Assessing individual differences in achievement motivation with the Implicit Association Test

The impact of a growth mindset on high school students' learning subjective well-being: the serial mediation role of achievement motivation and grit

Purpose

The learning subjective well-being of high school students has significant value for their academic achievement and future life development. A growth mindset is one of the key factors affecting the learning subjective well-being of high school students. However, research on the mechanism by which a growth mindset affects learning subjective well-being is still relatively limited. Therefore, the study aims to investigate the impact of a growth mindset on the learning subjective well-being of high school students, as well as the role that achievement motivation and grit play as serial mediators in this relationship.

Methods

This study employed a convenience sampling method to select 708 high school students from Chinese public high schools as participants. The research utilized the Growth Mindset Scale, Achievement Motivation Scale, Grit Scale, and the Learning Subjective Well-being Questionnaire for High School Students to collect data. All data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0, employing Model 6 from Hayes' SPSS PROCESS macro to test the serial mediation model.

Results

Our results found that (1) high school students' growth mindset positively predicted their learning subjective well-being. (2) Achievement motivation played a mediating role between a growth mindset and learning subjective well-being among high school students. (3) Grit acted as a mediator between learning subjective well-being and growth mindset among high school students. (4) Achievement motivation and grit served as serial mediators between a growth mindset and learning subjective well-being among high school students.

Conclusion

A growth mindset can influence the learning subjective well-being of high school students through achievement motivation and grit. Educators can enhance the learning subjective well-being of high school students by implementing intervention strategies that foster a growth mindset, achievement motivation, and grit.

A systematic literature review on SME internationalization: a personality lens

The importance of the individual decision-maker within the internationalization process of SMEs has extensively been acknowledged in the International Entrepreneurship field. Yet, despite this, the current discourse is mainly limited to socio-demographics, and social and human capital, and does not seem to advance towards the influence and role of, e.g., deeper-level personality aspects on the SME’s internationalization process. Findings are scattered across different fields of research and disciplines, making it difficult to build upon existing knowledge. To address this, we execute a Systematic Literature Review focusing on internationalization, SMEs, and personality, with specific attention for deeper-level personality aspects. Our findings reveal a rather young body of literature which uses a behavioral perspective, and can be subdivided into three overarching research themes: Internationalization Behaviors, Internationalization Initiation, and Internationalization Performance. Our thematic analysis and cross-thematic discussion provide a fertile ground for further studies on the entrepreneur’s deeper-level personality aspects in relation to SME internationalization. In the future research section, we recommend the exploration of alternative behavioral theories, and multi-level and holistic approaches to further explore this promising sub-domain.

Comparisons Between COVID-19 Stigma and Other Stigmas: Distinct in Explicit Attitudes and Similar in Implicit Process

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the public stigma associated with COVID-19 has emerged. To better understand the COVID-19 stigma, the present research conducted three studies on 1,493 Chinese participants from the outbreak to the recovery period of the COVID-19 pandemic to examine the psychological mechanisms of COVID-19 stigma by comparing it with other disease-related stigmas in terms of their explicit and implicit processes. Study 1 and Study 2 jointly demonstrated that the public endorsed more stigma toward the COVID-19 related people (i.e., the COVID-19 patients) relative to the other disease-related people (i.e., the SARS patients, people with flu) in multiple explicit aspects, including emotional, motivational, cognitive, and social processing. Using the implicit association test (IAT), Study 3 found no significant difference in the implicit measures of the COVID-19 vs. the SARS groups, which further revealed that the pandemic stigmas (i.e., COVID-19 and SARS) were similar at the implicit level. These findings suggest common (implicit level) but distinct (explicit level) psychological processes of the pandemic-related stigmas, which provide reference to policymakers in formulating suitable interventions to deal with COVID-19 stigma and a newly generated potential stigma and provide psychological support for the public in the future.

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on public managers' attitudes toward digital transformation

The COVID-19 pandemic has induced a process of digital acceleration and has likely changed the attitudes of local public managers toward information and communication technology (ICT). While this attitude change has been reasonably argued, it has not been systematically measured. This study narrows this gap by measuring the attitudes of public managers before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, this study finds that the pandemic has led public managers to be more confident in the capacity of ICT to help cities achieve their economic, social, and environmental goals and respond to challenges. Both explicit and implicit measures confirmed attitude changes. The explicit measures also indicated that the change in public managers' attitude toward ICT was similar to their change in attitude toward scientific progress and greater than their change in attitude toward other issues that have played a major role during the pandemic, namely, climate change, citizen participation, and privacy.

The benefits of need satisfaction depend on their relative importance for people with a unidimensional identity: an idiographic analysis

Self-determination theory proposes that the satisfaction of basic psychological needs is equally beneficial for everyone – the Universal Hypothesis. Equally, there are intra-individual differences in how the satisfaction of differentially important needs might be differentially beneficial, which we term the Intra-individual Hypothesis. We aimed to reconcile these positions. Across four cross-sectional studies (ns = 300 rock climbers, 323 sportspeople, 394 UK and Chinese adults, 320 UK adults), we investigated the needs of individuals with varying dimensions to their identity, and their motivation and self-esteem. In Studies 1, 2, and 4, when individuals strongly related their sense of identity to investment in a specific activity, the association between need satisfaction and self-esteem (and motivation in Studies 1–2) depended on their intra-individual need importance, supporting the Intra-individual Hypothesis. In Studies 3 and 4, for individuals with a multidimensional identity, the association between need satisfaction and self-esteem did not depend on the importance of each need, supporting the Universal Hypothesis. The satisfaction of basic psychological needs is not always uniform in its link with motivation and well-being. The degree to which individuals have a unidimensional or multidimensional self-concept appears fruitful in predicting the relative value of the Universal Hypothesis and the Intra-individual Hypothesis.

Explicit achievement motive strength determines effort-related myocardial beta-adrenergic activity if task difficulty is unclear but not if task difficulty is clear

Work on physiological and other behavioral correlates of motives often assumes that motives exert a direct effect on behavior once activated. Motivational intensity theory, however, suggests that this does not always apply. In the context of task engagement, motive strength should exert a direct effect on myocardial beta-adrenergic activity if task difficulty is unclear, but not if task difficulty is known. The presented study tested this prediction for the impact of the explicit achievement motive on myocardial beta-adrenergic activity-assessed as pre-ejection period (PEP) reactivity during task performance. Seventy-eight participants performed one of two versions of a mental arithmetic task. After having completed the achievement motive scale of the Personality Research Form, participants were either informed about the difficulty of the task or not before working on it. Participants' PEP reactivity during task performance provided evidence for the predicted moderating impact of clarity of task difficulty: PEP reactivity increased with increasing achievement motive strength if task difficulty was unclear, but not if it was clear. These findings demonstrate that the explicit achievement motive impact on myocardial beta-adrenergic activity is moderated by clarity of task difficulty and suggest that motive strength does not always translate into direct effects on physiology and behavior.

Convergent, Discriminant, and Incremental Validity of the Pictorial Attitude Implicit Association Test and the Picture Story Exercise as Measures of the Implicit Power Motive

The Pictorial Attitude Implicit Association Test (PA–IAT) has recently been proposed as new measure of implicit motives. We report a study that provides the first evidence for the convergent validity of the PA–IAT by showing that the PA–IAT correlates significantly with a standard measure of implicit motives [i.e. the Picture Story Exercise (PSE)]. Discriminant validity of the PA–IAT was verified in the sense that the PA–IAT shared virtually no common variance with explicit motive measures. Our analyses revealed that the PA–IAT and PSE can best be conceived as related but distinct measures. We further showed that the PA–IAT had incremental validity in predicting performance on a memory recall task over and above the PSE. In general, our results confirm that the PA–IAT is a valid measure of implicit motives and can serve as valid alternative to the PSE. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Comparing IAT and TAT measures of power versus intimacy motivation

We assessed implicit orientations towards power versus intimacy using the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and the Implicit Associations Test (IAT). In addition, we assessed explicit orientations using self‐report measures of dominance versus nurturance motives and extrinsic versus intrinsic values. Further, we assessed the rated self‐concordance and importance of power versus intimacy idiographic goals. The six measures formed four factors: motives/values, goals, IAT and TAT. We also assessed a variety of outcomes ranging from well‐being to choice in a social dilemma. All six predictors correlated with at least some outcomes, with the values measure being strongest predictor of the predominantly self‐report outcomes. We suggest that there is value in simultaneously considering old school and new school approaches to assessing implicit motives. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A pictorial Attitude IAT as a Measure of Implicit Motives

We tested the hypothesis that a pictorial attitude variant of the Implicit Association Test (PA–IAT) is a valid measure of implicit motives. The PA–IAT aims to capture attitudes towards pictures that are related to implicit motives. In the first two studies, we showed that the pictorial attitude Implicit Association Test (IAT) correlated more highly with non–IAT measures of implicit motives than other IAT variants. In the third study, we established the validity of the PA–IAT experimentally and showed that the pictorial attitude IAT correlated with non–declarative behavioural measures only if implicit motives were aroused. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Proximity and distance goals in adult attachment

We used a variant of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and explicit reports to examine the assumption that attachment anxiety and avoidance are related to proximity and distance goals. Results confirmed that attachment avoidance was associated with a stronger implicit motivation for and positive evaluation of distance goals in attachment relationships. This was found both at the implicit and explicit levels and both in a threat and non‐threat context. Attachment anxiety was associated with proximity goals only when measured explicitly, but not when goal activation was measured implicitly. Our findings highlight the importance of considering both implicit and explicit goal representations when studying motivational processes in the context of attachment, and suggest that the IAT can provide a useful tool for investigating implicit motivational constructs. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Effect of Rewards and Punishments on Learning Action Selection and Execution Components of a Motor Skill

It is unknown whether rewards improve the capability to select appropriate targets for one’s movement (action selection) and/or the movement itself (action execution). Thus, we devised an experimental task wherein participants categorized a complex visual stimulus to determine toward which one of two targets to execute an action (putt a golf ball) on each trial under one of three conditions: reward, punishment, or neutral. After practicing the task under their assigned condition, participants performed an immediate, 24-hr, and 7-day post-test. Results revealed participants putted to the correct target more frequently during the post-tests than the first practice block, and putted more accurately during the post-tests than a pretest. However, the condition in which participants practiced did not moderate post-test performance (for either task component). Additionally, motivation scores explained action selection and action execution for the immediate post-test performance but not long-term retention, suggesting that motivation might be related to immediate performance, but not long-term learning. Further, the present task may be useful for researchers studying action selection and execution, since the task yielded learning effects that could be moderated by factors of interest.

Implicit and Explicit Anti-Fat Attitude Change Following Brief Cognitive Dissonance Intervention for Weight Stigma

OBJECTIVE

Research has demonstrated that explicit anti-fat attitudes decrease immediately following a brief cognitive dissonance-based intervention targeting weight stigma. The current study explores changes in explicit and implicit anti-fat attitudes immediately following a cognitive dissonance-based weight stigma intervention and 1 week after.

METHODS

College students (N = 156) were randomly assigned to a control or dissonance weight stigma intervention. Weight stigma attitudes were assessed at three time points, and participants completed a measure of values at baseline. Participants in the dissonance condition were told that they had anti-fat attitudes that were inconsistent with their values, whereas participants in the control group were told that their attitudes aligned with their values. All participants reviewed feedback at a follow-up visit before completing explicit and implicit weight stigma assessments a final time.

RESULTS

Individuals in the dissonance condition reported statistically significant decreases in explicit attitudes from Visit 1 to Visit 3. In contrast, there was not a significant condition by time interaction on implicit attitudes.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides support for cognitive dissonance-based interventions to reduce explicit, but not implicit, anti-fat attitudes following repeated exposure to dissonance induction.

Preparation of Multi-Motive Grid Questionnaire for Social Networking Sites Use

This study draws on previous studies to develop the Social Networking Sites Use Multi-Motive Grid Questionnaire (SNSU-MMG) and test its reliability and validity. The results show that social networking sites use motivation includes four factors: cognitive motivation, emotional motivation, leisure motivation and herding motivation. Confirmatory factor analysis, reliability and validity tests show that the questionnaire has good structural validity, internal consistency and split-half reliability. The SNSU-MMG can be used as a measurement tool for users' social networking sites use implicit motivation.

Enjoying or refraining from risk? The impact of implicit need for achievement and risk perception on SME internationalization

Purpose

This study aims to explore how an entrepreneur's implicit need for achievement and risk reception contribute to internationalization performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study involves 176 Indonesian entrepreneurs. The authors use the Operant Motive Test to assess the entrepreneur's implicit needs and apply hierarchical Tobit regression to assess the interplay between implicit need for achievement, risk perception and internationalization.

Findings

The authors show that an entrepreneur's basic needs and risk perception play an essential role in SME internationalization. More specifically, the authors reveal a positive association between the entrepreneur's need for achievement and small and medium enterprises (SME) internationalization. They also show a U-shaped relationship for the moderation effect of risk perception on this relationship. That is, for a high need for achievement-motivated entrepreneur, the level of internationalization is at the highest when risk perception is either very low or very high.

Originality/value

In this study, the authors argue that analyses at the entrepreneur's individual level are indispensable to better understand firm internationalization. The authors argue that the role of psycho-cognitive characteristics of individuals (such as motivational dispositions) received too little attention, compared to factors at the firm or environmental level. This study examines such personality aspects and finds that implicit need for achievement and risk perception impact SME internationalization.

The added value of implicit motives for management research Development and first validation of a Brief Implicit Association Test (BIAT) for the measurement of implicit motives

Many Management (sub-)disciplines, from Organizational Behavior and Marketing to Accounting and Strategy, are interested in antecedents and consequences of individual attitudes and traits. A key aspect of personality profiles are explicit and implicit motives. Yet, Management scholars mainly focus on explicit motives, with limited attention to implicit motives. We argue that this state of affairs probably came into being because current Management researchers mainly rely on implicit motive measures that are either difficult to apply or to develop, hampering researchers from applying implicit motive measures. To overcome the downsides of available instruments, we develop a Brief Implicit Association Test (BIAT) as an efficient, reliable and valid measure of implicit motives, particularly the needs for achievement, affiliation and power. To explore our BIAT’s predictive validity, we apply this measure to a specific research domain within Management: Entrepreneurship. We examine implicit motives’ association with entrepreneurial self-efficacy, business founding, and financial profitability. Our results show that the introduction of implicit motives can unlock stranded discussions in this research domain. Overall, we argue that implicit motives can help to push the boundaries of the study of deep-level attributes in a wide range of organizational and managerial settings.

Stability of and Changes in Implicit Motives. A Narrative Review of Empirical Studies

Although growing research indicates that certain personality traits change over the lifespan, implicit motives are often deemed to be rather stable personality characteristics. Researchers have been interested in implicit motives for several decades, but our understanding of how these dispositions change still lacks clarity. This article gives an overview and a discussion of the current evidence for the stability of and the changes in implicit motives. After elaborating on the theoretical background of the motive construct and its measurement, we present an overview of studies that have investigated the trainability of implicit motives and their dispositional stability and changes using cross-sectional and longitudinal methods. Although the results are inconclusive concerning the direction of change, the reviewed studies suggest that implicit motives adapt to life circumstances much like other personality traits. This review sets out to contribute to a better understanding of the functioning of implicit motives and to present a roadmap for further research.

Are the benefits of autonomy satisfaction and the costs of autonomy frustration dependent on individuals' autonomy strength?

OBJECTIVE

From a self-determination theory perspective, individuals are assumed to benefit and suffer from, respectively, the satisfaction and frustration of the psychological need for autonomy, even if they score low on autonomy strength. Yet, previous studies on need strength are scarce, operationalized need strength differently, and produced inconsistent findings.

METHOD

In two studies among 224 South African adults (M_age  = 24.13, SD = 4.25; 54.0% male) and 156 Belgian prisoners (M_age  = 38.60, SD = 11.68; 88.5% male), we investigated the moderating role of autonomy valuation and desire in the relations of autonomy satisfaction and frustration with a variety of well-being and ill-being indicators.

RESULTS

Study 1 provided some evidence for the moderating role of mostly explicit autonomy desire (rather than explicit autonomy valuation). In Study 2, neither explicit nor implicit autonomy desire played a consistent moderating role.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, these findings are congruent with a moderate (albeit not with a strong) interpretation of the universality claim made within self-determination theory, provide initial evidence for a differentiation between deficit-based and growth-oriented interpersonal differences in need strength, and indicate that the potential moderating role of need strength deserves continued attention before any firm conclusions can be drawn.

Integrating Implicit and Explicit Social Cognitions for Enhanced Personality Assessment

The current article advocates integrating implicit and explicit social cognitions for enhanced personality assessment in organizational contexts (e.g., personnel selection settings). Several methods for measuring implicit cognitions are reviewed, and their strengths and limitations are discussed. The most widely used method for measuring explicit cognitions, the self-report questionnaire, also is described along with its strengths and limitations. Implicit and explicit cognitions then are integrated to form a general model of personality prototypes. The authors describe several mechanisms by which implicit and explicit cognitions may operate (e.g., coact, interact) to predict criteria, depending on the nature of the personality construct assessed and the outcome of interest. These different operations implicate different statistical methodologies. The authors then present specific examples of this integrative procedure for enhancing personality assessment using the construct of achievement motivation. They conclude by discussing how future research could extend and apply this general framework for use with other personality constructs.

The Motivating Power of Visionary Images: Effects on Motivation, Affect, and Behavior

OBJECTIVE

Visionary images are identity-relevant, picture-like mental representations of a desirable and attainable future appearing regularly in a person's stream of thought. Prior research indicates that both mental and real images provide access to implicit motives. We therefore proposed that visionary images motivate people by arousing their implicit motives and tested this hypothesis in two experimental studies.

METHOD

We used guided visualizations to administer motive-domain-specific visionary images (Study 1: achievement and neutral, M_age  = 24.4, 51 participants, 34 women; Study 2: affiliation and power, M_age  = 24.01, 51 participants, 28 women) to arouse the respective implicit motive. Motivation was measured via residual changes in affective (i.e., changes in affective arousal), behavioral (i.e., performance on a concentration task, behavioral choices in a prisoner's dilemma), and mental (i.e., motive imagery in the Picture Story Exercise) indicators of motivation.

RESULTS

The results largely confirmed our hypothesis. Visionary images increased motivation in the targeted domain. Some effects were moderated by participants' implicit motives.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings underscore the role of implicit motives in understanding the motivational effectiveness of visionary images.

Integrating Implicit and Explicit Social Cognitions for Enhanced Personality Assessment: A General Framework for Choosing Measurement and Statistical Methods

The current article advocates integrating implicit and explicit social cognitions for enhanced personality assessment in organizational contexts (e.g., personnel selection settings). Several methods for measuring implicit cognitions are reviewed, and their strengths and limitations are discussed. The most widely used method for measuring explicit cognitions, the self-report questionnaire, also is described along with its strengths and limitations. Implicit and explicit cognitions then are integrated to form a general model of personality prototypes. The authors describe several mechanisms by which implicit and explicit cognitions may operate (e.g., coact, interact) to predict criteria, depending on the nature of the personality construct assessed and the outcome of interest. These different operations implicate different statistical methodologies. The authors then present specific examples of this integrative procedure for enhancing personality assessment using the construct of achievement motivation. They conclude by discussing how future research could extend and apply this general framework for use with other personality constructs.

Need for achievement moderates the effect of motive-relevant challenge on salivary cortisol changes

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis plays a key role in the physiological response to stress, preparing the organism for appropriate action. While some research has examined universally relevant threats, other research has suggested that individual differences may moderate the relationship between stress and cortisol release, such that some individuals exhibit modified reactivity to personally relevant stressors or challenges. In the present study we investigated whether one individual difference-the implicit need for achievement-moderates the effect of motive-relevant challenge on salivary cortisol. Participants' salivary cortisol and felt affect were measured before and after engagement in an achievement task. In the positive- and no-feedback conditions, individuals high in implicit achievement motivation demonstrated increased cortisol response to the task, whereas in the negative feedback condition, individuals high in implicit achievement motivation demonstrated a dampened cortisol response. Furthermore, changes in cortisol were accompanied by changes in felt affect in the same direction, specifically hedonic tone. These results suggest that the HPA axis also responds to non-social-evaluative challenge in a personality-contingent manner.

Do Some People Need Autonomy More Than Others? Implicit Dispositions Toward Autonomy Moderate the Effects of Felt Autonomy on Well-Being

The present studies examined whether implicit or explicit autonomy dispositions moderate the relationship between felt autonomy and well-being. Study 1 (N = 187 undergraduate students) presents an initial test of the moderator hypothesis by predicting flow experience from the interaction of autonomy need satisfaction and autonomy dispositions. Study 2 (N = 127 physically inactive persons) used vignettes involving an autonomy (un)supportive coach to test a moderated mediation model in which perceived coach autonomy support leads to well-being through basic need satisfaction. Again, the effects of need satisfaction on well-being were hypothesized to be moderated by an implicit autonomy disposition. Study 1 showed that individuals with a strong implicit autonomy (but not power or achievement) motive disposition derived more flow experience from felt autonomy than individuals with a weak implicit autonomy disposition. Study 2 revealed that perceived autonomy support from sports coaches, which we experimentally induced with a vignette method, leads to autonomy satisfaction, leading in turn to positive effects on well-being. This indirect effect held at high and average but not low implicit autonomy disposition. The results indicate that the degree to which people benefit from autonomy need satisfaction depends on their implicit disposition toward autonomy.

Measuring the reliability of picture story exercises like the TAT

As frequently reported, psychometric assessments on Picture Story Exercises, especially variations of the Thematic Apperception Test, mostly reveal inadequate scores for internal consistency. We demonstrate that the reason for this apparent shortcoming is not caused by the coding system itself but from the incorrect use of internal consistency coefficients, especially Cronbach's α. This problem could be eliminated by using the category-scores as items instead of the picture-scores. In addition to a theoretical explanation we prove mathematically why the use of category-scores produces an adequate internal consistency estimation and examine our idea empirically with the origin data set of the Thematic Apperception Test by Heckhausen and two additional data sets. We found generally higher values when using the category-scores as items instead of picture-scores. From an empirical and theoretical point of view, the estimated reliability is also superior to each category within a picture as item measuring. When comparing our suggestion with a multifaceted Rasch-model we provide evidence that our procedure better fits the underlying principles of PSE.

Investigating the predictive validity of implicit and explicit measures of motivation in problem-solving behavioural tasks

Research into the effects of individuals'autonomous motivation on behaviour has traditionally adopted explicit measures and self-reported outcome assessment. Recently, there has been increased interest in the effects of implicit motivational processes underlying behaviour from a self-determination theory (SDT) perspective. The aim of the present research was to provide support for the predictive validity of an implicit measure of autonomous motivation on behavioural persistence on two objectively measurable tasks. SDT and a dual-systems model were adopted as frameworks to explain the unique effects offered by explicit and implicit autonomous motivational constructs on behavioural persistence. In both studies, implicit autonomous motivation significantly predicted unique variance in time spent on each task. Several explicit measures of autonomous motivation also significantly predicted persistence. Results provide support for the proposed model and the inclusion of implicit measures in research on motivated behaviour. In addition, implicit measures of autonomous motivation appear to be better suited to explaining variance in behaviours that are more spontaneous or unplanned. Future implications for research examining implicit motivation from dual-systems models and SDT approaches are outlined.

Motives and health-related behaviour: incremental prediction by implicit motives

The study assessed whether implicit motives, which operate largely outside of conscious awareness, can provide any incremental prediction of health-related behaviour over that provided by explicit motives. In a cross-sectional survey study, 251 young adults completed measures of sun exposure behaviour, sun protection behaviour and risk-related sexual behaviour, participatory motives for these behaviours, life goals (representing explicit dispositional motives), and the Single Category Implicit Association Test adapted to measure implicit motives. Analysis was by structural equation modelling. Power life goal (the goal of asserting oneself and seeking social status) predicted sun exposure behaviour and risk-related sexual behaviour. Altruism life goal (acting for the welfare of others) predicted sun protection behaviour and inversely predicted risk-related sexual behaviour. These effects of life goals were mediated by participatory motives. Implicit dispositional achievement motive (the largely unconscious need to succeed at challenging tasks) inversely predicted sun exposure behaviour, this effect being mediated by a reduction in appearance-related participatory motive for sun exposure. Implicit dispositional achievement motive also inversely predicted risk-related sexual behaviour, this effect being direct. It is concluded that implicit dispositional motives can provide some incremental prediction of health-related behaviour. Possibilities for further research, including the experimental manipulation of motive engagement, are discussed.

Discrepancies between implicit and explicit motivation and unhealthy eating behavior

Many people change their eating behavior as a consequence of stress. One source of stress is intrapersonal psychological conflict as caused by discrepancies between implicit and explicit motives. In the present research, we examined whether eating behavior is related to this form of stress. Study 1 (N=53), a quasi-experimental study in the lab, showed that the interaction between the implicit achievement motive disposition and explicit commitment toward an achievement task significantly predicts the number of snacks consumed in a consecutive taste test. In cross-sectional Study 2 (N=100), with a sample of middle-aged women, overall motive discrepancy was significantly related to diverse indices of unsettled eating. Regression analyses revealed interaction effects specifically for power and achievement motivation and not for affiliation. Emotional distress further partially mediated the relationship between the overall motive discrepancy and eating behavior.

Investigating Measures of Achievement Motivation(s)

After a long debate there is now growing agreement that implicit and explicit achievement motivation can be seen as distinct constructs. One of their major differences lies in their predictive validity, which supposedly differs depending on the setting. Empirical evidence exists to the effect that different explicit measures based on different theoretical concepts build one construct. For implicit measures, however, such evidence is lacking. Thus, scores on three implicit and three explicit achievement motivation measures, an intelligence test, and a Big 5 questionnaire were obtained (N = 150) as well as two criteria. The explicit achievement motivation measures were classified as being based either on Murray’s or on McClelland’s theory. Results replicate the idea of a common construct for explicit measures but not for implicit measures. The assumed predictions did not occur for all tests and disappeared when controlling for intelligence.

Persönlichkeitseigenschaften, Intelligenz und Erfolg im Beruf

Zusammenfassung. Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Bedeutung von Persönlichkeitseigenschaften und kognitiven Fähigkeiten für berufliche Erfolgskriterien, d.h. für berufliche Leistung und Berufserfolg. Zunächst wird ein Überblick über den internationalen Stand der Forschung, über metaanalytische Befunde und aktuelle Debatten geliefert, anschließend werden aktuelle Befunde aus Deutschland resümiert. Diese Bestandsaufnahme deutscher Studien verdeutlicht, dass deutsche Persönlichkeits- und Intelligenztests hinsichtlich berufsrelevanter Kriterien noch nicht ausreichend validiert wurden. Dies mag dazu beitragen, dass trotz der internationalen empirischen Evidenz für ihre Validität Persönlichkeits- und Intelligenztests in Deutschland vergleichsweise selten in der personaldiagnostischen Praxis eingesetzt werden. Implikationen werden abgeleitet, die zu einer Annäherung zwischen Forschung und Praxis beitragen könnten.

Are “implicit” attitudes unconscious?

A widespread assumption in recent research on attitudes is that self-reported (explicit) evaluations reflect conscious attitudes, whereas indirectly assessed (implicit) evaluations reflect unconscious attitudes. The present article reviews the available evidence regarding unconscious features of indirectly assessed "implicit" attitudes. Distinguishing between three different aspects of attitudes, we conclude that (a) people sometimes lack conscious awareness of the origin of their attitudes, but that lack of source awareness is not a distinguishing feature of indirectly assessed versus self-reported attitudes, (b) there is no evidence that people lack conscious awareness of indirectly assessed attitudes per se, and (c) there is evidence showing that, under some conditions, indirectly assessed (but not self-reported) attitudes influence other psychological processes outside of conscious awareness. Implications for the concept of "implicit attitudes" are discussed.

Implicit and self-attributed motives to achieve: two separate but interacting needs

This research examined how implicit and self-attributed needs to achieve (labeled as n Ach and san Ach, respectively) combine with self-referenced and norm-referenced feedback to predict effort-related (task performance) and choice-related (task continuation) indexes of students' engagement in a mental concentration task. In Experiment 1 the authors found that in a task-focused setting, task performance was predicted by the joint effect of self-referenced feedback and n Ach, whereas task continuation was predicted by the joint effect of norm-referenced feedback and san Ach. In Experiment 2 the authors found that in an ego-focused setting, n Ach and san Ach interacted in the prediction of task performance but not of task continuation. In Experiment 3 the authors found that the effects of n Ach and san Ach on students' performance were mediated by the anticipated affective value of achievement outcomes. These findings are discussed in relation to a 2-system approach to achievement motivation.