Implicit Motives Research Articles

Psychological Implicit Motives Construct as an Emergent Fractal Attractor from Intermittent Neurophysiological Responses: Simulation and Entropy-like Characterization.

Implicit Motives are non-conscious needs that drive human behavior towards the achievement of incentives that are affectively incited. Repeated affective experiences providing satisfying rewards have been held responsible for the building of Implicit Motives. Responses to rewarding experiences have a biological basis via close connections with neurophysiological systems controlling neurohormone release. We propose an iteration random function system acting in a metric space to model experience-reward interactions. This model is based on key facts of Implicit Motive theory reported in a broad number of studies. The model shows how (random) responses produced by intermittent random experiences create a well-defined probability distribution on an attractor, thus providing an insight into the underlying mechanism leading to the emergence of Implicit Motives as psychological structures. Implicit Motives' robustness and resilience properties appear theoretically explained by the model. The model also provides uncertainty entropy-like parameters to characterize Implicit Motives which hopefully might be useful, beyond the mere theoretical frame, when used in combination with neurophysiological methods.

Direct Effects of Cannabis Intoxication on Motivations for Softer and Harder Drug Use: An Experimental Approach to the Gateway Hypothesis.

Aims: This study experimentally tested whether there is a gateway-type effect of cannabis administration on tobacco and cocaine motivation and whether motivational responses predicted use 6 months later. Methods: A 2 (condition: active cannabis vs. placebo joint)×3 (substance stimulus type: tobacco, cannabis, and cocaine) factor within-subjects design for both implicit and explicit motivation. Both experimental sessions were conducted in a cannabis dispensary ("coffeeshop") in Amsterdam and were separated by ∼1 week, followed by a 6-month online follow-up. Eighty-five participants between 18 and 27 years of age (57% male), who used cannabis, tobacco, and cocaine <15 times per month, participated in session 1 (session 2: N=79 and follow-up: N=81). Counterbalanced over sessions, participants smoked an active and a placebo joint following a paced puffing procedure. Before and after smoking, craving and avoidance (explicit motivation) were assessed using visual analog scales, and after smoking, the stimulus response compatibility test was completed to assess approach biases (implicit motivation). Self-reported intoxication and similarity to their usual smoking experience were assessed at the end of both sessions. Self-reported frequency/quantity and dependence symptoms for tobacco, cannabis, and cocaine were assessed at all time points. A linear mixed model approach was used to assess the effects of condition, substance stimulus type, and their interactions on explicit and implicit motivation. Results: In the active condition, participants reported higher levels of intoxication and an experience more similar to their usual smoking experience than in the placebo condition. There was no significant effect of condition, substance type, or their interaction on approach bias. Participants exhibited increased cannabis craving during the placebo condition only and increased explicit cannabis avoidance during the active condition only. Explicit tobacco avoidance decreased during both conditions. Baseline measures did not predict use at 6-month follow-up. Conclusions: In light users, cannabis intoxication did not affect implicit and explicit tobacco or cocaine motivations. Tobacco avoidance decreased regardless of condition, indicating that the cannabis cue-rich setting-rather than tetrahydrocannabinol itself-may momentarily increase the likelihood to smoke tobacco. However, motivation at baseline did not predict use 6 months later, deeming any gateway-like function unlikely.

Metadata Correction: Social Support as a Stress Buffer or Stress Amplifier and the Moderating Role of Implicit Motives: Protocol for a Randomized Study

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The Implicit Affiliation Motive, Evaluations of Social Life Events, and Life Satisfaction: Findings from a Cross-Cultural Study with German and Zambian Adolescents

Positively and negatively evaluated life events are associated with individuals’ life satisfaction. In the present study, we tested whether the link between individuals’ evaluations of life events in the social domain and their satisfaction with life is moderated by their implicit affiliation motive. Adolescent participants were recruited in Germany and Zambia. First, data on the implicit affiliation motive and life satisfaction were gathered. Approximately six to eight months later, adolescents reported on their life satisfaction again and indicated the recent occurrence of life events in the social domain. Moreover, they reported on the affective quality of those events. Analyses showed that positive evaluations of social life events predict life satisfaction only among adolescents characterized by a strong affiliation motive. This moderation effect was not qualified by individuals’ cultural background. Findings are discussed with respect to universal effects of implicit motives on individuals’ life satisfaction.

Топос угрозы и топос Спасителя как базовые стратегии аргументации в современном дискурсе дипломатии

The article is devoted to investigationof the features and implicit motives of the topos of threat and topos of saviour in the modern public diplomatic discourse. These topoiform an argumentation complex that is necessary for achieving the main goals of diplomatic communication - the protection of national interests and the political competition. It is suggested that the topos of threat and the topos of saviour are a derivative ofspeech aggression, which has become a significant phenomenon in the diplomatic rhetoric of the XXI century. The article discusses the possibilities of using the discourse historical approachto estimate pervasive potential of topoi within the bounds of the psycholinguistic paradigm.The author emphasizes the specific functions of each topoi, significant for solvingthe problems of diplomatic discourse:to exaggerate a danger for international peace and security or to highlight of a state, which is ready to savethe world. The analysis of the speeches of Russian and American diplomatsproves that both topoi have common feathersand the established contextand are aimed at the achievement of diplomatic goals. Undoubtedly, the tendency to speech aggression in discourse of diplomacy is a significant deviation from traditional diplomatic communication and can be considered as an indicator of the changes in society and political situation. The article concluded that the topoi of threat and saviour has the potential to make changes to the recipient’s view of the world.

The utility of the integrated behavior change model as an extension of the theory of planned behavior.

IntroductionThere are several widely used theories of health behavior change, which mostly utilize the social cognitive approach. These theories tend to posit that intention is a direct predictor of behavior, do not include automatic influences on behavior, and propose a one-size-fits-all theory for both initiators and maintainers. However, the intention-behavior gap is a well-observed phenomenon, researchers have highlighted that both automatic and reflective factors promote behavioral engagement, and predictors of behavior have been shown to differ between initiators and maintainers—three issues that necessitate theory advancement. To that end, the present research compares the utility of the Integrated Behavior Change Model (IBCM) – a social cognitive model that includes automatic factors involved in behavioral engagement and a moderator of the intention-behavior gap – to its theoretical predecessor, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Further, the relevance of the IBCM factors for predicting exercise behavior is compared in initiators versus maintainers.MethodParticipants were 494 US undergraduates. Participants reported on variables from the IBCM (and TPB) at baseline and reported on their exercise behavior in two surveys at seven- and 14-days post-baseline.ResultsFindings supported the first hypothesis that the IBCM would be more relevant for initiators in comparison with maintainers, using structural equation modeling. Specifically, only the paths between intrinsic motivation and affective attitude, affective attitude and intention, and intention and behavior were reliably found for maintainers. For initiators, the aforementioned paths were also reliably supported and the additional following paths were also supported: intrinsic motivation and perceived behavioral control, perceived behavioral control and intention, and intention and action planning. However, results did not support the second hypothesis that the IBCM would predict significantly more variance in behavior than its theoretical predecessor, the TPB. Specifically, the addition of action planning, implicit attitude, implicit motivation, and the interaction between intention and action planning only predicted an additional 0.3% (p < 0:05) of the variance in exercise behavior above and beyond intention.ConclusionResults highlight the continued need for theoretical refinement in terms of delineating mechanisms of initiation and maintenance and the need for further development in terms of improving upon current predictions of behavior engagement and change.

Social Support as a Stress Buffer or Stress Amplifier and the Moderating Role of Implicit Motives: Protocol for a Randomized Study.

BackgroundPrevious research shows that providing social support in socioevaluative stress situations reduces participants’ stress responses. This stress-buffer effect, however, does not hold for everybody, and some studies even found a stress-amplifying effect of social support. Motive disposition research suggests that social motives (affiliation and power) lead to differential and sometimes even opposing affective and physiological responses to interpersonal interaction processes. We here integrate both lines of research and hypothesize that participants with strong affiliation motives benefit, while participants with strong power motives do not benefit from social support in terms of psychobiological responses to a given stressor. Further, participants with strong affiliation and power motives are expected to respond to social support with the arousal of motive-specific affects and reproductive hormone responses (affiliation: progesterone; power: estradiol and testosterone). In addition, we test sex differences in the response to social support and in the strengths of social motives.ObjectiveThe main objective of this study is to test whether social motives and participants’ sex moderate the effects of social support in stressful situations.MethodsWe aim to collect data from 308 participants recruited at our local university. Participants’ social motives are assessed using a standardized measure in motive research (Picture Story Exercise). Then, the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups (TSST-G) is used to experimentally induce psychosocial stress. One group of participants receives social support from an associate of the experimenter, while the control group does not receive social support. Stress responses will be assessed by a modified version of the state anxiety scale of the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory and by physiological indicators of stress (cortisol and α-amylase from saliva samples) at 7 measurement points. Reproductive hormones will be analyzed in 4 of these 7 saliva samples. Heart rate and heart rate variability will be assessed continuously. We will additionally measure participants’ performance in an interview (part of the TSST-G) using a self-developed categorization system.ResultsThe Ethics Committee of the University of Constance approved the application to conduct the study on December 18, 2018. Furthermore, the study was retrospectively registered in the German Clinical Trials Register (DKRS; ID: DRKS00028503) on March 09, 2022. The start of the experiment was planned for the beginning of 2019, but was postponed to June 2021 due to COVID-19. Publication of the first results is planned for spring 2023.ConclusionsOur theory-driven integration of social motives in social support research and the precise analysis of sex differences might disentangle inconsistent findings in TSST research. The more faceted view on individual differences has direct implications for applied contexts as it provides a framework for tailored conceptualizations of social support programs.Trial RegistrationGerman Clinical Trials Register DRKS00028503; https://tinyurl.com/5a87x4daInternational Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/39509

Linking Implicit Motives and Explicit Motives with Negotiation Performance

Recently, some scholars voiced out a demand, to give a second chance to the study of individual differences in negotiation performance. The current study aims to do so, whilst building on McClelland’s motives framework, and focusing on the Big Three classes of motives: achievement, affiliation and power. We hypothesized that achievement- and power-motivated individuals would exhibit high negotiation performance, whereas affiliation-motivated individuals would exhibit low negotiation performance. Further, we hypothesized that implicit motives explain additional variance in negotiation performance beyond explicit motives and traits. To test these hypotheses, in study 1, we collected data from 140 individuals (56 females) using self-report measures of negotiation performance. In study 2, we conducted a mixed-motive negotiation experiment with 84 participants (34 females). Results showed that explicit achievement and affiliation, and implicit power motives were positively related negotiation performance. Further, in study 2, we found that implicit achievement motive was positively associated with negotiation performance while explicit achievement motive was negatively related. We, also, found that implicit motives explain extra variance in negotiation performance beyond traits in study 2. We are among the few researchers who showed that motivational perspectives of personality should be taken into consideration when theorizing on antecedents of negotiation performance.

The Achievement Motive in the Brain: BOLD Responses to Pictures of Challenging Activities Predicted by Implicit Versus Explicit Achievement Motives.

The achievement motive refers to a preference for mastering challenges and competing with some standard of excellence. Along with affiliation and power motives, the achievement motive is typically considered to occur on the level of implicit versus explicit representations. Specifically, whereas implicit motives involve pictorial, emotional goal representations and facilitate corresponding action effortlessly, explicit motives involve propositional (“verbalized”) goal representations but need some effort to translate into action (McClelland et al., 1989). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate whether and to which degree the implicit and explicit achievement motives differentially predict blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) responses to pictures of individuals engaging in challenging activities. Whereas the implicit AM predicted activity in areas associated with emotion (orbitofrontal cortex) and visual processing (right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, premotor and occipital cortices), the explicit AM predicted activity in areas associated with cognitive self-control or verbal goal processing (dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex). The findings support the commonly assumed distinction between implicit and explicit motives with neuronal data. They also suggest that explicit motives require cognitive self-control to overcome potential lacks of motivation.

The effect of motive-goal congruence on adolescents’ academic goal engagement and disengagement

Academic achievement is an important developmental goal during adolescence. Two independent factors involved in academic motivation are implicit motives and explicit goals. In this study, we examined whether high school students’ (N = 213) implicit achievement motive, explicit achievement goals, and their interactions were associated with academic goal engagement and disengagement. Our findings showed that academic goal engagement and disengagement were associated with explicit achievement goals only, and not with the implicit achievement motive. However, interactions between the implicit achievement motive and grade aspiration (i.e., a specific explicit achievement goal) revealed that individuals with a low implicit achievement motive can still attain high goal engagement if they have a high grade aspiration. We also found that motive-goal congruence was associated with lower goal disengagement. Overall, these findings suggest that explicit achievement goals and specific academic goals play a dominant role in goal engagement behavior in the structured setting of high schools, and may allow youth to overcome the constraints of having a low implicit achievement motive.

Effect of health warning labels on motivation towards energy-dense snack foods: Two experimental studies

Health warning labels (HWLs) show promise in reducing motivation towards energy-dense snack foods. Understanding the underlying mechanisms could optimise their effectiveness. In two experimental studies in general population samples (Study 1 n = 90; Study 2 n = 1382), we compared the effects of HWLs and irrelevant aversive labels (IALs) on implicit (approach) motivation towards unhealthy snacks, using an approach-avoidance task (Study 1), and a manikin task (Study 2). We also assessed explicit motivation towards unhealthy snacks using food selection tasks. We examined whether labelling effects on motivation arose from the creation of outcome-dependent associations between the food and its health consequences or from simple, non-specific aversive associations. Both label types reduced motivation towards snack foods but only when the label was physically present. HWLs and IALs showed similar effects on implicit motivation, although HWLs reduced explicit motivation more than IALs. Thus, aversive HWLs appear to act both through low level associative mechanisms affecting implicit motivation, and by additionally emphasizing explicit causal links to health outcomes thereby affecting explicitly motivated choice behaviours.

Explorers of implicit motivation: 9 implicit motives and self-report measures

Explorers of implicit motivation: 9 implicit motives and self-report measures

On the nature of implicit motives

David McClelland’s research on the different kinds of (implicit) motives and how to measure them has had a substantial influence on contemporary psychology of motivation. He did not, however, reflect on the nature of implicit motives in much detail. In this article, I fill this gap. I argue that implicit motives should not be understood as mental states the agent has no introspective access to. Instead, I propose that the implicit motives that McClelland and others in the field distinguish—the power, achievement, and affiliation motive—are generic descriptions of specific ends an agent may act for. These motives are implicit, because they are not explicitly expressed but merely implied in what the agent does, thinks, and feels. Establishing whether an agent acts for or has a certain implicit motive, then, is a matter of interpreting the agent’s expressions. This proposal is in line with and explains the empirical findings.

Implicit motives across cultures

In recent years, methodological and substantial progress has been made in the field of cross-cultural studies on implicit motives. We propose that cross-cultural studies on implicit motives are indispensable to understand universal and culture-specific variations in individuals’ mental processes and behavior. It is assumed that implicit motives represent the first motivational system to be shaped in a human being’s ontogeny and that they have far-reaching consequences for individuals’ development, their feelings and actions in everyday life across different cultural groups. Applying psychometrically sound measurements cross-culturally, researchers have revealed a number of universal relationships between implicit motives and psychological and behavioral correlates. Despite these promising advancements, fundamental work still needs to be done with respect to the developmental antecedents of motives and behavioral correlates, particularly focusing on affiliation and power, which have received much less attention compared to the achievement motive. We conclude that if we want to do a better job at predicting behavior both within and across cultural groups, we need to supplement our typical reliance on explicit measures with implicit measures of motivation, beliefs, and values.

Implicit Motives Across Cultures

In recent years, methodological and substantial progress has been made in the field of cross-cultural studies on implicit motives. We propose that cross-cultural studies on implicit motives are indispensable to understand universal and culture-specific variations in individuals’ mental processes and behavior. It is assumed that implicit motives represent the first motivational system to be shaped in a human being’s ontogeny and that they have far-reaching consequences for individuals’ development, their feelings and actions in everyday life across different cultural groups. Applying psychometrically sound measurements cross-culturally, researchers have revealed a number of universal relationships between implicit motives and psychological and behavioral correlates. Despite these promising advancements, fundamental work still needs to be done with respect to the developmental antecedents of motives and behavioral correlates, particularly focusing on affiliation and power, which have received much less attention compared to the achievement motive. We conclude that if we want to do a better job at predicting behavior both within and across cultural groups, we need to supplement our typical reliance on explicit measures with implicit measures of motivation, beliefs, and values.

Explorers of implicit motivation 10: A landmark review (Part 1)

Explorers of implicit motivation 10: A landmark review (Part 1)

Explorers of implicit motivation 11: A landmark review (Part 2)

Explorers of implicit motivation 11: A landmark review (Part 2)

Implicit motives as the missing link between visionary leadership, approach and avoidance motivation, and vision pursuit

An unresolved question in visionary leadership research is, why must visions be high in imagery to cause affective reactions and be motivationally effective? Research in motivation psychology has shown that pictorial cues arouse implicit motives. Thus, pictorial cues from vision-induced imagery should arouse a follower’s implicit motives just like a real image. Hence, our fundamental proposition is that follower implicit motives and follower approach motivation serially mediate the relationship between leader vision and followers’ vision pursuit. We also examine the case of negative leader visions, with the central propositions that a negative leader vision arouses a follower’s implicit fear motives and that the follower’s implicit fear motives and follower avoidance motivation serially mediate the relationship between negative leader vision and the follower’s fear-related behaviors. Lastly, we assert that multiple implicit follower motives aroused by a multithematic leader vision exert additive as well as interaction effects on the follower’s vision pursuit. Plain Language Summary An unresolved question in leader vision research concerns why visions need to be high in imagery in order to elicit affective reactions in followers and be motivationally effective? Research in motivation psychology has shown that pictorial cues can arouse a person's implicit motives. It would thus be reasonable to expect that pictorial cues from leader vision-induced imagery arouse a follower's implicit motives just like a real image. Based on this reasoning, our key proposition is that follower implicit motives and follower approach motivation serially mediate the relationship between leader vision and followers' vision pursuit. We also integrate the special case of negative leader visions into our theorizing, with the central propositions that a negative leader vision arouses a follower's implicit fear motives, and that the follower's implicit fear motives and follower avoidance motivation serially mediate the relationship between negative leader vision and the follower's fear-related behaviors. Lastly, based on the distinction between mono- and multithematic visions, the latter of which with the potential to arouse more than one implicit motive simultaneously, we assert that multiple implicit follower motives aroused by a multithematic leader vision exert additive as well as interaction effects on the follower's vision pursuit.

Perceived Intrinsic Motivation Mediates the Effect of Motive Incongruence on Job Burnout and Job Satisfaction

Job burnout is a profound concern in modern society producing enormous financial and emotional costs for companies, health insurances, and the individual employee. In this study, we aimed at contributing to the literature on determinants of job burnout by investigating the indirect effects of implicit and explicit motive discrepancies (IED) through intrinsic motivation, with the aim of replicating previous findings from the literature. In addition, we extended this research by adding job satisfaction as an outcome variable in the mediation model, as well as volition as a moderator in these relationships. We preregistered our study and collected data from 136 participants (82 females; Mage = 29.33 years, SDage = 6.30) using indirect measures (for implicit motives) and self-report measures (for explicit motives, job burnout, job satisfaction and volition). IED was shown to have an indirect effect on both job burnout and job satisfaction through intrinsic motivation. Additionally, these indirect effects were mitigated by high levels volition. We discuss implications of our findings for research and practice. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2021.1980758.

Consumers’ prosocial engagement in CSR: why should they care and what does it mean to them?

PurposePublic relations practitioners worldwide are attempting to enhance the overall organization–stakeholder relationships by applying strategic communication techniques and skills to corporate social responsibility (CSR) management and communications. In this light, drawing on the prosocial motivation literature, this paper aims to investigate consumers’ implicit and explicit motivations for prosocial behavior, and how these two motivations interact to affect consumers’ willingness to contribute to CSR activities. Second, through the lens of sensemaking theory, this study evaluates the influence of successful prosocial behavior engagement on consumers’ perceptions of both self and companies’ prosocial identities, CSR authenticity and company evaluations.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a dictator game experiment with 2 × 2 factorial design to gauge consumers’ prosocial behavioral response toward companies’ CSR communication with implicit and explicit motivations and to examine its effect on company evaluation.FindingsIn all, the results of this study suggest that implicit motivation, i.e. self-affirmation intervention, in CSR communication will cause consumers to donate more money to CSR programs; whereas explicit motivation does not exert an effect on consumers’ prosocial behavior. In addition, such donation will trigger consumers’ prosocial sensemaking process and lead to strong identification with the company, positive attitudes and behavioral intentions toward the company.Originality/valueThis study aims to build a consumer- and social cause-oriented CSR communication model, which maximizes the impact of CSR investments on consumer relationship building, business bottom line and social causes.