Personal Goals and Psychological Growth: Testing an Intervention to Enhance Goal Attainment and Personality Integration
Abstract
We hypothesized that semester goal attainmentprovides a route to short‐term psychological growth. In an attempt to enhance this process, werandomly assigned participants to either a goal‐training program or to a control condition.Although there were no main effects of program participation on later goal attainment, importantinteractions were found. Consistent with a “prepared to benefit” model,participants already high in goal‐based measures of personality integration perceived the programas most useful and benefited the most from the program in terms of goal attainment. As a result,they became even more integrated and also increased in their levels of psychosocial well‐being andvitality. Implications for theories of short‐term growth and positive change are discussed, as is theunanswered question of how to help less‐integrated persons grow.
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Goal attainment or success conditions may facilitate well-being in most people.
“Although goal attainment or success conditions may facilitate well-being in most people (e.g., Sheldon et al. 2002)”
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- Authors
- Sheldon, K. M., Kasser, T., Smith, K., & Share, T.
- Affiliations
- University of Missouri (US)
- Knox College (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Personality
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2002-02
- Volume
- 70
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 5-31
- ISSN
- 0022-3506 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-6494
- OpenAlex
- W2162716965
- Cited by
- 295
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 21
- FWCI
- 9.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Personality (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Keywords
- personal goals, goal achievement, psychological growth, personality integration, psychosocial well-being, vitality, short-term growth, positive change
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Female, Goals, Humans, Human Development, Male, Missouri, Personality Development, Psychotherapy, Regression Analysis
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