MECHANISMS OF THINKING AND GOAL SETTING

Abstract

The ability to set and reach goals effectively is an adaptive and necessary part of everyday life. Certain types of goals (i.e. those that are extrinsically oriented/avoidance focused) have been correlated with mental health constructs such as depression and anxiety. This study sought to examine if individuals with higher levels of trait anxiety set different types of goals which impeded their ability to achieve their goals. A novel experience sampling approach was used to analyze the daily thoughts of those with anxious tendencies to analyze whether thought content also impacts goal achievement. It was found that individuals with higher trait anxiety set more avoidance focused goals but contrary to predictions also set more intrinsic goals and did not report a lower level of goal attainment. It was also found that the thoughts of more anxious individuals tended to be more negative, less controlled and associated with being in a more negative mood than those with lesser levels of anxiety. Across all participants, the greatest predictor of goal achievement were thoughts characterized as less negative while off-task. This may be an indirect marker for anxiety and future studies should further examine the relationship between anxiety levels and goal achievement.