University of Kentucky
Personality, Skills, and Goals
Institution
University of Kentucky
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Suzanne Segerstrom
Abstract
The present study examines the impact of negative words on a person’s goal accessibility. This means that a person’s goals may be brought to the forefront of his or her attention by using or seeing words negatively associated with his or her goal. In this study, 83 people enrolled in an introductory psychology course completed word searches followed by questionnaires in a group setting. There were 3 types of word searches that contained words with negative connotations pertaining to either 1) health, 2) finance, or 3) social aspects of life; for example, fat, debt, and lonely, respectively. Each participant completed only one type of word search. After completing one of these word searches each participant listed goals they were currently working on and completed a questionnaire about the importance of each goal. It is predicted that the negative words found in the word searches will make the participants readily access goals that pertain to these words. For example, if a person completed the word search pertaining to finance he or she would list a goal such as ‘save money for a new car’ as very important. Using negative words should form a discrepancy between the participant and their goal, thus drawing more attention. If this hypothesis is supported, then people can stay more attuned to their goals by using negative connotations. If people stay aware of, rather than forgetting, their goals, they may be more likely to achieve them.
Personality, Skills, and Goals
The present study examines the impact of negative words on a person’s goal accessibility. This means that a person’s goals may be brought to the forefront of his or her attention by using or seeing words negatively associated with his or her goal. In this study, 83 people enrolled in an introductory psychology course completed word searches followed by questionnaires in a group setting. There were 3 types of word searches that contained words with negative connotations pertaining to either 1) health, 2) finance, or 3) social aspects of life; for example, fat, debt, and lonely, respectively. Each participant completed only one type of word search. After completing one of these word searches each participant listed goals they were currently working on and completed a questionnaire about the importance of each goal. It is predicted that the negative words found in the word searches will make the participants readily access goals that pertain to these words. For example, if a person completed the word search pertaining to finance he or she would list a goal such as ‘save money for a new car’ as very important. Using negative words should form a discrepancy between the participant and their goal, thus drawing more attention. If this hypothesis is supported, then people can stay more attuned to their goals by using negative connotations. If people stay aware of, rather than forgetting, their goals, they may be more likely to achieve them.