Literature on biographical availability and the biographical consequences of activism provides valuable insights into the role of goal dominance (Vestergren et al., 2017). It shows that factors such as family, job situation, and access to resources such as time and money can significantly impact—and be impacted by—an individual’s engagement in political actions (Petrie, 2004). For example, research on activists participating in Freedom Summer, who volunteered to register Black voters in Mississippi in 1964, revealed that they were typically younger, unemployed, unmarried, and without children compared to the general population (Fernandez & McAdam, 1988). Longitudinal evidence also indicated that political activists married later and were less likely to have children than non-activists (Sherkat & Blocker, 1997). These studies suggest that a political goal may dominate over alternative goals when these alternative concerns are less salient or absent from a person’s life.

In other cases, political engagement might prevail due to its overwhelming intensity. Research on political extremists reveals that they are willing to sacrifice close relationships and even personal safety to pursue political goals they consider sacred (Atran et al., 2014). Similarly, studies on obsessive and harmonious passion in the political context are revealing. While harmonious passion integrates with other life goals, obsessive passion often leads to the suppression of alternative goals (Vallerand, 2010). Activists frequently exhibit passion for their cause, which correlates positively with their political engagement (Rip et al., 2012). However, those with obsessive passion, as opposed to harmonious passion, are more likely to experience negative health consequences, partly due to their tendency to neglect their health and safety (St‐Louis et al., 2016).

Finally, non-political goals may sometimes take precedence over political involvement, leading individuals to withdraw or refrain from political engagement. For instance, people balancing full-time work and family commitments may be less likely to participate in social activism (Dunham & Bengtson, 1994; Klatch, 2000). By including the group of non-activists in our study, we aimed at investigating the motivational dynamics behind a lack of engagement.

However, even when there is a trade-off between political and non-political goals, disengagement is not the only option as individuals may try to endure the conflict and pursue goals despite the challenges. We turn to this possibility next.

There is indeed evidence suggesting that activists often struggle with conflicts between their activism and other goals (Gorski & Chen, 2015; Kennelly, 2014; Vestergren et al., 2017). These conflicts can arise between activism and family life (Gildea, 2013) as some activists feel they must sacrifice connections with relatives or struggle to find time to nurture these relationships (Aceros et al., 2021). Work and education can present challenges as well (Klatch, 2000; Whalen & Flacks, 1989), with some activists feeling overwhelmed and distracted by political matters they view as more urgent than their other responsibilities (Linder, 2019).

While the literature suggests that goal conflicts can negatively affect goal attainment and overall well-being (Boudreaux & Ozer, 2013; Emmons & King, 1988), people may value these seemingly irreconcilable goals so highly that they are unwilling to relinquish them easily. However, this persistence may come with costs. Research on activist burnout (Chen & Gorski, 2015) indicates that the trade-off between political engagement and other goals can be a significant source of distress. Therefore, it is possible that goal conflicts precede disengagement from activism due to their negative psychological impact.

Despite the importance of this issue, there is a scarcity of studies on the nature of goal conflicts that activists encounter. For instance, it is uncertain whether highly committed activists avoid potential conflicts among their goals by sacrificing aspects of their non-political life or whether they are more effective at managing these conflicts. Moreover, the prediction that the presence of alternative goals necessarily leads to disengagement or inner conflict is not as straightforward as it might seem.

Studies investigating the effects of biographical availability yield mixed results in terms of its implications for goal relations. For instance, while some research identifies marriage and parenthood as negative predictors of engagement (e.g., Wiltfang & McAdam, 1991), other studies do not find a negative correlation between these factors and political participation (Nepstad & Smith, 1999). Some authors argue that biographical circumstances typically viewed as constraints to participation can also be considered facilitators of activism, depending on how they align with the goals of the movement (Almanzar & Herring, 2004).

Goal systems theory offers a potential explanation for the inconsistent findings. It suggests that when political goals are well integrated with other goals, the pursuit of one goal can facilitate the achievement of others. Facilitation may occur when one goal helps achieve another or when the means for achieving different goals overlap (e.g., meeting friends while participating in a protest; Kruglanski, Chernikova, et al., 2015). Previous research has shown that facilitating connections within a person’s goal system are associated with greater goal achievement (Riediger et al., 2005). Individuals experiencing goal facilitation also tend to report higher levels of positive emotions and life satisfaction (Boudreaux & Ozer, 2013).

Research in the domain of activism identified various gains activists experience, such as empowerment (Drury & Reicher, 2005) or acquiring new knowledge (Klandermans et al., 2008). It might be expected that the most dedicated activists are particularly skilled at finding synergy between their political and non-political goals compared to those who see them as mutually exclusive. However, research on goal facilitation versus goal conflict in activism documenting this possibility remains scarce.

In summary, despite the extensive data on political engagement and alternative life goals, existing research has certain limitations. First, while some studies investigate multiple life domains, most tend to focus on a limited subset of goals (e.g., the relationship between family goals and political activism). They also often examine only one direction of influence (e.g., the consequences of political engagement for work goals). Moreover, the set of alternative goals is typically determined by researchers rather than emerging from the participants themselves. As a result, it remains unclear whether these goals are relevant to participants’ decisions and whether they even constitute “constraints,” as often assumed. Importantly, while some studies reveal negative relationships between alternative life domains and political engagement, others do not find such an impact, or even demonstrate a positive relationship. Finally, these studies do not include non-activists—a group whose motivational dynamics may offer important insights into the reasons behind lack of engagement, an area that remains understudied.

A systematic and theory-guided motivational analysis that addresses these inconsistencies is lacking. Our project aimed to fill these gaps by conducting a bottom-up analysis of the bidirectional relationships between political and non-political goals among activists and non-activists. The primary objective was to explore the relationships between political goals and other important goals in individuals’ lives from the participants’ perspective. The second objective was to identify potential differences in overarching goal structures among individuals who consider political issues important but vary in their level of engagement. By examining the relationship between the political causes that non-activists consider important (despite not engaging with them) and their non-political goals, we aimed to better understand why people withdraw from or refrain from political engagement in the first place.

Whereas most previous studies in this context have relied on quantitative methodologies, we employed a qualitative approach. Applying a qualitative approach allowed us to understand 1) the complexities within participants’ goal relations rather than restricting them to indicate either a facilitation or a conflict as is typically the case with quantitative assessments (e.g., see Emmons & King, 1988) and 2) how goal relations develop over time. It also enabled participants to identify and define their own most important goals, rather than responding to a researcher-defined set as is typically done in matrix approaches (Gray et al., 2017). We studied these processes in two European countries with historically distinct political systems and traditions of political engagement: Poland and Norway.

We conducted 40 semi-structured individual interviews with self-identified activists and non-activists in Poland and Norway (10 activists and 10 non-activists per country). The sample size was determined a priori based on data saturation estimates for meta-themes in cross-cultural, multi-site qualitative research (Hagaman & Wutich, 2017). Recruitment was executed via activist mailing lists and social media. Interviews (duration: 70 – 150 minutes) took place in Polish or English between February and June 2022 in person or online. To be eligible, participants had to self-identify either as a) activists or b) non-activists, and express interest in gender equality or climate change matters in a prescreening survey (see SOM for details). Participants received approximately 40 euros in compensation. The final sample consisted of 13 men, 26 women, and 1 nonbinary participant aged between 20 to 60+ (see Table S1, see SOM for details).

After providing informed consent, participants were asked about the biographical context of their activist engagement or interest respectively. Afterward, participants were encouraged to reflect on the relations between their political and non-political goals. To facilitate this process, they were invited to map out these goals and their interconnectedness using post-it notes or Google Jamboard. The full interview guides and the preliminary coding scheme are available in the preregistration.

Interviews were transcribed verbatim. MAXQDA (VERBI Software, 2021) and NVivo (Lumivero, 2020) software were utilized to analyze the transcripts. All study procedures were approved by the Ethics Committees of Jagiellonian University and the University of Oslo.

During analysis, we focused on two distinct analytical questions: 1) How do participants experience the relations between political and other life goals? and 2) What goal structures between political and other life goals exist among participants at various levels of political engagement?

We applied an inductive-deductive codebook-based thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Proudfoot, 2023), as it allows—through descriptive and latent coding— for moving beyond the description of the observed content of the interviews to identification and explanation of relationships and possible underlying psychological and social mechanisms reflective of critical realism (Christodoulou, 2024; Wiltshire & Ronkainen, 2021).

During data analysis and interpretation, to ensure trustworthiness, we followed the reflexive steps outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006). After data familiarization, we applied our preregistered coding tree to the first five transcripts. Following our inductive-deductive analysis approach, we coded the data both according to our predefined categories as well as openly to capture concepts that were not originally included in the coding tree but were relevant to the study’s aims (more details in SOM). After coding the first five transcripts, an extensive discussion between team members followed, aiming at obtaining intercoder consensus and resulting in coding tree modifications. The revised version was then used to guide coding for subsequent transcripts in an iterative process. While the analysis focused on recurring themes and patterns across the data, we also looked for diverging cases and their contexts to enrich our framework (Flyvbjerg, 2006).

Notably, specific goals were generated by the participants themselves, without interviewers’ guidance (goal examples are provided in Table S2 in SOM). Three overarching themes and several sub-themes capture the relations between participants’ political and other life goals identified in this study (see Figure 1). We detail each theme below.

Having established that both activists and non-activists experienced various types of relations between their political and other life goals, in a second step, we wanted to investigate potential differences in the overarching patterns reflected in these complex goal relations. Based on theoretical conceptualizations (Kruglanski et al., 2018), we deductively tested to what extent participants displayed any of the following goal structures (i.e., 1) the balanced goal system, 2) the political goal domination system, and 3) the political goal subordination system (see Figure 2), whilst inductively identifying potential mechanisms underlying the differences in goal structures between activists. Goal structure variations depended on the relative importance of participants’ political goals, the relations between political and other life goals, and the strategies employed to cope with goal conflicts.

In terms of goal relations, we identified complex interactions between political engagement and other life domains, such as work, education, social relationships, health, and self-development, as well as basic psychological needs like agency (Bandura, 1982) and stimulation (Zuckerman et al., 1972). On the one hand, these domains often created significant conflicts, potentially leading to negative outcomes like burnout or withdrawal from important relationships. On the other hand, the same domains were sometimes seen as crucial facilitators of activist involvement. In some cases, political engagement was viewed as a means to fulfill other personal goals (e.g., friendships, self-actualization).

These findings illustrate that there is no single pattern or inevitable connection between political engagement and non-political life goals. For instance, while activism can sometimes detract from a deeper commitment to personal relationships, it can also facilitate the formation of new and meaningful connections. Our research also demonstrates that having commitments to both political and non-political goals does not necessarily lead to disengagement from activism. In line with goal systems theory (Kruglanski et al., 2002), individuals who are able to integrate their political goals with other life pursuits may maintain or even enhance their political engagement. Future research could explore how people create such integrative links or identify the constraints that affect specific forms of political action.

Interestingly, experiencing goal conflicts does not necessarily result in reduced engagement. Our findings suggest that the variations in responses to these conflicts may be linked to the strategies individuals use to manage them. While both activists and non-activists encounter goal conflicts, activists might be more equipped or motivated to reconcile them due to their specific coping strategies. Moreover, the impact of goal conflicts on engagement may differ between activists and non-activists as a result of differences in the perceived costs and benefits (i.e., collective, social, and reward motives) of such engagement (see Klandermans, 1984). Indeed, as stated throughout, many activists experienced conflicts in some areas of life (e.g., work), but rewards in other areas (e.g., approval by social relations; an expectation that their engagement impacts their cause positively), whereas non-activists only highlighted the costs of engaging, rendering them to be higher than the benefits.

However, we observed that individuals facing excessive goal conflicts were more likely to eventually disengage from activism. Indeed, cognitive dissonance created by constant goal conflict may ultimately lead to burnout, often resulting from an unsustainable commitment and significant sacrifices for the activist movement (Chen & Gorski, 2015). This makes ex-activists a particularly intriguing group for further examination. Understanding how activists navigate these conflicts over time and at what point they lead to disengagement (Wrosch et al., 2003) could provide additional insights into this phenomenon. More broadly, including individuals with diverse patterns of activism—such as activists, non-activists, and ex-activists—can offer valuable insights into both the factors that differentiate these groups and those they share.

As a second goal of the study, we aimed to identify the structures that emerged from the narrated relationships between political and non-political goals among interviewees with different levels of political engagement. Our research revealed at least four distinct goal structures. In an extreme goal structure, activism dominated all other goals and became the central driving force in individuals’ lives, in line with the theoretical model of political extremism (Kruglanski et al., 2017). In an integrated goal structure, activism was both supported by and supportive of non-political goals, albeit not without conflicts. It indicates that purely harmonious relationships within a goal system (Vallerand, 2010) are, in fact, rare. The third structure, observed among non-activists and ex-activists, was characterized by political goals being either absent or completely subordinated to and disconnected from other goals. Finally, ex-activists displayed a fluctuating goal structure coined by weighing short vs. long-term results and the perception that their engagement was only worth it if they committed themselves fully.

While our study observed limited cultural differences in activism between Polish and Norwegian participants, one notable distinction was the prevalence of multi-issue activism among Polish participants. This difference could be attributed to higher levels of dissatisfaction with the Polish government, whereas Norwegians generally express greater support for their political system (OECD, 2023). Since our study focused on leftist activists, Polish participants may have perceived a higher need to engage across multiple causes at the time of data collection than Norwegian participants, who live in one of the world’s most liberal countries (World Population Review, 2025), and benefit from many of the rights typically championed by the left (e.g., workers rights; ITUC, 2024). Additionally, time conflicts between working and activism were particularly pronounced for Poles, likely due to higher average working hours (Yanatma, 2023). Future research may benefit from quantitatively comparing the role of social conflicts underlying political apathy in countries such as Poland versus Norway, where political polarization and associated social consequences differ greatly (V-Dem Institute, 2025). Furthermore, testing the transferability of our findings to other sociopolitical contexts and conservative activists could be a valuable future direction.

More broadly, our findings highlight the potential of applying motivational theories to the study of political engagement. Except for a few notable exceptions (e.g., Klandermans, 1984), theories of goals and motivation have seldomly been used to examine political goals. This presents a significant opportunity for further research to enhance our understanding of how political goals are formed and how they affect activists’ commitment over time (Jasko, 2023).

During the interviews, participants reported fluctuations in their political engagement over time, leading to various patterns in the relationship between their goals (e.g., disengagement vs. balancing across goals). Since these narratives were retrospective, a longitudinal study would be invaluable for examining the dynamics of goal commitment over time and clarifying causal relationships (see Vestergren et al., 2017). In particular, exploring the experiences of newly engaged or disengaged activists could yield insights into motivational trajectories at these important stages. Here, the potential of more narrative approaches may be promising in disentangling motivational mechanisms playing a role in (dis)engagement. Also, longitudinal studies could inform how introducing a new goal can reshape these goal structures and, in turn, influence political activism. Such studies could track activists as they embark on new romantic relationships, start families, or seize their initial job or career opportunities. On the flip side, political factors can also shape personal goal structures. For example, if a country were to suddenly criminalize same-sex relationships, it could intensify the connection between an individual’s personal partnership goals and their activist objectives for those directly affected by such a ban.

Several noteworthy limitations warrant consideration. Firstly, our sample comprised exclusively left leaning activists, which offers a one-sided political perspective. More generally, our analysis primarily focused on the structural characteristics of goal systems rather than the specific content of those goals. At the same time, prior research has shown that different ideological goals are linked to distinct social values (e.g., Jost et al., 2003). While these findings are not inconsistent with our analysis, investigating the specific values that underlie political goals and using a broader range of social causes could help identify particular areas of goal conflict vs. facilitation. For example, it could be interesting to examine whether more conservative values are associated with greater trade-offs between activism and non-political goals in the domain of family commitments. While values are a category of goals (Schwartz, 2012) and share the same motivational properties discussed in this paper, their abstract nature and emphasis on content differences could offer a valuable theoretical extension of our approach.

Secondly, despite our recruitment efforts, we may not have adequately reached certain populations, such as activists with limited internet proficiency or those with disabilities, thereby potentially introducing selection biases. It is also important to note that, whereas the qualitative methodology provided rich insights into participants’ goal structures, it relied on participants’ meaning making and retrospective evaluation of life events. This approach has several limitations. For instance, in an effort to reduce cognitive dissonance, some participants may have sought to reconcile their activist goals with other life goals. Similarly, some extreme goal structures may be socially undesirable to report, and therefore were not disclosed during the interviews. This constitutes a risk inherent in conducting qualitative studies.

Furthermore, the use of a qualitative study within a partly hypothetico-deductive framework (’small q’ methodology; Braun & Clarke, 2025) may be subject to criticism. Nevertheless, testing hypotheses against naturalistic data may aid the theory-building process by preventing the imposition of perceptions and views characteristic of closed-ended self-report tools such as questionnaires. Importantly, reflective of our partly inductive approach, our study led to the identification of a novel goal structure—the ex-activist fluctuating structure of goals—thereby contributing not only to hypothesis verification but also to theoretical exploration and refinement.

Overall, our findings add nuance to research on goal systems theory by showing how changing relationships between political and other life goals shape patterns of engagement, disengagement, and re-engagement over time.