GOALS, PROJECTS, STRIVINGS (Part) I. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND POSSIBILITIES OF APPLICATION (Celok, tervek, torekvesek I. Elmeleti megfontolasok es alkalmazasi lehetosegek)

The first part of the paper describes the role of goals in personality as well as the theoretical and practical issues of surveying goals. Goals are significant factors from several points of view, including phenomenological, functional, personality and social psychological ones. Goals may be useful in describing important aspects of human functioning. There is a flexible and versatile array of research tools for studying goals. Four aspects are analyzed in this regard: focus of the research question, need of a theoretical framework, hierarchy of the goal system and choice of the goal evaluations. Three research areas are presented as examples for applying goal theory and methodology: 1. approach and avoidance tendencies in goals and their consequences for healthy psychological functioning; 2. self focused goals' significance in personality psychology and 3. goal constructs in the psychology of religion and spirituality. The first part of the paper is confined by discussing the possibility of practical applications, as well as further research tasks and open questions.