Personal goals and subjective well-being: A longitudinal study.

Abstract

This study examined the extent to which 3 dimensions of personal goals - commitment, attainability, and progress - were predictive of students' subjective well-being over 1 semester. At the beginning of a new term, 88 Ss provided a list of their personal goals. Goal attributes and subjective well-being were measured at 4 testing periods. Goal commitment was found to moderate the extent to which differences in goal attainability accounted for changes in subjective well-being. Progress in goal achievement mediated the erect of the Goal Commitment × Goal Attainability on Subjective Well-Being interaction. Results are discussed in terms of a need for addition and refinement of assumptions linking personal goals to subjective well-being