A Theory of Interpersonal Goals and Situations

This article tests a resolution of the difficulties in specifying how goals and situations relate to one another. The new theory suggests a distinction among situational features. “Reasonably apparent” features are those that are fairly obvious at the start of an interaction. “Subjective” features are emergent and depend on a participant’s experience of the interaction. The proposed theory is that reasonably apparent situation features cause primary goals, which cause subjective situational characteristics, which in turn activate secondary goals. In Study 1 (n = 461), results of analysis of open-ended situational descriptions were consistent with this new theory. The difficulties in testing complex causal relations with categorical data led to Study 2 (n = 1,435), which also supported the new theory.

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