Health and goal-directed behavior: The nonconscious regulation and motivation of goals and their pursuit

Abstract

Modern research in the domain of health psychology considers goals to play a pivotal role in shaping, changing and maintaining behaviors related to health. Whereas the common view on this topic assumes that goal pursuit is governed by a conscious intentional process, recent research indicates that goal pursuit can emerge without involvement of conscious intent. This paper discusses key findings of this research on nonconscious goal pursuit, and attempts to promote a more comprehensive understanding and examination of the role of goals in human behavior, self-regulation and health. Specifically, it addresses (1) the role of habits and planning; (2) the human capacity to go beyond habits nonconsciously by regulating goals without awareness of the activation and operation of the goal; and (3) the fundamental role of affect in nonconsciously modulating the motivation of goals and their pursuit.

Keywords:

• Goal pursuit and health
• automatic processes
• unconscious goals
• implicit motivation
• self-regulation
• executive control
• affect

Acknowledgements

The work in this article was supported by a grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (VIDI Grant 452-02-047 and ZONMW Grant 40160001).