Pre-Conference Workshop on Theory Development in Goal Disengagement
We are pleased to inform you that the Society for the Science of Motivation (SSM) will host and sponsor a pre-conference workshop on “Theory Development in Goal Disengagement Research” at their 2025 Annual Conference in Washington, DC, May 21st. The objective of the workshop is to develop an integrative theoretical framework of the goal disengagement process, which subsequently will be submitted for publication to one of the three SSM journals (Advances in Motivation Science, Motivation and Emotion, Motivation Science).
The workshop will open with short, 10-minute keynote presentations of established goal disengagement researchers from different theoretical perspectives and fields of psychology. Each keynote talk will be followed by extended discussion periods. After a lunch break, we will split attendees into smaller groups, each one including a mixture of established goal disengagement researchers and attendees with less experience in the domain. Each group will develop a draft of an integrative model of goal disengagement. In the last two sessions of the workshop, we will integrate the features of the individual models into a single integrative model and discuss the publication strategy.
Workshop Schedule
| Time | Topic |
| 08:30 – 09:00 | Registration |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Welcome, Introduction, and Self-Presentation |
| 09:30 – 10:10 | Keynote 1 and Discussion: |
| Jutta Heckhausen & Claudia Haase: “Navigating the Transition into Disengagement: Emotional Dynamics Enable Shifting Mindsets” (moderator: Michael Richter) |
|
| 10:10 – 10:50 | Keynote 2 and Discussion: |
| Gabriele Oettingen: "Letting go from hopeless futures and lost pasts" Nikos Ntoumanis: “The Role of Goal Motives and Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions in Decisions to Continue or Adjust Goal Pursuit” (moderator: Marina Milyavskaya) |
|
| 10:50 – 11:00 | Coffee Break (SSM-sponsored) |
| 11:00 – 11:40 | Keynote 3 and Discussion: |
| Guido Gendolla: “Disengagement: The Roles of Affect and Success Importance” Ruud Custers: “Goal-disengagement: Explanans or Explanandum?” (moderator: Cathleen Kappes) |
|
| 11:40 – 12:00 | Introduction to the objective of the afternoon session |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch break |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Theory development in small groups part 1 |
| 14:00 – 14:15 | Coffee Break (SSM-sponsored) |
| 14:15 – 15:15 | Theory development in small groups part 2 |
| 15:15 – 15:30 | Break |
| 15:30 – 16:30 | Integration of the work of the groups |
| 16:30 – 17:00 | Goal setting and task assignments for the publication of the theory |
Registration
The workshop is open to everyone and registration is open until the day of the workshop. The number of attendees is however limited to 20. The registration fee for the workshop is $30 for non-members and $20 for SSM members. The registration for the workshop will be done via the SSM conference registration portal on a first come first serve base.
If you have any questions about the workshop, please contact Cathleen Kappes (kappes@uni-hildesheim.de).
We are looking forward to meeting you at the “Theory Development in Goal Disengagement Research” workshop.
Cathleen Kappes (University of Hildesheim, Germany)
Kaspar Schattke (Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada)
Michael Richter (Liverpool John Moores University, UK)
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The workshop is sponsored by SSM as part of the new academic initiative grant with the goal to foster theory development and exchange among motivation scientists. If you want to organize a workshop or event yourself please get in touch: ssm@scienceofmotivation.org.