Exam 4: Behavior Control: the Self in Action

According to the research on goal setting and achievement, if all of the students below had similar track records, which of them should we expect to perform BEST in school in the coming month?

The "positive illusions" that characterize most thinking are typically set aside when people set goals for themselves.

Jonah is in his psychology class and has just gotten his third exam score back.  It's an "F" again! He hasn't passed one single exam this semester. He decides to quit studying for that class at all since it hasn't seemed to help much. Jonah is exhibiting ____.

When people are making decisions among several different choices (e.g., choosing a car to purchase), there are several patterns of irrational thought to which they commonly fall prey. Please identify and discuss three of these.

The so-called "certainty effect" in decision-making refers to tendency for people to give greater weight to ____ than to ____.

According to the text, which of the following may best describe the relationship between habits and goals?

What factors tend to promote decision avoidance?

Many people do not invest in 401K plans or other retirement plans-even though they are not broke, and could afford to put money aside. One explanation for this is the fact that people tend to engage in ____ when making decisions about how to manage their money.

Both parts of the duplex mind play a role in navigating through a hierarchy of goals. The automatic system helps to ____, while the conscious system ____.

The purpose of goal shielding is to ____.

In social psychology, people who regard traits and abilities as fixed and stable are known as ____, while people who believe that it is possible to change and improve traits and abilities are known as ____.

The term ____ refers to the idea that people are distressed by loss of freedom or loss of options, and that they will seek to reclaim or reassert them.

The so-called Zeigarnik effect refers to the tendency for people ____.

People who are suicidal tend to be ____ in self-awareness and ____ in emotionality.

Compared to incremental theorists, entity theorists show a ____.