Abstract

PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY 2019, VOL. 30, NO. 3, 136–139 https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2019.1646047 Clarifying Conundrums: How Goal Hierarchies Resolve Seeming Contradictions in Motivated Responding a b Emily Balcetis and Shana Cole a b Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York; Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey In October 2016, Naval Petty Officer Jeffrey Thomas, under one another by manifesting at different levels of the self-re- deployment to fight in the global war on terror, found him- gulatory hierarchy. If one classifies goals and the actions self amidst a barrage of enemy fire from the Islamic State of serving them by the higher or lower level relationship to Iraq and Syria, known perhaps better as ISIS (Simkins, one another, what seems counterintuitive may not be. The authors offer examples that similarly flummox intu- 2018). Small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortar fire exploded around him. After 10 hr, his convoy received ition and challenge motivational models that do not orders to move out of the kill zone. They did, but within acknowledge the hierarchical nature of goal pursuit. The evi- moments the lead vehicle rolled over and tripped one of the dence and anecdotes they provide demonstrate, in much