Daydreaming Mediates between Goal Commitment and Goal Attainment in Individuals High in Achievement Motivation

Abstract

Empirical research has shown that conceptions of desirable future states seem to have a stronger motivational impact on individuals high (relative to low) in achievement motivation. Therefore, it was assumed that daydreaming mediates between goal commitment and goal attainment in individuals high (but not in those low) in achievement motivation. This hypothesis was tested in a sample of German first-year university students who rated two goals—a study and a friendship goal—for goal commitment and kept a daydream diary for two weeks. Among individuals high in achievement motivation, goal commitment was related to the number of daydreams revolving around advancing toward the two goals (positive daydreaming) and positive daydreaming was related to goal attainment assessed six weeks after the onset of the study. For individuals low in achievement motivation, goal commitment was related to goal attainment, but positive daydreaming was unrelated to both goal commitment and goal attainment. Additional mediational and path analyses supported the conclusion that positive daydreaming mediated between goal commitment and goal attainment for individuals high, but not for those low in achievement motivation. The results are interpreted with respect to recent findings on the motivational consequences of positive goal imagery.

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