IMOGENE M. KING - THEORY OF GOAL ATTAINMENT
Imogene King (January 30, 1923 – December 24, 2007) was a pioneer of nursing theory development. Her interacting systems theory of nursing and her theory of goal attainment have been included in every major nursing theory text. These theories are taught to thousands of nursing students, form the basis of nursing education programs, and are implemented in a variety of service settings.
The Theory of Goal Attainment states that “Nursing is a process of action, reaction and interaction by which nurse and client share information about their perception in a nursing situation” and “a process of human interactions between nurse and client whereby each perceives the other and the situation, and through communication, they set goals, explore means, and agree on means to achieve goals.”
In this definition, action is a sequence of behaviors involving mental and physical action, and reaction is included in the sequence of behaviors described in action. King states that the goal of a nurse is to help individuals to maintain their health so they can function in their roles. The domain of the nurse “includes promoting, maintaining, and restoring health, and caring for the sick, injured and dying.” The function of a professional nurse is “to interpret information in the nursing process to plan, implement, and evaluate nursing care.”
In this definition, action is a sequence of behaviors involving mental and physical action, and reaction is included in the sequence of behaviors described in action. King states that the goal of a nurse is to help individuals to maintain their health so they can function in their roles. The domain of the nurse “includes promoting, maintaining, and restoring health, and caring for the sick, injured and dying.” The function of a professional nurse is “to interpret information in the nursing process to plan, implement, and evaluate nursing care.”
3 Interacting Systems
According to King, there are three interacting systems in the Theory of Goal Attainment. These are the personal system, the interpersonal system, and the social system. Each system is given different concepts. The concepts for the personal system are: perception, self, growth and development, body image, space, and time. The concepts for the interpersonal system are: interaction, communication, transaction, role, and stress. The concepts for the social system are: organization, authority, power, status, and decision making.
Personal Systems
Each individual is a personal system. King designated an example of a personal system as a patient or a nurse. King specified the concepts of body image, growth and development, perception, self, space, and time in order to comprehend human beings as persons.
“The self is a composite of thoughts and feelings which constitute a person’s awareness of his individual existence, his conception of who and what he is. A person’s self is the sum total of all he can call his. The self includes, among other things, a system of ideas, attitudes, values, and commitments. The self is a person’s total subjective environment. It is a distinctive center of experience and significance. The self constitutes a person’s inner world as distinguished from the outer world consisting of all other people and things. The self is the individual as known to the individual. It is that to which we refer when we say “I.”
Growth and development can be defined as the processes in people’s lives through which they move from a potential for achievement to actualization of self.
King defines body image as the way one perceives both one’s body and others’ reactions to one’s appearance.
Space includes that space exists in all directions, is the same everywhere, and is defined by the physical area known as “territory” and by the behaviors of those occupy it.
Time is defined as “a duration between one event and another as uniquely experienced by each human being; it is the relation of one event to another event.”
King (1986) added learning as a subconcept in the personal system but did not further define it.
Interpersonal Systems
These are formed by human beings interacting. Two interacting individuals form a dyad; three form a triad, and four or more form small or large groups. As the number of interacting individuals increases, so does the complexity of the interactions. Understanding the interpersonal system requires the concepts of communication, interaction, role, stress, and transaction.
Interactions are defined as the observable behaviors of two or more individuals in mutual presence.
King (1990) defines communication as “a process whereby information is given from one person to another either directly in face-to-face meeting or indirectly through telephone, television, or the written word.”
King defines transactions as “a process of interactions in which human beings communicate with the environment to achieve goals that are valued… goal-directed human behaviors.
The characteristics of role include reciprocity in that a person may be a giver at one time and a taker at another time, with a relationship between two or more individuals who are functioning in two or more roles that learned, social, complex, and situational.
Stress is “a dynamic state whereby a human being interacts with the environment to maintain balance for growth, development, and performance, which involves an exchange of energy and information between the person and the environment for regulation and control of stressors.”
Social Systems
A more comprehensive interacting system consists of groups that make up society, referred to as the social system. Religious, educational, and health care systems are examples of social systems. The influential behavior of an extended family on an individual’s growth and development is another social system example. Within a social system, the concepts of authority, decision making, organization, power, and status guide system understanding.
Power is the capacity to use resources in organizations to achieve goals… is the process whereby one or more persons influence other persons in a situation… is the capacity or ability of a person or a group to achieve goals… occurs in all aspects of life and each person has potential power determined by individual resources and the environmental forces encountered. Power is social force that organizes and maintains society. Power is the ability to use and to mobilize resources to achieve goals.
Status is “the position of an individual in a group or a group in relation to other groups in an organization” and is identified that status is accompanied by “privileges, duties and obligation.”
Decision making is “a dynamic and systematic process b y which goal-directed choice of perceived alternatives is made and acted upon by individuals or groups to answer a question and attain a goal” (King, 1990).
King (1986) added control as a subconcept in the social system but did not further define the concept.
According to King, there are three interacting systems in the Theory of Goal Attainment. These are the personal system, the interpersonal system, and the social system. Each system is given different concepts. The concepts for the personal system are: perception, self, growth and development, body image, space, and time. The concepts for the interpersonal system are: interaction, communication, transaction, role, and stress. The concepts for the social system are: organization, authority, power, status, and decision making.
Personal Systems
Each individual is a personal system. King designated an example of a personal system as a patient or a nurse. King specified the concepts of body image, growth and development, perception, self, space, and time in order to comprehend human beings as persons.
“The self is a composite of thoughts and feelings which constitute a person’s awareness of his individual existence, his conception of who and what he is. A person’s self is the sum total of all he can call his. The self includes, among other things, a system of ideas, attitudes, values, and commitments. The self is a person’s total subjective environment. It is a distinctive center of experience and significance. The self constitutes a person’s inner world as distinguished from the outer world consisting of all other people and things. The self is the individual as known to the individual. It is that to which we refer when we say “I.”
Growth and development can be defined as the processes in people’s lives through which they move from a potential for achievement to actualization of self.
King defines body image as the way one perceives both one’s body and others’ reactions to one’s appearance.
Space includes that space exists in all directions, is the same everywhere, and is defined by the physical area known as “territory” and by the behaviors of those occupy it.
Time is defined as “a duration between one event and another as uniquely experienced by each human being; it is the relation of one event to another event.”
King (1986) added learning as a subconcept in the personal system but did not further define it.
Interpersonal Systems
These are formed by human beings interacting. Two interacting individuals form a dyad; three form a triad, and four or more form small or large groups. As the number of interacting individuals increases, so does the complexity of the interactions. Understanding the interpersonal system requires the concepts of communication, interaction, role, stress, and transaction.
Interactions are defined as the observable behaviors of two or more individuals in mutual presence.
King (1990) defines communication as “a process whereby information is given from one person to another either directly in face-to-face meeting or indirectly through telephone, television, or the written word.”
King defines transactions as “a process of interactions in which human beings communicate with the environment to achieve goals that are valued… goal-directed human behaviors.
The characteristics of role include reciprocity in that a person may be a giver at one time and a taker at another time, with a relationship between two or more individuals who are functioning in two or more roles that learned, social, complex, and situational.
Stress is “a dynamic state whereby a human being interacts with the environment to maintain balance for growth, development, and performance, which involves an exchange of energy and information between the person and the environment for regulation and control of stressors.”
Social Systems
A more comprehensive interacting system consists of groups that make up society, referred to as the social system. Religious, educational, and health care systems are examples of social systems. The influential behavior of an extended family on an individual’s growth and development is another social system example. Within a social system, the concepts of authority, decision making, organization, power, and status guide system understanding.
Power is the capacity to use resources in organizations to achieve goals… is the process whereby one or more persons influence other persons in a situation… is the capacity or ability of a person or a group to achieve goals… occurs in all aspects of life and each person has potential power determined by individual resources and the environmental forces encountered. Power is social force that organizes and maintains society. Power is the ability to use and to mobilize resources to achieve goals.
Status is “the position of an individual in a group or a group in relation to other groups in an organization” and is identified that status is accompanied by “privileges, duties and obligation.”
Decision making is “a dynamic and systematic process b y which goal-directed choice of perceived alternatives is made and acted upon by individuals or groups to answer a question and attain a goal” (King, 1990).
King (1986) added control as a subconcept in the social system but did not further define the concept.
