Biomedical subjects

Linda Houser-Marko

Publications and source records attributed to Linda Houser-Marko.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Motivating behavioral persistence: the self-as-doer construct.

Why do some people persist in goal pursuit, even in the face of boredom or setbacks, whereas others quickly give up their goals? In this research, the authors introduce a new motivational construct, the "self-as-doer," to explore this question. Studies 1 and 2 found longitudinal evidence that those who more strongly endorse doer statements regarding their goals (i.e., exerciser, dieter, runner) show greater behavioral persistence and attainment regarding such goals, even controlling for other relevant constructs such as expectancy, self-concordance, commitment, and neuroticism. Study 3 used priming to make the self-as-doer momentarily accessible, finding an interaction such that those who read The Little Engine That Could (vs. Curious George) and wrote an essay applying the story's message to themselves (vs. others) showed the greatest persistence in physically demanding tasks. Implications for sustained motivation of all kinds are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

In search of the organismic valuing process: the human tendency to move towards beneficial goal choices.

We attempted to test Rogers' concept of the organismic valuing process (OVP) by assessing changes in peoples' goal choices over time. When changes occur, are they more or less random, or do people tend to move towards goals that are more likely to be beneficial, both for themselves and others? "Beneficial" goals were defined as goals typically associated with subjective well-being (SWB) and with prosocial behavior--specifically, we focused on the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic goal contents. In three studies, participants tended to move towards intrinsic goals and/or away from extrinsic goals over periods ranging from 20 minutes to 6 weeks. These changes were not reducible to social desirability nor to the differing motives underlying differing goal contents, did not vary for persons of different value-types, and had not changed when participants were retested a third time. We conclude that people may have a positive bias toward changing their minds in directions most likely to be SWB enhancing.

Adult↗