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ERIC Number: EJ1145491
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2192-001X
EISSN: N/A
Motivational Selectivity Prospectively Predicts Couples' Realization of Their Goal to Have a Child
Rauers, Antje; Böhnke, Anja; Riediger, Michaela
International Journal of Developmental Science, v7 n3-4 p143-149 2013
Developmental theories have emphasized that motivational selectivity--focusing on a few goals instead of "wanting it all"--regulates development in individuals, dyads, or groups. We provide first evidence that this motivational strategy predicts an objective, goal-related developmental outcome years later. We followed up on initially childless couples in which both partners had reported the goal of starting a family within the next three and a half years. At baseline, partners reported on their general behavioral tendency to prioritize goals of particular importance in their partnership (i.e., their motivational selectivity). Three and a half years later, 50% of the couples had realized the goal to have a child. The higher the couples' initial motivational-selectivity scores had been, the more likely they were to have indeed started a family, controlling for other potential predictors of child-bearing. These findings suggest that motivational selectivity meaningfully characterizes social entities like couples, and regulates their development.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany (Berlin)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A