Mental Contrasting Strategies Promote the Pursuit of Difficult Goals: Japanese Cultural Context

Abstract

We examined whether mental contrasting inhibits the pursuit of difficult goals in an Eastern culture—Japan—rooted in self-improvement. Our pilot study found that, compared with American participants, Japanese participants did not perceive a difficult situation as a cue to abandon their goal and pursue alternative objectives. Studies 1a–1c found that mental contrasting encouraged Japanese participants to pursue difficult goals. When Japanese participants perceived their own goals as unattainable, they were more likely to pursue these goals if they mentally contrasted their desired future with the inhibiting reality than if they simply imagined their desired future. Study 2 showed that mental contrasting encouraged Japanese (but not American) participants to pursue difficult goals. Study 3 evidenced the causal effect of beliefs about difficulties on the impact of mental contrasting on motivation to pursue difficult goals. Culturally formed beliefs about difficulties underlie the effect of mental contrasting on difficult goal pursuit.