Planfulness has been constructed as a measure to uniquely measure goal pursuit, as assessed by the three different facets of Temporal Orientation, Cognitive Strategies, and Mental Flexibility (for scale theory and development, see https://psyarxiv.com/yuqma/ ). Thus, in this study we compare the relative ability for Planfulness and related scales to predict observed real-world goal pursuit behavior (primary hypotheses 1 and 2). Additionally, being high in Planfulness indicates that an individual thinks carefully about their goals and the paths to pursue them; behaviorally, this may relate to how detailed responses are to an open-ended writing prompt about active goals. If indeed depth of thought about goals can be measured generally by the length and descriptiveness of writing about those goals, Planfulness should be related to these metrics, as should goal outcomes (Secondary planned analyses 1-3).
