title: Self-Regulatory Responses to Unattainable Goals: The Role of Goal Motives.
abstract: Does motivation for goal pursuit predict how individuals will respond when confronted with unattainable goals? Two studies examined the role of autonomous and controlled motives when pursuing an unattainable goal without (Study 1) or with (Study 2) the opportunity to reengage in alternative goal pursuit. Autonomous motives positively predicted the cognitive ease of reengagement with an alternative goal when the current goal was perceived as unattainable, especially when participants realized goal unattainability relatively early during goal striving. Autonomous motives, however, were negative predictors of cognitive ease of disengagement from an unattainable goal. When faced with failure, autonomously motivated individuals are better off realizing early the goal unattainability. Otherwise, they will find it difficult to disengage cognitively from the pursued goal (despite reengaging cognitively in an alternative goal), possibly due to interfering rumination.
authors.affiliation: College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
authors.forename: Nikos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ntoumanis
authors.affiliation: College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
authors.forename: Laura C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Healy
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Shackleton Building (B44), Highfield Campus, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
authors.forename: Constantine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sedikides
authors.affiliation: School for Education, University of Bath, Bath, Claverton, Down Bath, North East Somerset BA2 7AY, UK.
authors.forename: Alison L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
authors.forename: Joan L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Duda
keywords: Disengagement; Goal motives; Goal pursuit; Goal regulation; Reengagement
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