November 26, 2014

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Daydreaming and Mental Contrasting for Goal-Fulfillment with Gabriele Oettingen

Psychologist Gabrielle Oettingen’s research on goal-setting and self-regulation animates discussion of some incredibly practical tools to help with constructive daydreaming, hurdling obstacles, implementation intentions and goal-fulfillment.

By Scott Barry Kaufman

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

Psychologist Gabrielle Oettingen's research on goal-setting and self-regulation animates discussion of some incredibly practical tools to help with constructive daydreaming, hurdling obstacles, implementation intentions and goal-fulfillment.

In this episode you will hear about:

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  • The 'WOOP' framework for goal-setting and goal-realization

  • How simply thinking positively about goals can actually hinder efficacy

  • The right way to use prospection to energize action, define obstacles and implement a plan

  • Gabriele's personal philosophy of using science to better our lives

 

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Resources:

Gabriele Oettingen is a Professor of Psychology at New York University and the University of Hamburg where her research revolves around how we think about the future, and how this affects our behavior, cognition and emotions. She has written almost 100 articles for scholarly journals and for popular news websites like The Harvard Business Review and The NYTimes online. Her latest book Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation is an introduction to how prospection ought to be grounded in reality to motivate change and desire-fulfillment.

Scott Barry Kaufman is a humanistic psychologist exploring the depths of human potential. He has taught courses on intelligence, creativity and well-being at Columbia University, N.Y.U., the University of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. He hosts the Psychology Podcast and is author and/or editor of nine books, including Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization, Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind (with Carolyn Gregoire), and Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined. Find out more at http://ScottBarryKaufman.com. In 2015 he was named one of "50 groundbreaking scientists who are changing the way we see the world" by Business Insider. He wrote the extremely popular Beautiful Minds blog for Scientific American for close to a decade. Follow him on X.

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