The Psychology of Action: Linking Cognition and Motivation to Behavior

Moving beyond the traditional, and unproductive, rivalry between the fields of motivation and cognition, this book integrates the two domains to shed new light on the control of goal-directed action. Renowned social and motivational psychologists present concise formulations of the latest research programs which are effectively mapping the territory, providing new findings, and suggesting innovative strategies for future research. Ideally structured for classroom use, this book will effectively familiarize readers with important theories in the psychology of action.

ISBN-13: 9781572300323

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Guilford Publications - Inc.

Publication Date: 01-22-1996

Pages: 683

Product Dimensions: 6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

John A. Bargh is Professor of Psychology at New York University. He received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1981. He has served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and is currently President of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology. In 1989 he received the Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology from the American Psychological Association for his research on the automaticity of social cognition and perception. Peter M. Gollwitzer received his Diploma in Psychology from the Ruhr-Universitat Bochum (Germany) in 1977, and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1981. In 1983 he joined the Max-Planck-Institute for Psychological Research in Munich and started research on the role of volition in motivation. Since 1993, Dr. Gollwitzer has held the social psychology and motivation chair at the University of Konstanz. His research interests focus on aspects of the willful pursuit of goals (e.g., identity goals, mindsets, implementation intentions).

What People are Saying About This

Lawrence A. Pervin, Ph.D.

This book is a must read for anyone interested in human motivation. In this well-edited volume, top theorists and researchers bring us up to date on the efforts to integrate cognition and motivation.... Not only is motivation back but along with it such important topics of intention, world power, self-regulation and the dynamics of action.

Russell G. Geen, Ph.D.

The artificial separation of cognition and motivation was an unfortunate biproduct of the demise of grand theories in psychology. This book takes a large step toward reintegrating these constructs. It does more, however: it integrates the new with the old. Although the scholarship that enlightens these chapters is impressive in its currency, the underlying issues addressed - the role of consciousness in life, the operation of choice in will and action, and the basically functional nature of behavior - it takes us back to our roots in the great age of the classical approaches.

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Table of Contents

I. SOURCES AND CONTENTS OF ACTION GOALS
1. All Goals Are Not Created Equal: An Organismic Perspective on the Nature of Goals and Their Regulation, Richard M. Ryan, Kennon M. Sheldon, Tim Kasser, and Edward L. Deci
2. Self-Regulation and Ego Threat: Motivated Cognition, Self-Deception, and Destructive Goal Setting, Roy F. Baumeister
3. On the Substitutability of Self-Protective Mechanisms, Abraham Tesser, Leonard L. Martin, and David P. Cornell
4. Implicit Theories as Organizers of Goals and Behavior, Carol S. Dweck
5. Ideals, Oughts, and Regulatory Outcome Focus: Relating Afect and Motivation to Distinct Pains and Pleasures, E. Tory Higgins
II. AFFECTIVE INFLUENCES ON ACTION GOALS
6. Feelings and Their Motivational Implications: Moods and the Action Sequence, Norbert Schwarz and Gerd Bohner
7. Depression, Control Motivation, and Person Perception, Gifford Weary and Katherine Gannon
8. Emotional Influences on Cognitive Processing, with Implications for Theories of Both, Eric Klinger
III. PREPARING TO ACT
A. Mental Construction of the Goal
9. From Good Intentions to Willpower, Walter Mischel
10. Mental Stimulation, Motivation, and Action, Shelley E. Taylor and Lien B. Pham
11. Positive Fantasy and Motivation, Gabrielle Oettingen
12. Time in Action: Dynamics and the Mental Control of Behavior, Robin R. Vallacher and J. Kaufman
B: Planning and Coordinating Action
13. The Volitional Benefits of Planning, Peter M. Gollwitzer
14. Striving and Feeling: Personal Goals and Subjective Well-Being, Robert A. Emmons
15. Effortful Pursuit of Personal Goals in Daily Life, Nancy Cantor and Hart Blanton
IV. EFFORTFUl CONTROL OF ACTION
16. Volitional Choices in the Goal Achievement Process, Edwin A. Locke and Amy Kristof
17. The Directive Influence of Attitudes on Behavior, Icek Ajzen
18. Self-Regulatory and Other Non-Ability-Related Determinants of Skill Acquisition, Ruth Kanfer
19. Brehm's Theory of Motivation as a Model of Effort and Cardiovascular Response, Rex A. Wright
V. NONCONSCIOUS CONTROL OF ACTION
20. Automaticity in Action: The Unconscious as Repository fo Chronic Goals and Motives, John A. Bargh and Kimberly Barndollar
21. The Feeling of Doing, Matthew E. Ansfield and Daniel M. Wegner
VI. GOAL INFLUENCES ON SOCIAL INTERACTION
22. Person Perception under Pressure: When Motivation Brings About Egocentrism, Robert A. Wicklund and Gisela Steins
23. Expectancy Influences in Social Interaction: The Moderating Role of Social Goals, Steven L. Neuberg
24. Beyond Accuracy: Defense and Impression Motives in Heuristic and Systematic Information Processing, Shelly Chaiken, Roger Giner-Sorolla, and Serena Chen
25. Awareness of Influence as a Precondition for Implementing Correctional Goals, Fritz Strack and Bettina Hannover
VII. DISCUSSIONS
26. Goals as Knowledge Structures, Arie W. Kruglanski
27. The Role of Conscious Thought in a Theory of Motivation and Cognition: The Uncertainty Orientation Paradigm, Richard M. Sorrentino
28. Some Ways in Which Goals Differ and Some Implications of Those Differences, Charles S. Carver
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