PSYC19H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Goal Setting, Thermostat, South African Class 19C 4-8-2
PSYC19 - 1
LEC 06 – GOALS & MOTIVATION – 1 MARCH 2018 (Thursday)
• Foundational topics of SC
• Cybernetic system: physical control/physiological → how machines control themselves
• Goal: cognitive representation of desired/undesired end point that impacts thoughts,
emotions, and behaviors → future states that is desired or not → approach/avoidance
(anti) goals
o Concrete and time-bound
o Intimately related to SC & SR → core facet
▪ SC: self-restraint in line with personal goals → restraint, inhibition, etc. based
on some goal
▪ SR: pursuit of goal-directed behavior → ex. setting a goal
• Goal systems theory: representation of goals in our mind/brain → goals represented
cognitively like memory → ipliitl represeted I ot full aare of soe of goals
→ not have much insight on it but it is driving my behavior → ex. goal of achieving, feeling
bad when someone does better than you → dot ko h ou feel ad
o Organized as interconnected hierarchy, with goals connected to multiple sub goals
and means to achieve goals
▪ Sub-goals and means of achieving them → can get as simple as taking a pen
and writing (low-level) → when you activate a goal everything gets activated
→ many superordinate goals
o Trouble when different goals compete with each other → biased goals → fluctuate
in accessibility, varies across time & situation → ↑ aessiilit= ore likel to
engage in it to achieve it
o Spreading activation b/w goals and sub-goals → connections can be excitatory or
inhibitory
o Strength of goal activation only dissipates when goal is reached → ex. when you
stop thinking about the beach in Jamaica
• How to reach goals: cybernetic model of goal regulation → ho do ou ko he oure
making progress towards your goal? When to initiate control?
o Need 4 concepts to know how a system (ex. human, robot etc.) can control
themselves
▪ Have a goal → current state of affairs (am I a good teacher right now?) →
conflict monitoring system (compares a setpoint or goal with current state of
affairs) → discrepancy: it will spring into action and bring change in current
state → until discrepancy is small enough to say that its good
• Ex. thermostat (21°C is the goal for it) → it also has a way of gauging
current temperature 19°C in the house → discrepancy → change:
increase temperature → turn on heater → always monitoring the
system → half a degree in minimally large discrepancy to enact a
change
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