Goal Systems Theory: Psychological Processes and Applications

Twenty years ago, a group of investigators joined forces to propose a  new conceptual paradigm based on a cognitive approach to motivation.  This approach, referred to as goal systems theory, offered a broad  perspective on behavioral phenomena and inspired research programs in  diverse domains of psychological science. This volume collects the rich  body of insights and findings that the goal systemic approach has  yielded over the last two decades.

Using the major cognitive  architectures of goal systems, leading researchers from some of the  world's most renowned universities push the envelopes of their  respective fields to discover new psychological phenomena and  relationships through applications. These include fundamental topics  such as attitude-behavior relations, intrinsic motivation, consumer  behavior, violent extremism, addiction, and interpersonal relations  among others. In all those domains, applications of goal systemic  analyses provide novel insights and guide real world interventions.  Chapters in this volume present the authors' work in these varied  domains of application thus offering concrete illustrations of the  theory's reach and usefulness.