Abstract
This study investigated whether social motivation, goal orientation, and interpersonal behavior in social situations differ related to the cognitive strategies of strategic optimism (SO), defensive pessimism (DP), unjustified optimism (UO), and regular/realistic pessimism (RP). It examined a causal process model that social motives and goal orientations influence interpersonal behavior. The results showed that individuals characterized by SO and UO had hope for affiliation and an interpersonal experience/growth goal, whereas DP and RP individuals were motivated by fear of rejection. The causal process model showed that the hope for affiliation promotes positive interpersonal behavior through the experience/growth goal. However, UO and RP individuals were taking action that looked seemingly negative to obtain a good evaluation of their character.
