Society for the Study of Motivation 2015
New York City
Program Abstracts
Symposia
Symposium 1: Motivating Change Within and Without
Co-Chairs​: Patricia Chen, ​University of Michigan, Ann Arbor​
& Kentaro Fujita, ​The Ohio State University
Incongruence between people and their social contexts often necessitates changes in one or the other. These
modifications to the status quo can occur within the individual, when people adjust their beliefs and attitudes
to their circumstances, or without, when they act on their social contexts. Yet, ​what ​changes ​when​ is a question
not yet well understood. The goal of this symposium is to integrate multiple perspectives to inform a better
understanding of what motivates internally directed changes, externally directed changes, and the outcomes
of both. We highlight research showing how cognitive, motivational, and contextual factors interact to predict
the different types of change that occur.
Contingent self-affirmation: How affirmations that
reflect concerns can overcome temptations
Steven J. Spencer, ​University of Waterloo​, Omid Fotuhi, ​Stanford University​,
Geoff T. Fong, ​University of Waterloo​, Mark P. Zanna, ​University of Waterloo
Self-affirmation has been conceptualized as broad positive expressions about the self. Such affirmations may
help people resist temptation, but might also allow people to rationalize giving in to temptation and result in
inconsistent effects of affirmation under temptation. My colleagues and I have proposed that
self-affirmations that incorporate concerns about giving in to temptation might make self-affirmation more
effective. We call this strategy contingent self-affirmation, and test it with people trying to quit smoking. In
three studies with over 500 participants, we compare contingent affirmation (thinking about a value shared
with an important close other who wants them to quit smoking), standard self-affirmation, and a control
group. We find that people using contingent affirmation show stronger intention to quit, are less likely to
smoke right after the study, and are more likely to have actually quit 6 months later than people using
standard self-affirmation or those in the control group.
Adapting to Things You Cannot Change and Changing the Things You Can
Patricia Chen, ​University of Michigan, Ann Arbor​,
Alexander McBrairty, ​University of Michigan, Ann Arbor​,
Yuching Lin, ​University of Michigan, Ann Arbor​,
& Kristin Laurin, ​Stanford Graduate School of Business
People often respond to challenging circumstances by either adapting to the circumstances or trying to change
them. We hypothesize that whether people choose one or the other depends on their lay theories of situations
– those who believe that situations in general are changeable are more likely to change the situation than
those who believe that situations are fixed. Four studies with over 300 participants showed that people who
believe that situations are generally changeable were more likely to confront their supervisor in a work conflict
scenario (Studies 1 & 2), proactively acquire more resources that they need to complete a task (Study 3) and
protest a disadvantageous college policy (Study 4), compared to those who believe that situations are
immutable. Our findings highlight that people’s lay theories about situation changeability dictate whether
they respond to challenges by adapting themselves or changing their situations.
1
When and Why Threats Seem Proximal:
A Proactive Defense Model of Distance Representation
Emily Balcetis, ​New York University​, Shana Cole, ​New York University​,
Kentaro Fujita, ​The Ohio State University​, & Adam Alter, ​New York University
Are representations of distance sensitive to personal, internal motives to proactively defend against external
threat? In 3 studies (​total n ​= 453), we first establish conditions necessary to induce the proactive defense
motive, and tested if these conditions shift representations of distances. Study 1 (​n​ = 114) found
that a proactive defense motive engaged when people were presented with an external threat (rather than a
non-threat) but only when they had strong rather than weak feelings of control. Moreover, representations of
distance reflected the activation of this motive. Threatening locations felt closer than neutral or safe locations
among people who personally experienced (Study 2, ​n​ = 148) or were induced to believe they had greater
control over personal safety (Study 3, ​n​ = 191). We discuss the regulatory functions served by perceptual
representations and implications for integrating motivational models into the study of perceptual
representations.
Tough love for the long haul: How dissent decisions
are influenced by temporal perspective
Dominic J. Packer, ​Lehigh University, ​ Christopher T. H. Miners, ​Queen’s University​,
Michael J. A. Wohl, ​Carleton University,​ & Darcy Dupuis, ​Carleton University
Effective groups need both stability and the capacity for change. We posit that as members motivated to
pursue group interests, strong identifiers are sensitive to factors that alter the perceived importance of
stability vs. change-oriented goals. For example, whereas stability goals (e.g., group efficacy, image) are often
important in the short-term, longer-term perspectives may increase the importance of change goals (e.g.,
assessment, improvement). Two studies (n = 232) investigated the influence of temporal perspective/construal
level on members’ willingness to dissent against – and thus try to change – problematic group norms. As
predicted, if they adopted a longer-term perspective/high-level construal, strongly (vs. weakly) identified
members were more willing to dissent from group norms. If they adopted a shorter-term
perspective/low-level construal, strong identifiers were equally or more conformist. In a third study (n = 192),
dissent was greatest among identified members concerned that a group norm threatened the future viability of
their group.
Symposium 2: ​Motivating Sustainability through Motivation Science:
Evidence from the Lab and Field
​Co-Chairs​: Adam Pearson, ​Pomona College &
Rainer Romero-Canyas,​ ​Environmental Defense Fund
Motivating people to act against environmental problems such as global warming is a challenge for
policy-makers and activists. This challenge originates partly from skepticism and disengagement among
segments of the population. We present evidence from laboratory and field studies drawing on diverse
approaches to offer new insights and potential solutions to this problem. The studies identify processes that
impede environmental engagement and test data-driven interventions designed to increase it. The
symposium includes evidence of the positive impact of perceived scientific consensus on anthropogenic
climate change on public climate beliefs and policy support as well as the effectiveness in-group-targeted
messages on the climate beliefs of Conservatives. Beyond political partisanship, we present work on how race
and ethnicity shape core motivations and beliefs about the environment and interest in environmental
organizations. Finally, we present a cross-national comparison of the effectiveness of different cultural
frames on motivating environmentally-responsible action in different cultural contexts.
2
The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change
as a Motivational Belief: Experimental Evidence
Sander van der Linden, ​Princeton University​, Anthony Leiserowitz, ​Yale University​,
Geoffrey Feinberg, ​Yale University​, Edward Maibach, ​George Mason University
There is currently widespread public misunderstanding about the degree of scientific consensus on
human-caused climate change, both in the US as well as internationally. Moreover, previous research has
identified important associations between public perceptions of the scientific consensus, belief in climate
change and motivations to act and support climate policy. This paper extends this line of research by
advancing and providing experimental evidence for a “gateway belief model” (GBM). Using national data (N =
1104) from a consensus-message experiment, we find that increasing public perceptions of the scientific
consensus is significantly and causally associated with an increase in the belief that climate change is
happening, human-caused and a serious and worrisome threat. In turn, changes in these key beliefs predict
increased support for public action. In short, we find that perceived scientific agreement is an important
motivational belief, ultimately influencing public responses to climate change.
Harnessing Epistemic and Social Motives to Nudge
Conservative Voters toward Acceptance of Climate Change
Rainer Romero-Canyas, ​Environmental Defense Fund, Keith Gaby, ​Environmental Defense
Fund, ​Shira Silver, ​Environmental Defense Fund, ​Ben Schneider, ​Environmental Defense Fund
Acceptance of climate change and support for policy meant to counter it is politically polarized. Liberals
accept it, but many conservatives deny it. Building on research on epistemic motivation, social tuning,
conservatism, and social identity, we designed online banners to use in a campaign intended to foster
acceptance of climate change among American conservative voters. Banners presented quotes from
conservative elected officials speaking about their acceptance of climate change. In 3 studies exposure to
these banners increased acceptance of climate change among conservatives, but not liberals. Politicians who
spoke about climate change did not incur a cost in terms of how participants regarded them. A campaign and
field experiment targeting Republican voters in the Midwest shows that exposure to Republican elected
officials as campaign messengers was associated with increased acceptance of climate change. We suggest
how psychologists can boost motivation to tackle environmental issues across diverse constituencies.
How Race and Ethnicity Impact Environmental Engagement
Adam R. Pearson, ​Pomona College​, Jonathon P. Schuldt, ​Cornell University
Research on motivational factors underlying engagement with environmental issues has traditionally focused
on how political orientation and issue awareness shape environmental attitudes and policy preferences. Yet,
despite substantial racial and ethnic disparities in the environmental sector, the impact of racial/ethnic
identity on environmental motives has received little attention. In a national survey experiment, non-Whites
showed consistently high levels of support for sustainability policies, but were significantly less likely to
self-identify as “environmentalists” than Whites. Moreover, non-Whites’ beliefs about climate change were
resistant to message frames (“global warming” vs. “climate change”) previously shown to impact existence
beliefs. In a lab experiment, when their race/ethnicity was made salient prior to completing an opinion survey,
minorities (but not Whites) showed less interest in joining mainstream environmental organizations and
causes, relative to a control group. These findings suggest that group memberships beyond political affiliation
may shape core motivations and beliefs about the environment.
3
For the Cause: Using Culturally-relevant Frames to
Increase Consumers’ Willingness to Purchase Carbon Offsets
Krishna Savani, ​National University of Singapore, Rainer Romero-Canyas, ​Environmental
Defense Fund​, Aneeta Rattan, ​London Business School
Voluntary carbon offsets purchased along with goods or services that have high carbon footprints are used to
finance businesses’ and governments’ efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Building on the
cross-cultural psychology literature on choice, agency, interdependence, and collective action, two
experiments tested frames designed to increase potential airplane ticket buyers’ likelihood of buying carbon
offsets in India and the US. The frames appealed to different context-relevant information: cultural values,
such as choice or collectivism, or historically-relevant ideas or country-specific zeitgeist, such as national
economic growth. Relative to a neutral frame, frames emphasizing choice and agency increased motivation to
buy offsets among Americans but decreased it among Indians. By comparison, appeals to purity, social
change, and economic growth significantly increased motivation to buy among Indians, but not Americans.
We discuss the value of cultural psychology for promoting sustainable practices across different countries.
Symposium 3: ​Three Decades of Theory and Research on Action versus State
Orientation: A Tribute to Julius Kuhl's Contributions to Motivation Science
Co-Chairs​: Sander Koole, ​VU University Amsterdam​ & Nicola Baumann, ​Trier University
In 1985, Julius Kuhl proposed a new theory of action control that revived the notion of volition , a topic that had
been off limits in motivation science for over 40 years. A central notion within action control theory was action
versus state orientation, or people’s ability to control their own motivational states in the service of volitional
action. This new construct provided highly fertile grounds for theory development and empirical research. To
date, more than 100 published studies have shown how action versus state orientation is a key moderator of
motivational processes, across laboratory experiments and applied settings such as work, education, and
mental health. The present symposium will provide a broad overview of research on action versus state
orientation, covering both the past three decades and the state of the art. The symposium is also a tribute to
the scientific contributions of Julius Kuhl, who is to retire this year from his chair in motivation psychology.
The Inside Story: How Behavioral Chatter In Computer Simulations Gave Rise to an
Integrative Theory of Human Action Control
Julius Kuhl, ​University of Osnabrück
The idea of action versus state orientation sprang from our observations in computer simulations of motivated
behavior, which I conducted during the late 1970s under the supervision of John Atkinson at the University of
Michigan. These simulations showed that traditional motivation theory led to “behavioral chatter” instead of
temporally stable actions. This led me to wonder if people might possess additional mechanisms –volition or
“self-regulation”- that protect motivational tendencies against competing motivations. I named this
construct “action versus state orientation”, and, together with my collaborators, have investigated
meaningful individual differences in this variable. These studies eventually led me to formulate an integrative
theory of motivation, self-regulation, and personality functioning. I will review studies from the last three
decades that afforded key insights into action versus state orientation. Finally, I will cover recent trends in
research on action versus state orientation, from laboratory experiments to motivational counseling of gifted
young people.
4
Hanging on or Letting Go: The Role of Action versus
State Orientation in Dealing with Action Crises
Veronika Brandstätter, ​University of Zurich​ & Marcel Herrmann, ​University of Zurich
Successful goal striving and personal development not only require persistence in the face of setbacks, but
also, equally important, context-adequate disengagement if goal pursuit becomes unrealistic. Although this
topic was ignored for decades in motivation psychology, my associates and I have recently developed a
theoretical analysis of the dynamics of goal disengagement. With the concept of ​action crisis​, we highlight the
critical phase in which people become caught in an intra-psychic conflict between further goal pursuit and
disengagement from the goal. In three longitudinal studies, we examined the role of ​action (vs. state)
orientation​ in the development of action crises. We confirmed the hypothesis that action orientation enables
people to overcome action crises in personal goals. Furthermore, in two cross-sectional studies, we replicated
previously reported effects of action orientation on health and wellbeing and showed that these effects are
partially mediated by a decreased prevalence of action crises.
Striving for Unwanted Goals: Differential Alignment of Implicit Motives and Explicit
Goals among Action- versus State-Oriented People
Nicola Baumann, ​Trier University
Motivation theories have traditionally assumed that people derive satisfaction from achieving their goals.
However, people are sometimes work hard to meet goals that offer them little, if any, emotional satisfaction.
Such ​un​wanted goals appear to be more prevalent among people how are state-oriented rather than
action-oriented. Especially under stress, state-oriented people are prone to commit themselves to goals that
do not match their implicit needs and internalize social expectations without thoroughly checking if these are
self-congruent. Action-oriented people, in contrast, are more likely to maintain (or even increase) commit to
explicit goals that are aligned with their implicit needs, especially under stress. I will present our recent
research on how action versus state orientation moderates the degree of self-determination in goal striving.
Moreover, I will review non-reactive measures of self-access that capture the self-reliant coping processes of
action-oriented people that are impaired among state-oriented people under stress.
Who Gets Going When the Going Gets Tough? Action versus State Orientation and the
Self-Regulation of Motivation
Sander Koole, ​VU University Amsterdam
In everyday life, demanding conditions like stress, fatigue, and interpersonal pressure can sap people’s
motivation to achieve their personal goals. According to action control theory, action orientation may enable
people to shield themselves against these effects and thereby maintain high levels of motivation in
demanding situations. I will present recent research showing that action versus state orientation is indeed a
robust predictor of the motivational impact of demanding conditions. More than a dozen experiments have
shown that state-oriented people consistently suffer from demanding conditions, as indicated by motivational
and self-regulatory deficits. By contrast, action-oriented people seem largely immunized from these adverse
effects, and even tend to display enhanced performance under demanding conditions. These findings
correspond with field studies showing that action versus state orientation predicts performance and wellbeing
in achievement contexts. Action versus state orientation thus appears to be a key theoretical construct in
understanding the dynamics of human motivation.
5
Symposium 4: ​New insights in
self-regulatory responses to competing motives
Chair: ​Edward Orehek, ​University of Pittsburgh
Four talks investigate self-regulatory responses to goal conflict. In the first talk, Orehek investigates the role
of goal conflict in contributing to procrastination. In the second talk, Scholer examines the role of
self-regulatory hierarchies in response to goal conflicts. In the third talk, Kopetz considers behaviors labelled
impulsive may reflect a strategic response to goal conflict. Finally, Masicampo will present research testing
the hypothesis that low goal conflict with respect to avoidance motivation mindsets can reduce stereotype
threat effects. Taken together, this research examines important consequences resulting from goal conflict.
Procrastination during Times of Goal Conflict
Edward Orehek, ​University of Pittsburgh
Procrastination is a puzzling behavioral phenomena in which individuals endorse a goal as important, yet
delay its pursuit in the face of known negative consequences. The present research investigated the possibility
that people may procrastinate when they have multiple goals in given moment and the prioritization of those
goals is unclear. On the one hand, having more goals at the same time should motivate behavior. Because
there is more to do, the actor should get started! However, an ironic consequence of having more to do is that
the actor must then determine which of the goals to pursue first. We predicted and found that such goal
conflict leads to (partial) paralysis, such that the decision regarding what to do prevents the person from
moving forward. This research outlines an important behavioral consequence of goal conflict and provides one
explanation for why people procrastinate on personally important goals.
How self-control conflict representations
affect responses to self-control failures
Abigail A. Scholer, ​University of Waterloo
Everyone encounters self-control conflicts on a regular basis: Conflicts typically conceptualized as a special
type of self-regulation conflict that pits higher-order goals (the angel) against lower-order temptations (the
devil). When individuals succumb to the immediate gratification of the temptation, under what conditions are
they likely to feel badly and continue to turn away from, rather than re-engage with, the initially non-chosen
goal? I present several studies examining how the nature of the self-control conflict representation affects
subsequent behavior. Specifically, I propose that the classic goal versus temptation representation (e.g.,
important academic goal vs. tempting party) captures just one set of relations in a self-regulatory hierarchy
(vertical conflict between levels). The same objective conflict can also be represented as a horizontal conflict
between goals or activities within the same level (e.g., conflict between academic vs. social goals). This
horizontal representation does not carry the same evaluative and proscriptive tags as the classic vertical
representation, leading participants to evaluate initial self-control “failures” less negatively and re-engage
more with the initially non-chosen goal.
Another look at impulsivity: Could impulsive behavior be strategic?
Catalina Kopetz, ​Wayne State University
Impulsive behavior is considered to be stimulus driven, a primitive hedonic reaction, oriented toward
immediate gratification despite potential negative consequences, characterized by lack of deliberation and
poor executive functioning. It has been typically associated with negative outcomes such as poor self-control
and decision-making, psychopathology, risk taking, etc. The current research takes another look at
impulsivity and examines the extent to which what may typically appear as impulsive, could be in fact
strategic behavior initiated to fulfill individual’s chronic and/or momentarily accessible motivations. Across
different studies and samples we examined what would be traditionally taken as an indication of impulsive
behavior (e.g. delay discounting, risk taking propensity) as a function of individuals’ motivation and cognitive
resources (capacity for executive control). Our results suggest that 1) such behaviors are initiated when
relevant motivations are accessible; 2) the presence of cognitive resources (i.e. capacity for executive control)
augments rather than decreases “impulsive” behavior.
6
Reducing stereotype threat via sensorimotor triggers:
A case of sensorimotor–mental motivational congruence
E.J. Masicampo, ​Wake Forest University,
Aïna Chalabaev, ​Paris West University Nanterre La Défense,
Rémi Radel, ​University Nice Sophia Antipolis,
Vincent Dru, ​Paris West University Nanterre La Défense
We tested the hypothesis that simple sensorimotor triggers of avoidance motivation can alleviate the
stereotype threat effect. This hypothesis was based on two notions. First, left-side sensorimotor activity is
linked to avoidance motivation. Second, stereotype threat promotes avoidance motivation, such that people
become concerned with avoiding failure. Thus, we predicted that congruence between sensorimotor-induced
motivations and stereotype-threat-induced motivations would produce a regulatory fit effect that would
increase task performance. In three experiments, we tested whether manipulations of motor actions (Study 1)
and visual perception (Studies 2-3) could alleviate the stereotype threat effect. Results indicated that under
stereotype threat, performance on arithmetic problems (Studies 1-2) and a self-control task (Study 3) was
higher in the presence of left- versus right-side sensorimotor activity. That is, when sensorimotor activity
triggered a motivational mindset that was congruent with rather than conflicting with stereotype threat goals,
task performance was bolstered and stereotype threat reduced.
Symposium 5: Approach and Avoidance Motivation in Action:
New Directions and Applications
Lotte Veenstra​, VU University Amsterdam,
Brandon Schmeichel​, Texas A&M University
Approach and avoidance tendencies are among the fundamental building blocks of human motivation. The
present symposium addresses the interface between approach and avoidance motivation and action control.
Topolinski will start by demonstrating a biomechanical link between oral motor actions and
approach-avoidance motivation. Next, Schmeichel will address the role of approach and avoidance motivation
in more complex forms of action control, namely, self-regulated action. After this, Roskes will present work
on the self-regulatory difficulties associated with avoidance, and suggest empirically tested strategies for
overcoming this difficulties. Harmon-Jones will use neuroscience methods to show how anger, as an
approach-oriented emotion, is linked to reward processing. Finally, Veenstra will show that avoidance actions
can dampen anger and aggression among people with chronic anger management problems. Taken together,
the symposium highlights the mutual interplay between approach/avoidance motivation and action control, a
topic with far-ranging theoretical and applied implications for motivation science.
Approach and Avoidance Motivation Induced by Oral Actions
Sascha Topolinski, ​University of Cologne
The present approach exploits the biomechanical connection between articulation and ingestion-related
mouth movements to introduce approach-avoidance attitudes via oral means. Words were constructed for
which the consonantal stricture spots wander either from the front to the rear of the mouth, thus inwards
(e.g., BODIKA), or from the rear to the front, thus outwards (e.g., KODIBA). These muscle dynamics resemble
the oral kinematics during either ingestion (inwards), which feels positive, or expectoration (outwards), which
feels negative. Across 9 Experiments (total ​N​ = 822), English and German participants preferred inward over
outward words when simply reading them silently and reporting their liking for them. In 7 further
experiments (total N = 1,261), participants liked products with inward names more than products with outward
names, reported higher purchase intentions, and higher willingness-to-pay. This robust effect is due to
approach (avoidance) motivation induced by the oral inward (outward) movements.
7
Approach-Avoidance Motivation and Self-Control
Presenter​: Brandon J. Schmeichel, ​Texas A&M University
Co-authors: ​Adrienne Crowell, ​Texas A&M University​,
Nicholas J. Kelley, ​Texas A&M University
Research on self-control has focused mainly on the inhibition of approach-motivated behaviors, and for good
reason. Failures to inhibit drug and alcohol consumption, gambling, eating, and other approach-motivated
behaviors may carry enormous costs for individuals and for society. Relatively less is known about the
inhibition of avoidance-motivated behaviors. The current talk will present new evidence regarding the links
among approach, avoidance, and self-control. The results of a new brain stimulation experiment suggest that
the inhibition of avoidance-related behaviors draws upon the same neural mechanism involved in the
inhibition of approach-related behaviors, consistent with the notion of a domain-general capacity for
self-control. However, additional evidence suggests that exercising self-control has an asymmetric impact on
motivational orientation. Specifically, exercising self-control primes approach motivated-responding but not
avoidance-motivated responding. Implications for the interplay between self-control and motivational
orientation will be discussed.
What Are the Self-Regulatory Problems Connected with
Avoidance Motivation? And How Can They Be Fixed?
Presenter​: Marieke Roskes, ​Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Co-authors​: Andrew E. Elliot, ​University of Rochester​,
Carsten K. W. De Dreu, ​University of Amsterdam
Avoidance motivation has been associated with a wide range of self-regulatory problems, such as performance
decrements, resource depletion, and reduced well-being, particularly in the long run. Here, we discuss the
processes underlying these negative consequences. We put forward a research agenda, suggesting how
knowledge of these processes can be translated into strategies that reduce the negative consequences of
avoidance motivation. We propose and review initial support (including new experimental data) for three such
strategies: (a) removing stressors, (b) providing structure and focus, and (c) creating opportunities to
replenish and reinvigorate.
Anger Increases Neural Responses to Reward:
Implications for Motivational Neuroscience
Presenter: ​Eddie Harmon-Jones,
The University of New South Wales
Co-author​: Douglas Angus, ​The University of New South Wales
The reward positivity (RP), an electrophysiological correlate of reward sensitivity, is modulated by affect and
motivation. Past research suggested that negative affect and reduced approach motivation are correlated with
smaller RP amplitudes. However, this research confounded affective valence and motivational direction. To
address this limitation, we examined how anger, an emotion associated with negative affect and increased
approach motivation, would influence the RP. Participants were induced to feel neutral or angry, and then they
performed a gambling task that provided rewards for correct choices. The RP was elicited following each
induction, but RP did not differ between inductions. However, RP amplitude correlated positively with how
much participants liked the rewards, and this correlation was stronger following the anger induction. These
results support motivational explanations for the differences in RP amplitude. Moreover, the RP appears to be
affected by interactions between motivational state and the motivational value of reward stimuli.
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Approach-Avoidance Actions Promote Anger
Management among People with High Trait Anger
Presenter: ​Lotte Veenstra, ​VU University Amsterdam
Co-authors​: Iris K. Schneider, ​University of Southern California, VU University Amsterdam​,
Irena Domachowska, ​TU Dresden​, Brad J. Bushman, ​The Ohio State University, VU University
Amsterdam​, Sander L. Koole, ​VU University Amsterdam
Prior research has linked trait anger to hyper-activation of approach motivation. However, little is known
about the interaction between trait anger and situational fluctuations in approach-avoidance tendencies. We
propose that anger-relevant situations lead to increased approach motivation among people high in trait
anger and increased behavioral inhibition (due to approach-avoidance conflict) among people low in trait
anger. Consistent with this, angry (versus happy) faces led to faster approach than avoidance movements
among people high rather than low in trait anger. We further suggest that the approach-motivated effects of
trait anger may be counteracted by increases in avoidance motivation. Consistent with this, trait anger was
associated with more angry feelings (Experiments 2-4) and aggression (Experiment 5) under when
participants made approach actions, but not when they made avoidance motivation. These findings indicate
that avoidance actions may facilitate anger management among individuals with chronic anger management
problems.
Symposium 6: The Impact of Implicit Motives
in Exercise, Sport and Wellbeing
Co-Chairs​:​ ​Kaspar Schattke,​ Concordia University, Canada
(​As of January 1, 2015, affiliated with ​Université du Québec à Montréal​)
Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada,
Mirko Wegner,​ University of Bern, Switzerland
What drives people to engage in certain activities and what shapes their experience? In six experiments as well
as cross-sectional and longitudinal field studies with more than 400 participants, we demonstrate how
implicit motives affect people’s motivation, performance and well-being. Implicit motives have been defined
as an unconscious but recurrent concern for a certain class of incentives such as achievement, power or,
recently introduced, autonomy. The four presentations discuss how those motive systems affect indoor wall
climbers’ and other athletes’ flow experience, intrinsic motivation and satisfaction with their sport, soccer
shooting performance in children and adolescents as well as the well-being of school teachers. All studies
consider interactions of implicit motives with either situational cues (e.g. activity-related incentives,
socio-evaluative stress) or variables within the person (e.g. implicit/explicit motive-congruence). The
theoretical, methodological and practical advancements with respect to the presented results will be
discussed.
Under Which Conditions Does the Implicit
Achievement Motive Lead to Flow?
Kaspar Schattke,​ Concordia University, ​Veronika Brandstätter, ​University of Zurich,
Geneviève Taylor, ​Université du Québec à Montréal​,
Hugo M. Kehr, ​Technische Universität München
Flow is a state of optimal experience in which people get fully absorbed by a smoothly running activity that
they pursue for the sake of it. It leads to increased performance and enjoyment. The demands-skills balance is
an important but not sufficient precondition of flow. In two studies, we tested whether the interplay of
achievement incentives with the implicit and explicit achievement motive affects flow in indoor wall climbers.
Study 1 demonstrated that only climbers with a high implicit achievement motive increased their flow when
climbing a difficult route again, which they had previously failed (strong achievement incentives). Study 2
demonstrated that climbers experienced more flow on a challenging than on an easy route. This increase was
higher in climbers whose implicit and explicit achievement motives were congruent if they perceived climbing
as an achievement-related activity. Thus, attuning our activities with our implicit and explicit motives may
positively affect flow.
9
A differential perspective on autonomy support in sport
Vanda Sieber, ​University of Bern, Switzerland,
Julia Schüler, ​University of Bern, Switzerland
Autonomy support is considered an important prerequisite for motivation and well-being in sport and
exercise. We conducted a correlative field study (N = 118) and an experimental study (N = 45) to analyze
whether this relationship is moderated by an implicit autonomy disposition. The correlative field study in the
Swiss Army showed that people with a high implicit autonomy motive benefited stronger from autonomy need
satisfaction in terms of intrinsic motivation, flow, and higher satisfaction with the sport units. A longitudinal
effect on motivation and vitality was found in retests after two months. In the experimental study (with an
autonomy supportive, autonomy unsupportive, and control group), people with high implicit autonomy
disposition benefited more from autonomy support than people with a low implicit autonomy disposition and
showed less motivation and satisfaction with the sport lesson when autonomy was not provided.
The implicit power motive affects children’s
soccer shooting performance under psychosocial stress
Mirko Wegner, ​University of Bern, Switzerland,
Julia Schüler, ​University of Bern, Switzerland,
Henning Budde, ​Medical School Hamburg, Germany
The implicit power motive has previously been linked to different behaviours in response to contest situations
and psychosocial stressors. Although this link has been repeatedly reported for adults, only few studies have
examined the predictive value of the power motive for children and adolescents. In an experimental study with
ten-year-old children, we examined the precision of their soccer shooting performance under no and
social-evaluative stress. The implicit power motive was measured using the Operant Motive Test (OMT). In the
social evaluative condition, children were told that the results of their shooting performance would be
reported to their teammates and coaches. Children’s implicit power motive significantly affected their soccer
shooting performance only in the socio-evaluative stress condition but not in the control condition.
Furthermore, our findings support the assumption that the implicit power motive is an important individual
difference variable even at a young age.
Enjoying Influence on Others: Congruently High Implicit and
Explicit Power Motives Are Related to Teachers’ Well-being
Presenter​: Tobias Maldei, ​University of Trier, Germany,
Nicola Baumann,​ University of Trier, Germany​,
Lisa Wagner, ​University of Zurich, Switzerland
Petra Hank,​ ​University of Trier, Germany
The present study examined the associations of implicit and explicit power motives with the well-being of
teachers. N = 170 teachers participated in an online assessment, which included measurements for implicit
motives (assessed by the Operant Motive Test) and explicit motives as well as a measure of well-being. We
expected congruently high power motives to be linked with the highest levels of well-being. Using polynomial
regressions with response surface analysis, we also investigated the directional effects of motive
discrepancies. Results were consistent with our hypothesis. An additional directional effect (indicating a
low/high combination of implicit/explicit power motives to be associated with higher well-being than a
high/low combination) did not hold when controlling for emotional stability. No significant associations were
found for motive congruence or discrepancies in the affiliation or achievement domains. Our findings
underline the importance of the power motive in understanding individual differences in teachers’ well-being.
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Symposium 7: Resolving goal-conflicts:
Mechanisms and challenges
Co-Chairs​: Paul Stillman, ​The Ohio State University ​ Kentaro Fujita, ​Ohio State University
Whether it is choosing between dieting or indulging, career or family, accuracy or wishful thinking, our goals
often conflict. These goal conflicts can be difficult to resolve, and how people resolve such conflicts may have
important consequences for self-regulation and other life outcomes. The goal for this symposium is to provide
an overview of recent research examining conflict and conflict resolution in self-regulation. Four talks
highlight the self-regulatory challenges that conflict presents (e.g., accuracy versus bias, resource allocation)
as well as the different mechanisms by which people resolve such conflicts (e.g., perceptions of distance,
construal processes). By bringing together diverse theoretical and empirical perspectives (e.g., Cognitive
Energetics Theory, Construal Level Theory), the goal of the symposium is to advance understanding of how
people navigate conflicting goals and motivations, what factors lead to successful versus unsuccessful
resolution of those conflicts, and what are the outcomes and consequences of these processes.
Striving through meaning: Effects of goal activation on object construal
Melissa Ferguson, ​Cornell University​, Ying Zhang,​ Peking University,
Szu-chi Huang, ​Stanford University, ​Ayelet Fishbach, ​University of Chicago
Do goals shape how we construe objects? Bruner (1957) famously argued that our needs influence the types of
knowledge that become accessible. In support of this claim, goal activation (e.g., thirst) increases the
accessibility of means (e.g., cup, bottle) to attain that goal (Aarts, DeVries, & Dijksterhuis, 2001). However,
any given object is associated with an extensive array of memories, the elements of which may be more or less
related to a person’s goal regarding that object. For instance, ​water​ can be construed in terms of drinking,
bathing, or swimming features (among others). In four experiments, we tested whether goals influence the
construal of goal-related objects. We show that goals lead to more goal-relevant construals, and that
manipulating object construal causally increases the successful pursuit of that goal. We show effects on
knowledge accessibility, memory, and behavior, and advance a social-cognitive explanation for how people
resolve goal conflict.
Maximizing efficiency in goal-conflict decisions:
The role of construal level
Paul Stillman, ​The Ohio State University, ​Kentaro Fujita​, The Ohio State University,
Oliver Sheldon, ​Rutgers University
Functionally, goal-conflict decisions should be guided by efficiency – maximizing advancement of valued goals
while minimizing opportunity costs. We propose two principles underlie efficient goal-conflict resolution:
electing the goal of higher end-state value and, when end-state values are equivalent, electing the goal
preferentially afforded by the situation. We further propose that construal level (Trope & Liberman, 2010)
influences the degree to which people adhere to these principles of efficiency. We hypothesized that
high-level construal – a representational process that extracts the core and essential features of events –
enhances efficiency to a greater extent than low-level construal – a representational process that highlights
idiosyncratic and secondary features of events. Across four experiments, we demonstrate that high-level
(relative to low-level) construal promotes both principles of efficient goal-conflict resolution. Together, these
data indicate that people can be guided by efficiency when resolving goal conflicts, and that these decisions are
promoted by high-level construal.
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Out of reach and under control:
Perceptual distancing during self-control conflicts
Shana Cole, ​Rutgers University​, Emily Balcetis, ​New York University
How do people resolve the conflicts that arise when their immediate desires are at odds with their long-term
goals? Previous work has largely focused on cognitive processes that aid self-control, exploring mechanisms
and strategies related to how people think about and evaluate temptations. In this work, we instead explore
a ​perceptual​ route to self-control. When people with strong goals to eat healthy encounter unhealthy foods,
they perceive the snacks to be far away. The perceptual distancing effect is more pronounced for successful
than unsuccessful self-regulators. In addition, differences in distance perceptions map on to underlying
motivational drives to approach or avoid the snacks. Finally, perceiving unhealthy foods as further away
influences people’s intentions and desires to eat them. The studies converge to suggest that successful
self-regulators are aided during self-control conflicts by a perceptual distancing bias that shifts their
evaluations, motivations, and intentions to align with higher-order goals.
Truth vs. consequences: The fundamental goal conflict of social cognition
Arie W. Kruglanski, ​University of Maryland​, Jocelyn Belanger, ​University of Quebec at
Montreal, ​Edward Orehek, ​University of Pittsburgh
The legitimate motivation of any judgment is ​accuracy​; to reach a judgment one knows to be inaccurate
constitutes an oxymoron. Nonetheless, biasing motivations often affect our judgment implicitly giving rise to
the phenomenon of “wishful thinking.” We present a theoretical analysis of wishful thinking and the major
factors that affect it. Drawing on the Cognitive Energetics Theory (Kruglanski et al., 2012, Psych. Review) we
postulate that these are: (1) relative magnitudes of the Accuracy vs. Bias motivations, (2) Biasing difficulty,
and (3) Availability of cognitive resources. We present empirical evidence whereby when the biasing
motivation predominates over the accuracy motivation yet accuracy is the default (high “reality constraints”),
resources enhance biased judgments, though they have little effect where bias is the default. Where the
accuracy motivation predominates and bias is an easy default resources enhance judgmental accuracy, though
they have little effect where accuracy is the default
Symposium 8: The quest for epistemic security:
Advances in Need for Closure Theory and Research
Chair​: Arne Roets, ​Ghent University​, ​Belgium
For over three decades, the Need for Closure construct has played a pivotal role in research programs
addressing the motivational underpinnings of knowledge formation, judgment and decision making, and
social and group cognition. In recent years, NFC research has entered a new phase with notable developments
in both fundamental and applied research.
Kossowska will present a meta-analysis of 14 empirical studies addressing the intricate interaction between
need for closure and certainty in information processing. Hong will address the bidirectional influence of
epistemic motivation (i.e. NFC) and cultural processes. Webber will demonstrate the pivotal role of NFC in
adoption of extremist ideologies and violence, presenting evidence from several of the world’s conflict spots.
Finally, Roets will provide an integration of original and new insights in NFC research, showing that a
goal-based interpretation, rather than a means-based interpretation, allows for a more comprehensive view
on NFC effects in all their diversity.
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What is it about cognitive closure?
The “ironic” effects of need for cognitive closure on information processing
Presenter:​ Malgorzata Kossowska, ​University of Krakow, Poland
Co-authors: Piotr Dragon, ​University of Krakow)​, Ana Guinotem, ​University College London​,
Paweł Strojny, ​University of Krakow​, Marcin Bukowski, ​University of Krakow
Past research has proposed that need for closure leads to heuristic and category based processing of
information. We however propose that it may lead to either heuristic or systematic processing, depending on
participants sense of certainty. Feeling certain, individuals see no reason to refrain from doing what they
routinely do. Thus, being motivated to achieve closure they may process information in a heuristic way; being
motivated to postpone closure they may process information in a systematic way. Experiencing uncertainty,
however, induces people to deviate from their set ways of processing information. Thus, in a condition of
uncertainty, people may not use heuristic processing even if they are motivated to do so (i.e., high NFC), and
they may not use systematic processing even if they are motivated to do so (i.e., low NFC). We present a
meta-analysis of 14 studies supporting these claims.
Bidirectional Links between Epistemic
Motivation and Cultural Processes
Presenter:​ Ying-yi Hong, ​Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
This talk will discuss the bidirectional links between epistemic motivation and cultural processes. On the one
hand, individuals within a culture often share lay beliefs, which provide conventionalized interpretive frames
for sense making. Because these conventionalized interpretive frames are likely consensually valid, and
chronically accessible to individuals, these shared lay beliefs can afford firm and quick answers to important
issues in individuals’ life. As such, a high epistemic need would lead individuals to rely on their culturally
shared lay beliefs to respond. On the other hand, multicultural exposure also leads to epistemic “unfreezing.”
That is, when exposed to a new culture, reliance on one’s own cultural norms and conventions becomes
insufficient. To make sense of their new experiences, people have to cognitively “unfreeze” from their own
cultural conventions. At the same time, such “unfreezing” of prior beliefs would promote thinking “out of the
box,” and thus would enhance creativity.
Loss of Significance, Need for Closure and Extremism
Presenter:​ David Webber, ​University of Maryland, United States
Co-authors:​ Arie Kruglanski, ​University of Maryland​,
Anna Vazeou-Nieuwenhuis, ​University of Pittsburgh
When feeling humiliated (e.g., by discrimination, rejection, stigma or failure) people feel discombobulated
because these negative experiences are inconsistent with their motivation for self-regard, and the sense of
mattering and personal significance. The confusion introduces the need for cognitive closure which in turn
induces the readiness to embrace closure providing belief systems and ideologies. Radical ideologies that
promote a simplistic world view (of black and white, us versus them, right versus wrong) offer closure and also
a way to redeem once lost sense of significance. We explored these notions in several of world’s conflict spots
including Morocco, Spain, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and the Philippines among others, seven samples in all. In all
those instances we replicated the finding that Loss of Significance leads to the arousal of the Need for Closure
which in turn is related to the support for extremist ideologies. ​
It’s about the goal, not the means:
the (many) bumpy road(s) to epistemic security
Arne Roets, ​Ghent University
Recent theoretical developments and empirical findings in NFC research have shed a new light to the versatile
effects of NFC, showing that epistemic security can be reached through different roads. Presenting evidence
from NFC research in different domains (including prejudice and prejudice reduction, organizational settings,
applied decision making, …), it is demonstrated that apparently opposite NFC effects (i.e., the means)
ultimately serve the same goal for epistemic security under different circumstances
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Symposium 9: When School Fits Me: How congruence between personal
values and beliefs and those supported by academic contexts impacts
interest, learning, motivation and performance
Efforts to increase student motivation and interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics
(STEM) have focused on factors that result in disengagement or on individual differences that increase
vulnerability to threat. This symposium presents possible solutions in the form of research on the
motivation-relevant consequences of congruence between values and beliefs about the self, learning and
society that students hold and those learning contexts emphasize. Match between people's values and beliefs
and those implied or explicitly supported by the learning environment should produce positive academic
outcomes, making these disciplines more attractive. This is especially relevant for individuals from
underrepresented social groups or those not regularly attracted to specific academic disciplines, such as
women in STEM. The studies explore a range of individual characteristics (social group identification, personal
goals, and culturally acquired self- beliefs) and of relevant academic outcomes (goal affordances, interest,
sense of belonging, motivation and performance).
Involving Others in the Lab: Naturalistic and
Experimentally-Induced Communal Experience
Increases Communal Affordances and Interest in STEM
Mia Steinberg & Amanda B. Diekman
Miami University
STEM fields are perceived as incompatible with communal goals such as the desire to help or work with others,
which may lead to disinterest in those fields (Diekman et al., 2010). Our research investigated potential
sources of goal affordance stereotypes, or beliefs about how STEM careers fulfill valued goals. Study 1
demonstrated that communal experience, such as collaboration and mentorship in STEM predicted greater
communal affordances and indirectly increased interest. Study 2 found that naturalistic communal experience
as well as short-term media exposure to information about STEM framed as communal led to increased
interest, both directly and through communal affordances. Study 3 extended these findings with a sample of
high school students participating in a program aimed at exposing them to scientific fields. This research
suggests that both direct and indirect communal experience in STEM may help with recruitment and retention
in those fields.
When School Fits Me: How Fit between Self-beliefs and
Task Benefits Boosts Math Motivation and Performance
Sylvia Rodriguez, ​Mindset Works, Inc.​, Rainer Romero-Canyas, ​Environmental Defense Fund​,
Geraldine Downey, ​Columbia University, ​Jennifer A. Mangels, ​Baruch College, City University
of New York, ​E. Tory Higgins, ​Columbia University
Three studies show that students engage more and perform better when math is framed as serving goals that
fit with their core self-beliefs, such as whether they view themselves as interdependent with their
communities or as independent and unique. In Study 1, students with interdependent self-views performed
better on math problems framed as benefiting society but not on the same problems presented as benefiting
the individual self. In Study 2, this performance effect was replicated. Furthermore, fit predicted greater use
of tutorials following failure to answer problems correctly. In Study 3, after seeing math problems that were
presented to them in a frame consistent with their beliefs, participants were more likely to choose to work on
those problems and performed better on them. Results highlight the potential power for strengthening math
motivation and performance by creating a fit between the portrayal of math's utility and students'
self-beliefs.
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​Contingencies of Belonging: The Relation Between
Stereotype Threat and Learning Engagement​
Catherine Good, ​Baruch College, The Graduate Center, City University of New York,
Jennifer A. Mangels, ​Baruch College, The Graduate Center, City University of New York,
Andrew Evelo, ​John Jay College, City University of New York
Fostering a hardy sense of belonging to STEM domains can reduce the impact of stereotype threat (ST) on
females' intrinsic motivation and achievement in those domains. However, the contingencies of belonging
derived from self-beliefs—either one's efforts or one's innate ability—may predict differential outcomes,
especially in a learning paradigm. Male and female undergraduate participants were manipulated to view
belonging to math as contingent on either one's efforts or one's innate ability. Their learning in math was
then measured under either a ST or non-threat paradigm. In the control-belonging condition, ST undermined
females' learning yet enhanced males' learning. However, in both the effort-based and ability-based
belonging conditions, stereotype threat had no impact on females' learning. Resetting contingencies
eliminated the vulnerability to ST. A model is presented that tests the relationship between effort-based SOB,
ability-based SOB, engagement with the math learning task, and math learning for males and females.
Gender Rejection Sensitivity and Identity Fluctuations
undermining STEM Engagement among women
Bonita London, ​Stony Brook University​, Sheana Ahlqvist, ​Stony Brook University​,
Lisa Rosenthal, ​Pace University​, Sheri R. Levy, ​Stony Brook University​,
Marci Lobel, ​Stony Brook University
Recent research demonstrates that the belief that one’s gender identity fits and is compatible with one’s
career pursuit (defined as Perceived Identity Compatibility: PIC) predicts sustained interest, motivation, and
belonging among women in STEM fields. Yet, persistent negative stereotypes of women in STEM can threaten
the stability of PIC over time. In a two-year longitudinal study, undergraduate women completed daily,
weekly, and yearly repeated measures surveys over the first two years of college. Women high in Gender
Rejection Sensitivity (a measure assessing the tendency to perceive social-identity threat) reported greater
instability in their perceived gender/career identity compatibility over the course of their first semester.
Greater instability in PIC predicted lower psychosocial outcomes (motivation, sense of belonging) and
academic outcomes (STEM GPA, but not non-STEM GPA) in the subsequent semester. Our results highlight the
role of perceptions of social identity threat in undermining identity stability among women, and its negative
consequences.
Symposium 10: Non-hedonic sources of effort
Co-Chairs​: Ruud Custers, ​University College London, UK &
Guido H.E. Gendolla, ​University of Geneva, Switzerland
Although it is commonly assumed that motivation results from the value of a potential outcome, the current
symposium explores non-hedonic sources of effort. The first three talks discuss how other factors than value
affect
invested
effort.
Kicking off the symposium, Gendolla extends research on his
Affect-Primes-Effort-Model, showing that implicit (but not explicit) sadness cues increase effort-related
cardiac responses because they increase perceived task difficulty. Second, Marien presents evidence
suggesting that representing an object as an action-outcome increases effort invested in attaining it, but only
when the object is associated with positive affect. Third, Silvestrini presents evidence suggesting that priming
the pain concept during a cognitive task increases difficulty and hence effort. Finally, Higgins argues that
non-hedonic factors that affect mobilization of effort, or engagement, can even change the value of an
outcome showing that value can also be the result, rather than the cause of our strivings.
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Sadness, effort, and the heart
Guido H.E. Gendolla, ​University of Geneva​
Extending research on the Mood-Behavior-Model (Gendolla, 2000) and the Implicit-Affect-Primes-EffortModel (Gendolla, 2012) I report new findings on the impact of implicitly and explicitly processed sadness cues
on effort-related cardiac responses and the underlying process. First, sequential priming studies revealed that
sadness is implicitly associated with the demand/difficulty concept, explaining how implicit sadness cues can
augment subjective demand and effort. Second, it was found that implicit sadness cues that were processed
online during task performance render tasks subjectively more difficult, resulting in relatively strong
effort-related cardiac responses. Third, the same sadness cues led to opposite effects on effort mobilization
(i.e. contrast) when they were processed in an explicit and controlled way. This suggests that consciously
processed sadness cues have different effects than both implicit sadness cues and consciously experienced sad
moods. Implications for other theories about the impact of implicit and explicit negative affect on
self-regulation are discussed.
​Action-outcome representations,
reward information, and goal-directed behavior
Hans Marien, ​Harvard University,​ Henk Aarts, ​Utrecht University
Ruud Custers, ​University College London
This research explores the potential building blocks of motivated goal-directed behavior by examining how
action-outcome learning interacts with positive affective signals in motivating people to obtain outcomes.
Outcome information is defined here as information that follows an action rather than preceding it.
Accordingly, an accompanying positive reward signal can cause people to automatically engage in effortful
action when the information directing behavior is conceived of as an outcome of action. In a learning
paradigm, an object was displayed either after or before the participant pressed a key, so that the object
represented an outcome of action or not. It was found that people wanted to obtain the objects more eagerly
and expended more effort when they were conceived of as outcomes of actions and were paired with positive
reward signals. These findings suggest that effortful behavior can be automatically induced when positive
reward signals accompany the process of action-outcome learning.
The effort-related costs of implicit pain processing
Nicolas Silvestrini, ​University of Geneva
Pain condition is often associated with impairment in cognitive processes suggesting that pain increases
perceived difficulty and effort mobilization during a concurrent cognitive task. The present study investigated
implicit processes associated with pain and their influences on effort. Primed pain was predicted to increase
effort during the task but only when success was justified by a high incentive. Effort-related cardiac reactivity
was assessed during a habituation period and a difficult short-term memory task presenting pain-related or
neutral words together with a moderate or high incentive for success. Results supported the predictions.
Cardiac reactivity was especially strong in the pain-prime/high-incentive condition. Moreover, participants
made more errors during the task in the pain-prime conditions than in the neutral-prime conditions. These
findings show that priming pain has a systematic influence on effort mobilization and task performance.
Implications for other effortful processes associated with self-regulation and pain condition are discussed.
Value from engagement
E. Tory Higgins, ​Columbia University
The presence of hedonic experience is critical to understanding the psychology of value. But it is not enough.
Recent research finds that strength of engagement also contributes to the intensity of attraction to or
repulsion from a value target. The hedonic properties of a value target influence engagement, but there are
non-hedonic factors that also influence engagement strength. I will discuss research showing the effects on
the current value of something from additional sources of engagement strength, including: (1) opposing
something that interferes with goal pursuit (dealing with an aversive background noise while solving
anagrams by opposing versus coping with it); and (2) preparing in the present for an upcoming event that is
experienced as real because of its high expressed likelihood (controlling for the valence and the actual
probability of the future event), which makes both a current positive object more positive and a current
negative object more negative.
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Symposium 11: Balancing it all: The tricky business of trading off labor
vs. leisure, self-control vs. pleasure, and good vs. bad
Chairs​: Wilhelm Hofmann, ​University of Cologne, Germany &
Lotte Van Dillen, ​Leiden University, The Netherlands
Living one’s life is one thing, living it well another. In everyday life, humans face many situations that afford
them to compromise and trade-off different motivations in light of limited resources and time. The difficulty,
of course, lies in determining when additional investment into an ongoing stream of motivation is still
beneficial and when it may be more advantageous to switch “tracks” and embark on a novel course. This
symposium addresses the theme of ​balancing broadly across multiple dimensions: pleasure vs. self-control,
work vs. leisure, positive vs. negative emotional experiences, moral vs. immoral deeds. In doing so, we will ask
a number of largely unanswered questions including: How do people seek out the optimal balance? Which
factors determine switching from one commodity of balancing to the other? And what is the optimal balance?
Balancing labor versus leisure:
Why self-control seems limited (even if it isn’t)
Michael Inzlicht, ​University of Toronto
Over 100 years of research on the psychology of fatigue indicates that continuous performance declines after
long bouts of effort. Nearly 20 years of research on “ego depletion” indicates that self-control performance
declines after even short bursts of effort. In contrast to classic views suggesting that effort and self-control are
based on a limited resource, here I suggest that self-control deterioration reflects the motivated switching of
task priorities as people strive to strike an optimal balance between cognitive labor to pursue “have-to” goals
versus cognitive leisure to pursue “want-to” goals. Apparent regulatory failures, according to this view, reflect
dynamic changes in value calculations for various competing goals, wherein all forms of mental labor become
increasingly aversive, making mental leisure increasingly attractive. Feelings of fatigue may thus serve the
adaptive function of preventing fixation on current activities and redirecting behavior toward other activities
with higher inherent utility.
Balancing Labor and Leisure in Everyday Life
Sarah Rom, ​University of Cologne, Germany
Finding a suitable balance between activities that are productive but effortful and activities that are effortless
but also unproductive is a pervasive challenge in people’s daily lives. Laboratory research suggests that people
try to achieve an optimal balance between effortful labor and effortless leisure. Yet, little is known about how
this balance is actually achieved in people’s everyday life. Using experience-sampling methodology we
assessed participants’ labor/leisure decisions over the course of one week. Analysis revealed that a switching
from labor to leisure was relatively frequent. The subjective experience of effort was predicted by opportunity
costs, that is, the felt cost of missing out on the next-best alternative. Opportunity costs were more frequent
during labor than leisure. The optimal ratio of labor and leisure differed for perceived balance, happiness and
productivity. Together, our results support a motivational, non-resource based account of how people trade off
labor and leisure in everyday life.
Choice of Everyday Activities Follow an Emotional Balance Pattern
Jordi F. Quoidbach, ​Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, Spain,
Maxime Taquet, ​Harvard University, ​James Gross, ​Stanford University
What motivates our daily choices of activities? Both scientific wisdom and common sense suggest that such
choices are governed by the hedonic principle, which leads people to seek the most positive mood state
possible. To test this idea, we monitored the activities and mood of over 60,000 people across an average of 27
days using a multiplatform smartphone application. We found that people’s choices of activities followed an
emotional balance rather than a hedonic pattern. Specifically, when mood was negative, activities associated
with increased mood were preferentially selected. However, when mood was positive, activities associated
with decreased mood were preferentially selected. These findings challenge prevailing wisdom regarding the
hedonic principle that has long been thought to govern human behavior.
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Balancing Taste and Consumption: The Role of Attention
Lotte van Dillen, ​Leiden University, The Netherlands
Reine van der Wal, ​Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
The regulation of food consumption has always been a hot topic in self-control research, but little is known
about the role of sensory experiences in this process. The current research shows that people seek out a
balanced, optimal taste experience when regulating their food intake, and that attention is an important
moderator of this balancing process. When people taste sour, sweet, or salty substances, they rate these
flavors as less intense when their attentional capacity is compromised. At the same time they consume more
of the substance, and use higher concentrations of the tastants under high compared to low attentional load.
People moreover adjust their consumption especially of rewarding tastes (sweet, salty) and when they report
to have a strong preference for a certain flavor (i.e. when they report to have a sweet tooth), suggesting that
people engage in what we call ‘hedonic compensation’ when regulating their consumption.
Balancing Good and Bad: Moral Dynamics in Everyday Life
Wilhelm Hofmann, ​University of Cologne, Germany​, Daniel C. Wisneski, ​Saint Peter’s
University​, Mark J. Brandt, ​Tilburg University, The Netherlands,
Linda J. Skitka, ​University of Illinois at Chicago
How do people balance good and bad deeds in their daily lives? Prior laboratory research suggests that
committing a prior moral act leads people to relax their moral standards with regard to subsequent behavior
(moral self-licensing) and that moral deeds may help restore one’s moral balance after an immoral deed has
been committed (moral cleansing). However, no research has investigated whether these moral balancing
patterns also obtain in everyday life. To this end, we repeatedly assessed moral or immoral acts and
experiences in a large (​N = 1,252​) sample using smartphone technology. Analyses of daily dynamics among
moral events revealed evidence for a moral licensing but not for a moral cleansing pattern. Further moderator
analyses established the robustness of these findings. Morality science may benefit from a closer look at the
dynamics of everyday moral experience.
Symposium 12: Justification Processes in Self-Regulation
Chairs: ​Marieke A. Adriaanse, ​Utrecht University​ &
Denise T. D. de Ridder​, ​Utrecht University
The aim of this symposium is to introduce justifications as a central motivational mechanism in the domain of
self-regulation. We argue that justifications are a frequently overlooked mechanism underlying
self-regulation failure, as well as a relevant psychological consequence of non-consciously triggered behavior
that does not align with personal goals or standards. The first two talks (De Ridder & Webb) discuss the role of
justifications before acting, or ‘self-licensing’. More specifically, the authors will discuss recent findings that
suggest that justification processes constitute an understudied, but highly relevant route towards
self-regulation failure. The second set of talks (Gantman & Adriaanse) discuss the role of justifications after
acting, or ‘confabulation’, as a compensatory mechanism to account for non-consciously activated behavior
that deviates from personal goals​. The authors will present novel findings demonstrating how negative affect
that arises as a result of such non-consciously activated behavior may motivate justification processes
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‘I did good so now I can be bad’:
Justification processes in self-regulation failure
Presenting author: ​Denise de Ridder, ​Utrecht University, Netherlands
Co-authors:​ Catharine Evers, ​Utrecht University, Netherlands​,
Sosja Prinsen,​ Utrecht University, Netherlands
Self-regulation failure is often explained in terms of being unable to resist the lure of immediate temptations.
We propose that there is an additional but often overlooked explanation for self-regulation failure:
justification, which entails a deliberate mechanism that is employed to allow oneself to temporarily give up on
long-term goals. Three studies explored the underlying mechanisms of justification processes in
self-regulation failure of eating behavior. Study 1 demonstrated that justification can account for an increase
in hedonic overconsumption while ruling out impulsive factors such as resource-depletion, negative affect and
visceral state as alternative explanations. Study 2 tested emotions as a justification for hedonic consumption
while ruling out direct emotion effects. Study 3 provided evidence that people rely on reasons to allow
themselves a forbidden pleasure by showing that exposure to temptations triggers deliberative reasoning
processes. Taken together, these studies have important implications for theorizing about self-regulation.
‘I deserve a treat!’: Justifications for indulgence
undermine the translation of intentions into action
Presenting author: ​Thomas L. Webb, ​University of Sheffield, UK
Co-authors:​ Cat Taylor, ​Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Paschal Sheeran, ​University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Four studies explored how justifications for indulgence influence the translation of ‘good’ intentions into
action. Study 1 identified six ways that people justify indulgence to themselves – on the basis that they are
deserving or curious, that the indulgence is an exception to the norm or can be compensated for later, or that
the tempting food is available or irresistible. Study 2 showed that the use of justifications undermined
participants’ intentions to halve their consumption of a nominated high-fat food. Study 3 found that priming
the use of justifications increased the amount of chocolate consumed by participants in an ostensibly
unrelated taste test. Study 4 showed that participants who formed implementation intentions designed to
prevent the use of justifications were more successful in reducing consumption of snack foods than
participants without plans. Taken together, the studies support a justification-based account of
self-regulation failure and suggest new avenues for intervention.
When nonconscious goals lead us into an explanatory vacuum
Presenting author:​ Ana P. Gantman,​ New York University
Co-authors​: Gabriele Oettingen, ​New York University and University of Hamburg,
Peter M. Gollwitzer, ​New York University and University of Konstanz
One difference between conscious and nonconscious goal striving is that individuals acting toward
nonconscious goals are unaware of the purpose of their goal-directed behavior. When individuals recognize
that they are acting towards an unidentifiable goal, they experience psychological discomfort; this
phenomenon is called an explanatory vacuum (Oettingen, Grant, Smith, Skinner, & Gollwitzer, 2006). In Study
1, we primed participants with either a disclosure or nondisclosure goal and had them transcribe a personal
issue. The experimenter was either trustworthy (reiterated confidentiality) or untrustworthy (shared a
“previous participant’s” response). Those in either of the explanatory vacuum conditions (trustworthy
experimenter and non-disclosure goal; untrustworthy experimenter and disclosure goal) experienced greater
psychological discomfort than other groups. In Study 2, we investigated a compensatory response to the
explanatory vacuum by applying a misattribution of arousal paradigm. Without a prior explanation for their
psychological discomfort, individuals defensively reported changes in desire for control.
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Justifying unconsciously triggered norm-violation
Presenting author: ​Marieke A. Adriaanse, ​Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Co-authors: Jonas Weijers, ​Utrecht University​, Denise T. D. De Ridder, Utrecht University,
Jessie De Witt Huberts, ​Utrecht University​, Catharine Evers, ​Utrecht University
Numerous studies demonstrate that behaviors are frequently activated unconsciously. Surprisingly, studies
investigating the downstream psychological consequences of such unconscious behavior instigation are
however short in supply. We hypothesized that unconsciously activated behaviors trigger negative affect, but
only if the behavior violates a salient personal standard. In addition, we expected that this negative affect
subsequently motivates people to justify their behavior by ‘confabulating’ a reason for their behavior. Study 1
showed that participants who were primed to act antisocially reported increased levels of negative affect, and,
consequently, were inclined to confabulate. Study 2 replicated these findings in the domain of eating and
provided evidence for the moderating role of personal standards. Taken together, the results are indicative of a
mediated moderation model: both the direct and indirect (via negative affect) effect of performing an
unconsciously activated behavior on confabulation are moderated by personal standards.
Data Blitzes
Two sides of the same coin: An interdependent
self-construal improves self-control and decreases social loafing
Janina Steinmetz, ​University of Chicago Booth, ​Thomas Mussweiler, ​University of Cologne,
Ayelet Fishbach, ​University of Chicago Booth
We examine the hypothesis that the fundamental distinction between interdependent and independent
self-construal crucially affects goal-pursuit behavior in two different domains. In specific, we show in five
studies (overall N = 369) that interdependent individuals exert more self-control than independent individuals
because they perceive each individual self-control choice as more diagnostic of future self-control choices.
Thereby, exerting self-control in the present increases the likelihood of also exerting self-control in the
future. By the same token, we show in one study (N = 69) that due to perceiving a relationship between one’s
own behavior and the behavior of others, an interdependent self-construal decreases social loafing. Because
interdependent individuals have a more related perspective on behavior, they see a higher likelihood that their
own loafing could induce others to loaf, which would hinder a group’s performance. Taken together, we
demonstrate two examples of positive effects of an interdependent self-construal on goal pursuit.
Pondering Purpose: A Motivated Social Cognition
Account of the Search for Meaning in Life
Anna Vazeou-Nieuwenhuis, Edward Orehek
University of Pittsburgh
While searching for life’s meaning has long been considered a fundamental human motivation, the basic
processes through which it emerges have mostly remained unclear. Because searching for meaning involves
schema formation in which one connects individual experiences into a coherent whole (Steger, Oishi, &
Kesebir, 2011), and abstract thought facilitates the organization of information into such knowledge structures
(Trope & Liberman, 2010), we predicted that abstract (vs. concrete) thought would increase people’s attempts
to search for their lives’ meaning (H1a). Figuratively removing oneself from the here and now (psychological
distance) increases abstract thought and we therefore predicted that high (vs. low) psychological distance
would also increase search for meaning (H1b). Yet, schema formation is effortful (Shallice & Burgess, 1996),
implying that abstract thought and psychological distance would only increase search for meaning when
people’s willingness to exert effort was high rather than low (H2). Nine studies (N=2070) supported these
predictions.
20
Pathways to Success: Adolescents’ Relationships,
Beliefs, and Educational Attainment
Joseph S. Kay​, ​University of California, Irvine ,​ Jacob Shane, ​CUNY Brooklyn College​,
& Jutta Heckhausen​, ​University of California, Irvine
Adolescents’ relationships with their parents inform their beliefs about society (Wang et al. 2010), which in
turn direct goal engagement and disengagement (Shane & Heckhausen, 2013). A longitudinal sample (​n​=1338)
from the German Socioeconomic Panel (SOEP) Youth Survey and subsequent annual surveys, is used to
examine associations between adolescents’ relationships with their parents, beliefs about how success is
attained in society, educational goals at age 17, and subsequent educational achievement (across up to eight
years). Results indicate that strong relationships with parents are positively associated with beliefs that
success is attained through merit and negatively with beliefs that success is attained through dominance or
luck. Beliefs that success is attained through merit and dominance are positively associated with higher
educational aspirations, whereas success-through-luck beliefs are associated with lower educational
aspirations. In turn, educational aspirations are predictive of actual educational outcomes (across up to eight
years).
No Pain – No Gain: Counterfinal Means are Perceived as Highly Instrumental
Birga M. Schumpe​ ​Helmut-Schmidt University, Hamburg, Germany,
Arie W. Kruglanski,​ ​University of Maryland, College Park
We hypothesized that counterfinal means, which are detrimental to the goal of not having pain, would be
perceived as highly instrumental to the goal they serve. We expected this counterfinality effect for low (vs.
high) levels of goal magnitude. In Study 1, a mouthwash was perceived as more instrumental when it was
described as causing a burning sensation (vs. not). In Study 2, we found the predicted relationship in an
applied setting--namely, for the relationship between the pain of getting tattooed and the perceived
effectiveness of achieving a goal associated with tattooing. In Study 3, we replicated this pattern of results with
effectiveness ratings of a fitness program. Finally, in Study 4, individuals with low goal magnitude perceived a
counterfinal product to be more instrumental than its unifinal counterpart, whereas individuals with greater
goal magnitude perceived the product as highly instrumental regardless of whether it was unifinal or
counterfinal.
The Categorization of Time and Its Impact on Task Initiation
Yanping Tu, ​University of Chicago,​ Dilip Soman, ​University of Toronto
It could be argued that success in life is a function of a consumer’s ability to get things done. The key step in
getting things done is to get started. This research explores the effect of the categorization of time on task
initiation. Specifically, we theorize that consumers use a variety of cues to categorize future points in time
(events) into either events that are like the present event or those that are unlike the present event. When the
deadline of a task is categorized in a like-the-present category, it triggers the default implemental mind-set
and hence results in a greater likelihood of task initiation. A series of field and lab studies among farmers in
India and undergraduate and MBA students in North America provided support to this theorizing. Our findings
have implication for goal striving strategy and choice architecture.
Power facilitates the transition of conflict into action
Petra C. Schmid, Tali Kleiman, David M. Amodio
New York University
Powerful individuals have been described as goal- and action-focused. However, the psychological process
through which this occurs is subject to a theoretical debate; some models suggest that power influences
automatic processing, whereas others propose that it affects controlled processing. We demonstrated in two
studies that power enhanced performance in a classic response conflict task by increasing controlled (but not
automatic) processing. According to the cognitive neuroscience literature, cognitive control involves at least
two components: conflict processing (i.e., conflict detection and monitoring) and response
implementation. Using event-related potentials (ERP) methods, we showed that power did not affect the
neural processing of conflict (as indexed by the correct-response negativity (CRN) ERP component), however,
power strengthened the link between conflict processing and goal-directed behavior. This research
contributes to an important theoretical debate concerning power effects on social cognition. Moreover, it
clarifies where, in the cognitive control pathway, power makes a difference.
21
The consequence of “mind-reading” through goal projection
Janet N. Ahn, Gabriele Oettingen, Peter M. Gollwitzer
New York University
People use various techniques to gauge other people’s goals. One way of inferring other people’s goals is by
projecting one’s own goal onto them. The present work demonstrates that the consequences of goal projection
occur flexibly depending on the situational context. Study participants behaved as parents in search of a
daycare that was either relatively difficult (competitive context) or easy (noncompetitive context) to secure a
spot for their child. Results indicated that participants who projected their goal in the competitive context
anticipated a tense interaction and reported hesitation in disclosing details about the daycare with another
parent who may or may not have had the same goal to apply to the same daycare. Conversely, participants who
projected their goal in a noncompetitive context expected an enjoyable interaction and reported willingness to
share information with the other parent. These findings have implications for person perception and
interpersonal interactions.
Posters
In Control but Out of Touch: Priming Self-Control
Disrupts Eating Behavior among Chronic Ruminators
Caroline Schlinkert, ​VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Mattie Tops, ​VU University
Amsterdam, the Netherlands​, Nicola Baumann, ​University of Trier, Germany,
Sander L. Koole, ​VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Everyday observations suggest that people can use self-control to override bodily needs like hunger and
fatigue. Following up on this idea, we investigated whether self-control lowers the ability to detect bodily
needs in a food evaluation task. In Study 1, participants were placed under high self-control by performing a
thought suppression task. In Study 2, participants were randomized to high versus low self-control priming
conditions by planning an aversive or a fun activity. Each time, we measured ruminating tendencies, food
deprivation levels and participants’ preference for high and low calorie foods. Both studies revealed that after
priming self-control, ruminators no longer displayed a positive association between food deprivation and high
calorie food preferences. Non-ruminators displayed the opposite pattern, such that exerting self-control
amplified the association between food deprivation and high calorie food preferences. Together, these findings
suggest that self-control may lead to disturbances in healthy eating behavior among vulnerable populations.
How solitude contributes to daily well-being:
The self-determination perspectives
Thuy-vy T. Nguyen, Richard Ryan
University of Rochester
This study examined the extent to which solitude contributes to daily well-being. For 7 days, 181 subjects
reported on two self-selected episodes per day of spending time alone, and the extent to which they spent
those times alone for intrinsically motivated and personally meaningful (i.e., autonomous) reasons. Using
hierarchical multilevel modeling, we found that every time the person spent time alone for autonomous
reasons, the episode contributed significantly to their experiences of positive affect, vitality, life satisfaction,
and reduced negative affect on that day. This effect was significant even after controlling for the amount of
time each individual was alone and the activities he or she was performing. Our findings also show that
autonomous solitude benefits well-being through satisfaction of the basic psychological needs. In other
words, spending time alone for autonomous reasons satisfies individuals’ daily needs for autonomy,
relatedness, and competence, which in turn contribute to enhanced daily well-being.
22
Motivational approach to metacognitive self
Hanna Brycz, ​Institute of Psychology, University of Gdansk
Metacognitive self is operationalized as insight into own biases. Accurate insight into own biases serves many
self-regulatory functions (Brycz, 2012, Brycz, Wyszomirska, Bar- Tal, 2014). Two studies present motivational
approach to metacognitive self. First experimental study(90 subjects), showed that subjects with high
metacognitive self vs low metacognitive self participants were more eager to aquire new knowledge about self
(demonstrated self- knowledge and self- improvement motives), especially when negative feedback was
present. Self – enhancement motive was the same among all participants. Second study (111 subjects) found
strong positive correlation between metacognitive self (measured via metacognitive scale questionnaire,
Brycz, Karasiewicz, 2011) and both main scale and subscales of Schuler, Prochaska, Fintrup Motivational
Inventory (2001). The results are discused in terms of the role of intristic motivation for self- knowledge (
Higgins, Kruglaski (ed.), 2000, Sorrentino, 2014)
Power Increases Instrumental Memory for People’s Attributes
Presenter​: Jen Heewon Park
Co-authors​: Petra C. Schmid, David M. Amodio
High-power individuals are known to act in line with their goals, and they tend to perceive other people as a
means for achieving their goals. But in order to benefit from other people for one’s goal, powerful people need
to process and remember people’s particular skills. Our aim was to test this hypothesis by manipulating
individuals’ sense of power before they were instructed to memorize photographs of different people along
with their workplace-related attributes. Participants then viewed the same photographs again and chose who
would perform best in specific jobs. Findings showed that manipulated high power (as compared to low power)
increased performance on the job assignment task, such that people with relevant attributes were more
accurately chosen for a specific job. This shows that power instrumentally enhances memory to serve one’s
goal—a skill that may help high-power individuals make good managerial choices
The Sound of Intellect: Speech Reveals a Thoughtful Mind,
Increasing a Job Candidate’s Appeal
Juliana Schroeder, Nicholas Epley
University of Chicago
A person’s mental capacities, such as intellect, cannot be observed directly and so are instead inferred from
indirect cues. We predicted that a person’s intellect would be conveyed most strongly through a cue closely
tied to actual thinking: his or her voice. Hypothetical employers (Experiments 1-3b) and professional
recruiters (Experiment 4) watched, listened, or read job candidates’ pitches about why they should be hired.
Evaluators rated the candidates as more competent, thoughtful, and intelligent when they heard the pitch
than when they read it and, as a result, liked the candidate more and were more interested in hiring the
candidate. Adding voice to written pitches, by having trained actors (Experiment 3a) or untrained adults
(Experiment 3b) read them, replicated these results. Adding visual cues through video did not influence
evaluations beyond the candidate's voice. When conveying one’s intellect, it is important for one's voice, quite
literally, to be heard.
23
Test-Directed versus Self-Directed Learning Focus: Consequences for Effort Allocation
to Perceived Strengths and Weaknesses
Presenter: ​Djoerd Hiemstra
Co-authors​: Nico W. Van Yperen, Marieke E. Timmerman, ​ University of Groningen
In the present research, we conducted a series of five studies designed to examine the moderating effect of
learning focus (test-directed versus self-directed) on the relation between relative strength perceptions and
effort allocation in multiple goal pursuit. Each study yielded supportive data, indicating that students with a
test-directed learning focus put more effort into their perceived weaknesses, whereas students with a
self-directed learning focus put more effort into their perceived strengths. This pattern was observed across
different methodologies (scenario, field, and experimental studies), different research designs (within-person
and mixed factorial), different participants (secondary school, college, and university students), and different
measures of effort (effort intentions, self-reported effort, and behavioural effort). These findings contribute
both to the theoretical discussion on the within-person relations between competency self-perceptions and
effort allocation in multiple goal pursuit, and to the applied debate on the consequences of test-directed
versus self-directed learning focus for students’ learning efforts
Mental Sharpness and Fatigue Correlates of Cardiovascular Response to a Simple
Memory Challenge
Christopher Mylnski, Stephanie Agtarap, Juan Rojas, Rex A. Wright​
University of North Texas, Denton
Undergraduate volunteers first completed a questionnaire that included items asking them to rate their
mental sharpness and fatigue. They then were presented the chance to win a monetary prize by memorizing
two nonsense trigrams in two minutes, with the trigrams appearing in sequence on a computer screen – fully
present after a minute. Analysis of cardiovascular measures taken during the work period indicated that heart
rate responses fell with reports of sharpness and rose with reports of fatigue during minute 1, but bore no
relation to sharpness and fatigue reports during minute 2. The relevant interaction involving time attained
significance for sharpness and approached significance for fatigue. Findings comport with some previous
research results and provide further support for an effort understanding of ability and fatigue influence on
cardiovascular response. At the same time, they highlight the complexity of predicting ability and fatigue
effects across time and under different performance conditions.
Holistic-processing in action​ ​How right-hemispheric motives improve intuitive judgments
Authors: ​Tobias Maldei, Nicola Baumann
University of Trier, Germany
The ability to simultaneously process a vast amount of information is often seen as the basis of an intuitive
hunch. In the field of personality psychology, holistic-information processing is often related to implicit
motives, namely affiliation and autonomy motive. Recent studies provide evidence that affiliation as well as
power motive are related to intuition: The implicit need for affiliation predicted intuitive judgments while
affiliation- and power-related priming influenced intuition in another study. In line with the
holistic-processing assumption, affiliation fostered intuition while power, which is association with
left-hemispheric processing, reduced the judgments’ quality.In this study, we extend current findings
showing that both implicit and explicit affiliation and autonomy motive positively predict intuition, while
power motive rather impairs it. Apart from an operant motive test (Operant Motive Test), we assessed explicit
motives via questionnaire (Motive Enactment Test) and used the remote association task to measure intuition.
Results mainly support our assumption: While no implicit motive correlated with intuition, explicit autonomy
motive predicted intuition only if it was implemented through holistic-processing (‘feeling’-scale) while
explicit power motive negatively predicted intuitive judgments. These results indicate that the functional use
of holistic-processing supports intuitive processing while a strong analytical processing impairs it. For
affiliation, a motive-congruence effect was found: The more implicit and explicit affiliation motive
corresponded, the better participants judged in the intuition task. As motive congruence is associated with a
good access to one’s own implicit self, the results highlight that intuition relies on an adequate evaluation on
implicit, holistic information.
24
Validation of the (re)work motivation scale (rWMS)
Camus Gauthier, Gauthier Camus, Sophie Berjot, Camille Amoura
Université de Reims Champagne-Ardennes
Unemployment, major concerns of our Western societies, increasingly interested researchers in psychology. A
principal aspect arousing the interest of integration professionals as well as researchers is the motivation of
the unemployed to want to (re)work. However, there is currently no tool to assess this type of motivation.
Positioning our conception of motivation in the self-determination theory, we aim to overcome this gap and to
create and validate this scale. Eighteen items, reflecting the different sub-dimensions of motivation, were
selected (following a pre- test) and proposed to unemployed, simultaneously with a measure of job search
behavior. They were again completed these items two weeks later. An exploratory factor analysis and
correlations with behavior research and test-retest those used to attest to the validity of the scale of
motivation to (re)work, creating a tool to answer many questions that facing practitioners and researchers in
the field.
Environmental achievement framing matters for students’ success in
rebounding from failure on both immediate and delayed tests of general knowledge
Yuliya Ochakovskaya, ​Baruch College, City University of New York​, Katherine Carol, ​Hunter
College, City University of New York​, Vien Cheung, ​Baruch College, City University of New York​,
Anna Kataeva, Columbia University​, Whitney Mhoon-Mock, ​Hunter College, City University of
New York​, Jennifer Mangels, ​Baruch College, City University of New York
Previous research with verbal learning tasks have found that induced performance goals benefited learning
when memory was tested immediately, but induced mastery goals were more beneficial when memory was
tested at a delay. It is unknown if the same pattern exists in a challenging feedback-based associative learning
task. Participants completed the Achievement Goal Questionnaire-Revised and then were asked to develop
their knowledge (mastery goal) or to perform better than peers (performance goal) while answering difficult
general knowledge questions. For each question, the correct answer was presented and surprise retests of the
same questions followed shortly after the task and a week later. In contrast with previous findings,
participants in the mastery induction corrected more errors on both tests. When the task requires effortful
associative learning in the face of pervasive negative performance feedback, mastery goals are more beneficial
for overcoming failure regardless of when memory is tested.
The Influence of Aging on Outgroup Stereotypes:
The Mediating Role of Cognitive and Motivational Facets of Deficient Flexibility
Gabriela Czarnek, Jagiellonian University, Poland​, Małgorzata Kossowska, ​Jagiellonian
University, Poland​, Grzegorz Sędek, ​University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Poland
The current study was designed to examine previously reported findings about age-related changes in drawing
stereotypic inferences; specifically, that older adults are more likely than younger adults to stereotype
outgroup members. In the experiment, younger and older adults read stories that allowed for stereotypic
inferences. They also completed the Trail Making Test (TMT) and Need for Closure Scale (NFC) as cognitive and
motivational measures of deficient flexibility. The results of the experiment revealed that, compared to
younger participants, older adults were more likely to rely upon stereotypic inferences when they read a story
about outgroup members; however, there were no age-group differences in using stereotypes when they read a
story about ingroup members. In addition, the findings showed that making more stereotypical inferences by
older versus younger adults in relation to outgroup members was mediated by cognitive (TMT) and
motivational (NFC) facets of deficient flexibility.
25
Hiking to Enjoy or to Succeed?
The Validation of Four Different Motivation-Related Vignettes
Lauriane Le Berre, ​John Molson School of Business, Concordia University,
Kaspar Schattke, ​Université du Québec à Montréal
Achievement and intrinsic motivation has often been confused in research (Locke & Latham, 1990). Prior
research shows that achievement, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation could be separated from each other in
factor analysis (Gagné et al., 2012). However, experimental evidence is still missing. Therefore, the aim of this
pilot study was to create and validate vignettes that can be used in experiments to test the difference and
independence of achievement and intrinsic motivation. Thus, we created four vignettes on the topic of hiking,
which described the same situation but differed in the reason why people pursued the hiking activity. ​N​=26
experts in motivation psychology rated the vignettes regarding their account of achievement, intrinsic,
identified and extrinsic motivation. As expected, the vignettes differed only in achievement and intrinsic
content compared to a neutral vignette. The results demonstrated the vignettes’ validity so that they now can
be used in the subsequent main study.
Motivational Mechanisms of Transformational and Servant Leadership
Melanie Ann Robinson, ​John Molson School of Business, Concordia University,
Zheni Wang, ​John Molson School of Business, Concordia University
We examined the effects of transformational (TFL; Bass, 1985) and servant leadership (SL; Greenleaf, 1977) on
motivation. Both have been argued to influence needs satisfaction (Van Dierendonck et al., 2014). We
proposed that each would have different motivational mechanisms - with TFL exerting a stronger effect on
need for autonomy, SL a stronger effect on need for relatedness, and both impacting need for competence thus influencing vitality, as mediated by autonomous motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985). A scenario-based
experiment (four conditions: TFL, SL, TFL/SL combination, control) was conducted. The manipulation check
indicated that the TFL and SL conditions did not differ significantly. However, the transformational (​N​=33) and
control conditions (​N​=29), as well as SL (​N​=36) and control conditions, did. Using MANOVA, we investigated
the effects of TFL versus control, and SL versus control, on outcomes. The results revealed higher autonomy
and relatedness in the TFL (versus control) and SL (versus control) conditions.
The Tempting Roads Not Taken:
How Counterfactual Temptation Facilitates Goal Pursuit
Johannes Seehusen, Kai Epstude, Russell Spears, ​University of Groningen, The Netherlands
People often evaluate themselves by comparing their actual behavior with mental representations of
counterfactual alternatives; that is, what they could have done. Our research asks, does availability of
tempting alternatives to previous goal pursuit affect people’s motivation to achieve goals? We propose that
counterfactual temptations serve as evidence for one’s ability to control oneself and achieve goals even in
presence of temptation. We document in two studies that counterfactual temptation facilitates perceived
self-regulatory efficacy and motivates future goal-directed behavior. We further show that the effect of
counterfactual temptation on goal pursuit only occurs when people evaluate their goal commitment, but not
their goal progress, and is mediated by self-regulatory efficacy (Study 1) and intrinsic motivation (Study 2).
These results provide first evidence for the notion that counterfactual temptation can amplify efficacy in
self-regulation and motivate goal pursuit.
26
Motive-Goal Congruence Predicts Communicative Behaviour
Ferdinand Denzinger, Sabine Backes, Veronika Brandstätter, ​University of Zurich
Research shows that motive-goal congruence is an important predictor of intra- and interpersonal outcomes
such as well-being, health (Baumann, Kaschel, & Kuhl, 2005) and relationship satisfaction (Hagemeyer et al.,
2013). Less research is conducted on behavioural outcomes of congruence in intimate relationships, e.g. verbal
and nonverbal communication. Moreover, a lack of consent exists in using appropriate methods. Recent
studies show that methods used until now, e.g. regression or difference scores, are deemed unacceptable or
riddled with error (Shanock et al., 2010). Thus, effects on congruence between the implicit intimacy motive
(PSE) and the explicit intimacy goal (GOALS) were investigated in an extensive dyadic sample containing 368
females and 368 males. Analyses were conducted with polynomial regression and response surface analysis
(Edwards, 2002). The pattern of results is in line with the hypotheses: Effects of congruence on observed
communicative behaviour, e.g. positive and negative verbal and nonverbal communication, are shown.
Followers' Emotions and Satisfaction:
The Role of Followers’ and Leaders' Regulatory Focus and Regulatory Mode
Eyal Rechter, Tory Higgins
Columbia University
The current research explores followers’ emotional reactions to and satisfaction with their leaders as a
function of their and their leader’s chronic regulatory focus (e.g., Higgins, 1997) and regulatory mode
(Kruglanski et al., 2000). Results from 37 coaches and 200 players from a women's community sport
organization indicate that chronic motivational concerns predict players' emotions toward their coach. In
addition, a promotion coaching style is associated with positive emotional reactions and satisfaction of
players, whereas a prevention coaching style is associated with negative emotional reactions and
dissatisfaction of players. Some combinations of chronic focus and mode concerns of coaches and players
interacted in predicting players' emotional reactions. For example, coach's promotion focus interacted with
players' prevention focus in predicting negative. These results highlight the importance of understanding the
motivational concerns of leaders and followers, and their interaction, to predict the emotional reactions of
followers toward their leader.
Explaining rigidity and flexibility:
The effects of Need for Closure in ‘multiple’ goal pursuit
Sindhuja Sankaran, Ewa Szumowska, Malgorzata Kossowska
Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
The current study aimed to establish a paradigm that measured multiple goal pursuit by measuring
informational flexibility and rigidity. Engaging in multiple goal pursuit could be overwhelming for those with
high need for closure (NFC). Their tendency to seize and freeze on uncertain information could be synonymous
to the way they pursue multiple goals. The paradigm comprises 25 tasks in total (logical – 7 points, reasoning –
3 points) and participants were instructed to get as many points as possible by completing these tasks.
Instructions were manipulated wherein one group were provided with the strategy to focus on the logical tasks
first while another group were instructed to perform the reasoning tasks first. Apart from these tasks,
participants also had to pay attention to mundane interrupters like feeding a cat and clicking a mailbox that
were activated every 90 seconds. General results revealed that high NFC individuals engaged in more
non-switches between logical and reasoning tasks and also showed preference to a particular strategy. On the
other hand, low NFC individuals, engaged in constant switching between tasks, regardless of the kind of
instructional manipulation provided and followed no particular strategy. These studies revealed general goal
pursuit tendencies seen within an epistemic framework.
27
Shared leadership and flow experience: The mediating role of cooperation
Caroline Aubé, ​HEC Montréal​, Éric Brunelle, ​HEC Montréal,
Vincent Rousseau, ​School of Industrial Relations, University of Montreal
The aim of this study is to examine the role of shared leadership in the prediction of flow experience in work
teams. According to Csikszentmihalyi (1990), flow is a state of deep absorption in an activity that is
intrinsically enjoyable. Although flow experience has received increased attention over recent years, the
antecedents of this psychological state in a team setting are not well understood. The present study addresses
this gap. More specifically, this multi-level study examines the relationship between shared leadership and
team members’ flow, as well as the mediating role of cooperation within the team. The sample includes 121
teams of undergraduate students participating in a project management simulation. The data were collected
from two sources, namely team members and an external observer. Results support the role of shared
leadership in regard of flow experience, as well as the mediating role of cooperation. Furthermore, results
corroborate the relevance of team members’ flow experience in the prediction of team performance. Overall,
in order that team members can experience flow, managers are advised to encourage shared leadership and
cooperation within their teams.
Individual Differences in Need for Cognition and Need for Cognitive Closure
Impact Decision Making in Social Networks: A Simulation Study
David Hughes, Department of Computer Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Graduate
Student), ​Sibel Adali, ​Department of Computer Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, ​Jennifer
Mangels, ​Department of Psychology, Baruch College and the Graduate Center, CUNY, ​Jin-Hee
Cho, ​Computational and Information Sciences Directorate (CISD), Army Research Laboratory
Social networks connect individuals through social ties that disseminate both useful and redundant or noisy
information, sometimes in situations of high uncertainty and risk. Yet, despite the abundance of empirical
findings showing that Need for Cognition (NC) and Need for Cognitive Closure (NCC) impact decision making,
their effects have not been studied extensively in the context of complex social networks. To study this
problem, we created an agent-based simulation model that operationalized components of the NC and NCC
measures and examined how these influenced realistic problem-solving scenarios in which information was
“pushed” to the agent and accumulated until a decision was made. Information was varied in quantity, quality
and degree of corroboration from other sources. We found that a high level of NC (engagement with
information) can lead to information overload in noisy environments, whereas NCC (decisiveness) can be
useful in some scenarios, particularly if agents corroborate decisions with neighbors.
A biopsychosocial model of male competition: How implicit power
motivation predicts rivals' testosterone, empathic accuracy, and aggression
John G. Vongas, Raghid Al Hajj
We investigated how winning and losing impacted men’s testosterone and assessed whether hormonal
reactivity subsequently affected their empathic accuracy and proactive and reactive aggression. We also
explored whether implicit power motivation differentially moderates these relationships in winners and
losers. In Study 1 (​N​=84 males), winners’ testosterone decreased while that of losers increased. Second,
winners were better able to infer others’ emotions compared to losers and this ability improved with
increasing power motivation. Third, testosterone change mediated the relationship between competitive
outcomes and empathic accuracy, with post-competitive testosterone surges corresponding to emotional
accuracy improvements. In Study 2 (​N​=72 males), we again found that losers experienced a testosterone
increase, whereas winners experienced a decrease. This time, neither competitive outcome nor testosterone
change had a significant effect on either form of aggression. However, as power motivation increased, winners
aggressed more proactively than losers whereas losers aggressed more reactively than winners. Collectively,
these are among the first studies to explore the psychophysiological effects of competition on individuals’
empathic and aggressive responses. We discuss implications for highly competitive workplace contexts and
propose future research avenues linking implicit motives, hormones, and human behavior.
28
Aging concept activation effects on resource mobilization
Athina Zafeiriou, Guido H.E. Gendolla
University of Geneva, Switzerland
Based on the Implicit-Affect-Primes-Effort model (IAPE; Gendolla, 2012), this experiment investigated the
effect of masked aging primes on effort-related cardiovascular response during a mental arithmetic task. We
supposed that primes that activate the aging concept also render information about performance task
difficulty accessible, as affective primes do. The accessible difficulty concept, in turn, should influence
experienced demand and thus resource mobilization. Accordingly, our hypothesis was that processing elderly
primes during task performance should increase subjective demand and thus effort-related cardiovascular
reactivity, whereas processing youth primes should decrease subjective demand and effort mobilization. A
neutral-prime control condition should fall in between these cells. Effects on reactivity of heart rate (HR) and
diastolic blood pressure (DBP) corresponded to our effort-related predictions. Moreover, responses of cardiac
pre-ejection period described the anticipated effort-related pattern, but failed significance.
The Influence of the Depletion Effect on Means Preference
Hannah Samuelson, ​University of Maryland, College Park​,
Steven Buzinski, ​University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The process model of self-regulatory “ego” depletion (Inzlicht & Schmeichel, 2012) suggests depletion results
from a shift in motivation toward self-reward or energy conservation, causing ego-depleted participants to
exert less self-control on a subsequent task. The current study posits that ego depletion may influence means
choice, predicting that ego-depleted individuals prefer multifinal means (accomplishing task completion and
energy conservation) to unifinal means (accomplishing only task completion). Participants (N=216) completed
a standard ego depletion manipulation task (Tice, Baumeister, Shmueli, & Muraven, 2007, Study 2) and a
subsequent "consumer choice survey," during which they rated their liking of a cafe. Multifinality was
accomplished by including both coffee and sandwiches in the cafe's menu description and unifinality was
accomplished by only including coffee. Preliminary results suggested that ego-depleted participants who
drink coffee preferred the coffee-only cafe, suggesting depletion may affect means preference toward a focal
goal, but in the opposite direction as expected.
Academic Career Aspirations of Doctoral Graduates in Medicine and Life Sciences –
How can Socio Cognitive Parameters contribute to understand Aspirations
in Junior Scientists?
Nurith Epstein, M.A. ​Institut für Didaktik und Ausbildungsforschung in der Medizin, Klinikum
der Universität München
The major interest of the present study is to explain academic career aspirations in doctoral graduates in the
fields of medicine and life sciences with a socio-cognitive approach, focusing on attributions and self-efficacy.
It is hypothesized that internal attributions of success positively affect academic career aspirations. Further
this effect is expected to be mediated by self-efficacy. Empirical analysis is based on survey data gathered
during 2014 within the “E-Prom”- study, which is investigating careers of doctoral graduates in Germany.
Results of a conducted path analysis show that effort and ability attributions positively affect academic career
aspirations. Whereas the effect of effort attributions is totally mediated by self-efficacy, ability attributions
directly affect academic career aspirations. Controlling for socio demographic characteristics, no aspirational
differences in medical and life sciences graduates were found. For life sciences graduates, aspirations might be
a poorer predictor of behavior, because of worse career opportunities outside of science.
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The moderating effect of Implementation Intentions on
Effort-Related Cardiac Activity during Task Performance
Laure Freydefont, ​New York University​, Peter, M. Gollwitzer, ​University of Konstanz​,
Gabriele Oettingen, ​University of Hamburg
Although implementation intentions are known to facilitate goal attainment, the link between
implementation intentions and effort mobilization is still uninvestigated. According to the motivational
intensity theory (Brehm & Self, 1989), effort is mobilized proportionally to subjectively experienced task
demand as long as success is possible and justified. The present study investigates the influence of
implementation intentions on effort-related cardiac activity during task performance. Based on the
psychophysiological literature (Obrist, 1981; Kelsey, 2012; Wright, 1996), we quantified effort intensity as
performance-related changes in cardiac contractility force in terms of cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP).
Results showed significantly weaker performance-related cardiac PEP responses by participants in the
implementation intention condition compared to participants in the goal intention and control conditions.
These findings suggest that the heightened task performance caused by implementation intentions is
automatic as it leads to less effort expenditure in task performance context (indicated by lowered PEP).
Arid land images reduce the motivation for change
Idit Shalev,​ Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Environmental psychology research has consistently demonstrated that an indoor versus an outdoor
environment affects perceived energy. However, little is known of the possible effects of different outdoor
environments on the motivation for change. Based on the embodied cognition view, we conducted three
studies to examine how pictorial or mental images of arid land affect the motivation for changing a
maladaptive habit. In Study 1, pictorial images of a desert reduced the confidence of participants in changing a
maladaptive habit. In Study 2, mental imagery of a desert versus land with water reduced participants
decisiveness with respect to performing a change and increased their physical thirst. Finally, in Study 3,
participants preferred taking vacation in an environment of land with water than in a desert or urban
environments, as a means to replenish the energy required for a change of maladaptive habit.
Implicit fear effects on effort-related
cardiac response during cognitive performance
Mathieu Chatelain (Phd. Student), Guido Gendolla
University of Geneva, Switzerland
The Implicit-affect-primes-effort model (IAPE; Gendolla, 2012) posits associations of fear and sadness with
performance difficulty and of anger and happiness with performance ease, which in turn influences effort
mobilization according to the principles of motivational intensity theory (Brehm & Self, 1989). We tested these
predictions in an experiment in which participants performed a d2 task during which they were exposed to
briefly flashed emotional expressions of fear, sadness, or anger. In accordance with the psychophysiological
literature, we assessed effort as reactivity of performance-related cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP). As
predicted, PEP reactivity was stronger in the fear- and sadness-prime conditions than in the anger-prime cell.
These findings replicate and extent the results of one of our previous studies in which implicit fear resulted in
stronger PEP reactivity than implicit happiness and anger. The findings contribute to the evidence for implicit
affect effects on behavior as posited by the IAPE model.
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Civic Engagement, Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction, and Well-Being
Cody R. DeHaan, ​University of Rochester, ​Richard M. Ryan, ​Australian Catholic University​,
Laura Wray-Lake, ​University of Rochester​, Jennifer Shubert, ​University of Rochester​,
Randal Curren,​ University of Rochester
The importance of prosocial behavior and civic engagement has been highlighted in much recent work.
Research in Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985) has shown the relation between prosocial
behavior and basic psychological need satisfaction (e.g., Gagné, 2003), and has shown that helping others
produces increases in need satisfaction and well-being (e.g., Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). Using a multilevel
modeling framework, the present study examined the relation of time spent on and autonomy for daily civic
engagement in undergraduates over a 7-day period on basic psychological need satisfaction and daily
well-being. Both autonomy for civic engagement, as well as minutes spent on civic engagement, positively
related to daily well-being. However, an interaction was present, such that more minutes of civic engagement
only led to increased well-being when that civic engagement was autonomously regulated. Implications for
specific behaviors, as well as future directions, are explored.
Identity Diluted: Toward a Goal Systemic Theory of Group Identification
Michelle Dugas, Arie W. Kruglanski, ​University of Maryland, College Park
From a goal systemic perspective, social identity may reflect a group’s perceived instrumentality to some end,
determined partially by the structural properties of cognitive means-goals networks. From this goal systemic
perspective of group identification, greater numbers of equifinal group memberships serving the same
overarching goal were hypothesized to dilute instrumentality to the goal of any given membership,
correspondingly reducing the degree of group identification. Consistent with this hypothesis, Studies 1 and 2
found that the accessibility of multiple groups facilitating the same goal weakens identification with a given
group. Finally, Study 3 revealed that the availability of alternative means to reduce uncertainty lessens
identification with extreme groups, which is mediated by the perceived instrumentality of such groups to
uncertainty reduction. Overall, the reviewed evidence is consistent with the notion that dilution effects in
equifinality contexts reduce group identification.
Investigating the Relationships Between Implicit Theories of Intelligence, Emotions,
and Self-Efficacy in College Engineering Students
Connie Barroso, Jeannine Turner, Michelle Peruche
Florida State University, Educational Psychology, Learning and Cognition
The current study investigated relationships between college engineering students’ implicit theories of
intelligence and their emotions after receipt of exam grades. The study also examined whether college
engineering students implicit theories of intelligence and feelings toward their exam outcomes could predict
their course self-efficacy. Participants consisted of 38 upper-level college engineering students from one
engineering course at a southeastern United States university. Correlations indicated that entity (fixed) theory
of intelligence is significantly positively correlated with emotions of failure, distress, and humiliation on
negative exam outcomes, and significantly negatively correlated with self-efficacy. Multiple regression
showed that accounting for the variance associated with entity theory and exam grade, feelings of failure,
distress, and humiliation did not add significant prediction to student’s self-efficacy. These findings suggest
that students with low entity theory tend to have a robust perception of self-efficacy, even when negative
emotions about academic outcomes arise.
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Beliefs About the Usefulness of Implemental and
Deliberative Mindsets in Different Phases of Goal Pursuit
Mirjam Ghassemi​, ​Veronika Brandstätter, ​University of Zurich
Many studies have investigated the cognitive processes (“mindsets”) that help individuals attain their goals.
However, it is still unknown whether the propositions of Gollwitzer’s (1990; 2012) mindset theory are reflected
in individuals’ subjective beliefs about the usefulness of deliberative and implemental mindsets, and whether
individuals prefer specific cognitive orientations to advance in the pursuit of their personal goals. Data from
an experimental study (​n = 98) suggested substantial overlap between the assumptions of the theory and
individuals’ beliefs about the functionality of a deliberative and implemental mindset with respect to an
unresolved decision problem and an actively pursued problematic, as well as an unobstructed personal goal.
Perceptions of utility were influenced by dispositional goal tenacity (Brandtstädter & Renner, 1990).
Individual capacity influences effort-related measures
but not energy expenditure during a cycling task
Josephine Stanek, ​University of Geneva,
Michael Richter, ​University of Geneva​, ​Samuele Marcora, ​University of Kent
Motivational intensity theory (Brehm & Self, 1989) predicts that energy investment increases with task
difficulty as long as success is possible and justifies the energy invested. According to a theory extension,
individual capacity also determines energy investment (Wright, 1998). Past research corroborated these
predictions with indirect measures of energy investment but not with direct ones (e.g., Marcora, Bosio, & de
Morree, 2008). Our study (N=22) employed a 2 (capacity: low, high) x 4 (difficulty: 50W, 150W, 250W, 500W)
mixed design. During a cycling task, we assessed energy expenditure oxygen uptake and effort-related
measures perception of effort, systolic blood pressure, and heart rate. Planned contrasts were significant for
each one of the measures. As predicted, both individual capacity and task difficulty determined effort-related
measures. However, task difficulty mainly determined energy expenditure regardless of individual capacity.
Perceived Agency Over Reward Outcomes and
its Effects on Correction of General Knowledge Errors
Damon Abraham, Graduate Student, ​The Graduate Center - City University of New York,
Richard Gasparre ​Baruch College - City University of New York, ​Daniel Schor, ​City College - City
University of New York, Kateri McRae, Ph.D., ​University of Denver, Denver, CO, ​Jennifer
Mangels, Ph.D.​, Baruch College and The Graduate Center - City University of New York
Understanding the motivational factors promoting feedback-based learning has important educational
implications. Here, we explored the influence of monetary rewards and reward framing on successful encoding
of corrective information following errors in a general knowledge task. Rewards were programmed to follow a
subset of both correct responses and incorrect responses that were “good attempts”. Subjects were grouped
into one of four conditions, including a control, which varied in the degree to which rewards were framed as
relating to agency (effort-based=highest agency; random=lowest-agency). Subjects in higher-agency
conditions corrected more errors overall compared to lower-agency and control conditions, regardless of
whether the error was rewarded or not. This suggests that agentic sources of reward influence attention and
memory at a contextual rather than item-specific level. Likewise, the effect was greater for low-confidence
compared to higher-confidence errors implying that rewards especially benefitted learning of information
within less familiar knowledge domains.
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The Power of Language:
Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Syllabus Wording
M Schnefke, J. Pope, A. Young-Jones, J. Byrket, & S. Hayden
Instructor autonomy support has been shown to be essential in student academic success (Ryan & Deci, 2009).
Supportive language used by teachers during the first day impacts the students' positive perceptions of the
learning climate and their basic psychological need satisfaction (Young-Jones, Cara, & Levesque-Bristol,
2014). The current study sought to evaluate the wording of course policies within syllabus on the same
instruments. Participants were assigned to read a syllabus written in either autonomy supportive or
controlling language, then completed several scales to evaluate their perceptions of the course overall.
Students' in the autonomy supportive condition reported significantly higher on all three subscales of the
Basic Needs Satisfaction Scale: Autonomy, Competency, and Relatedness. Interestingly, this effect held
constant across genders. These results indicate that even unspoken words can influence undergraduate
psychological need fulfillment in a very short time span. Future research should consider the impact of
standard/required language used to inform students of departmental polices such as; academic integrity and
disability accommodations.
Representations of birthparents’ motives
in children’s books about Chinese-born adoptees
Jacki Fitzpatrick, Erin Kostina-Ritchey
Given that placing Chinese children for adoption is not legally/socially acceptable (Ponte, Wang & Fan, 2010),
it is difficult to conduct direct assessment of birthparents’ motives. However, it is possible to evaluate the
ways in which motivations are portrayed in children’s books. Such books matter because they are a common
resource utilized by North American adoptive parents (e.g., Song, 2004). The researchers conducted a content
analysis of picture storybooks (n=37). The results revealed themes which focused on mothers (e.g., “​Your mom
in China was very young when she had you​”) or society (e.g., one child policy – “​China is crowded and not rich. It has
rules about how many children a family can have​”; “​Your mother couldn’t keep you because she already had a baby​”).
These results can be interpreted via motivational theory perspectives (e.g., epistemic need for closure –
Kossowska, Dragon & Bukowski, 2015; approach-avoidance dialectic – Strachman & Gable, 2006).
Overcoming Low Expectations for Increased Commitment to Difficult Goals
Christina Crosby, Gabriele Oettingen, Peter Gollwitzer
New York University
Expectancy theories of goal commitment posit that low expectations of goal attainment leads to
disengagement. Study 1 investigated (1) whether the relationship between goal expectancy and goal
commitment is moderated by intrinsic task interest, and (2) whether goal commitment could be manipulated
despite low expectations with the help of a self-regulation strategy, specifically, mental contrasting. When
presented with a desirable but low expectancy goal, participants who were intrinsically interested in the task
were significantly more committed the goal than those who were not intrinsically interested. However, use of
a modified version of mental contrasting, meant to obstruct the disengagement process, resulted in
participants who were low in intrinsic task interest to become as committed to the goal as participants who
were high in intrinsic task interest. Study 2 revealed that this increased commitment was not caused by a
change in expectancy-value evaluations.
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