Goal Complexes

     This week, we will be looking into the topic of goal complexes, and how they play into Lady Bird's motivation. First, I'll explain what exactly goal complexes are, and then illustrate how they relate to Lady Bird's particular goals throughout the movie. Liem & Elliot (2018) suggest that a goal complex explores two things: what students are trying to accomplish (goals) and why they are pursuing goals (reasons). Typically, these goals come in the form of either approach or avoidance, and mastery or performance. With an approach goal, one is motivates towards achieving a positive outcome, while those with avoidance goals avoid a negative outcome. Additionally, those with mastery goals seek to improve skills and grow as a student/individual, while those with performance goals seek to prove that they can perform better than others on a given task or skill. 

    As mentioned in lecture this week, goal complexes typically focus on mastery goals and use performance as information. In relation to Lady Bird, I will be focusing on distal goal complexes, particularly achievement motives. Within achievement motives, there are two dispositional tendencies: Hope for Success (Need for Achievement) and Fear of Failure. Those with Hope for Success Tendencies often take a mastery or performance approach, while those with Fear of Failure Tendencies typically adopt a mastery or performance avoidance approach. Understanding where one's motives come from can be beneficial towards understanding what type of approach they will take in completing a task or assignment.

     In the movie, Lady Bird adopts a performance avoidance goal, because she wants to prove to family, particularly her mother, that she can leave Sacramento. A major theme throughout the movie is Lady Bird's thirst for independence. With every person who tells her that she is not smart or talented enough to leave Sacramento for New York, Lady Bird desires to prove them wrong even more. Throughout the movie, her motives become largely driven by a Fear of Failure, as she constantly has her mother's voice in her head telling her she is not good enough. In turn, Lady Bird uses this as her motivation to accomplish her dreams. Lady Bird's desire to show her mother what she is capable of leads her to joining extracurricular activities such as theatre, where she discovers her passion for the art and finds a community of similar individuals. Even though she values what the important people in her life have to say, Lady Bird does not internalize their hurtful words, and instead, focuses on how she can attain her future goals while proving to others that she is competent. Although this comes in the form of a Fear of Failure (performance avoidance goal), Lady Bird does eventually move to New York and accomplishes her dream.