for self-regulation. In M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.),
Handbook of self-regulation. San Diego: Academic Press.
The notion that goals relate to each other and to a wide range of substitutable behaviors gives rise to a number of important self-regulatory issues such as (1) how these associations affect our commitment to any given goal; (2) how a specific attainment behavior, or means, is chosen among those associated with a specific goal; (3) how this behavior is experienced with respect to the goal, and (4) how it will be replaced with another behavior if it proves ineffectual for attaining the goal. This chapter addresses these important self-regulatory issues by considering the basic ways in which goals and means can differ in their associations with each other. To illustrate these differences, the authors adopt a connectionist perspective by assuming that an individual's goals and means can be viewed as a network of cognitive associations that vary in complexity. The fundamental characteristics of goal networks are examined, showing how consideration of these structural properties differs from other current perspectives on goals. Finally, the authors consider how individual differences in motivational orientation, goal content, and regulatory experiences may influence associations between goals and means.
