My Life Goals

Welcome to the life goals psychological survey! This survey is designed to study the goals and aspirations that people set.

Directions:

Everyone has long-term Goals or Aspirations. These are the things that individuals hope to accomplish over the course of their lives. In this section, you will find a number of life goals, presented one at a time. Please rate how important each goal is to you. Use the following rating scale:

1

2

3

4

5

6
7
8
9

Not at all

 

A little

 

Moderately
 
Very
 
Extremely

 

How important to you is each goal?

Not at all
 
A little
 

Moderately
 

Very
 

Extremely
Statement
1. To be a very wealthy person.
2. To grow and learn new things.
3. To have my name known by many people.
4. To have good friends that I can count on.
5. To successfully hide the signs of aging.
6. To work for the betterment of society.
7. To have many expensive possessions.
8. At the end of my life, to be able to look back on my life as meaningful and complete.
9. To be admired by many people.
10. To share my life with someone I love.
11. To have people comment often about how attractive I look.
12. To assist people who need it, asking nothing in return.
13. To be financially successful.
14. To choose what I do, instead of being pushed along by life.
15. To be famous.
16. To have committed, intimate relationships.
17. To keep up with fashions in hair and clothing.
18. To work to make the world a better place.
19. To be rich.
20. To know and accept who I really am.
21. To have my name appear frequently in the media.
22. To feel that there are people who really love me, and whom I love.
23. To achieve the "look" I've been after.
24. To help others improve their lives.
25. To have enough money to buy everything I want.
26. To gain increasing insight into why I do the things I do.
27. To be admired by lots of different people.
28. To have deep enduring relationships.
29. To have an image that others find appealing.
30. To help people in need.



Now please answer the questions below.





1) How much do you agree or disagree with this statement?: "I have high self-esteem."
                     
Strongly disagree
More or less disagree
Slightly disagree
 Neither agree nor disagree
Slightly agree
More or less agree
Strongly agree
 
2) Please indicate your political orientation using the scale below.
                     
Extremely Liberal
Liberal
Slightly Liberal
 Moderate; Middle of the road
Slightly Conservative
Conservative
Extremely Conservative
 
3) How much do you agree or disagree with this statement?: "I am satisfied with my life."
                     
Strongly disagree
More or less disagree
Slightly disagree
 Neither agree nor disagree
Slightly agree
More or less agree
Strongly agree
 
4) Some people don't pay much attention to politics. How about you? Would you say that you are VERY MUCH interested, SOMEWHAT interested or NOT MUCH interested in politics?
                     
VERY MUCH interested
SOMEWHAT interested
NOT MUCH interested
 


 

The Projective Life Attitudes Assessment


The next part of the survey is a recently developed personality test. Recent research suggests that feelings and attitudes about significant aspects of life tell us a considerable amount about the individual’s personality. Your honest responses to the following questions will be appreciated.

1. PLEASE BRIEFLY DESCRIBE THE EMOTIONS THAT THE THOUGHT OF A VERY INTENSE TOOTHACHE AROUSES IN YOU.



2. JOT DOWN, AS SPECIFICALLY AS YOU CAN, WHAT YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN TO YOU AS YOU EXPERIENCE THE INTENSE PAIN OF A TOOTHACHE.



 

Now, we would like you to complete two short attitude tasks. Please follow the instructions provided and complete the attitude tasks in the order they are presented. That is, do not skip around.

Attitude Task 1: Literature

Please read the following short passage from a novel and answer the questions below it.

     "The automobile swung clumsily around the curve in the red sandstone trail, now a mass of mud. The headlights suddenly picked out in the night—first on one side of the road, then on the other—two wooden huts with sheet metal roofs. On the right near the second one, a tower of course beams could be made out in the light fog. From the top of the tower a metal cable, invisible at its starting-point, shone as it sloped down into the light from the car before disappearing behind the embankment that blocked the road. The car slowed down and stopped a few yards from the huts.
     The man who emerged from the seat to the right of the driver labored to extricate himself from the car. As he stood up, his huge, broad frame lurched a little. In the shadow beside the car, solidly planted on the ground and weighed down by fatigue, he seemed to be listening to the idling motor. Then he walked in the direction of the embankment and entered the cone of light from the headlights. He stopped at the top of the slope, his broad back outlined against the darkness. After a moment he turned around. In the light from the dashboard he could see the chauffeur’s black face, smiling. The man signaled and the chauffeur turned off the motor. At once a vast cool silence fell over the trail and the forest. Then the sound of the water could be heard.
     The man looked at the river below him, visible solely as a broad dark motion flecked with occasional shimmers. A denser motionless darkness, far beyond, must be the other bank. By looking fixedly, however, one could see on that still bank a yellowish light like an oil lamp in the distance. The big man turned back toward the car and nodded. The chauffeur switched off the lights, turned them on again, then blinked them regularly. On the embankment the man appeared and disappeared, taller and more massive each time he came back to life. Suddenly, on the other bank of the river, a lantern held up by an invisible arm swung back and forth several times. At a final signal from the lookout, the man disappeared into the night. With the lights out, the river was shining intermittently. On each side of the road, the dark masses of forest foliage stood out against the sky and seemed very near. The fine rain that had soaked the trail an hour earlier was still hovering in the warm air, intensifying the silence and immobility of this broad clearing in the virgin forest. In the black sky misty stars flickered."


1. How do you feel about the overall descriptive qualities of the story?
    
                     
Not at all
descriptive
Somewhat
descriptive
     
Very
descriptive
 
2. Do you think the author of this story is male or female?
               
    Male Female
 



Attitude Task 2: Current Issues

Now we would like to ask you a few questions about your opinions on current issues.


1) Some people think the government should provide fewer services even in areas such as health and education in order to reduce spending. Other people feel it is important for the government to provide many more services even if it means an increase in spending. And, of course, some other people have opinions somewhere in between. Where would you place yourself on this scale?
                     
Far fewer services
Fewer services
Slightly fewer services
 About the same level of services
Slightly more services
More services
Far more services
 
2) There is much concern about the rapid rise in medical and hospital costs. Some people feel there should be a government insurance plan which would cover all medical and hospital expenses for everyone. Others feel that all medical expenses should be paid by individuals through private insurance plans like Blue Cross or other company paid plans. And, of course, some other people have opinions somewhere in between. Where would you place yourself on this scale?
                     
Strongly favor government insurance
Favor government insurance
Slightly favor government insurance
In the middle on this issue
 Slightly favor private insurance Favor private insurance Strongly favor private insurance
 
3) Do you think that the best way to reduce crime is to address social problems, or to make sure criminals are caught, convicted, and punished?
                     
Much better to address social problems
Somewhat better to address social problems
Slightly better to address social problem
In the middle on this issue
 Slightly better to punish criminals Somewhat better to punish criminals Much better to punish criminals
 
4) Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for persons convicted of murder?
                     
Favor strongly Favor not strongly Oppose not strongly Oppose strongly
 
                     
5) There has been some discussion about abortion during recent years. Which one of the opinions below best agrees with your view?
                     
By law, abortion should never be permitted. The law should permit abortion only in cases of rape, incest, or when the woman's life is in danger. The law should permit abortion for reasons other than rape, incest, or danger to the woman's life, but only after the need for the abortion has been clearly established. By law, a woman should always be able to obtain an abortion as a matter of personal choice.
 
6) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry, or do you think they should not be allowed to marry?
                     
Should be allowed Should NOT be allowed Should not be allowed to marry but should be allowed to legally form a civil union
 



About You
1. Are you female or male?
 
Female
Male
 
2. What is your age? years old
3. Which of these best describes your ethnicity?
 
4. Which of these best describes your employment/student status?
5. What is the highest educational degree that you have already attained?
 
6. What is your relationship status?
 
Married
Not married, but in a committed relationship
Not married and not in a committed relationship
 
7. Do you live in the United States?
 
Yes, I live in the U.S.
 No, I do not live in the U.S.
 
8. What is your household's annual income, before taxes are taken out?
9. Have you completed this survey before?
 
Yes, I have completed this survey before.
No, this is my first time completing this survey.

This questionnaire is part of an ongoing research project examining personality across the life course. If you would be interested in participating in future research along these lines, please enter your email address below. Also, if you take more than one of our personality tests, you can help us link your data across tests by entering your email address at the bottom of each test. Thank you!

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