unconscious motives

Question 1

auto motive model

Answer 1

a strong mental link is developed automatically between situations and goals that individuals typically pursue in that situation

implies that goals can be triggered unconsciously

repeatedly pursuing a goal in a particular way (action) in a particular situation will automatically create a mental link between the goal, its action and the situation

because of these mental links, the situation can eventually automatically activate the goal and its associated action outside of conscious awareness

Question 2

adaptive automation

Answer 2

unconscious goal pursuit is an adaptive process
- attention is a limited resource so it is useful to have some decisions be unconscious as this frees up attentional resources
- keeps a person moving towards a desired goal even if conscious mind is focused elsewhere

Question 3

automotive model vs implementation intentions

Answer 3

auto motive model: situation goal action mental links are are created unconsciously. related to the repeated pursuit of that goal in a specific situation
- long term and chronic

implementation intentions: situation- goal - action mental links are created consciously. Related to consciously making a specific action plan for a specific situation. Temporary and strategic but can become long term and chronic

Question 4

interruption study

Answer 4

tested whether goals could be activated unconsciously
scrambled sentence - prime rude vs polite
tested how long it took them to interrupt a researcher who was supposed to conduct their session (and was late, talking to someone else)
- rude primed were 3 minutes faster to interrupt

Question 5

example of how goals can be primed and pursued unconsciously

Answer 5

ps primed with cooperative words were as likely to cooperate as those with a conscious goal to cooperate, but had no correlation between their intention to cooperate and their actual cooperative behaviour

Question 6

implications of the automotive model

Answer 6

a lot of our behaviour is determined by unconscious forces

situational cues play an important role in determining which goals we pursue at any given moment

marketing and advertising relies on unconscious goal priming

Question 7

unconscious pursuit of interpersonal goals

Answer 7

situations can include relationships with specific people
- does thinking about a specific relationship automatically trigger interpersonal goals that are then pursued unconsciously?

Question 8

study: unconscious interpersonal goals

Answer 8

people pursue different goals in different relationships - asked people

classmate - self enhancement
friend - helping/enjoying their company
mother - make proud

does thinking about these people trigger goals?
- told to write about mom or friend or bedroom (control)
- then form an impression about how motivated a random person is to succeed
- found that thinking about mother increased the accessibility of ps own goal (wanted to succeed) and they projected this goal onto the person

Question 9

goal strength/importance as a moderator of unconscious interpersonal goal

Answer 9

priming only works if you already have the goal to make mom proud/help friend, etc

goals need to be activated by the situation to influence behaviour (presence of a goal is not enough)

Question 10

implications of interpersonal goals

Answer 10

relationship partners can unconsciously activate interpersonal goals which are then pursued unconsciously

means that relationships have the power to influence our motivations, even when the relationship partner is not physically present

Question 11

examples of goals being activated unconsciously

Answer 11

ps primed with assertive words were more likely to interrupt a confederate, and interrupted them faster compared to those primed with polite words

Question 12

how do relationships influence us unconsciously?

Answer 12

thinking about a specific relationship automatically triggers interpersonal goals that are then pursued unconsciously