The dynamics of doubt : short-term fluctuations and predictors of doubts in personal goal pursuit

Ghassemi, Mirjam; Wolf, Benjamin M.; Bettschart, Martin; Kreibich, Antonia; Herrmann, Marcel; Brandstätter, Veronika

doi:10.1037/mot0000210

Publication type:	Article in scientific journal
Type of review:	Peer review (publication)
Title:	The dynamics of doubt : short-term fluctuations and predictors of doubts in personal goal pursuit
Authors:	Ghassemi, Mirjam Wolf, Benjamin M. Bettschart, Martin Kreibich, Antonia Herrmann, Marcel Brandstätter, Veronika
et. al:	No
DOI:	10.1037/mot0000210
Published in:	Motivation Science
Volume(Issue):	7
Issue:	2
Page(s):	153
Pages to:	164
Issue Date:	2021
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	American Psychological Association
ISSN:	2333-8113 2333-8121
Language:	English
Subjects:	Personal goal; Goal striving; Action crisis; Doubt
Subject (DDC):	158: Applied psychology
Abstract:	An action crisis denotes an intrapsychic conflict in which a person feels torn between holding on to and letting go of a personal goal. It is characterized by the experience of goal-related doubts. To extend the existing understanding of action crises, we investigated the dynamics of doubts in daily life and addressed two questions: (1) To what extent do doubts with respect to a personal goal fluctuate in daily life? (2) In which situations do individuals primarily have doubts? In an experience sampling study (N 254), we assessed doubts about a personal goal five times a day over 10 days. Our findings indicate that the level of doubt varies between individuals but also fluctuates within persons. Doubts increase in response to negative goal-related events and decrease in response to positive goal-related events. Individuals with higher (vs. lower) levels of action crisis have particularly high levels of doubt during goal-related (vs. -unrelated) activity. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on goal disengagement and point to the relevance of studying motivational parameters from a dynamic perspective.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/24797
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	Licence according to publishing contract
Departement:	Applied Psychology
Organisational Unit:	Psychological Institute (PI)
Appears in collections:	Publikationen Angewandte Psychologie

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Ghassemi, M., Wolf, B. M., Bettschart, M., Kreibich, A., Herrmann, M., & Brandstätter, V. (2021). The dynamics of doubt : short-term fluctuations and predictors of doubts in personal goal pursuit. Motivation Science, 7(2), 153–164. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000210

Ghassemi, M. et al. (2021) ‘The dynamics of doubt : short-term fluctuations and predictors of doubts in personal goal pursuit’, Motivation Science, 7(2), pp. 153–164. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000210.

M. Ghassemi, B. M. Wolf, M. Bettschart, A. Kreibich, M. Herrmann, and V. Brandstätter, “The dynamics of doubt : short-term fluctuations and predictors of doubts in personal goal pursuit,” Motivation Science, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 153–164, 2021, doi: 10.1037/mot0000210.

GHASSEMI, Mirjam, Benjamin M. WOLF, Martin BETTSCHART, Antonia KREIBICH, Marcel HERRMANN und Veronika BRANDSTÄTTER, 2021. The dynamics of doubt : short-term fluctuations and predictors of doubts in personal goal pursuit. Motivation Science. 2021. Bd. 7, Nr. 2, S. 153–164. DOI 10.1037/mot0000210

Ghassemi, Mirjam, Benjamin M. Wolf, Martin Bettschart, Antonia Kreibich, Marcel Herrmann, and Veronika Brandstätter. 2021. “The Dynamics of Doubt : Short-Term Fluctuations and Predictors of Doubts in Personal Goal Pursuit.” Motivation Science 7 (2): 153–64. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000210.

Ghassemi, Mirjam, et al. “The Dynamics of Doubt : Short-Term Fluctuations and Predictors of Doubts in Personal Goal Pursuit.” Motivation Science, vol. 7, no. 2, 2021, pp. 153–64, https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000210.