Perceived goal ownership, regulatory goal cognition, and health behavior change.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the links among perceived goal ownership, regulatory goal cognition, and health behavior change.


METHODS
A sample of 390 college students completed measures of (a) perceived goal ownership for a goal related to a health behavior that they, their dating partner, or both were seeking to change, (b) 9 aspects of regulatory goal cognition, and (c) health behavior change.


RESULTS
As compared to participants with self-set and joint-set goals, participants with partner-set goals reported less adaptive regulatory goal cognition and were less likely to report positive changes in health behavior.


CONCLUSIONS
Efforts to change dating partner's health behaviors should be framed as joint-set goals.
Okun
Morris A
MA
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104, USA. okun@asu.edu
Karoly
Paul
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D006040:Goals; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D012056:Reinforcement, Social; D012718:Set, Psychology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology