Updated ‘Multiple-Goal Pursuit Model’ Describes How We Decide What Goals to Pursue

Dr. Jeffrey Vancouver

Dr. Jeffrey B. Vancouver, Professor and Byham Chair in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, co-authored an article that expands his “multiple-goal pursuit model” by including processes that can handle complex information and different types of goals one might choose to pursue or avoid.

The article “An Integrative Formal Model of Motivation and Decision Making: The MGPM*” will appear in the Journal of Applied Psychology. The co-authors are Timothy Ballard and Andrew Neal of the University of Queensland and Gillian Yeo and Shayne Loft of the University of Western Australia.

Abstract: We develop and test an integrative formal model of motivation and decision making. The model, referred to as the extended multiple-goal pursuit model (MGPM*), is an integration of the multiple-goal pursuit model (Vancouver, Weinhardt, & Schmidt, 2010) and decision field theory (Busemeyer & Townsend, 1993). Simulations of the model generated predictions regarding the effects of goal type (approach vs avoidance), risk, and time sensitivity on prioritization. We tested these predictions in an experiment in which participants pursued different combinations of approach and avoidance goals under different levels of risk. The empirical results were consistent with the predictions of the MGPM*. Specifically, participants pursuing one approach and one avoidance goal shifted priority from the approach to the avoidance goal over time. Among participants pursuing two approach goals, those with low time sensitivity prioritized the goal with the larger discrepancy, whereas those with high time sensitivity prioritized the goal with the smaller discrepancy. Participants pursuing two avoidance goals generally prioritized the goal with the smaller discrepancy. Finally, all of these effects became weaker as the level of risk increased. We used quantitative model comparison to show that the MGPM* explained the data better than the original multiple-goal pursuit model, and that the major extensions from the original model were justified. The MGPM* represents a step forward in the development of a general theory of decision making during multiple-goal pursuit.