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International audience; There is now a large body of evidence showing that many different conditions related to impaired fronto-executive functioning are associated with the enhancement of some types of creativity. In this paper, we pursue the possibility that the central mechanism associated with this effect might be a reduced capacity to exert inhibition. We tested this hypothesis by exhausting the inhibition efficiency through prolonged and intensive practice of either the Simon or the Eriksen Flanker task. Performance on another inhibition task indicated that only the cognitive resources for inhibition of participants facing high inhibition demands were impaired. Subsequent creativity tests revealed that exposure to high inhibition demands led to enhanced fluency in a divergent thinking task (Alternate Uses Task), but no such changes occurred in a convergent task (Remote Associate Task; studies la and lb). The same manipulation also led to a hyper-priming effect for weakly related primes in a Lexical Decision Task (Study 2). Together, these findings suggest that inhibition selectively affects some types of creative processes and that, when resources for inhibition are lacking, the frequency and the originality of ideas was facilitated. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Objective: The present study tested whether taking into account both the reflective and the impulsive processes of physical activity (PA) is helpful in understanding how, and for whom, PA-promoting messages will be (in)effective in changing behavior. Method: Participants (N ! 101) were presented with a persuasive message promoting either PA (experimental condition) or healthy eating (control condition). Reflective intentions to be physically active were assessed both at baseline and after exposure to the message. Impulsive approach tendencies toward PA (IAPA) and sedentary behaviors (IASB) were assessed using a manikin task. The main outcome variable was accelerometer-assessed free time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) over 1 week after exposure to the message. Results: Although the PA-promoting message had no direct effect on MVPA, the results showed that (a) this message increased intentions to practice PA, notably among participants with low or moderate (but not high) baseline intentions; (b) objective MVPA was positively predicted by postmessage PA intentions and IAPA, and negatively predicted by IASB; and (c) postmessage PA intentions predicted MVPA for individuals with low or moderate (but not high) IASB. A follow-up moderated mediation analysis corroborated these earlier results, showing that PA-promoting messages positively predicted MVPA through postmessage intentions only among individuals with low or moderate baseline intentions and low or moderate IASB. Conclusions: By identifying 2 boundary conditions, this study revealed important insights in explaining when PA-promoting messages will be effective to predict objective MVPA and when they will not.

International audience; Controlling instructions typically undermine intrinsic motivation. However, in line with an autonomy restoration process, we hypothesized that prior exposure to a controlling context could increase intrinsic motivation displayed in a subsequent task if this second task is devoid of autonomy threats. A correlational study in educational context provided support for this effect by showing that students reported more interest in their music class when it was preceded by a class that was controlling. This effect was replicated in an experiment wherein participants who learned to play a game in a controlling context reported more interest in a second game than those who learned the first game in a neutral context. However, this effect disappears when the two tasks were done in a similar environment. Overall, this suggests that autonomy deprived students would display more intrinsic motivation in a subsequent task if this task gives a glimpse of autonomy satisfaction.

International audience; This study examines whether motivation can be primed through unattended speech. Study 1 used a dichotic-listening paradigm and repeated strength measures. In comparison to the baseline condition, in which the unattended channel was only composed by neutral words, the presence of words related to high (low) intensity of motivation led participants to exert more (less) strength when squeezing a hand dynamometer. In a second study, a barely audible conversation was played while participants' attention was mobilized on a demanding task. Participants who were exposed to a conversation depicting intrinsic motivation performed better and persevered longer in a subsequent word-fragment completion task than those exposed to the same conversation made unintelligible. These findings suggest that motivation can be primed without attention.

International audience; Like other fundamental needs, recent studies have shown that the need for autonomy elicits goal-ori- ented behaviors that aim to its restoration when it is thwarted. However, no research has yet examined the factors that moderate the restoration process. In the present studies, we investigated the moderating role of perceived competence in the restoration of autonomy. We monitored autonomy restoration behaviors by assessing the extent to which participants turn away from a controlling function in a computerized puzzle task. Across the two studies, the results suggested that, in comparison with baseline partic- ipants, autonomy-deprived participants acted to regain their autonomy but only when their level of perceived compe- tence in the task was high. When perceived competence was low, participants disengaged from autonomy restora- tion, seemingly to favor competence. These findings are discussed using self-determination theory and models of stress and coping.

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Autonomy is described by self-determination theory as a basic psychological need, essential for individuals' well-being. While basic needs are generally thought to induce a restorative response when thwarted, evidence for such a process is lacking for autonomy. To date, most evidence indicates that autonomy deprivation leads to disaffection of this need in favor of other motives. A temporal model based on the general adaptation syndrome was adapted to reconcile this seeming contradiction. Specifically, it is hypothesized that an early alarm response aimed at restoring the satisfaction of the need for autonomy should precede the later relinquishment and compensation of this need that would result from a prolonged deprivation. Three studies provide support for this model by showing the existence of the immediate autonomy restorative response. Using a controlling situation to manipulate autonomy deprivation, the authors demonstrate in Experiments 1 and 2 that a controlling context leads to enhanced accessibility and an approach bias for autonomy-related stimuli. Experiment 3 indicates that the urge to restore autonomy can also affect personal judgment, leading individuals to make more independent judgments, exercising a nonreactive form of autonomy. Integration of this model within self-determination theory is discussed.

International audience; We examined (a) whether motivational orientation can spread from teachers to students during two consecutive teaching-learning sessions and (b) mechanisms underlying this phenomenon in a special physical education session delivered to high school students. Participants who were taught a sport activity by an allegedly paid instructor reported lower interest in learning and exhibited less persistence in a free choice period than students taught by a supposedly volunteer instructor, despite receiving the same standardized lesson across experimental conditions. When participants taught the activity to their peers in a subsequent unconstrained learning session, lower levels of interest and behavioral persistence were also exhibited by learners who received the second lesson. A structural equation model confirmed that learners at the end of this educational chain made inferences about how intrinsically motivated their peer tutor was based on their teaching style (i.e., autonomy-supportive behaviors) and the positive affects they displayed. These inferences, in turn, affected their own intrinsic motivation for the activity. Results are interpreted in relation to self-determination theory, and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

International audience; Recent literature indicates that a motivational orientation can be unconsciously primed. This study examined whether motivational priming influences students' academic performance within an educational setting and whether this effect is moderated by students' degree of mindfulness. Two randomly assigned groups of students received an identical lesson. However, the teacher's slideshow contained different subliminal words according to the condition (autonomous vs. controlled motivation). Results demonstrated an interaction between students' dispositional mindfulness and priming conditions. The more mindful students were immune to the manipulation whereas the less mindful students were affected by the priming: those primed with autonomous motivation obtained better results than those primed with controlled motivation. These findings contribute to priming research specifying individual differences of priming responsiveness.

International audience; Previous evidence shows that stereotype threat impairs complex motor skills through increased conscious monitoring of task performance. Given that one-step motor skills may not be susceptible to these processes, we examined whether performance on a simple strength task may be reduced under stereotype threat. Forty females and males performed maximum voluntary contractions under stereotypical or nullified-stereotype conditions. Results showed that the velocity of force production within the first milliseconds of the contraction decreased in females when the negative stereotype was induced, whereas maximal force did not change. In males, the stereotype induction only increased maximal force. These findings suggest that stereotype threat may impair motor skills in the absence of explicit monitoring processes, by influencing the planning stage of force production.