1.- WHAT
GOALS HAVE ARGENTINIAN ADOLESCENTS GOT?
Goals in Argentinean Adolescents:
An Exploratory Research
By María Elisa Cattaneo
Magíster in Psychology. Education Professor,
mecatt@infovia.com.ar
Abstract
The present work examines the goals of life
female and male argentinian adolescents have:
they are aged 17 to 19, attending classes at
school, living in the North, centre and the South of
the country. This article refers to the
importance of understanding adolescence as a process of
autonomy in the present time. The aim is to
investigate the characteristics of students’ goals
aforesaid loaded in 3687 protocols; to
establish category of analisys, to define from theoretic
framework and to illustrate the tipology to
find. Also, to consider these articulated conditions,
and to mention some subclases. From this point
of view, we are considering the goals as the
product of the individual activity. The fellow
being a member of his community, the fellow that
“thinks about himself”, that yields according
to specific ways to relate in his context. Moreover,
these meanings link in one temporary-
historical plot and they join to grow motivational patrons
that incise into their life projects.
Introduction
The main objective of this work is to examine
the goals of life female and male
Argentinian adolescents have: they are aged 17
to 19, attending classes at school,
living in the North, centre and the South of
the country. This article is about a non
traditional adolescence conception, and from
there we emphasize an integral and full
work and understand the goals that guide their
lives today.
The exploratory study belongs to one research
project being made in the framework of
the doctoral thesis. The work belongs to the
field of developing psychology and to draw
investigations that come from other psychology
areas, which aim to adopt one
adolescence conception, as a process of
autonomy of old dependency in three planes:
psychoaffective, social and cognitive.
The adolescence and any other human acts, can
not be understood as a lineal process
but as the resultant effect linked to
historical-social context that expresses the demand
across or through normatives, laws, believes,
values, social imaginary and scientific
approach. (Ginnóbili y Estévez, 2005).
In addiction, this work has to do with the
motivational perspective these fellows have,
and this research intents to understand the
personal goals that guide the adolescents
in our country. In order to study these goals,
we adopted a theoretic framework that
considers aspects of the cognitive psychology
and understands the goals of intrinsic
representation of the personal desired
situation (Austin y Vancouver, 1996).
Besides, according to what we have checked
referring to a theoretic
information, the impression is that, although
we have many investigations about the
adolescent situation, the research in
the life goals in adolescence. Then we
considered important to start a serious study to
look deeply into these goals of adolescents’
lives that belong to different social contexts
in our country. This circumstance, encourages
us to deal with the current topic of
interest and the exploratory instance of the
investigation, we propose to establish
category of analyses about: what goals guide
their lives.
Framework
The starting point is the adolescence
conception, as a process of autonomy of the old
dependency in three planes, Lehalle (1999). In
the psychoaffective plane, the process
to involve one important psychic activity: on
the one hand, unselfishness the
relationship with parents and on the other
hand, the finding of an exogamic object, with
concomitant grief. In the social plane, it
implies the search of the economic
independence and one´s integration in the
global society, it is no longer influenced by
family, and the cognitive plane, to point out
the importance of an intellectual
development to refer to the person’s ability
to generate ideas and representations to
break away from immediately and concrete
situations to locate them as possible. To
sum up, the adolescence, is therefore
understood, as one decisive phase of the
development towards a bigger psychological
independence in spite of every
consequence that it involves.
As well, we adopt a goal conception from the
cognitive psychology
where from we understand the goals as an
intrinsic representation of the personal
desired situation (Austin y Vancouver, 1996– Psychological
Bulletin). In other words,
the goal constitutes the cognitive
representation of what the fellow intents to obtain in
certain situations, (Ford, 1992; Wentzel,
1992, 1999). These goals: constitute cognitive
representations of the different aims that fellows
could adopt in distinct situations when
they intent to find something.
In the motivational theory, it is supposed
that orientations towards the goals, as well as
intentions and general purposes guide fellows’
behaviour, cognition and feeling when
they are involved at work, (Dweck y Elliot
1983). These guidings towards the goals are
“theoretic” selfcontrol about the mean to
obtain them and to be successful in certain
contexts.
These guiding offer the general interpretative
framework and by means of which these
fellows define near goals, they determine how
to approach one job and to evaluate
their progress.
On the one hand, Huertas y Agudo (2003),
affirm that these motives have the structure
of outline or action scripts that become
activated according to the environment and the
subjective characteristic ( belief, styles,
selfesteem) and change depending on the
sociocultural environment in which they are
adquired, so that the cultural patrons are
approved, and shared according to development
of these fellows. To sum up, their
focussing results from the sociocognitive
psychology, which underlines the role played
in personal motivation, by the interpretation
and belief about the situations. And it
consideres these beliefs specific in the
context. On the other hand, traditional focusing
consideres the motivation as characteristic
stable of the personality.
These goals have been categorized around a
relevant domain of life to be on a par with
adolescence. The majority of the researches
agree that adolescence is an optimum
period to propose goals to link with
psychosocial processes such as indentity
formation, the values, the learning,
acquaintances and planes for the future.
Methodology
Study kind
A descriptive exploratory study on transversal
section to be applied at random sample,
stratified in age, sex and sociocultural
context that consists in a searching information
about goals of life and changes related to the
felows through one “protocol of goals”
made ad-hoc was made. The analyse unit consists
of adolescents aged 17 to 19,
urban population, attending classes at school.
With the purpose to determine the
selection point of view, the percentage of the
adolescents in the country, distribution in
provinces and then the big, middle and smaller
concentration of fellows in the different
centres was established.
Development
The collections of samples were possibly made
of 3867 protocols of female and male
adolescent goals, from public and private
school of different provinces:
Aires (capital distrit and province) Córdoba,
Mendoza, Salta, San Luis, Río Negro,
Neuquén and Tierra del Fuego.
The object of this exploratory study was to
obtain the maxim possible information. From
it to establish some category of analisys, in
the tendency in goals proposed by the
adolescents. For the time being these goal
categories are provisional. This analisys
resulted complex because we found varied
goals, since responded to the method of
open question. Another difficulty that the
analisys presented, was the lack of general
proceedings to make and we made a great effort
to generate our own categories,
because we are trying to find out the ways the
“argentinian adolescents” plan the
goals of life.
We have proposed to find the meaning these
goals have to them by their explanation
these fulcrum factors establish their personal
projects and how they understand the
time to materialize their goals. So we are
exploring aspects not much studied in our
country and they also result novel to as.
First we read these protocols and a
qualitative analisys, because we considered
premature to think of quantitative analisys,
we still had the big material of analise and
to intent direction by using up phase of
investigation and of course, to validate our
categories.
Then, the analisys, will be accomplished by
means of triangulation methodology
(Rodriguez Gomez et.al., 1996) the statistic
dates, analisys of the qualitative contents
and dates of the sociocultural context, this
last date will give us one survey made adhoc,
which has been proved simultaneously with the
exploratory protocols of the goals.
In this presentation we will limit to show the
answers about these goals adolescents
have and who are living in two different
provinces: Chaco and
base with theory the construction of the
category of the goals into the process of
adolescent´s autonomy .
What have we found? The most general category
of analisysies include:
Oneself´s goals Real goal Linked to
(widest category) first condition to Related
to experience
become “self” Horizon of expectations
Oneself’s goals: We call oneslf´s goals to
those which refer to a process to search for
a “symbolic exit” based on compromise,
responsibility, independence, self evaluation, i.
e. in which the subject phases processes that
go beyond affective, cognitive, and
psychosocial dependence, as well as object
information and concrete situation link to
their surrounding. For the goals to be “self”
we have to indicate some preconditions: a)
encourage their own decisions- responsibility
not influenced by the family, but keeping
the reference and contention provided by it,
b) use strategies to overcome obstacles, c)
their way to see their development in time,
i.e., their own projections in time with for/
against conditions of the development in three
planes and d) values related to
experience and horizon of expectations, e) be
realistic.
Example:
Adriana, aged 17 – Quitilipi –
study a short carrier and work to help my
mother and then to continue studyng another
carrier. But first I want to succeed in the
secondary school. I wish I could study
medicine but my mother cannot afford it”.
Adriana plans her own goal focusing on the
psychosocial aspect, looking for an exit
through work seeking for independence.
Diego, aged 19, Ushuaia, Private school. In
the next three or four years I will have
finished my carrier as an accountant. I will
work, live in Ushuaia and be independent.
Then, I will have a family and work in my city
or any other.
Diego plans his own goals by means of autonomy
process in three planes: cognitive,
social y affective and in a defined future
time.
Realistic Goals: We call realistic goals to
those which distinguish between means and
ends in this process. They present advance and
planning, adjusted to the real
possibility of the subject and connected to
the condition of the starting point (
economicsocial, personal competence)
experience and expectation. They provide a
precondition for the goals to be autonomy.
Example: Ale, aged 19 Ushuaia- Public school.
“My goals are to finish the carrier I
have just begun, get the degree and learn.
Then study another carrier eg. Medicine,
though it is difficult but not impossible. I
wish I could find a well paid job, and save
some money for my things”. We observe a
planning process, a learning process and
he tests the possibilities.
Lucas, aged 17. Quitilipi- Chaco. Private
school. My short term goal is to finish the
secondary school and the long term one is to
study at the university. I would like to be
a journalist like Pergolini, Graña. I would
also like to have a music programme or work
in the radio. Lucas shows realistic,
pragmatic, based on his personal conditions. He
gives himself the opportunity in this case
linked to his own decisions.
Pseudoself goals Desirous goals Linked to
Encourage the Related to experience
Pseudoself goals Horizon of expectations
Pseudoself goals: We call pesudoself goals to
those which seem to be fake exits, it is
more connected to unselfishness the relationship
with parents, than to autonomy. It
seems they are showing goals, in terms of
possibility and what matters is immediacy,
and they set them in concrete. No real project
is seen because adolescents have a
different treatment of reality, everything is
apparent, but what lacks is the preconditions
related to the time process, the means to
achieve goals are not mentioned, the future
project seemed to be idealised, they are a
fantasy, no process is found and everything
is set on the horizon of expectations, time is
not defined. Experience is not considered
or it is weak.
Example: Romina aged, 17 Quitilipi-
had my degree in music this year, this goal
has been achieved. Deal with a profession
and have a place to feed kids. Help the people
in need”. Romina’s planes respond to
pseudoself goals, not realistic ones, because
her project for the future is ideal but there
is neither process, nor time to realise them.
Desirous Goals: We call desirous goals to those
expressed in terms of immediate and
concrete wishes, without a process to achieve
them, a great idealization of the
situations or fantasies is distinguished.
These goals mark a precondition for the
pseudoself.
Example: “Ivo, aged, 18 Quitilipi-
degree as a lawyer and have money. Do what I
love. Wait for the proposals of life and
not have a planned life”.
Noelia, aged, 17 Ushuaia. Private school. “ My
short term goals are to finish school,
have a boyfriend and some friends and be
happy. My long term goals are: study
psychology, keep on having the standard of
living or even improve it”.
As we have expressed the goals are very
varied. We have established the already
mentioned categories and we have made examples
of them. However, adolescents
frequently express aims that, for the time
being, we call subcategories. We distinguish
goals that have the following aspect and do
not exclude the general categories.
Moral and social goals: (Improve the standard
of living, the status, be someone)
Structure metaphore: ( Life is a trip: what we
know about trips would serve to think of
life).
Mixed: (Autonomy and pseudorealistic) time
especially long term turns into an utopia),
place of the noplace, these are goals of result
much more than those of process. That
is they don’t fit in the defined categories.
Standard: Goals connected to a minimum social
and cultural must, generally those of
the middle social class, sometimes without any
compromise.
Relative: (Link to goals of the generation
debt)
Altuistic Goals: (Goals which development
would help people, the community the
environment, etc.)
Hedonist: No effort, no process. Indefinite
time.
Conclusion
This research work is framed in a theory that
guides this investigation and we wonder
when an adolescent proposes his/her own goals?
We believe that proposing goals is a
step in the process of autonomy. Goals are
connected to the development of
adolescents and, from our point of view, the
development is a goal because it takes
places in time and place when changes occur.
Obviously, the goals the fellow wants to reach
in different moments of his life, in short,
medium and long terms, take a certain time to
be achieved and specially the meaning
“that time” has for the fellow. That is why
this work faces us with the problem of time
and its changes: the development theory as
well as the fellows who live, feel, and think
in their own lives.
Horstein (2006) believes that time and space
are fundamental symbolic matrixes. Its
development begins at birth i.e. the question
of time is a main aspect in developing
subjectivity, which is marked by time and
culture.
We have also wondered are adolescents
realistic? And we think they are according to
the development stage they are living and also
according to the particular family,
school and social life, factors that are in
favour or against the process of adolescent
autonomy.
We have considered interesting to include in
this goal analisys the categories of related
to experience and horizon of expectations,
Koselleck (1993); Ginnóbili, Estevez y
Cattaneo, (2007). Because experience and
expectation cross over past and future and
allow to conceptualize not only time in
history and its environment but also time in
different generations and individual time.
According to Koselleck, experience is a past
present pointing to “it was” in the present.
In the personal experience someone else’s
experience is kept or as gadamer says plural
voices. We can say that experience of the
past is made by everything we can remember,
personal or from another person and it
builds an all with many old stages which are
present but it is not an addition of many
befores and afters.
The expectation is the future present not
still in today. It is at the same time personal
and impersonal. The horizon is the opening
towards a related experience. The
expectation can be checked, the experiences
already made can be united.
At last, thinking in the context adolescents
belong to, where their goals are, and also
the horizon of expectation, opens both the
possibility to add time dimension and to
draw a particular lonely and shared way
because as Gavilán (2006) says “the fellows
are neither isolated nor fragments because the
human being and his context form a
unit and it is impossible to think of the
personal project if we do not include the personal
situation, subjectivity, context, values, etc.
The world we build does not depend only on
us, but it emerges in a multidimensional
interaction of the human beings and their
context. From this
point of view each goal is the result of the fellow activity attending
school i.e. a fellow that belongs to a
community, who thinks, makes his relationship full
of sense. Beside these meanings are related to
a temporal historical plot which make
motivational matrixes and they form part of
their life project. Finally we think that the
context will not only be what surrounds the
fellow but also the fellow himself is part of it
and we can understand an active fellow who
continuously interchanges with the
context where he takes part in an open way
linked to his social and affective-cultural
world.
References
1. Alonso Tapia, J. & Montero García
Celay, I. (1990). Motivación y aprendizaje: la
motivación en el contexto escolar. En Coll,
C.; Palacios, F. & Marchesi (Eds.):
Desarrollo psicológico y educación, vol. 2:
Psicología de la educación.
Alianza.
2. Austin , J. T. & Vancouver, J. B.
(1996) Goal constructs in psychology: Structure,
process and content. Psychological Bulletin
N°120 (pp. 338-375) . Dweck, C. & Elliot,
D. (1983) Achievement Motivation. En Mussen,
P. (gen.ed.) & Hetherington, E. (Vol
Ed.): Handbook of Child Psychology. Vol. IV.
Social and personality developmental
(pp.643-691) Nueva Jersey: Wiley.
3. Ford, M. E. (1992) Motivating Humans.
Goals, emotions, and personal agency
beliefs .
orientación y la educación: investigación en
áreas de alta vulnerabilidad psicosocial.
Revista Brasileira de Orientaçao Profissional
. Vol. 7, (2), (pp. 103-114).
4. Gavilán, M. (2006) La Transformación de la
Orientación Vocacional : Hacia un
nuevo paradigma. Rosario: Homo Sapiens
Ediciones. Ginnobili, S.; Estévez, A. (2005)
Representaciones sociales y Adolescencia.
Ficha de cátedra . FACE. UNCo.
5. Ginnóbili, S.; Estevez, A & Cattaneo,
M. (2007) ¿Qué es ser adulto hoy?: Propuesta
de Categorías de Análisis . Anuario de
Investigaciones UBA . ISSN 1667-6750
6. Hornstein Rother, C. (2006) Entre
desencantos, apremios e ilusiones. En
Adolescencias turbulentas. Buenos Aires.
Paidós.
7. Huertas, J. A. & Agudo, R. (2003).
Concepciones de los estudiantes universitarios
sobre motivación. En Monereo, C. & Pozo,
J. La universidad ante la nueva cultura
educativa. U.A.B. Madrid: Síntesis.
8. Koselleck, R. (1993) Futuro pasado. Para
una semántica de los tiempos históricos .
Madrid. Paidós.
This paper was first published in “Orientación
y Sociedad” – 2008 – Vol. 8 9
Copyright © 2008 Orientación y Sociedad. All
Rights Reserved
----------------------------------------------------------------------