Understanding Mental Contrasting

At its core, mental contrasting entails the process of envisioning desired goals or outcomes and then realistically evaluating the obstacles or challenges that stand in the way of achieving those goals. By mentally contrasting the future vision with current impediments, individuals gain a clearer understanding of the necessary actions and potential hindrances involved in the pursuit of their goals.

This concept of mental contrasting has been shown to have significant implications for goal pursuit and behavior change. When individuals engage in this process, they can effectively identify potential roadblocks and develop strategies to overcome them. By acknowledging both the positive aspects of their desired future and the potential challenges, individuals can make more informed decisions and take proactive steps towards their goals.

Dreams Infused with Practicality

Gabriele Oettingen explains that mental contrasting “instructs us to dream our dreams but then visualize the personal barriers or impediments that prevent us from achieving these dreams” (Oettingen, 2014).

Moreover, mental contrasting has been linked to increased motivation and goal commitment. By vividly imagining the desired future and juxtaposing it with the existing obstacles, individuals are more likely to experience a heightened sense of urgency and determination to take action. This process helps in creating a realistic appraisal of the situation. Accordingly, it fosters a sense of preparedness to tackle the challenges ahead.

Ottingen lists two steps involved in mental contrasting. They are:

• Identifying and visualizing the best outcomes of a desired future.
• Identify and imagine the present reality standing in the way of realizing the wish (Sevincer et al., 2018).

Mental contrasting is a self-regulation strategy that involves contrasting a desired future or goal with the current reality, and then reflecting on the obstacles that may prevent achieving that goal. This cognitive process helps reign in wild dreams with a practical reality for fulfilling goals. Basically, it is a realistic optimism. Mental contrasting encourages optimism but balances that optimism with realistic and workable plans. A knowledgeable plan helps the individual regulate behavior with a focus of achieving their goal.

See Realistic Optimism for more on this topic

Two Kinds of Optimism

Oettingen explains there are two distinct kinds of optimism. The first is based on positive expectations based on past experience. The second kind is “the more free-flowing thoughts and images” rooted in wishes and desires (Oettingen, 2014). The first enhances Albert Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977) and motivated action.

While the second, didn’t help that “dream come to fruition.” It actively impeded it from happening. Oettingen emphatically adds: “Positive fantasies, wishes, and dreams detached from an assessment of past experience didn’t translate into motivation to act toward a more energized, engaged life. It translated into the opposite” (Oettingen, 2014).

Barbara Ehrenreich sarcastically describes unsupported dreams in the second form of optimism this way:

“It’s a glorious universe the positive thinkers have come up with, a vast, shimmering aurora borealis in which desires mingle freely with their realizations. Everything is perfect here, or as perfect as you want to make it. Dreams go out and fulfill themselves; wishes need only to be articulated” (Ehrenreich, 2010).

While dreamy positive thinking may entice momentary euphoria, research suggests it doesn’t lead to dream fulfillment.

Susan David explains it this way:

“Fantasizing about smoothly attaining your dreams doesn’t help. In fact, it hinders you by tricking your brain into believing that you’ve already achieved the goal. In essence, these positive fantasies let the fizz out of the bottle, dissipating the energy we need to stay motivated and really follow through. Those who achieved the best results did so through a combination of optimism and realism. It’s important to believe that you can achieve your goal, but you also need to pay attention to the obstacles most likely to get in the way” (David, 2016)

Constructive Action

This process of balancing hopes with reality helps to motivate sustained goal pursuit by creating realistic expectations while preparing for potential challenges (Celestine, 2020). Mental contrasting is considered a practical approach to goal setting and achievement, as it encourages individuals to engage actively with their goals and the actions required to attain them.

It is easy to dream. However, sometimes we have a difficult time employing the actions that are necessary for obtaining our dream. We get lost in route to the destination. Often this includes never leaving the starting blocks. Our fitness goals motivate a trip to the store to buy new exercise gear, signing up for a membership at the gym, and then fail to motivate the necessary regular exercise and diet.

The constructive action, that is the nuts and bolts of the change, often gets overlooked. Mental contrasting forces an intentional focusing on the practicalities of our particular goal, looking at what needs to be done, considering possible obstacles, and devising a plan that involves constructive action. We need more than dreamy anticipation.

See Constructive Action for more on this topic

Juxtaposing Multiple Cognitions

The cognitive function of mental contrasting rests on its ability to foster a more realistic and strategic approach to goal pursuit. By juxtaposing positive visions of the future with present obstacles, individuals can effectively assess the feasibility of their goals and develop a clearer understanding of the steps required to attain them.

This process not only enhances motivation but also encourages the formulation of implementation intentions. Implementational intentions are specific plans detailing the actions necessary to overcome obstacles and reach desired outcomes.

This process requires moving around to see different angles and perspectives. David Richo suggests a spiritual practice of holding our hands in front of us to symbolize the different opposing views. Richo wrote:

“A useful spiritual practice in any predicament is to hold both hands out, cupped, palms upward, and imagine them holding just such opposites. We feel the light and equal weight of both, since our hands are empty” (Richo, 2006).

In this way we can see the pleasure of our dream and the difficulty of the path, giving equal weight to each.

Implementation intentions is similar in function of waypower in C. R. Snyder’s hope theory (Snyder, 2003). Waypower represents the knowledge and expertise to navigate the path. Motivation alone in not enough.

See Hope Theory for more on this topic

Science Behind the Theory

Oettingen theorizes that the visualization of the desire followed by present realities “strengthens implicit associative links between future and reality.” Oettingen adds that it also helps “to recognize reality as an obstacle to wish fulfillment” (Sevincer et al., 2018).

Practical Application

In practice, mental contrasting can be employed in various settings, such as educational institutions, workplaces, and clinical interventions. By integrating mental contrasting with implementation intentions, individuals can enhance their goal-setting endeavors and optimize their approach to obstacles. Consequently, these changes will improve likelihood of goal attainment. As research in this area continues to unfold, the practical implications of mental contrasting are expected to become increasingly significant, enhancing personal and professional development.

Research indicates that mental contrasting can be particularly beneficial in various domains, including education, health behavior, and even interpersonal relationships. It can serve as a powerful tool for self-regulation and goal setting. By integrating this practice into daily routines, individuals can enhance their ability to navigate the complexities of goal pursuit and ultimately improve their chances of success.

Mental Effort

The theory is easy to understand. However, employing it in real life is a challenge.

Jeremy Dean, founder and author of the popular website PsyBlog, wrote:

“Thinking about the negative aspects of our goals is unpleasant; similarly, bringing fantasy and reality together is uncomfortable because suddenly it becomes obvious what needs to be done, and these realizations can be depressing” (Dean, 2013).

Basically, we prefer to think about how we will look fifty pounds lighter but prefer to ignore the exercise and food sacrifices involved with obtaining those goals. A woman once confided in me that she was tired of failing with her weight loss goals. Her failure to lose weight was depressing her. She decided to quit trying and just envision losing the weight and let the universe grant her wish.

Unfortunately, weight loss is subject to natural laws of consuming and expending of calories. Implementation of intentions requires honoring the natural laws by designing a program that understands the natural laws of weight loss.

Mental Contrasting requires mental energy. It is a self-regulation strategy that helps people to selectively invest their limited resources. However, the practice places a heavier demand on resources at the front end with a promise to reduce wasted energy on the tail end of the endeavor (Sevincer et al., 2015). Accordingly, when we are cognitively depleted, it is difficult to engage in this cognitive practice. We prefer to sit and enjoy the dreams without any interference from reality.

Selective Goal Pursuit

Ottingen found that mental contrasting does not work universally with all goals. The contrasting only is effective if the person believes that their reality is surmountable. Basically, they experience a sense of self-efficacy. However, if the individual sees their reality as insurmountable (low-expectation of success), the mental contrasting leads to disengagement from that particular goal. Accordingly, mental contrasting leads to selective goal pursuit (Sevincer et al., 2018).

See Outcome expectancies for more on this topic

References:

Bandura, Albert (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215. DOI: 10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191
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Celestine, Nicole (2020). What Is Mental Contrasting and How Can We Benefit From It? Positive Psychology. Published: 1-1-2020; Accessed: 3-11-2024. Website: https://positivepsychology.com/mental-contrasting/
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David, Susan (2016). Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life. Avery; First Edition. ISBN-10: 1592409490
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Dean, Jeremy (2013). Making Habits, Breaking Habits: Why We Do things, Why We Don’t and How to Make any change Stick. Da Capo Lifelong Books; Illustrated edition. ISBN-10: 0306822628
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Ehrenreich, Barbara (2010) Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. Henry Holt and Co.ISBN-10: 0805087494
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Oettingen, Gabriele (2014). Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation. Current; Reprint edition. ISBN-10: 1617230235
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Richo, David (2006). The Five Things We Cannot Change: And the Happiness We Find by Embracing Them. ‎ Shambhala; Reprint edition. ISBN-10: 1590303083
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Sevincer, A., Busatta, P., & Oettingen, G. (2014). Mental Contrasting and Transfer of Energization. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,40(2), 139-152. DOI: 10.1177/0146167213507088
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Sevincer, A., Schlier, B., & Oettingen, G. (2015). Ego depletion and the use of mental contrasting. Motivation and Emotion,39(6), 876-891. DOI: 10.1007/s11031-015-9508-8
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Sevincer, A., Tessmann, P., & Oettingen, G. (2018). Demand to Act and Use of Mental Contrasting. Social Psychology, 49(6), 344-359. DOI: 10.1027/1864-9335/a000353
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Snyder, C. R. (2003) Psychology of Hope: You Can Get Here from There. Free Press. ISBN-10: 0743254449; APA Record: 1994-98690-000
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