Hostname: page-component-cb9f654ff-rkzlw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-09-04T00:29:39.225Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Multitudes of perspectives: Integrating the Selfish Goal model with views on scientific metaphors, goal systems, and society

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2014

Julie Y. Huang  and
John A. Bargh
Julie Y. Huang
Affiliation:
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3E6, Canada. julie.huang@rotman.utoronto.ca College of Business, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794
John A. Bargh
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520. john.bargh@yale.edu www.yale.edu/acmelab
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In our response, we address commentators' feedback regarding the contributions and limitations of the Selfish Goal model. We first clarify potential misunderstandings regarding the model's contributions and the role of consciousness. Second, we situate evaluations of the selfish metaphor within the similarities and differences inherent to the goal-gene comparison. We then respond to commentators' insights regarding future directions and implications of our model, particularly with respect to the broader organizational systems in which goals may operate. Finally, we reiterate important considerations for goal research moving forward.

Information

Type
Authors' Response
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , April 2014 , pp. 159 - 175
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Amburgey, T. L. & Rao, H. (1996) Organizational ecology: Past, present, and future directions. Academy of Management Journal 39:1265–86. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/256999.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atkinson, J. W. & Birch, D. (1970) The dynamics of action. Wiley.Google ScholarPubMed
Austin, J. T. & Vancouver, J. B. (1996) Goal constructs in psychology: Structure, process, and content. Psychological Bulletin 120:338–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baillargeon, R., He, Z., Setoh, P., Scott, R.M., Sloan, S. & Yan, D.Y. (2013) False-belief understanding and why it matters: The social-acting hypothesis. In: Navigating the social world: What infants, children, and other species can teach us, ed. Banaji, M. & Gelmanm, S., pp. 88–95. Oxford University.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1977) Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review 84:191–215. Available at: http://des.emory.edu/mfp/Bandura1977PR.pdf.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bar-Anan, Y., Wilson, T. D. & Hassin, R. R. (2010) Inaccurate self-knowledge formation as a result of automatic behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 46:884–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bargh, J. A. (1990) Auto-motives: Preconscious determinants of social interaction. In: Handbook of motivation and cognition, vol. 2, ed. Higgins, E. T. & Sorrentino, R. M., pp. 93–130. Guilford. Available at: http://www.yale.edu/acmelab/articles/Bargh_1990.pdf.Google Scholar
Bargh, J. A., Green, M. & Fitzsimons, G. (2008) The selfish goal: Unintended consequences of intended goal pursuits. Social Cognition 26:520–40. Available at: http://www.yale.edu/acmelab/articles/SelfishGoal_SocialCognition.pdf.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Muraven, M. & Tice, D. M. (1998) Ego depletion: Is the active self a limited resource? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 74:1252–65. Available at: http://faculty.washington.edu/jdb/345/345%20Articles/Baumeister%20et%20al.%20(1998).pdf.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumeister, R. F., Schmeichel, B. J. & Vohs, K. D. (2007) Self-regulation and the executive function: The self as controlling agent. In: Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles, 2nd ed., ed. Kruglanski, A. W. & Higgins, E. T., pp. 516–39. Guilford. Available at: https://www.csom.umn.edu/Assets/71708.pdf.Google Scholar
Carver, C. S. & Scheier, M. F. (1982) Control theory: A useful conceptual framework for personality-social, clinical, and health psychology. Psychological Bulletin 92:111–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carver, C. S. & Scheier, M. F. (1998) On the self-regulation of behavior. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carver, C. S. & Scheier, M. F. (2002) Control processes and self-organization as complementary principles underlying behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Review 6:304–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, D., Nisbett, R. E., Bowdle, B. F. & Schwarz, N. (1996) Insult, aggression, and the Southern culture of honor: An “experimental ethnography.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 70:943–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cornelissen, J. P. (2004) Beyond compare: Metaphor in organization theory. The Academy of Management Review 30:751–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cunningham, W. A., Van Bavel, J. J. & Johnsen, I. (2008) Affective flexibility: Evaluative processing goals shape amygdala activity. Psychological Science 19:152–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Custers, R. & Aarts, H. (2005) Positive affect as implicit motivator: On the nonconscious operation of behavioral goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 89:129–42. Available at: http://goallab.nl/publications/documents/Custers,%20Aarts%20%282005%29%20-%20positive%20affect%20as%20implicit%20motivator.pdf.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dawkins, R. (1976) The selfish gene. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ferguson, M. J. (2008) On becoming ready to pursue a goal you don't know you have: Effects of nonconscious goals on evaluative readiness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 95:557–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fiske, S. T. (2013) Social cognition: From brains to culture. SAGE Publications Limited.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Förster, J., Liberman, N. & Higgins, E. T. (2005) Accessibility from active and fulfilled goals. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 41:220–39. Available at: http://www.columbia.akadns.net/cu/psychology/higgins/papers/forsterlibermanhiggins2005.pdf.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gazzaniga, M. S. (2005) The ethical brain. The Dana Press.Google Scholar
Gentner, D. & Grudin, J. (1985) The evolution of mental metaphors in psychology: A 90-year retrospective. American Psychologist 40:181–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999) Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist 54:493–503.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gollwitzer, P. M. & Moskowitz, G. B. (1996) Goal effects on action and cognition. In: Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles, ed. Higgins, E. T. & Kruglanski, A. W., pp. 361–99. Guilford.Google Scholar
Griskevicius, V., Tybur, J. M., Gangestad, S. W., Perea, E. F., Shapiro, J. R. & Kenrick, D. T. (2009) Aggress to impress: Hostility as an evolved context-dependent strategy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 96:980–94. Available at: http://www.csom.umn.edu/assets/125344.pdf.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hagger, M. S., Wood, C., Stiff, C & Chatzisarantis, N. L. (2010) Ego depletion and the strength model of self-control: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin 4:495–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hannan, M. T. & Freeman, J. (1977) The population ecology of organization. American Journal of Sociology 82:929–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoffman, R. R., Cochran, E. L. & Nead, J. M. (1990) Cognitive metaphors in experimental psychology. In: Metaphors in the History of Psychology, ed. Leary, D. E., pp. 173–229. Cambridge University.Google Scholar
Job, V., Dweck, C. S. & Walton, G. M. (2010) Ego depletion – Is it all in your head?: Implicit theories about willpower affect self-regulation. Psychological Science 21:1686–93.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson, E. J. & Goldstein, D. (2003) Do defaults save lives? Science 302:1338–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jost, J. T., Pelham, B. W., Sheldon, O. & Sullivan, B. N. (2003) Social inequality and the reduction of ideological dissonance on behalf of the system: Evidence of enhanced system justification among the disadvantaged. European Journal of Social Psychology 33:13–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kenrick, D. T., Griskevicius, V., Neuberg, S. L. & Schaller, M. (2010) Renovating the pyramid of needs: Contemporary extensions built upon ancient foundations. Perspectives on Psychological Science 5:292–314. Available at: http://www.csom.umn.edu/assets/144040.pdf.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kruglanski, A. W., Shah, J. Y., Fishbach, A., Friedman, R., Chun, W. Y. & Sleeth-Keppler, D. (2002) A theory of goal systems. In: Advances in experimental social psychology, vol. 34, ed. Zanna, M. P., pp. 331–78. Academic Press. Available at: http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/ayelet.fishbach/research/advances.pdf.Google Scholar
Kunda, Z. & Thagard, P. (1996) Forming impressions from stereotypes, traits, and behaviors: A parallel-constraint-satisfaction theory. Psychological Review 103(2):284–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molden, D. C., Hui, C. M., Scholar, A. A., Meier, B. P., Noreen, E. E., D'Agostino, P. R. & Maritn, V. (2012) Motivational versus metabolic effects of carbohydrates on self-control. Psychological Science 23(10):1137–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neuberg, S. L., Kenrick, D. T., Maner, J. K. & Schaller, M. (2004) From evolved motives to everyday mentation: Evolution, goals, and cognition. In: Social motivation: Conscious and unconscious processes, ed. Forgas, J. & Williams, K., pp. 133–52. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newell, B. R. & Shanks, D. R. (2014) Unconscious influences on decision making: A critical review. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 37(1):1–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Powers, W. T. (1973) Behavior: The control of perception. Aldine Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Shah, J. Y., Friedman, R. & Kruglanski, A. W. (2002) Forgetting all else: On the antecedents and consequences of goal shielding. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 83:1261–80. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12500810.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sherif, M., Harvey, O. J., White, B. J., Hood, W. R. & Sherif, C. (1961) Intergroup conflict and cooperation: The robbers cave experiment. The University Book Exchange.Google Scholar
Stopford, J. M. (2003) Organizational learning as guided responses to market signals. In: Handbook of organizational learning and knowledge, ed. Dierkes, M., Antal, A. B., Child, J. & Nonaka, I., pp. 264–81. Oxford University.Google Scholar
Veltkamp, M., Aarts, H. & Custers, R. (2008) Perception in the service of goal pursuit: Motivation to attain goals enhances the perceived size of goal-instrumental objects. Social Cognition 26:720–36. Available at: http://goallab.nl/publications/documents/Veltkamp,%20Aarts,%20Custers%20%28in%20press%29%20Social%20Cognition.pdf.CrossRefGoogle Scholar