Examining the <i>Why</i> and <i>How</i> of Goal Pursuit: Cybernetic Processes Underlying Self-Determined Motivation’s Effects on Goal Progress

Self-determination theory has long held that the reasons <i>why</i> an individual chooses to pursue a goal influence whether the goal is achieved. Generally, more internalized motivation (i.e., intrinsic and identified motivation) are theorized to facilitate goal attainment. In the current study we sought to determine <i>how</i> internalized motivation facilitates goal achievement. We did this by simultaneously testing several hypothesized mediators derived from past studies. Using ecological momentary assessment, we measured these motivational and self-regulatory processes in a sample of 58 college students as they pursued a total of 228 goals at 670 distinct moments in time. This allowed us to determine how variations in motivation at both the goal and state-level of analysis influence goal progress. Our results suggest that identified motivation (or believing a goal is personally-important) facilitates goal progress by facilitating planning and self-control-related processes (at both levels of analysis). Intrinsic motivation (or enjoyment of a goal) did not influence progress at the goal-level, but it did impact goal achievement at the state-level by motivating self-control. These results outline the self-regulatory processes that more internalized forms of motivation facilitate, and they illustrate the importance of examining motivation at multiple levels of analysis.