Multiple Goals and Motivation at School: The Theory of Motivational Action Conflicts

This article presents the research program "Theory of Motivational Action Conflicts", which addresses situations in which persons aim at achieving more than one important goal. The theory was studied with students striving simultaneously to reach academic and nonacademic goals. When students experience goal conflicts, incentives attached to options not chosen may interfere with the execution of the chosen action. Cross-sectional, longitudinal, experience-sampling, and experimental studies show that, depending on its strength, motivational interference can impair the achievements as well as the well-being of students. The article provides hints on how students can minimize goal conflicts in order to experience a better balance across developmental contexts.