Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- About the Editors
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- The Sydney Symposium of Social Psychology series
- 1 Social Motivation: Introduction and Overview
- PART I CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS SOCIAL MOTIVATION: GENERAL ISSUES
- PART II SOCIAL MOTIVATION: COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE IMPLICATIONS
- 8 From Evolved Motives to Everyday Mentation: Evolution, Goals, and Cognition
- 9 Automatic Goal Inference and Contagion: On Pursuing Goals One Perceives in Other People's Behavior
- 10 The Interaction Between Affect and Motivation in Social Judgments and Behavior
- 11 Internal and External Encoding Style and Social Motivation
- 12 Authenticity, Social Motivation, and Psychological Adjustment
- 13 Motivation and Construct Accessibility
- PART III CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS SOCIAL MOTIVATION: SOME CONSEQUENCES AND APPLICATIONS
- Author Index
- Subject Index
- References
13 - Motivation and Construct Accessibility
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 August 2010
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- About the Editors
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- The Sydney Symposium of Social Psychology series
- 1 Social Motivation: Introduction and Overview
- PART I CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS SOCIAL MOTIVATION: GENERAL ISSUES
- PART II SOCIAL MOTIVATION: COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE IMPLICATIONS
- 8 From Evolved Motives to Everyday Mentation: Evolution, Goals, and Cognition
- 9 Automatic Goal Inference and Contagion: On Pursuing Goals One Perceives in Other People's Behavior
- 10 The Interaction Between Affect and Motivation in Social Judgments and Behavior
- 11 Internal and External Encoding Style and Social Motivation
- 12 Authenticity, Social Motivation, and Psychological Adjustment
- 13 Motivation and Construct Accessibility
- PART III CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS SOCIAL MOTIVATION: SOME CONSEQUENCES AND APPLICATIONS
- Author Index
- Subject Index
- References
Summary
INTRODUCTION
Given the recent trend toward distinguishing between implicit and explicit processes in a number of areas in social psychology, the present volume can make a timely contribution to applying this distinction to motivational processes. In this chapter, we will focus mainly on implicit motivational mechanisms and, in particular, on the role of goal-related accessibility in motivated thinking and behavior. Theories in both cognitive and social psychology propose that motivational states such as needs, goals, intentions, and concerns are characterized by enhanced accessibility of motivation-related constructs (Anderson, 1983; Bruner, 1957; Higgins & King, 1981; Wyer and Srull, 1986, 1989). Similar ideas came from theories of motivation and volition (Ach, 1935; Gollwitzer 1996; Gollwitzer & Moskowitz, 1996; Goschke & Kuhl, 1993; Kuhl, 1983; 1987; Kuhl & Kazén-Saad, 1988). In this chapter, we summarize some general principles of accessibility from motivational sources, and briefly review extant and novel empirical evidence for these principles. We then discuss a possible theoretical account for these principles within a general functional approach to accessibility. Finally, we examine some implications of the outlined theory for person perception, postsuppressional rebound, and catharsis of aggression.
ACCESSIBILITY FROM MOTIVATIONAL SOURCES: GENERAL PRINCIPLES
We propose the following principles to characterize accessibility from motivational sources such as goals, needs, or concerns: (a) Motivation enhances the accessibility of motivation-related constructs; (b) accessibility from motivational sources persists until the motivation is fulfilled or becomes irrelevant; (c) fulfillment of the motivation inhibits the accessibility of motivation-related constructs; and (d) accessibility of motivation-related constructs and postfulfillment inhibition are proportional to the strength of the motivation.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Social MotivationConscious and Unconscious Processes, pp. 228 - 246Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004
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