Running Head: CONCURRENT GOAL MANAGEMENT

The current study investigated the characteristics contributing to successful goal attainment of a weight-loss and a non weight-loss goal simultaneously. Weight-loss and non weight-loss goals, self-efficacy, persistence, temptations, intergoal interference and facilitation were measured via an online questionnaire (N = 103, Mage = 25.36±6.9, 80% women). Weight-loss self-efficacy, persistence, temptations and intergoal facilitation significantly predicted weight-loss goal attainment. Those who were more successful in attaining both their goals simultaneously had higher self-efficacy, persistence, and experienced less temptation towards both goals. The study provides an insight into the characteristics necessary for successful simultaneous management of a weight-loss goal with another goal. 3 Journal of Health Psychology 0(0) Multiple-Goal Management: An Examination of Simultaneous Pursuit of a Weight-loss Goal with Another Goal Worldwide the prevalence of overweight and obesity has reached epidemic levels. It is estimated that there are currently 1.1 billion adults that are overweight, with 300 million being obese. Of these at least 2.8 million people die each year as a consequence of being overweight or obese (Mathers, Fat, & Boerma, 2008). In direct response to such figures, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared improving diet and physical activity a public health priority (Anderson et al., 2009). There is a large body of evidence that supports dietary and exercise-related interventions as a means to produce small to modest reductions in weight-loss (around 5-10%). These losses have been consistently linked to enhanced physiological and psychological wellbeing (Wing & Hill, 2001). However, the majority of these individuals fail in their goal pursuit (Green, Larkin, & Sullivan, 2009). It is well-known that successful goal attainment is a function of how individuals think about their goals and the strategies they use to pursue them (Bagozzi & Edwards, 1998). Thus, investigation into the goal-related processes surrounding weight-loss goal management is required in order to find out the key factors related to weight-loss success (and failure). People regularly juggle multiple goals on a daily basis, consequently, much of people’s daily activities involve deciding how much effort to invest in their goals, when to invest it, and which goals to invest it in (Gollwitzer & Heckhausen, 1990). To date, goals have mainly been studied in isolation from each other in order to understand a specific behaviour and how it relates to goal attainment (Latham & Locke, 1991). However, examining single goal-related behaviour without acknowledging the simultaneous influence of other goals fails to take into account the self-regulation skills needed to pursue multiple goals in everyday life (Louro, Pieters, & Zeelenberg, 2007). 4 Journal of Health Psychology 0(0) A small number of studies have specifically looked at managing multiple goals in a health related context (Gebhart & Maes, 1998; Riediger & Freund, 2004; Karoly et al., 2005; Li & Chan, 2008; Jung & Brawley, 2010). The majority of these studies focus on the interference or conflict that occurs as a result of managing exercise alongside other goals, and the implications of those processes for multiple-goal pursuit and attainment. For example, Gebhart and Maes (1998) found that sedentary participants had greater interference from a list of non-exercise personal goals than more active participants. Li and Chan’s (2008) research also examined the conflict between exercise and self-selected non exercise goals. They found that when conflict among the two goals was high, intention-behaviour relations were weaker with regard to exercising compared to individuals who experienced low goal conflict. In contrast, the ways in which goals complement or facilitate one another can enhance goal pursuit and subsequent attainment (Gebhart et al., 2007). For example, exercise and career goals may complement one another as exercising may relieve stress and subsequently boost performance at work. Studies looking at facilitation in terms of managing exercise goals alongside other personal goals, have found that the more active participants experienced greater facilitation between exercise and non exercise goals (Gebhart et al., 2007; Jung & Brawley, 2010). This pattern has also been replicated with other types of goals with mutual goal facilitation found to repeatedly predict high involvement in longer-term goal pursuit ( Riediger, 2007, Riediger & Freund, 2004; Riediger & Freund, 2007). However, the majority of multiple-goal research has simply examined the impact of goal conflict (and ignored the possibility of intergoal facilitation), or has measured interference and facilitation as a single item measure (e.g. Gebhart et al., 2007; Jung & Brawley, 2010). This approach has been criticized in the past as it has been suggested that interference and facilitation are independent factors and not opposite sides of the same continuum. Riedger and Freund (2004) created the Intergoal Relations Questionnaire (IRQ) to overcome these issues. Their 5 Journal of Health Psychology 0(0) body of work found interference and facilitation to be two independent characteristics each having a differential effect on subsequent goal pursuit. Although the IRQ has been employed to examine exercise in a multiple-goal context its utility with regard to weight-loss goals is unknown. Goal interference and facilitation are not the only characteristics that may influence multiple-goal pursuit. Karoly et al. (2005) examined whether regular exercisers and irregular exercisers differ in their self-regulation of exercise versus a goal that strongly interferes with exercise. They found that irregular exercisers favoured their non exercise goal (rather than their exercise goal) in terms of valuing it greater, monitoring it more consistently, and planning and rewarding themselves when they progressed towards attaining this goal. In contrast, those who were regular exercisers did not appear to make such preferences and were found to be more proficient in managing both goals simultaneously. A study by Jung and Brawley (2010) also explored the self-regulatory characteristics influencing exercise frequency whilst pursuing another goal. Their sample consisted of 336 university students who were required to specify their most valued non-exercise goal and complete a questionnaire measuring physical activity levels, self-efficacy, persistence and interference/facilitation of concurrent goals. Jung and Brawley then dichotomized participants into frequent and less frequent exercisers. Similarly to Karoly et al. (2005), Jung and Brawley found that, frequent exercisers had higher levels of self-efficacy, persistence and experienced greater facilitation towards attaining both exercise and non-exercise goals. Further research by Jung and Brawley, (2011) into the predictors of exercise adherence in working mothers found that persistence was highly influenced by self-efficacy in that when numerous barriers to attaining exercise goals were perceived those with higher self-efficacy on both goals had greater persistence on both goals and experienced greater facilitation of both goals. 6 Journal of Health Psychology 0(0) The self-regulation needed to successfully pursue long-term goals is influenced by self-efficacy, that is ones belief in his or her ability to succeed in a particular situation (Bandura, 1997). Having high levels of self-efficacy has been repeatedly linked to weightloss success (Kitsantas, 2000; Byrne, 2002; Elfhag & Rössner, 2005). In terms of multiplegoal management for exercise, self-efficacy has been outlined as a key factor relating to goal attainment (Jung & Brawley, 2010, 2011; Karoly et al., 2005). However, its effectiveness in terms of managing weight-loss alongside other goals is relatively unknown. To our knowledge, there are only two studies that have examined weight-loss goal management in the context of other goals. Fishbach and Dhar, (2005; Study 1) looked at perceptions of progress in weight-loss goal pursuit by examining how these perceptions affected goal-based choices. The researchers manipulated dieters’ perceived levels of progress with their weight-loss goal in order to examine how it affected their choice of healthy vs. unhealthy snacks. They found that when people perceived that they had progressed with their weight-loss goal it often led to the choice of an unhealthy rather than healthy snack. However this particular study did not get participants to specify another goal outside of weight-loss, and thus, was more focused on goal congruent actions than on multiple-goal pursuit. Furthermore, the authors acknowledged that they failed to measure participants’ commitment to their goal. They did, however, measure commitment in subsequent studies in the same paper. Results demonstrated that when goal-related actions signified commitment, they are unlikely to be followed by behaviours that are inconsistent with that goal. Louro et al. (2007; Study 1) looked at weight-loss and non-weight-loss goal pursuit. Participants kept a 21-day diary which examined perceptions of goal progress, effort, expectancies of success, emotions, proximity and attainment of both goals. Louro et al. found that when distant from attaining their goal, participants’ positive emotions from the previous day led to increased effort on the goal the next day. In contrast, when attainment was close, 7 Journal of Health Psychology 0(0) positive goal-related emotions resulted in decreased effort the following day and a shift in effort to the other goal. This study illustrates the balance individuals strike on a day-to-day basis in terms of multiple-goal management based on current and previous efforts, emotions, progress and proximity to goals. The goals-based literature highlights the role of not only long-term objectives but also salient sho