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Behavioral extremism takes different forms and shapes, including violent extremism, extreme dieting, extreme passion, and extreme infatuations. The authors look at these various behaviors through the lens of the goal systems theory and argue that all cases of extremism stem from motivational imbalance whereby a given need (or a goal serving this need) gains dominance and overrides other basic concerns. The result is an expansion of behavioral options for addressing the prioritized need and engagement in extreme behaviors forbidden under the state of balance. Further, the authors discuss the antecedents of motivational imbalance with a particular focus on individual differences. They argue that some people personify the dynamics of extremism more than others and propose a construct of “extreme personality” to reflect between-person variation in proneness to motivational imbalance. They cite evidence showing that extreme personality predicts manifestations of extremism at different levels: motivational, cognitive, affective, behavioral, and social. They conclude by discussing future research directions.

In this chapter, the authors demonstrate that the goals systems theory provides a general framework to integrate previous theorizing and findings about risk behavior and to address outstanding questions. The authors propose that risk behavior represents means to salient and important goals rather than irrational choice or self-regulatory failure and demonstrate that risk behavior follows the general principles of goal pursuit. Specifically, (1) risk behavior is enacted when perceived as instrumental to an individual’s goals, (2) engagement in risk behavior requires goal conflict resolution and may result in the inhibition of alternative considerations for health or safety, and (3) these processes are resource-dependent such that risk behavior might be enhanced rather than diminished in the presence of cognitive resources for control. The authors provide empirical evidence that risk-taking in general, and in particular substance use, risky sexual behavior, overeating, and self-harm, follow these principles.

Understanding how individual beliefs and societal values influence support for measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission is vital to developing and implementing effective prevention policies. Using both Just World Theory and Cultural Dimensions Theory, the present study considered how individual-level justice beliefs and country-level social values predict support for vaccination and quarantine policy mandates to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Data from an international survey of adults from 46 countries (N = 6424) were used to evaluate how individual-level beliefs about justice for self and others, as well as national values—that is, power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence—influence support for vaccination and quarantine behavioral mandates. Multilevel modeling revealed that support for vaccination and quarantine mandates were positively associated with individual-level beliefs about justice for self, and negatively associated with country-level uncertainty avoidance. Significant cross-level interactions revealed that beliefs about justice for self were associated more strongly with support for mandatory vaccination in countries high in individualism, whereas beliefs about justice for others were more strongly associated with support for vaccination and quarantine mandates in countries high in long-term orientation. Beliefs about justice and cultural values can independently and also interactively influence support for evidence-based practices to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission, such as vaccination and quarantine. Understanding these multilevel influences may inform efforts to develop and implement effective prevention policies in varied national contexts.

Behavioral extremism (e.g., violent extremism, extreme humanism, or extreme athleticism) elicits fear, revulsion, pity, or admiration depending on the context. Its common image as exotic and esoteric makes extremism fascinating to audiences worldwide. The negative, antisocial and positive, prosocial cases of extremism are generally regarded as poles apart and as based on qualitatively different psychologies. By contrast, we propose that all cases of extremism, across different manifestations and levels of phylogeny, involve the same psychological mechanism. This mechanism consists of a motivational imbalance wherein a given need becomes dominant to the extent of overriding other basic concerns and liberates behaviors that the latter formerly constrained. We discuss the antecedents and consequences of such imbalance and provide empirical evidence to support our claim.

Affect has been considered an important factor of risk decision making. However, previous work has focused on the valence of affect and disregarded its motivational relevance. We present two studies investigating people’s likelihood to drink and drive as a function of negative affect related to drinking and driving that was inconsistent, or threatening people’s goal pursuit (Study 1) or did not threaten participants’ goal pursuit (Study 2) as well as participants’ motivation to draw conclusions quickly and efficiently (i.e. need for closure, NFC). Negative affect resulted in higher self-reported likelihood to drink and drive, particularly among high NFC individuals, but only when it was inconsistent with participants’ goals. When negative affect was not inconsistent with participants’ goals, it resulted in lower self-reported likelihood to drink and drive among high NFC individuals. The present work points to the importance of the motivational relevance of negative affect in the decision-making process to engage in risk behavior.

Risky behaviors represent serious threats to health and the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the developed world. Despite known negative consequences, people continue to abuse alcohol and drugs, to smoke, overeat, engage in risky sexual behavior, and drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs. This might happen because they perceive these behaviors as the best and sometimes the only means to fulfill important goals. To understand and to prevent health-risk behavior, scientists and policy-makers should consider the function that these behaviors serve. A theoretical framework based on the principles of goal pursuit helps explain (a) why health-risk behaviors become a means to people’s goals and (b) the psychological processes that facilitate initiation and maintenance of health-risk behaviors despite known negative consequences. Principles of goal pursuit could inform policy to reduce health-risk behaviors and their negative consequences.

Recent years have seen a surge in the popularity of interventions that target common distortions in thinking (cognitive-bias modification, or CBM). Although there is evidence of their effectiveness as add-ons to regular treatment in alcohol addiction, the effects are typically small, and recent findings from lab studies have called into question the dominant theoretical underpinnings of CBM. We provide a novel theoretical approach in terms of automatic inferences that integrates previous findings and suggests ways to improve CBM into ABC training. In ABC training, patients are trained in the context of personally relevant antecedents (A) to make behavioral choices (B) that accord with patients’ health goals in light of their consequences (C). We discuss preliminary evidence suggesting that ABC training might be a useful tool in the treatment of addictions and related disorders.

Brief, culturally-tailored, and scalable stress coping interventions are needed to address a broad range of stress-related health disparities, including among African Americans. In this study, we develop two brief justice writing interventions and demonstrate a methodological approach for evaluating how prompting African Americans to think about justice and injustice can alter responses to acute social stress.African American women and men were randomized to a neutral writing condition or one of two justice-based writing interventions, which prompted them to recall past experiences of personal justice - with (adjunctive injustice) or without (personal justice-only) recalling and writing about injustice. Participants then completed a modified Trier Social Stress Test, during which they received feedback on poor performance. We measured cognitive performance, affect, and perceived threat in response to task feedback. We also measured blood pressure and salivary cortisol stress responses.Men experienced more positive emotion, performed better on the stressor task, and were less threatened by poor performance feedback in the personal justice-only condition. Men also had lower systolic blood pressure reactivity in the justice writing conditions compared to control. Women experienced less positive emotion, performed worse on the stressor task, and were more threatened by feedback in the personal justice-only condition. Women also had lower cortisol recovery after the stressor task in the adjunctive injustice condition.Thinking about justice and injustice may alter performance, affect, threat, and biological responses to acute social stress. Still, gender differences highlight that justice thinking is likely to produce heterogeneous and complex stress coping responses among African Americans.

People engage in risk behavior as a means to different goals they may pursue. This research investigates why people choose risk behavior as opposed to finding alternative means to fulfill these goals. One intuitive answer is that they are not aware of the negative consequences of these behaviors. However, there is now substantial research suggesting that, in fact, people know and understand the consequences of risk behavior. We propose that risk behavior may be perceived as particularly instrumental to certain goals because of its potential negative consequences. This possibility is suggested by the principle of counterfinality whereby, a means' perceived instrumentality to one's goals may increase to the extent to which it is detrimental to alternative goals. To support this argument, we present evidence from five studies showing that: 1) people are more likely to engage in risk behavior when relevant goals become accessible; 2) this effect is stronger when the negative consequences of risk behavior are emphasized and 3) it is explained by an increase in perceived instrumentality of risk behaviors to the current goals; 4) people who are more concerned with finding the “best” means to fulfill their goals (i.e., people high in a regulatory mode characterized by assessment) are more likely to engage in risk behavior. These findings offer preliminary support for the notion of counterfinality as a source of perceived instrumentality of risk behavior to people's goals and may explain engagement in risk behavior despite potential negative consequences.

Risk-taking in adolescence has been often associated with early life adversities. However, the impact of such macrolevel factors on risk behavior has been rarely studied in humans. To address these gaps we recruited a sample of young adolescents who were part of a randomized control trial of foster care. Children institutionalized at or soon after birth were randomly assigned either to be removed from institutions and placed into a family or foster care intervention or to remain in institutions receiving care as usual. These children were subsequently followed up through 12 years of age and compared with a sample of children who had never been institutionalized. Using this sample, we examined the impact of early childhood deprivation on risk-taking behavior and explored the role of motivation (i.e., sensation seeking) and executive control (i.e., planning). Early psychosocial deprivation decreased engagement in risk-taking among young adolescents by reducing sensation seeking, a motivation often associated with risk-taking in adolescence. The impact of early psychosocial deprivation on sensation seeking and consequently on engagement in risk-taking was further reduced by its deleterious effects on executive control. These findings challenge the traditional view according to which risk behavior is a maladaptive response to adversities and suggest that it may represent adolescents' attempts to fulfill important motivations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in how close relationships can impact personal goal pursuit. Extensive research on social support has shown that support often facilitates goal pursuit. However, Fitzsimons and Finkel found that perceived partner support may actually undermine motivation and decrease goal pursuit intentions. In this article, we report three well-powered studies ( N = 850) that investigated the conditions under which romantic partners may bolster or undermine goal pursuit. In contrast with the original Fitzsimons and Finkel’s findings, the results of these studies consistently showed that perceived partner support bolsters goal pursuit intentions by increasing goal commitment. Implications for successful goal pursuit in the context of relationships are discussed.

The current research developed and tested a novel training strategy to alter the implicit associations between alternative behaviors to smoking and negative affect, and explored its effects on depressive symptoms and on smoking behavior as part of a quit attempt. Using a joystick, participants identified as smokers with depressive symptoms were trained to approach alternative behaviors to smoking in the context of negative affect. Specifically, in the experimental condition, participants were trained to avoid smoking-related targets and to approach alternative activities. In the control condition, participants pushed and pulled an equal amount of smoking and alternative activity-related targets. Compared with the participants in the control condition, those in the experimental condition showed an increase in the accessibility of the alternative activity relative to smoking and a decrease in depressive symptoms. Smoking outcomes did not differ significantly across the 2 conditions. Taken together these results indicate that the value of alternative behaviors to smoking can be modified in the lab without participants' conscious intentions with implications for depressive symptomatology. Future research is required to explore the impact of such training on smoking outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record

This study investigates abuse and rejection sensitivity as important correlates of risky sexual behavior in the context of substance use. Victims of abuse may experience heightened sensitivity to acute social rejection and consequently engage in risky sexual behavior in an attempt to restore belonging. Data were collected from 258 patients at a substance use treatment facility in Washington, D.C. Participants' history of abuse and risky sexual behavior were assessed via self-report. To test the mediating role of rejection sensitivity, participants completed a social rejection task (Cyberball) and responded to a questionnaire assessing their reaction to the rejection experience. General risk-taking propensity was assessed using a computerized lab measure. Abuse was associated with increased rejection sensitivity (B = .124, SE = .040, p = .002), which was in turn associated with increased risky sex (B = .06, SE = .028, p = .03) (indirect effect = .0075, SE = .0043; 95% CI [.0006, 0.0178]), but not with other indices of risk-taking. These findings suggest that rejection sensitivity may be an important mechanism underlying the relationship between abuse and risky sexual behavior among substance users. These effects do not extend to other risk behaviors, supporting the notion that risky sex associated with abuse represents a means to interpersonal connection rather than a general tendency toward self-defeating behavior.

The current research explores the idea that self-defeating behaviors represent means toward individuals' goals. In this quality, they may be automatically initiated upon goal activation without individual's voluntary intention and thus exemplify the long-held idea that the end justifies the means. To investigate this notion empirically we explored one of the most problematic self-defeating behavior: engagement in sex exchange for crack cocaine. This behavior is common among female drug users despite its well-known health and legal consequences. Although these women know and understand the consequences of such behavior, they have a hard time resisting it when the goal of drug obtainment becomes accessible. Indeed, the current study shows that when the accessibility of such a goal is experimentally increased, participants for whom sex exchange represents an instrumental means to drug obtainment are faster to approach sex-exchange targets in a joystick task despite their self-reported intentions to avoid such behavior. Language: en

This chapter proposes that individuals' self-defeating and seemingly "irrational" behavior serves as means to salient and important goals and therefore represents strategic goal pursuit rather than self-regulatory failure. The individual's motivational map consisting of interrelated goals and means has important implications for understanding both initiation and perpetuation of self-defeating behaviors. Risk behavior has often been discussed in relation to social acceptance, prevention-related goals, achievement goals, and regulation of negative affect. Risky sexual behavior including sex with multiple partners, with casual and commercial partners, and unprotected sex may also be enacted to fulfill specific goals. Goal pursuit is dependent on resource mobilization and executive control. Resource mobilization is a function of goal importance and difficulty of pursuit. The saliency of the goal of emotion regulation coupled with the availability of cognitive resources might have allowed them to consider the negative consequences and possibly to use them as an indicator of the instrumentality of the behavior.

OBJECTIVE Alcohol-impaired driving remains a serious public health concern despite the fact that drinking and driving risks are widely disseminated and well understood by the public. This research examines the motivational conditions under which providing risk information can exacerbate rather than decrease potential drinking drivers' willingness to drive while impaired. METHOD In a hypothetical drinking and driving scenario, 3 studies investigated participants' self-reported likelihood of drinking and driving as a function of (a) accessibility of information regarding risk associated with drinking and driving, (b) motivation to drive, and (c) need for cognitive closure (NFC). RESULTS Across the 3 studies, participants self-reported a higher likelihood of driving when exposed to high-risk information (vs. low-risk information) if they were high in NFC. Risk information did decrease self-reported likelihood of driving among low-NFC participants (Studies 1-3). Furthermore, this effect was exacerbated when the relevant motivation (to get home conveniently) was high (Study 3). CONCLUSIONS These findings have important implications for impaired-driving prevention efforts. They suggest that at least under some circumstances, risk information can have unintended negative effects on drinking and driving decisions. The results are consistent with the motivated cognition literature, which suggests that people process and use information in a manner that supports their most accessible and important motivation despite potentially negative consequences. (PsycINFO Database Record

The Need for Cognitive Closure (NCC, Kruglanski & Webster, 1996) is a motivational force describing a general tendency to form clear judgments and to reach firm decisions. Since individuals high in NCC have an intolerance of uncertainty and ambiguity, as well as a preference for predictability, we hypothesized that they would show more risk aversion and reduced propensity to choose delayed rewards compared to individuals low in NCC. In Study 1, we showed that individuals high in NCC perceived specific activities as riskier, and therefore, showed lower willingness to engage in those activities than individuals high in NCC. In Study 2, high NCC individuals, compared to low NCC individuals made less risky choices in the cold version of the Columbia Card Task (CCT) – a task considered to involve deliberate decision making processes. In Study 3, we found the same relationship between the NCC and risk taking in a task involving more affective decision-making processes - the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). We also employed a delay discounting task to assess the impact of NCC on inter-temporal choices. In line with our expectations, individuals high in the NCC opted for smaller but certain, or temporally more proximal, options.

The construct of motivational readiness is introduced and explored. Motivational readiness is the willingness or inclination, whether or not ultimately realized, to act in the service of a desire. Building on prior relevant conceptions that include, among others, animal learning models (Hull, 1943; Spence, 1956; Tolman, 1955) and personality approaches (e.g., Atkinson, 1964; Lewin, 1935), a general theory of motivational readiness is presented. Major parameters of this theory include the magnitude of a Want state (i.e., individual's desire of some sort) and the Expectancy of being able to satisfy it. The Want is assumed to be the essential driver of readiness: Whereas some degree of readiness may exist in the absence of Expectancy, all readiness is abolished in the absence of desire (Want). The concept of incentive is conceptualized in terms of a Match between the contents of the Want and perceived situational affordances. Whereas in classic models incentive was portrayed as a first-order determinant of motivational readiness, it is depicted here as a second-order factor that affects readiness via its impact on the Want and/or the Expectancy. A heterogeneous body of evidence for the present theory is reviewed, converging from different domains of psychological research. The theory's relation to its predecessors and its unique implications for new research hypotheses are also discussed.

Crack/cocaine and engagement in risky sexual behavior represent important contributors to the escalation of the HIV infection among women. Several lines of research have emphasized the role of social factors in women's vulnerability for such practices and stressed the importance of understanding such factors to better inform prevention efforts and improve their effectiveness and efficiency. However, few studies have attempted to pinpoint specific social/contextual factors particularly relevant to high-risk populations such as female crack/cocaine users. Extensive previous research has related the experience of social rejection to a variety of negative outcomes including, but not limited to, various forms of psychopathology, self-defeating, and self-harm behavior. Motivated by this research, the current study explored the role of laboratory-induced social rejection in moderating the relationship between gender and risky sexual behavior among a sample of crack/cocaine users (n = 211) at high risk for HIV. The results showed that among women, but not among men, experiencing social rejection was significantly associated with a greater number of sexual partners. Further, experiencing social rejection was not related to the frequency of condom use. Implications for future research, prevention, and treatment are discussed.

Like most behavior, consumer behavior too is goal driven. In turn, goals constitute cognitive constructs that can be chronically active as well as primed by features of the environment. Goal systems theory outlines the principles that characterize the dynamics of goal pursuit and explores their implications for consumer behavior. In this vein, we discuss from a common, goal systemic, perspective a variety of well known phenomena in the realm of consumer behavior including brand loyalty, variety seeking, impulsive buying, preferences, choices and regret. The goal systemic perspective affords guidelines for subsequent research on the dynamic aspects of consummatory behavior as well as offering insights into practical matters in the area of marketing.

Cocaine use and dependence remains an important public health concern. Thus, the identification of individual difference factors that may maintain cocaine use remains an important goal. The goal of the current study is to test whether the cognitive vulnerability of anxiety sensitivity (AS), an identified risk factor for anxiolytic use and use-related disorders, is related to cocaine dependence diagnosis (n 5 168) among a sample of drug users currently enrolled in residential treatment (N 5 304). Results demonstrated that AS was significantly related to cocaine dependence and remained significant after controlling for sex, age, alcohol dependence, hallucinogen dependence, major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Taken together, these data suggest that AS may have a specific relation to cocaine dependence, calling into question the notion that AS is positively related only to drugs with anxiolytic properties. Keywords: cocaine; substance dependence; substance use disorders; anxiety sensitivity; anxiety Cocaine use and cocaine use disorders (CUDs) remain a serious public health concern. According to the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2009b), estimates of current (past-month) cocaine use and CUDs among people aged 12 years and older have remained quite stable over the past 6 years. Further, nearly 75% of current cocaine users met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994) criteria for a CUD (dependence or abuse), making CUD the third most common illicit substance use disorder (SUD; SAMHSA, 2009b). Cocaine use has also been associated with various negative outcomes including hospitalization, increased vulnerability to other serious medical conditions or infections, and even death (DeBeck et al., 2009; Minkoff et al., 2008; Shannon et al., 2008; SAMHSA, 2008, 2009a). According to two annual reports generated through the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), cocaine was the most frequently cited illicit substance involved in all hospital emergency department visits, followed by marijuana, heroin, and other stimulants (SAMHSA, 2008). Cocaine appears to be involved in approximately one-third of all emergency department visits for substance misuse, and seven of eight participating states reported increases in percentages of drug-related deaths between 2006 and 2007 (SAMHSA, 2008, 2009a). Approximately 19% of current cocaine users use crack cocaine (SAMHSA, 2009b). Among the many impairments associated with crack cocaine use, repeated crack cocaine use has been identified as a central risk factor for several infectious diseases, including human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, and viral hepatitis C (HCV) infection (DeBeck et al., 2009; Minkoff et al., 2008; Shannon et al., 2008). Several factors can contribute to infectious diseases vulnerability among crack cocaine users. Crack cocaine users may be at an increased vulnerability to contract disease either directly, via the sharing of contaminated needles and drug paraphernalia (e.g., Latkin et al., 2009), or indirectly, through the frequent high-risk sexual behaviors that these individuals tend to engage while intoxicated (e.g., Minkoff et al., 2008). In sum, repeated crack cocaine use may place individuals at risk for substantial adverse health and social consequences associated with use. Given the serious public health issues linked to cocaine use and its disorders, the need to identify individual difference factors that may maintain crack cocaine use remains an important goal. One individual difference that appears relevant to substance use and substance dependence is anxiety sensitivity (AS), or fear of anxiety-related sensations (e.g., increased heart rate, sweating, muscle tension, headaches) caused by the belief that there will be some negative physical, social, or mental outcome as a result of having those symptoms. …

In the present article, we propose that impulsive behavior may be a response to certain needs or goals that people have in the moment and could therefore be strategic. We review briefly the dominant approaches and findings in the impulsivity literature. We then examine different behaviors that are typically considered impulsive such as delay discounting, risky sexual behavior, risk taking in the context of emotion dysregulation, and adolescent risk behavior and present evidence suggesting that they follow the general principles of goal pursuit. Specifically, they are (a) enacted when perceived as relevant to the individual’s motivation; (b) less likely when alternative means to fulfill these goals are available; and (c) supported rather than reduced by sufficient executive control, a hallmark of goal pursuit. We do not argue that there is no impulsive behavior. Rather, we suggest that such behavior may represent individuals’ attempts to fulfill current motivations or needs. This approach emphasizes the functionality and dynamism of the behavior, it provides a framework to explain the inconsistencies in the literature, it helps us to move away from pathologizing or moralizing the behavior, and it provides insights about potential strategies to mitigate the negative consequences of acting impulsively.

Researchers have identified the association between the use of cocaine and sexual behavior as an important risk factor for HIV infection and have attempted to elucidate the nature of this association. Several lines of research have suggested that facilitation of sexual behavior during intoxication with cocaine may be because of the direct pharmacological effects of the drug (e.g., increase in sexual desire), whereas others have pointed to the importance of factors related to the context of drug use (e.g., opportunities for sexual behavior, expectations about the effects of the drug, social norms). The present study explored the perceived effects of cocaine and heroin on sexual behavior, as well as the social context of drug use as a function of drug type (cocaine vs. heroin), among 46 inner-city drug users who reported a history of regular use of both crack cocaine and heroin. Results indicated that compared to heroin, cocaine had deleterious effects on participants' perceived sexual desire and performance. Despite such deleterious effects on sexual behavior, cocaine was more frequently used with an intimate partner than heroin. Furthermore, participants did not differ in the extent to which they used the two drugs in other social contexts (e.g., with friends, family, or neighbors). These preliminary results suggest that the relationship between cocaine and sexual behavior, especially among long-term cocaine users, may be facilitated by opportunities for sex that exist in the context of cocaine use, rather than by the pharmacological effects of the drug.

Three studies investigated the process by which categorical and individuating information impacts impression formation. The authors assumed that (a) both types of information are functionally equivalent in serving as evidence for interpersonal judgments and (b) their use is determined by their accessibility and perceived applicability to the impression's target. The first study constituted an extended replication of Pavelchak's experiment, and it showed that its results, initially interpreted to suggest the primacy in impression formation of category over trait information, may have been prompted by differential accessibility of the category versus trait information in some experimental conditions of the original research. Studies 2 and 3 additionally explored the role of informational accessibility manipulated in different ways. Study 3 demonstrated also that the effect of accessibility is qualified by the information's apparent relevance to the judgmental target.

Addiction models have frequently invoked motivational mechanisms to explain the initiation and maintenance of addictive behaviors. However, in doing so, these models have emphasized the unique characteristics of addictive behaviors and overlooked the commonalities that they share with motivated behaviors in general. As a consequence, addiction research has failed to connect with and take advantage of promising and highly relevant advances in motivation and self-regulation research. The present article is a call for a convergence of the previous approaches to addictive behavior and the new advances in basic motivation and self-regulation. The authors emphasize the commonalities that addictive behaviors may share with motivated behavior in general. In addition, it is suggested that the same psychological principles underlying motivated action in general may apply to understand challenging aspects of the etiology and maintenance of addictive behaviors.

A force-field theory of motivated cognition is presented and applied to a broad variety of phenomena in social judgment and self-regulation. Purposeful cognitive activity is assumed to be propelled by a driving force and opposed by a restraining force. Potential driving force represents the maximal amount of energy an individual is prepared to invest in a cognitive activity. Effective driving force corresponds to the amount of energy he or she actually invests in attempt to match the restraining force. Magnitude of the potential driving force derives from a combination of goal importance and the pool of available mental resources, whereas magnitude of the restraining force derives from an individual's inclination to conserve resources, current task demands, and competing goals. The present analysis has implications for choice of means to achieve one's cognitive goals as well as for successful goal attainment under specific force-field constellations. Empirical evidence for these effects is considered, and the underlying theory's integrative potential is highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

In the presence of several objectives, goal conflict may be avoided via multifinal means, which advance all of the active goals at once. Because such means observe multiple constraints, they are fewer in number than the unconstrained means to a single goal. Five experimental studies investigated the process of choosing or generating such means for multiple goals. We found that the simultaneous activation of multiple goals restricted the set of acceptable means to ones that benefitted (or at least, did not harm) the entire set of active goals. Two moderators of this phenomenon were identified: (a) the feasibility of identifying multifinal means, which was dependent on the relations between the different active goals, and (b) the enhanced importance of the focal goal, which resulted in the inhibition of its alternatives and the consequent relaxation of multifinality constraints.

The selfish goal metaphor is interesting and intriguing. It accounts for the idiosyncrasies and inconsistencies in peoples' goal pursuits without invoking free will, self-regulatory, or self-control failures. However, people pursue multiple goals, sometimes simultaneously. We argue that the model proposed in the target article may gain significant theoretical and practical value if the principles underlying goal selection and/or balancing on a moment-to-moment basis are clearly specified and integrated with the notion of the selfish goal.

s / Drug and Alcohol Dependence 146 (2015) e118–e201 e163 middle school students described parental disapproval as a deterrent, high school students also cited friend disapproval as deterring use. Across all groups, thosewhohad not tried e-cigs described lack of “coolness” as an additional deterrent. Conclusions: This qualitative study indicated several reasons why youth initiated, abstained from and discontinued e-cigarettes. While there were some common themes across groups, different themes also emerged across the age groups. Understanding these factors may inform e-cig prevention messages. Financial Support: This work was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse grant P50DA009241. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.09.359 Safety and pharmacokinetics of oxycodone DETERx administered intranasally in recreational opioid users A. Kopecky1, Alison B. Fleming1, Patrick K. Noonan2 1 Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc., Canton, MA, United States 2 PK Noonan Pharmaceutical Consulting, LLC, Williamsburg, VA, United States Aims: Oxycodone DETERx is a multi-particulate, abusedeterrent formulation designed to retain ER properties following common methods of tampering. The purpose of this study was to assess the safety and the pharmacokinetics (PK) of crushed DETERx capsule contents administered IN (DETERx IN) compared with 2 control treatments: immediate-release (IR) oxycodone powder administered IN (Oxy IN) and intact DETERx capsules administered orally (DETERx PO). Methods: Open-label, randomized, naltrexone-blocked, 3treatment, 3-period, crossover comparison study. Safety and PK of 40mg doses of DETERx IN, Oxy IN, and DETERx PO were compared innondependent, recreational opioid users experiencedwith IN administration (n=13). DETERx capsule contents were crushed using themost aggressive crushingmethod identified in previously conducted studies. Plasma samples were collected at pre-specified time points and analyzed using a LC–MS/MS method. PK parameters Cmax, AUCINF, TmaxandAbuseQuotient (AQ)were calculated. Safety assessments included treatment-emergent adverse events, vital signs, oxygen saturation and nasal cavity assessments. Results: Cmax LSMean ratio for DETERx IN relative to Oxy IN was 59.0%. Cmax LSMean ratio for DETERx IN relative to DETERx PO was 79.6%. DETERx IN and DETERx PO both had a median Tmax of 5.0h, longer than Oxy IN (3.0h). Oxy IN had the highest AQ value (42.5ng/ml/h); AQ values for DETERx IN and DETERx POwere similar (8.5 and 8.4ng/ml/h, respectively). AUCINF values were similar for all treatments. There weremore spontaneously reported nasalrelated AEs and a greater number of episodes of need to blow nose post insulation of crushed DETERx compared with Oxy. Conclusions: Crushing and snorting DETERx capsule contents produces relatively lower plasma concentrations of oxycodone compared with intact DETERx PO and Oxy IN, indicating that a concentration driven euphoric effect sought by drug abusers may not be achieved. Due to the higher number of nasal-related AEs, abusers may find DETERx less desirable. Financial Support: Collegium Pharmaceutical. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.09.360 A novel behavioral activation intervention for smoking cessation; mechanisms of change Catalina Kopetz1, Laura MacPherson2, Avery Mitchell 2, Alexandra HoustonLudlam2, Reinout W. Wiers3, Helle Larsen3 1 Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States 2 Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States 3 Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam

Widely used explicit memory tasks seem to overestimate age-related differences in memory performance. Social and personal factors may buffer or undermine the effect of age on memory performance. In two studies, the performance of older adults was compared with the performance of younger adults. Tasks were presented either as memory tasks or non-memory tasks. Older adults' performance on a memory task improved when the task-instructions did not explicitly emphasize the memory component of the task. In the first study, results revealed that memory self-efficacy beliefs play a moderator role on the impact of task-instruction on memory performance, so that lower levels of memory self-efficacy correlate with lower performance in the memory emphasizing task condition but not in the orientation emphasizing task condition. In a second study actual performance expectations were measured. For older participants only, expectations were sensitive to task-instructions and mediated the relation between tasks-instructions and performances. These findings suggest that observed age-related differences in memory performance may be significantly exaggerated by the testing situation and by a low memory self-efficacy and low memory performance expectancies prevalent among older adults. Copyright # 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Diverse facets of the multifinality configuration in goal-directed behavior are identified and empirically explored. The multifinality construct denotes a motivational structure wherein a single means is linked to several ends. A multifinality configuration maximizes value that a given means promises to deliver while sacrificing expectancy of attainment due to a dilution effect. Several phenomena implied by multifinality theory are investigated, including an unconscious quest for multifinal means, the constraints that such quest imposes on means to a focal goal, and structural conditions under which an activity may be experienced as intrinsically motivated. Multifinality phenomena appear in numerous domains of social cognition, and the present theory offers a novel perspective on classic motivational effects.