Open AccessThe Role of Self-Awareness and Problem-Solving Orientation for the Instrumentality of Goal-Related Means
Author(s) -
Antonia Kreibich,
Marie Hennecke,
Veronika Brandstätter
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of individual differences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.732
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 2151-2299
pISSN - 1614-0001
DOI - 10.1027/1614-0001/a000355
Subject(s) - psychology , goal orientation , mediation , goal pursuit , social psychology , orientation (vector space) , selection (genetic algorithm) , longitudinal study , self , relation (database) , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , statistics , geometry , mathematics , database , artificial intelligence , political science , computer science , law
. Successful goal striving hinges on the selection of instrumental means. The current research investigates individual differences in self-awareness as a predictor for means instrumentality. This effect should be mediated by the tendency of self-aware individuals to approach the process of goal pursuit in a way that is problem-solving-oriented. Four studies ( N 1a = 123, N 1b = 169, N 2 = 353, N 3 = 118) were conducted to explore the positive relation between self-awareness and means instrumentality via heightened levels of problem-solving orientation. Studies 1a and 1b found cross-sectional support for the relation between dispositional self-awareness and problem-solving orientation. Study 2 (preregistered) replicated this finding and provided experimental evidence for the hypothesized mediation model. Finally, Study 3 found longitudinal support that dispositional self-awareness and problem-solving orientation predict self-reported means instrumentality and, beyond this, participants’ objective exam grades. This research emphasizes the crucial role of individual differences in self-awareness for an important self-regulatory process, that is, the selection of instrumental means in personal goal pursuit.