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A robust field of research has elucidated when and why people are willing to offer help in times of crisis. Yet helping behaviour does not always occur when needed, and the absence of helping during crisis is less well studied. By broadly defining a crisis as an extremely difficult, disruptive and dangerous situation, which may result in possible harm to individuals, groups and societies, this article reviews research focused on the following general question: What factors (psychological, sociological, economic and legal) prevent people from helping others in times of collective crisis? The present work (a) integrates the helping literature, (b) presents new theoretical and empirical perspectives on novel findings concerning failures to help during crises, and (c) suggests recommendations that will enable professionals involved in emergency management to support the public in developing their own capacity to manage and overcome crises. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conceptualizing aggression as elicited by the significance‐reducing effects of frustration, and ambition as reflecting the quest for significance, we tested the role of ambition in the frustration–aggression relationship. Study 1 (N = 249) found that ambitious individuals are more sensitive to significance‐threatening frustration. Study 2 (N = 413) found that significance‐reducing (vs. non‐reducing) frustration leads to more aggressiveness through significance loss and that ambitious individuals react to significance‐reducing frustration more aggressively. Study 3 (N = 248) replicated this relation and demonstrated that the aggressiveness of ambitious individuals in reaction to significance‐reducing frustration is not related to their trait aggression. Study 4 (N = 196) showed that it is also unrelated to their trait‐level frustration, and Study 5 (N = 172) replicated the relation between ambition and aggression consequent significance‐reducing frustration with a different methodology. This research supports the notion that an aggressive response to frustration pertains to the significance‐reducing nature of the frustration, and that ambition is a moderator of this relation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on significance quest theory, we hypothesized that when people in romantic relationships experience a general feeling of significance loss, they should develop an obsessive passion toward their partner, which in turn should enhance their willingness to act in an extreme manner to maintain their relationship (i.e., their remaining source of significance). To test this hypothesis, we ran two cross‐sectional studies and a longitudinal one. The first operationalized extreme behaviors through self‐sacrifice. The second considered obsessive relational intrusion (ORI) to be an example of extreme behavior. The third study tested whether the consequentiality among variables we considered was that hypothesized and ensured that the hypothesized model remained consistent also while considering the possible overlap between significance loss (i.e., quest for significance) and low self‐esteem. Results confirmed our hypothesis, suggesting that love, amorous relationships, and romantic partners are perceived as fruitful in maintaining or restoring one's personal sense of significance. Notably, this research represents one of the first applications of both the significance quest theory and, secondarily, the theory of motivational imbalance, to the context of romantic relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigated the motivational underpinnings of attitudes towards weapon ownership. We propose that people who have a strong need for closure (NFC) would be more likely to approve of weapon ownership, but that this relationship would be serially mediated by the endorsement of binding moral foundations and fear of immigrants. Specifically, heightened NFC would promote moral concerns for the safety of one's group (i.e., the binding foundations), which, in turn, would trigger fear of immigrants, or the belief that immigrants threaten one's society. In turn, fear of immigrants would generate the approval of defensive means (i.e., weapons). We tested this serial mediation model in three studies with Italian and US samples, where NFC was both measured (Studies 1 and 3; N = 286 and N = 278) and experimentally induced (Study 2; N = 290). The results supported the proposed model. These findings suggest that a high NFC might explain individuals' approval of weapon ownership through their moral priorities, which heighten their prejudice towards immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though the motivation to feel worthy, to be respected, and to matter to others has been identified for centuries by scholars, the antecedents, consequences, and conditions of its activation have not been systematically analyzed or integrated. The purpose of this article is to offer such an integration. We feature a motivational construct, the quest for significance, defined as the need to have social worth. This need is typically fulfilled by a sense of measuring up to the values one shares with significant others. Our significance-quest theory (SQT) assumes that the need for significance is universal, whereas the means of satisfying it depend on the sociocultural context in which one's values are embedded. Those means are identified in a narrative supported and validated by one's network, or reference group. The quest for significance is activated by significance loss and/or the opportunity for significance gain. It motivates behavior that aims to affirm, realize, and/or show commitment to an important value. The SQT is consistent with large bodies of prior research and supported by novel studies in multiple laboratory and field settings. It transcends prior understandings and offers guidance for further study of this essential human motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral extremism (e.g., violent extremism, extreme humanism, or extreme athleticism) elicits fear, revulsion, pity, or admiration depending on the context. Its common image as exotic and esoteric makes extremism fascinating to audiences worldwide. The negative, antisocial and positive, prosocial cases of extremism are generally regarded as poles apart and as based on qualitatively different psychologies. By contrast, we propose that all cases of extremism, across different manifestations and levels of phylogeny, involve the same psychological mechanism. This mechanism consists of a motivational imbalance wherein a given need becomes dominant to the extent of overriding other basic concerns and liberates behaviors that the latter formerly constrained. We discuss the antecedents and consequences of such imbalance and provide empirical evidence to support our claim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a psychological model of extremism based on the concept of motivational imbalance whereby a given need gains dominance and overrides other basic concerns. In contrast, moderation results from a motivational balance wherein individuals' different needs are equitably attended to. Importantly, under moderation the different needs constrain individuals' behaviors in prohibiting actions that serve some needs yet undermine others. Those constraints are relaxed under motivational imbalance where the dominant need crowds out alternative needs. As a consequence, the constraints that the latter needs exercise upon behavior are relaxed, permitting previously avoided activities to take place. Because enactment of these behaviors sacrifices common concerns, most people avoid them, hence their designation as extreme. The state of need imbalance has motivational, cognitive, behavioral, affective and social consequences. These pertain to a variety of different extremisms that share the same psychological core: extreme diets, extreme sports, extreme infatuations, diverse addictions, as well as violent extremism. Evidence for the present model cuts across different domains of psychological phenomena, levels of behavioral analysis and phylogeny. We consider the model's implications for further research and explore the tradeoffs between extremism and moderation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals who have a strong locomotion orientation tend to be future-oriented and motivated to move from the present state toward a future state, making swift and steady progress toward their goals. The current study has assessed the conceptual possibility that such motivation leads locomotors to experience greater hopeful thinking, an active cognitive process that consists in planning the future and implementing these plans. The results of Study 1 lend preliminary support to this possibility. The practical implication was linked to the importance of hope in the subjective well-being experienced in everyday life. For this reason, Study 2 tested a model in which hopeful thinking mediated the subjective well-being experienced by locomotors. The results supported the hypothesis: locomotion orientation was associated with enhanced hope capabilities that, in turn, were associated with higher subjective well-being, with significant positive implications for individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental activism, defined as a range of difficult pro-environmental behaviors, is analyzed within the conceptual framework of Significance Quest Theory (SQT). In Study 1, 40 interviews were carried out on two groups of people in the European Union: Committed Actors for Nature (CANs, n = 25) versus Committed Actors for Society (CASs, n = 15). Results demonstrated that Significance Quest (SQ) motivates each group to be strongly committed to their chosen action and the main difference between them being in their ideology (pro-social vs. pro-environmental). In Study 2 (N = 131), the relationship between SQ and intention to enact difficult pro-environmental behaviors was assessed. Results suggested that the higher the SQ, the higher the tendency to enact difficult pro-environmental behaviors, but not average or easy ones. Moreover, the higher the pro-environmental ideology, the stronger the indirect effect of SQ on difficult behavior through willingness to sacrifice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One might assume that the desire to help (here described as Want) is the essential driver of helping declarations and/or behaviors. However, even if desire to help (Want) is low, intention to help may still occur if the expectancy regarding the perceived effectiveness of helping is high. We tested these predictions in a set of three experimental studies. In all three, we measured the desire to help (Want) and the Expectancy that the aid would be impactful for the victim; in addition, we manipulated Expectancy in Study 3. In Studies 1 and 3, we measured the participants' declaration to help while in Study 2, their helping behavior was examined. In all three studies, we used variations of the same story about a victim. The results supported our hypothesis. Thus, the studies help to tease apart the determinants of helping under conditions of lowered desire to do so, an issue of great importance in public policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an experiment showing that need for closure (NFC)—defined as the epistemic desire for certainty—can moderate individuals' affective reactions to cognitive inconsistency. Informed by Kruglanski and colleagues' new theory, that cognitive inconsistency elicits negative affect particularly under certain circumstances, we find that NFC (i.e. the desire for certain, stable and unambiguous knowledge) influences the strength of consistency effects and resulting negative affect. More specifically, we find that individuals who are high on NFC experience more negative affect upon encountering an inconsistent (vs. consistent) cognition. However, when individuals are low on NFC, inconsistency is irrelevant, and their affect depends on whether the ultimate outcome of the cognition is positive or negative. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholer, Cornwell, and Higgins (this issue) discuss "goodness" and "badness" in reference to approach and avoidance motivations of which the former often is considered as good and better than the latter. Much like Scholer et al. (this issue), we adopt a hierarchical view of motivation (see Figure 1). Scholer et al. additionally explain, "If it is determined that one is at the bottom of the zone of strategic engagement ... and risky approach tactics are the only way to ensure success, then risky approach tactics will be preferred" (p. 117), thus suggesting that means are "good" to the extent they serve their (extrinsic) goal. In other words, the goodness and badness of outcomes are relative to dominant goals; these - as noted earlier - depend on situation, person, culture, or "standpoint" (Higgins, [9], [10]). [Extracted from the article]

Consumer behaviors and decisions are driven by individuals' goals. The present article discusses the psychology of multiple goal pursuit in light of recent work on goal systems and, in particular, reference to consumer behavior. From this perspective we examine the concept of multifinality and its implications for means choice. We further address the phenomena of goal pursuit and goal switching as they relate to goal commitment, goal progress, and related notions. We also discuss the "multifinality constraint" effect in which restraints on behaviors imposed by multiple active goals reduce the set of subjectively feasible means to any of those goals. Motivational imbalance, where a given goal is prioritized and its alternatives are inhibited, may allow the emergence of behaviors classifiable as "extreme," including extreme consumerism. The goal systemic approach promises insights into a wide range of consumer behaviors and could represent a useful paradigm for future research in this domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the several studies regarding the cognitive dissonance theory. The addressed include details on an association of the psychology of stress, uneasiness, or aversive tension with the cognitive dissonance; relationship between the motivation and the models of the consistency; and social psychological models of cognitive consistency.

From the 1950s onward, psychologists have generally assumed that people possess a general need for cognitive consistency, whose frustration by an inconsistency elicits negative affect. We offer a novel perspective on this issue by introducing the distinction between epistemic and motivational impact of consistent and inconsistent cognitions. The epistemic aspect is represented by the updated expectancy of the outcome addressed in such cognitions. The motivational aspect stems from value (desirability) of that outcome. We show that neither the outcome’s value nor its updated expectancy is systematically related to cognitive consistency or inconsistency. Consequently, we question consistency’s role in the driving of affective responses and the related presumption of a universal human need for cognitive consistency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We outline a general psychological theory of extremism and apply it to the special case of violent extremism (VE). Extremism is defined as motivated deviance from general behavioral norms and is assumed to stem from a shift from a balanced satisfaction of basic human needs afforded by moderation to a motivational imbalance wherein a given need dominates the others. Because motivational imbalance is difficult to sustain, only few individuals do, rendering extreme behavior relatively rare, hence deviant. Thus, individual dynamics translate into social patterns wherein majorities of individuals practice moderation, whereas extremism is the province of the few. Both extremism and moderation require the ability to successfully carry out the activities that these demand. Ability is partially determined by the activities' difficulty, controllable in part by external agents who promote or oppose extremism. Application of this general framework to VE identifies the specific need that animates it and offers broad guidelines for addressing this pernicious phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The link between threat and anti-immigrant prejudice is well-established. Relatedly, recent research has also shown that situational threats (such as concern with COVID-19 threat) increase anti-immigrant prejudice through the mediating role of desire for cultural tightness. This study aims to further our understanding of the psychological processes underlying the relation between concern with COVID-19 threat and increased negative attitudes towards immigrants by considering the mediational role of an individual epistemic motivation (i.e., the need for cognitive closure). A study was conducted on a large sample of Italian respondents covering all the Italian regions. Findings revealed that high concern with COVID-19 threat led to increased negative attitudes towards immigrants through the sequential mediating role of higher need for cognitive closure, leading in turn to higher desire for cultural tightness. Implications of these findings for a timely contextualized study of anti-immigrant prejudice will be highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research investigated whether self-threat biases memory via retrieval-induced forgetting. Results show that people under self-threat whose goal is to restore their self-worth by making prejudicial judgments that deprecate others are more likely to exhibit an enhanced RIF effect for positive items and a reduced RIF for negative items ascribed to a stereotyped target (i.e., homosexual). Overall, the present findings are consistent with the view that motivation can affect the magnitude of RIF effects in person memory and that, in turn, they can serve as mechanisms for justifying desired conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which Need for Cognitive Closure (NCC), an individual-level epistemic motivation, can explain inter-individual variability in the cognitive effort invested on a perceptual decision making task (the random motion task). High levels of NCC are manifested in a preference for clarity, order and structure and a desire for firm and stable knowledge. The study evaluated how NCC moderates the impact of two variables known to increase the amount of cognitive effort invested on a task, namely task ambiguity (i.e., the difficulty of the perceptual discrimination) and outcome relevance (i.e., the monetary gain associated with a correct discrimination). Based on previous work and current design, we assumed that reaction times (RTs) on our motion discrimination task represent a valid index of effort investment. Task ambiguity was associated with increased cognitive effort in participants with low or medium NCC but, interestingly, it did not affect the RTs of participants with high NCC. A different pattern of association was observed for outcome relevance; high outcome relevance increased cognitive effort in participants with moderate or high NCC, but did not affect the performance of low NCC participants. In summary, the performance of individuals with low NCC was affected by task difficulty but not by outcome relevance, whereas individuals with high NCC were influenced by outcome relevance but not by task difficulty; only participants with medium NCC were affected by both task difficulty and outcome relevance. These results suggest that perceptual decision making is influenced by the interaction between context and NCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of attitude-behavior relations is revisited in light of recent work on motivation and the psychology of goals. It is suggested that for object-attitudes to drive a specific behavior, a chain of contingencies must be realized: Liking must be transmuted into wanting, wanting must evolve into a goal, the goal must be momentarily dominant, and the specific behavior must be chosen as means of goal pursuit. Our model thus specifies a set of mediating processes that transpire between attitudes and behavior. Prior theories of attitude-behavior relations are examined from the present perspective, and its conceptual and empirical implications are noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major postulate of this work is that regulatory modes influence the type of passion people experience with regard to an activity, which in turn influences their psychological adjustment. Integrating regulatory mode theory and the dualistic model of passion, we hypothesized that locomotion-associated with intrinsic and autonomous motivations-would positively predict harmonious passion, which in turn would enhance workers' psychological adjustment. In contrast, we hypothesized that assessment-associated with extrinsic and non-autonomous motivations-would positively predict obsessive passion, which in turn would reduce workers' psychological adjustment. Two field studies supported these hypotheses with psychological adjustment measures of stress (Study 1) and burnout (Study 2) in different work contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe two experiments on the determinants of motivated judgments. They explored the conjoint effects of three factors: (1) dominant judgmental motivation (geared toward accuracy or directional bias), (2) task demands, and (3) the availability of cognitive resources. We find that where a directional motivation is dominant and task demands are high (making biasing difficult), the presence (vs. absence) of resources promotes wishful judgments. Conversely, where accuracy motivation is dominant and wishful judgments are the default, resources reduce the likelihood of their occurrence. Finally, where a directional motivation is dominant and task demands are low (making biasing easy), or where the accuracy motivation is dominant and task demands are high, resources have relatively minor effects on bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new theoretical construct labeled motivational readiness. It is defined as the inclination, whether or not ultimately implemented, to satisfy a desire. A general model of readiness is described which builds on the work of prior theories, including animal learning models and personality approaches, and which aims to integrate a variety of research findings across different domains of motivational research. Components of this model include the Want state (that is, an individual's currently active desire), and the Expectancy of being able to satisfy that Want. We maintain that the Want concept is the critical ingredient in motivational readiness: without it, readiness cannot exist. In contrast, some motivational readiness can exist without Expectancy. We also discuss the role of incentive in motivational readiness. Incentive is presently conceived of in terms of a Match between a Want and a Perceived Situational Affordance. Whereas in classic models incentive was portrayed as a first order determinant of motivational readiness, here we describe it as a second order factor which affects readiness by influencing Want, Expectancy, or both. The new model's relation to its theoretical predecessors, and its implications for future research, also are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research examined the role of the need for cognitive closure (NfCC) in the phenomenon of retrieval-induced forgetting (i.e., the forgetting of non-retrieved information induced by selective retrieval) and in subsequent post-event misinformation effects (i.e., the tendency to recall misleading post-event information in preference to originally presented items). In three experiments, it was shown that NfCC augments retrieval-induced forgetting which in turn magnifies misinformation effects in eyewitness situations. Overall, the present work highlights the crucial role of motivation in retrieval-induced forgetting and discusses the implications this has for eyewitness research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construct of motivational readiness is introduced and explored. Motivational readiness is the willingness or inclination, whether or not ultimately realized, to act in the service of a desire. Building on prior relevant conceptions that include, among others, animal learning models (Hull, 1943; Spence, 1956; Tolman, 1955) and personality approaches (e.g., Atkinson, 1964; Lewin, 1935), a general theory of motivational readiness is presented. Major parameters of this theory include the magnitude of a Want state (i.e., individual's desire of some sort) and the Expectancy of being able to satisfy it. The Want is assumed to be the essential driver of readiness: Whereas some degree of readiness may exist in the absence of Expectancy, all readiness is abolished in the absence of desire (Want). The concept of incentive is conceptualized in terms of a Match between the contents of the Want and perceived situational affordances. Whereas in classic models incentive was portrayed as a first-order determinant of motivational readiness, it is depicted here as a second-order factor that affects readiness via its impact on the Want and/or the Expectancy. A heterogeneous body of evidence for the present theory is reviewed, converging from different domains of psychological research. The theory's relation to its predecessors and its unique implications for new research hypotheses are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study provides a neurobiological framework to the theory of epistemic motivation that has been extensively studied for the last three decades in the domain of social cognition. Epistemic motivations affect the way people generate and validate hypotheses, and ultimately form and modify knowledge. Strong dispositional measures such as need for cognitive closure (NCC), the desire for a quick firm answer (any answer) to a question, show gross and stable inter-individual differences. The cognitive mechanisms and neural underpinnings of such differences, however, remain largely unexplored. Here we show that high (compared to low) levels of NCC, measured with need for cognitive closure scale, are associated with reduced online adjustment in cognitive control, as indexed by behavioral conflict adaptation. This behavioral effect is mediated by dynamic changes in cortico-cortical functional connectivity between prefrontal regions involved in conflict monitoring and implementation of cognitive control. In particular, these regions show increased functional connectivity after exposure to conflict in low but not high NCC individuals. These results demonstrate that the level of flexibility of functional cortico-cortical connections can mediate stable psychological dispositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radicalization and its culmination in terrorism represent a grave threat to the security and stability of the world. A related challenge is effective management of extremists who are detained in prison facilities. The major aim of this article is to review the significance quest model of radicalization and its implications for management of terrorist detainees. First, we review the significance quest model, which elaborates on the roles of motivation, ideology, and social processes in radicalization. Secondly, we explore the implications of the model in relation to the risks of prison radicalization. Finally, we analyze the model's implications for deradicalization strategies and review preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of a rehabilitation program targeting components of the significance quest. Based on this evidence, we argue that the psychology of radicalization provides compelling reason for the inclusion of deradicalization efforts as an essential component of the management of terrorist detainees. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three articles in this special section of the Asian Journal of Social Psychology illuminate several aspects of the psychology of Islamist Indonesian terrorists. This analysis partitions these into the contents (the what) of the terrorists' belief system, the motivational underpinnings (the why) of these beliefs, and the social process (the how), whereby motivational concerns are translated into ideological beliefs that, under conditions of utter commitment to ideological dictates, foster violent action. This discussion addresses the universal process of radicalization exemplified in the Indonesian case, and the unique ways in which it is manifested in this particular context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Actions require two essential functions: assessment and locomotion. Assessment determines one's goals and selects the means. Locomotion translates these into concrete behavior. In past work, assessment and locomotion have been portrayed as co-ordinated and interdependent, or associated with different action phases. In contrast, we review recent theorizing and research that depict assessment and locomotion as autonomous and complementary. Recent evidence supports this conception for the behavior of individuals, groups, organizations, and cultures in reference to actions at different levels of analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explored the notion that the use and efficacy of influence tactics launched from different social power bases depends on influence agents' and recipients' need for cognitive closure. In three separate studies conducted in diverse organizational contexts, it was found that, while overall participants exhibited a preference for soft over hard social influence tactics, this preference becomes less pronounced for supervisors high (versus low) on need for closure and becomes more pronounced for supervisors low on the need for closure. Overall, soft tactics were more beneficial for subordinates' performance than hard tactics; however, the benefits of soft tactics decreased as a function of subordinates' need for closure. Finally, organizational outcomes were improved when recipients who were high (versus low) on the need for closure were exposed to 'hard' power tactics and those low (versus high) in the need for closure were exposed to 'soft' tactics. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the possibility that people's choices in the service of an explicit focal goal may also reflect their tendency to fulfill implicit background goals and in that sense are multifinal. We carried out 5 experimental studies to investigate this notion. In Experiment I, a primed implicit goal affected individuals' choices even when those avowedly served an explicit "focal" goal. Experiment 2 replicated this finding with a different type of implicit goals. Experiment 3 found that primed implicit goals had no effect on choices where the options that served them undermined the explicit goal. Experiment 4 found that a primed implicit goal served by a multifinal option does not privilege it over a unifinal option if that goal had been already attained by a different means. Finally, ExperimentS, via 3 types of control groups, showed that choices were affected by both the explicit and implicit goals in isolation, and they shifted toward multifinality when these goals were conjointly present. The discussion considers the integrative potential of the multifinality framework and its implications for a variety of phenomena in the domain of motivated cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A motivational analysis of suicidal terrorism is outlined, anchored in the notion of significance quest. It is suggested that heterogeneous factors identified as personal causes of suicidal terrorism (e.g. trauma, humiliation, social exclusion), the various ideological reasons assumed to justify it (e.g. liberation from foreign occupation, defense of one's nation or religion), and the social pressures brought upon candidates for suicidal terrorism may be profitably subsumed within an integrative framework that explains diverse instances of suicidal terrorism as attempts at significance restoration, significance gain, and prevention of significance loss. Research and policy implications of the present analysis are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors of a research paper that examined the motivation behind the actions of suicide terrorists respond to commentaries on their paper. The authors reflect on the opinions that are presented in the commentaries, attempt to clarify points of misunderstanding and address the philosophical differences associated with how they approached the issue of suicide terrorism. They offer a broader view of what the quest for significance is, explore the individual, organizational and social processes involved in suicide terrorism and debate issues related to motivation and ideology.

Research on persuasion has shown that inferences based on heuristic or peripheral cues can bias the subsequent processing of persuasive messages. Two studies (total N = 296) examined the additional possibilities that a message argument can serve as a biassing factor and cue-related information can serve as the target of processing bias. It was demonstrated that a message argument can bias (a) the processing of subsequent other message arguments (Study 1) and (b) the processing of subsequent cue information (Study 2). Results are discussed within dual-process models and the recently developed unimodel of persuasion. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the relation between regulatory-mode (Higgins, Kruglanski, & Pierro, 2003; Kruglanski et al., 2000) and task motivation. Four studies conducted in diverse field and laboratory settings support the notions that ‘locomotion’, i.e. a self-regulatory emphasis on movement from state to state, is positively related to intrinsic task motivation, whereas ‘assessment’, i.e. a self-regulatory tendency to emphasize comparative appraisal of entities and states (such as goals and means) is positively related to extrinsic motivation. It is further found that ‘locomotion’, but not ‘assessment’, is positively related to effort investment, which, in turn, is positively related to goal attainment. Attainment is, additionally, predicted by an interaction of locomotion and assessment, such that individuals are most likely to reach their goals if they are high on both these dimensions. Taken as a body, these findings highlight the relevance of regulatory-mode concepts to the study of task motivation and activity experience. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the subtext of research on motivated cognition. Discrimination between directional and nondirectional motivations; Distinction between motivated cognition and reality; Separation of motivation from cognition; Involvement of cognition in judgment, reasoning, problem solving and impression formation.

Two experiments examined the impact of the motivation for cognitive closure on the abstractness of linguistic communications in intergroup contexts. Participants described positive and negative behaviors attributed to either an in-group or an out-group member. Individuals high (vs. low) in need for closure exhibited greater linguistic abstraction when describing positive behaviors of in-group members and negative behaviors of out-group members. These differences disappeared for descriptions of negative behaviors of out-group members. The discussion relates these results to the interface of motivation, language, and social cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three experiments explored need-for-closure effects in the question-answer paradigm. In Experiment 1, participants under high (vs. low) need for closure selected more abstract interview questions. In Experiments 2 and 3, such questions elicited more abstract answers--answers that causally implicated the object (vs. the subject) of the sentence and that prompted a less positive perceived rapport between the interviewer and the interviewee. These findings are discussed in reference to the role of motivation in language and the possible interpersonal consequences of motivated language use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theory of lay epistemology is applied to ward an integration of attribution theory with cognitive consistency theories. The integration follows a three-fold partition of the epistemic process into its deductive, motivational and contextual aspects. The commonality of the attribution and consistency paradigms is apparent in regard to the deductive aspect: In both frameworks central role is accorded the criterion of deducibility or consistency whereby cognitions are validated. However, attribution theory emphasizes the consequences of consistent information, which increases attributional confidence, whereas cognitive consistency theories emphasize the consequences of inconsistent information, which detracts from judgmental confidence, hence occasionally induces negative affect. The motivational component represents a neglected dimension in attributional theorizing, it also defines the conditions under which inconsistency may be motivating. This may occur where inconsistency (1) fosters doubt where knowledge was strongly desired, (2) undermines a particular desirable conclusion. The differences among the cognitive consistency and the attributional formulations are ones of cognitive content. However, tile same epistemic process is assumed common to all attribution and consistency formulations. Potential research benefits of focusing on this common process are noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The negative relation between the magnitude of the inducement for a counter attitude task and subsequent liking for it has been studied extensively during the last few years. Enhanced liking for the task is thus conceived of as a means of restoring consonance among the actor's cognition's. One implication of the analysis just presented is that liking is an isolated expression of a more general syndrome of intrinsic, as opposed to extrinsic, motivational orientation toward the task. If so, other aspects of performance might be expected to parallel the differences in expressed liking between low and high incentive conditions. Specifically, intrinsically motivated individuals might be expected to exhibit subtenant on those aspects of performance contingent upon pre-occupation with the task, as opposed to concentration upon attaining the goal. The former might include such qualitative attributes of performance as comprehension of the task, recall of task-relevant features, creativity with respect to task-pertinent solutions, etc.

This research addressed the reduced impact of cues under high processing motivation of persuasion experiments. The results of 3 studies suggested. that such reduced impact is due to a relevance override whereby any more subjectively relevant, information swamps the effects of any less subjectively relevant information, given the recipient's sufficient motivation to process both. Because, in much persuasion research, cues may have been perceived as less relevant to the attitudinal judgments than message arguments, the relevance override hypothesis provides a general explanation of the reduced cue effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research explored the nature of automatic associations formed between short-term motives (temptations) and the overriding goals with which they interfere. Five experimental studies, encompassing several self-regulatory domains, found that temptations tend to activate such higher priority goals, whereas the latter tend to inhibit the temptations. These activation patterns occurred outside of participants' conscious awareness and did not appear to tax their mental resources. Moreover, they varied as a function of subjective goal importance and were more pronounced for successful versus unsuccessful self-regulators in a given domain. Finally, priming by temptation stimuli was found not only to influence the activation of overriding goals but also to affect goal-congruent behavioral choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When thwarted goals increase endorsement of violence, it may not always reflect antisocial tendencies or some breakdown of self-regulation per se; such responses can also reflect an active process of self-regulation, whose purpose is to comply with the norms of one's social environment. In the present experiments (total N = 2,145), the causal link between thwarted goals and endorsement of violent means (guns and war) was found to be contingent on perceptions that violence is normatively valued. Experiments 1–3 establish that thwarted goals increase endorsement of violence primarily among U.S. adults of a lower educational background and/or men who endorse a masculine honor culture. Experiment 4 manipulates the perceived normative consensus of college educated Americans, and demonstrates that thwarted goals increase college educated Americans' endorsement of whatever norm is salient: prowar or antiwar. Generalizing the model beyond violent means, Experiment 5 demonstrates that goal-thwarted Europeans report increased willingness to volunteer for refugee support activities if they perceive strong social norms to volunteer. Altogether, these findings support a frustration-affirmation model rather than frustration-aggression, whereby thwarted goals increase compliance with perceived norms for behavior, which can increase endorsement of violent means such as guns and war, but also nonviolent charitable actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 2016 and 2017, Americans suffered 3 of the deadliest mass shootings in modern history by a lone gunman: the Orlando nightclub shooting, the Las Vegas strip shooting, and the Texas church shooting. We studied American gun owners in the wakes of these tragedies, theorizing that a byproduct of the salience of mass shootings is to increase the salience of guns as means of individual empowerment and significance. We hypothesized that this increase in salience would be especially relevant in the context of thwarted goals, because such individuals may be seeking a compensatory means to interact more effectively with their environment. In 4 studies of U.S. gun owners (N = 2,442), we tested whether mass shooting salience interacted with thwarted goals to predict justification to shoot suspected criminals, as well as ideas about armed vigilantism and perceptions that guns are means of empowerment. The thwarting of goals was either experimentally induced via failure on an achievement task (Study 1), or measured via perceptions of disempowerment in society (Studies 2-4). Mass shooting salience was measured via perceptions of mass shooting threat, as well as temporal proximity and social proximity to specific mass shooting events. Across studies, results indicated an interaction between thwarted goals and mass shooting salience; temporal proximity yielded mixed results. Altogether, thwarted goals motivate people to seek effectiveness and mattering, and guns are more likely to be perceived as means to such ends when mass shootings loom large in the mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feedback preference is motivated. In the educational context, two main drivers of feedback preference are the desire for positive evaluation (self-enhancement motive) and the desire for subjectively accurate information (self-verification motive). Whereas the former produces positivity bias, the latter is seen in the preference for feedback consistent with one's established self-perception. Therefore, before the study, we measured participants' self-perception in the social domain. In the laboratory, we presented them with two evaluations of their social abilities: one positive, one negative. We tested participants' preferences for these feedback options under increased self-enhancement motivation. Study 1 showed that participants high (vs. low) on the desire for positive evaluation exhibited an enhanced preference for positive feedback. This was mainly true for participants with positive self-perception. Study 2 showed that under situationally increased self-enhancement motivation, people prefer positive feedback, regardless of its perceived accuracy. The results shed light on how motivation affects feedback processing. • Feedback selection is motivated by self-verification and self-enhancement strivings. • Which feedback is currently preferred depends on the relative strength of these strivings. • Self-verification striving leads to a preference for subjectively accurate feedback. • Self-enhancement leads to a preference for positive feedback, regardless of its subjective accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research in a multifinality context has demonstrated a dilution effect whereby the number of goals connected to a means is inversely connected to the perceived instrumentality of each means (Zhang, Fishbach, & Kruglanski, 2007). In the present research, six studies tested whether the dilution effect would also occur in an equifinality context where more than one means serves a single goal. The results corroborated this hypothesis. Presenting additional means (Study 1) and having participants self-generate multiple means (Study 2) led, as expected, to a reduction in perceived effectiveness of the means. The effect was stronger when the means within the set were seen as distinct rather than similar (Study 3). Increasing the strength of association between one means and the goal led to a reduction in the associative strength of the other means within the set and to a decrease of its perceived effectiveness (Study 4). The dilution effect was found to influence means selection and the magnitude of means engagement (Study 5). Lastly, presenting additional means to attain a goal reduced the perceived effectiveness of the means, which in turn reduced participants' intrinsic motivation to pursue it (Study 6). Overall, the present work demonstrates that the presence of alternative means to a goal reduces the quality and intensity of engagement in a given means. Broad implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addiction models have frequently invoked motivational mechanisms to explain the initiation and maintenance of addictive behaviors. However, in doing so, these models have emphasized the unique characteristics of addictive behaviors and overlooked the commonalities that they share with motivated behaviors in general. As a consequence, addiction research has failed to connect with and take advantage of promising and highly relevant advances in motivation and self-regulation research. The present article is a call for a convergence of the previous approaches to addictive behavior and the new advances in basic motivation and self-regulation. The authors emphasize the commonalities that addictive behaviors may share with motivated behavior in general. In addition, it is suggested that the same psychological principles underlying motivated action in general may apply to understand challenging aspects of the etiology and maintenance of addictive behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the presence of several objectives, goal conflict may be avoided via multifinal means, which advance all of the active goals at once. Because such means observe multiple constraints, they are fewer in number than the unconstrained means to a single goal. Five experimental studies investigated the process of choosing or generating such means for multiple goals. We found that the simultaneous activation of multiple goals restricted the set of acceptable means to ones that benefitted (or at least, did not harm) the entire set of active goals. Two moderators of this phenomenon were identified: (a) the feasibility of identifying multifinal means, which was dependent on the relations between the different active goals, and (b) the enhanced importance of the focal goal, which resulted in the inhibition of its alternatives and the consequent relaxation of multifinality constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]