Fuel of the self-starter: how mood relates to proactive goal regulation

J Appl Psychol. 2012 Jan;97(1):134-50. doi: 10.1037/a0024368. Epub 2011 Jul 11.

Abstract

The authors consider how multiple dimensions of affect relate to individual proactivity. They conceptualized proactivity within a goal-regulatory framework that encompasses 4 elements: envisioning, planning, enacting, and reflecting. In a study of call center agents (N = 225), evidence supported the distinctiveness of the 4 elements of proactive goal regulation. Findings further indicated that high-activated positive mood was positively associated with all elements of proactive goal regulation, and low-activated negative mood was positively associated with envisioning proactivity. These findings were further supported in a longitudinal investigation of career-related proactivity amongst medical students (N = 250). The role of affective experience in proactivity is more nuanced than previously assumed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Affect / classification
  • Affect / physiology*
  • Female
  • Goals*
  • Humans
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Models, Psychological
  • Students, Medical / psychology*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Work / psychology*
  • Young Adult