Goal Conflict

What it measures

The scale assesses perceived tension between two competing personal goals being pursued simultaneously. Goal conflict is a central driver of self-regulation failure, making this a natural fit for research on competing priorities like work versus leisure, or short-term indulgence versus long-term wellbeing.

Response format

7-point Likert (1=strongly disagree, 7=strongly agree)

Scale items

• How much conflict do you feel between the two goals? very little conflict / a lot of conflict
• To what extent does pursuing one of these goals interfere with pursuing the other goal? not at all / very much
• To what extent does pursuing one of these goals hurt pursuit of the other goal? not at all / very much

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Etkin and Memmi (2021) appear to have created this scale themselves, using it across three experiments with strong reliability (α = .86–.93). It was originally designed to compare exactly two competing goals, though minor wording changes could likely adapt it for more. Validity wasn't formally tested, though its successful use as a manipulation check offers some indirect support.

Citation

Etkin, J., & Memmi, S.A. (2021). Goal Conflict Encourages Work and Discourages Leisure. Journal of Consumer Research, 47(5), 716–736.

Keywords