A multilevel, longitudinal examination of goal conflict & goal harmony

Contemporary theories of personality dynamics propose that adaptive functioning in daily life requires effective coordination of multiple goals. Goal conflict, where the pursuit of one goal lowers the ability to pursue another goal, and goal harmony, where the pursuit of one goal facilitates the pursuit of another, are typically viewed as direct opposites, but empirical evidence suggests that they represent distinct processes. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether goal conflict and goal harmony are dynamically linked over time—and whether that link differs when examined (a) within people for specific goals versus (b) between people across their overall goal systems. Goal conflict and harmony were investigated in two studies ( N Total = 849) using multilevel random-intercept cross-lagged panel models. At the within-person level, goal harmony and goal conflict were negatively associated both at a concurrent and cross-lagged level. At the between-person level, goal conflict and goal harmony were not significantly associated. These findings indicate that goal harmony and goal conflict are in tension, on average, in the context of specific goals but not associated when considered across the entire goal system. This research advances our understanding of how people pursue multiple goals.