0.8 The psychology of emotions, feelings and thoughts  (Page 46/89)

People also make casual attributions about the results of their evaluations - such as whether poorperformance is due to one's limited ability or to insufficient effort.Self-satisfaction involves perceptions of satisfaction or dissatisfaction and associated affect regardingone's performance, which is important because people pursue courses of action that result in satisfactionand positive affect, and avoid those courses that produce dissatisfaction and negative affect, such asanxiety.

Adaptive or defensive inferences are conclusions about how one needs to alter his or her self-regulatoryapproach during subsequent efforts to learn or perform. Adaptive inferences are important becausethey direct people to new and potentially better forms of performance self-regulation, such as by shiftingthe goals hierarchically or choosing a more effective strategy (Zimmerman + Martinez-Pons, 1992) Barry J. Zimmerman, and Manuel Martinez-Pons. (1992). Perceptions of efficacy and strategy use in the self-regulation of learning. In D. H. Schunk + J. L. Meece (Eds.) Student Perceptions in the Classroom: Causes and Consequences (pp. 185-207). Hillsdale, NJ: Earlbaum. In contrast, defensive inferences serve primarily toprotect the person from future dissatisfaction and aversive affect, but unfortunately they also underminesuccessful adaptation. These defensive self-reactions include helplessness, procrastination, task avoidance,cognitive disengagement, and apathy. Garcia and Pintrich (1994) Garcia, T. + Pintrich, P.R. (1994). Regulating motivation and cognition in the classroom: the role of self-schemas and self-regulatory strategies. In D.H. Schunk and B.J. Zimmerman(Eds.), Self-Regulation on Learning and Performance: Issues and Applications (pp.132-157), NJ, Hillsdale, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. have referred to such defensive reactions as self-handicapping strategies, because,despite their intended protectiveness, they ultimately limit personal growth.

An introduction

Other important questions are - how does a persons goals and motivations influence their feelings,behavior, self-control and actions? How much of feeling, impulses and impulse control, motivation andgoal creating is conscious or unconscious? If you think about it, your goals, motivations, and thenatural impulses that result from your emotions (which are to a large extent determined by your goals andmotivations) are going to be fluctuating and changing all of the time.