The Motivational Looking Glass: How Significant Others Implicitly Affect Goal Appraisals.

Three studies manipulate the accessibility of significant-other representations to explore how these representations may automatically influence how goals are construed and experienced. Study 1 finds that the perceived attainment expectations of a significant other automatically affect participantsʹ own task-goal expectations and their subsequent task performance and persistence. Study 2 finds that the general perceived value that a significant other places in attaining a task goal automatically affects participantsʹ own attainment value appraisals, their task persistence and performance, and the magnitude of their reaction to success and failure feedback. Finally, Study 3 demonstrates that the regulatory focus prescribed by a significant other may automatically affect participantsʹ own regulatory focus with regards to a task goal, with consequences for their cheerfulness-dejection and relaxationagitation responses to success and failure feedback. The implications for our understanding of social influence and self-regulation are discussed.