Abstract
We explored the influence of implicit motives and activity inhibition (AI) on subjectively experienced affect in response to the presentation of six different facial expressions of emotion (FEEs; anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise) and neutral faces from the NimStim set of facial expressions (Tottenham et al., 2009). Implicit motives and AI were assessed using a Picture Story Exercise (PSE) (Schultheiss et al., 2009b). Ratings of subjectively experienced affect (arousal and valence) were assessed using Self-Assessment Manikins (SAM) (Bradley and Lang, 1994) in a sample of 84 participants. We found that people with either a strong implicit power or achievement motive experienced stronger arousal, while people with a strong affiliation motive experienced less arousal and less pleasurable affect across emotions. Additionally, we obtained significant power motive × AI interactions for arousal ratings in response to FEEs and neutral faces. Participants with a strong power motive and weak AI experienced stronger arousal after the presentation of neutral faces but no additional increase in arousal after the presentation of FEEs. Participants with a strong power motive and strong AI (inhibited power motive) did not feel aroused by neutral faces. However, their arousal increased in response to all FEEs with the exception of happy faces, for which their subjective arousal decreased. These differentiated reaction patterns of individuals with an inhibited power motive suggest that they engage in a more socially adaptive manner of responding to different FEEs. Our findings extend established links between implicit motives and affective processes found at the procedural level to declarative reactions to FEEs. Implications are discussed with respect to dual-process models of motivation and research in motive congruence.
Highlights
McClelland and Boyatzis, 1982), and to higher levels of sympathetic arousal (McClelland et al, 1980). These findings indicate that high levels of activity inhibition (AI) let people high in need for power (nPower) express their need for influence in a socially adaptive manner of affective-emotional behaviors and responses and to make these people navigate the social environment more successfully
Arousal ratings differed from the neutral offset, defined as the scale minimum [t(83) = 12.78, p < 0.001] and valence ratings tended to be lower than the neutral midpoint of the scale [t(83) = −1.74, p = 0.085]
MOTIVATIONAL INFLUENCES ON AFFECT RATINGS Motive influences on affect ratings in response to neutral faces To rule out associations between motivational predictors and affect ratings that are caused by viewing a human face, we first explored whether implicit motives and AI were associated with arousal and valence ratings in response to neutral www.frontiersin.org
Summary
It examines whether implicit motives (power, affiliation, and achievement motives) predict subjective affective reactions to other people’s facial expressions of emotion (FEEs). Implicit motives are assumed to be part of brain circuits that have evolved earlier in evolution (Rolls, 1999; Schultheiss, 2013) and to respond preferentially to nonverbal stimuli, like FEEs, which are perceived and experienced directly, as compared to verbal stimuli, like spoken or written words, which represent symbolized knowledge that does not directly relate to subjective perception and experience. This distinction is in accordance with two-systems models of information processing (Schultheiss, 2001), which assume that verbalsymbolic stimuli trigger more conscious information processing, while experiential stimuli trigger more unconscious information processing, along with according modes of behavior
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