most people in school are using it to get to an end goal of something they

want to do. This helps them to cope even if they arent achieving self-realization at that time or

have negative physical symptoms from the stress.

The second article I reviewed is titled Persistent pursuit of need-satisfying goals leads to

increased happiness: A 6-month experimental longitudinal study published by Sheldon et al.

(2010). Participants of the study were assigned to either set goals to improve their life

circumstances or increase their feelings of autonomy, competence, or relatedness in life.

(Sheldon et al., 2010) These assignments were made randomly. The purpose of the study was to

see if happiness gains can be sustained and how that can be made possible. The study showed

that when someone experiences a happiness gain they can maintain that happiness but only with

continued focus on goals. What I took from this article is that goals can make us happier but to

continue to be happy and have growth in our happiness we need to continue to make goals and

progress was individuals.

The last article I reviewed is titled Becoming happier takes both a will and a proper way:

An experimental longitudinal intervention to boost well-being written by Lyubormirsky,

Dickerhoof, Boehm and Sheldon (2011). This study looked at the effects of practicing positive

activities, expressing optimism and gratitude, on well-being. They also looked at whether or not
knowledge of the purpose of the study, to increase happiness, effects the effort put forth by the

participants in the activity. Results of the study found the knowledge of the study purpose

increased investment in the activity which increased rates of increased happiness. Happiness was

also increased in individual who did not know the purpose of the study but participated in the

activities regardless. What I took from this article is that positivity has an effect on happiness. By

doing something that forces us to be positive we become happier. If we can make a habit of

being positive we can continually progress towards happiness.

Application:

In looking at my own life I was easily able to find an application of this psychological

process. Two years ago I was overweight and unhealthy, and by extension I was perpetually

either anxious or moody. I made the decision that I wanted to lose weight because I wanted to

look better and be healthier. Over these last two years I have lost a significant amount of weight.

In looking back on that journey my anxiety has been completely resolved and I find myself in a

better mood for the majority of the time. In setting a goal to be healthier and lose weight I

because focused and motivated on something positive (Sheldon et al., 2010). I engaged in

copious amounts of physical activity, expressed gratitude to my wife for her support and engaged

in positive self-reflection (Miquelon & Vallerand, 2006). In doing these things I was

unknowingly making myself a happier overall person. Now that I know the impact that goal

setting can have on happiness I can continue to use that strategy in my life as well as help those

around me to achieve that same progression to happiness.

Conclusion:

It was eye-opening to see the correlation between goal-setting and motivation to the level

of happiness. Ive always had the thought that we are in control of our emotions but I never

would have thought the simple act of working towards a goal could impact happiness the way the

research seems to show. I think it would be interesting to see if the type of goal that one is

working towards make a difference in overall happiness level, or if any goal one is motivated to

achieve can result in the same positive effect. I am really happy that I learned about this

psychological topic and process. I feel that I can now actively use it in my life to increase my

happiness. I also feel that, assuming they are open to it, I can help those around me to make and

achieve their goals to make their lives happier. This is especially important to me in helping my

wife and daughter to be positive and happy throughout their lives.

References:

King, L. A. (2015). Experience Psychology (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Lyubomirsky, S., Dickerhoof, R., Boehm, J. K., & Sheldon, K. M. (2011). Becoming happier

takes both a will and a proper way: An experimental longitudinal intervention to boost

well-being. Emotion, 11(2), 391-402. doi:10.1037/a0022575

Miquelon, P.,& Vallerand, R. (2006). Goal Motives, Well-Being, and Physical Health: Happiness

and Self-Realization as Psychological Resources Under Challenge. Motivation&

Emotion, 30(4), 259-272.

Sheldon, K. M., Abad, N., Ferguson, Y., Gunz, A., Houser-Marko, L., Nichols, C. P., &

Lyubomirsky, S. (2010). Persistent pursuit of need-satisfying goals leads to increased

happiness: A 6-month experimental longitudinal study. Motivation& Emotion, 34(1), 39-

48.