Implicit need for achievement predicts attenuated cortisol responses to difficult tasks

Psychological Implicit Motives Construct as an Emergent Fractal Attractor from Intermittent Neurophysiological Responses: Simulation and Entropy-like Characterization

Implicit Motives are non-conscious needs that drive human behavior towards the achievement of incentives that are affectively incited. Repeated affective experiences providing satisfying rewards have been held responsible for the building of Implicit Motives. Responses to rewarding experiences have a biological basis via close connections with neurophysiological systems controlling neurohormone release. We propose an iteration random function system acting in a metric space to model experience-reward interactions. This model is based on key facts of Implicit Motive theory reported in a broad number of studies. The model shows how (random) responses produced by intermittent random experiences create a well-defined probability distribution on an attractor, thus providing an insight into the underlying mechanism leading to the emergence of Implicit Motives as psychological structures. Implicit Motives' robustness and resilience properties appear theoretically explained by the model. The model also provides uncertainty entropy-like parameters to characterize Implicit Motives which hopefully might be useful, beyond the mere theoretical frame, when used in combination with neurophysiological methods.

Social Support as a Stress Buffer or Stress Amplifier and the Moderating Role of Implicit Motives: Protocol for a Randomized Study (Preprint)

Background

Previous research shows that providing social support in socioevaluative stress situations reduces participants’ stress responses. This stress-buffer effect, however, does not hold for everybody, and some studies even found a stress-amplifying effect of social support. Motive disposition research suggests that social motives (affiliation and power) lead to differential and sometimes even opposing affective and physiological responses to interpersonal interaction processes. We here integrate both lines of research and hypothesize that participants with strong affiliation motives benefit, while participants with strong power motives do not benefit from social support in terms of psychobiological responses to a given stressor. Further, participants with strong affiliation and power motives are expected to respond to social support with the arousal of motive-specific affects and reproductive hormone responses (affiliation: progesterone; power: estradiol and testosterone). In addition, we test sex differences in the response to social support and in the strengths of social motives.

Objective

The main objective of this study is to test whether social motives and participants’ sex moderate the effects of social support in stressful situations.

Methods

We aim to collect data from 308 participants recruited at our local university. Participants’ social motives are assessed using a standardized measure in motive research (Picture Story Exercise). Then, the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups (TSST-G) is used to experimentally induce psychosocial stress. One group of participants receives social support from an associate of the experimenter, while the control group does not receive social support. Stress responses will be assessed by a modified version of the state anxiety scale of the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory and by physiological indicators of stress (cortisol and α-amylase from saliva samples) at 7 measurement points. Reproductive hormones will be analyzed in 4 of these 7 saliva samples. Heart rate and heart rate variability will be assessed continuously. We will additionally measure participants’ performance in an interview (part of the TSST-G) using a self-developed categorization system.

Results

The Ethics Committee of the University of Constance approved the application to conduct the study on December 18, 2018. Furthermore, the study was retrospectively registered in the German Clinical Trials Register (DKRS; ID: DRKS00028503) on March 09, 2022. The start of the experiment was planned for the beginning of 2019, but was postponed to June 2021 due to COVID-19. Publication of the first results is planned for spring 2023.

Conclusions

Our theory-driven integration of social motives in social support research and the precise analysis of sex differences might disentangle inconsistent findings in TSST research. The more faceted view on individual differences has direct implications for applied contexts as it provides a framework for tailored conceptualizations of social support programs.

Trial Registration

German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00028503; https://tinyurl.com/5a87x4da

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

PRR1-10.2196/39509

Implicit motives as the missing link between visionary leadership, approach and avoidance motivation, and vision pursuit

An unresolved question in visionary leadership research is, why must visions be high in imagery to cause affective reactions and be motivationally effective? Research in motivation psychology has shown that pictorial cues arouse implicit motives. Thus, pictorial cues from vision-induced imagery should arouse a follower’s implicit motives just like a real image. Hence, our fundamental proposition is that follower implicit motives and follower approach motivation serially mediate the relationship between leader vision and followers’ vision pursuit. We also examine the case of negative leader visions, with the central propositions that a negative leader vision arouses a follower’s implicit fear motives and that the follower’s implicit fear motives and follower avoidance motivation serially mediate the relationship between negative leader vision and the follower’s fear-related behaviors. Lastly, we assert that multiple implicit follower motives aroused by a multithematic leader vision exert additive as well as interaction effects on the follower’s vision pursuit. Plain Language Summary An unresolved question in leader vision research concerns why visions need to be high in imagery in order to elicit affective reactions in followers and be motivationally effective? Research in motivation psychology has shown that pictorial cues can arouse a person's implicit motives. It would thus be reasonable to expect that pictorial cues from leader vision-induced imagery arouse a follower's implicit motives just like a real image. Based on this reasoning, our key proposition is that follower implicit motives and follower approach motivation serially mediate the relationship between leader vision and followers' vision pursuit. We also integrate the special case of negative leader visions into our theorizing, with the central propositions that a negative leader vision arouses a follower's implicit fear motives, and that the follower's implicit fear motives and follower avoidance motivation serially mediate the relationship between negative leader vision and the follower's fear-related behaviors. Lastly, based on the distinction between mono- and multithematic visions, the latter of which with the potential to arouse more than one implicit motive simultaneously, we assert that multiple implicit follower motives aroused by a multithematic leader vision exert additive as well as interaction effects on the follower's vision pursuit.

The Relationship Between Multidimensional Motivation and Endocrine-Related Responses: A Systematic Review

Multidimensional motivational theories postulate that the type of motivation is as important as the quantity of motivation, with implications for human functioning and well-being. An extensive amount of research has explored how constructs contained within these theories relate to the activation of the endocrine system. However, research is fragmented across several theories, and determining the current state of the science is complicated. In line with contemporary trends for theoretical integration, this systematic review aims to evaluate the association between multidimensional motivational constructs and endocrine-related responses to determine which theories are commonly used and what inferences can be made. Forty-one studies were identified incorporating five distinct motivation theories and multiple endocrine-related responses. There was evidence across several theories that high-quality motivation attenuated the cortisol response in evaluative environments. There was also evidence that motivational needs for power and affiliation were associated with lower and higher levels of salivary immunoglobulin A, respectively. The need for power may play a role in increasing testosterone when winning a contest; however, this evidence was not conclusive. Overall, this review can shape the future integration of motivational theories by characterizing the nature of physiological responses to motivational processes and examining the implications for well-being.

Enjoying or refraining from risk? The impact of implicit need for achievement and risk perception on SME internationalization

Purpose

This study aims to explore how an entrepreneur's implicit need for achievement and risk reception contribute to internationalization performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study involves 176 Indonesian entrepreneurs. The authors use the Operant Motive Test to assess the entrepreneur's implicit needs and apply hierarchical Tobit regression to assess the interplay between implicit need for achievement, risk perception and internationalization.

Findings

The authors show that an entrepreneur's basic needs and risk perception play an essential role in SME internationalization. More specifically, the authors reveal a positive association between the entrepreneur's need for achievement and small and medium enterprises (SME) internationalization. They also show a U-shaped relationship for the moderation effect of risk perception on this relationship. That is, for a high need for achievement-motivated entrepreneur, the level of internationalization is at the highest when risk perception is either very low or very high.

Originality/value

In this study, the authors argue that analyses at the entrepreneur's individual level are indispensable to better understand firm internationalization. The authors argue that the role of psycho-cognitive characteristics of individuals (such as motivational dispositions) received too little attention, compared to factors at the firm or environmental level. This study examines such personality aspects and finds that implicit need for achievement and risk perception impact SME internationalization.

HPA axis responses to psychological challenge linking stress and disease: What do we know on sources of intra- and interindividual variability?

Stress is an ubiquitous phenomenon with significant impact on human physiology when it lasts too long, when it is too intense, or when it hits vulnerable individuals. Examining the mechanisms linking stress exposure with health and disease is an important endeavor in psychoneuroendocrine research. Empirical evidence so far revealed large intra- as well as inter-individual variability in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responses to acute psychosocial stress, showing that the HPA axis is a highly adaptive system. Thus, the characterization of intra- und inter-individual patterns of HPA axis reactivity is of high scientific interest and forms the basis on which mechanistic links between stress response (dys)regulation and health impairments can be examined. To date, basic knowledge has been, and still is, accumulated on demographic, biological (including genetic and epigenetic) factors, lifestyle behavioral variables, consumption of substances and medication, psychological and personality factors, as well as on methodological aspects. Besides this, there is also very recent progress in respect to the development of laboratory stress paradigms that can be applied in virtual reality or inside an MRI-scanner. In sum, the present review updates our current knowledge on moderating and intervening factors as sources of intra- und inter-individual variability in human cortisol stress responses and offers recommendations for future research designs.

Do Implicit Motives Influence Perceived Chronic Stress and Vital Exhaustion?

Vital exhaustion (VE) results from the experience of chronic stress. However, research on stress types and their relation to VE is rare. Moreover, the role of implicit motives in these processes has not yet been investigated. Analysis included 101 vitally exhausted men aged 40-65 years. Participants provided self-report data on their experience of chronic stress and social support. Subtypes of work-related and social stress were positively associated with VE. Implicit affiliation and achievement motives were linked to social support and chronic stress, and indirectly to VE. Moreover, they moderated the relationship between stress and exhaustion. In conclusion, implicit motives are key factors in the stress process: They are involved in an individual's experience of stress and stress-related consequences for mental health.

Stability of and Changes in Implicit Motives. A Narrative Review of Empirical Studies

Although growing research indicates that certain personality traits change over the lifespan, implicit motives are often deemed to be rather stable personality characteristics. Researchers have been interested in implicit motives for several decades, but our understanding of how these dispositions change still lacks clarity. This article gives an overview and a discussion of the current evidence for the stability of and the changes in implicit motives. After elaborating on the theoretical background of the motive construct and its measurement, we present an overview of studies that have investigated the trainability of implicit motives and their dispositional stability and changes using cross-sectional and longitudinal methods. Although the results are inconclusive concerning the direction of change, the reviewed studies suggest that implicit motives adapt to life circumstances much like other personality traits. This review sets out to contribute to a better understanding of the functioning of implicit motives and to present a roadmap for further research.

Need for achievement moderates the effect of motive-relevant challenge on salivary cortisol changes

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis plays a key role in the physiological response to stress, preparing the organism for appropriate action. While some research has examined universally relevant threats, other research has suggested that individual differences may moderate the relationship between stress and cortisol release, such that some individuals exhibit modified reactivity to personally relevant stressors or challenges. In the present study we investigated whether one individual difference-the implicit need for achievement-moderates the effect of motive-relevant challenge on salivary cortisol. Participants' salivary cortisol and felt affect were measured before and after engagement in an achievement task. In the positive- and no-feedback conditions, individuals high in implicit achievement motivation demonstrated increased cortisol response to the task, whereas in the negative feedback condition, individuals high in implicit achievement motivation demonstrated a dampened cortisol response. Furthermore, changes in cortisol were accompanied by changes in felt affect in the same direction, specifically hedonic tone. These results suggest that the HPA axis also responds to non-social-evaluative challenge in a personality-contingent manner.

The implicit affiliation motive moderates cortisol responses to acute psychosocial stress in high school students

It has been previously shown that the implicit affiliation motive - the need to establish and maintain friendly relationships with others - leads to chronic health benefits. The underlying assumption for the present research was that the implicit affiliation motive also moderates the salivary cortisol response to acute psychological stress when some aspects of social evaluation and uncontrollability are involved. By contrast we did not expect similar effects in response to exercise as a physical stressor. Fifty-nine high school students aged M=14.8 years were randomly assigned to a psychosocial stress (publishing the results of an intelligence test performed), a physical stress (exercise intensity of 65-75% of HRmax), and a control condition (normal school lesson) each lasting 15min. Participants' affiliation motives were assessed using the Operant Motive Test and salivary cortisol samples were taken pre and post stressor. We found that the strength of the affiliation motive negatively predicted cortisol reactions to acute psychosocial but not to physical stress when compared to a control group. The results suggest that the affiliation motive buffers the effect of acute psychosocial stress on the HPA axis.