A high implicit affiliation motive does not always make you happy: A corresponding explicit motive and corresponding behavior are further needed

Satisfaction of the implicit affiliation motive is known to be positively related to emotional well-being, whereas the frustration of the implicit affiliation motive leads to impairment of well-being. In the present research we specified two conditions that are responsible for the satisfaction and frustration of the implicit motive. Referring to research on the congruence of implicit and explicit motives, we assumed that a corresponding explicit affiliation motive leads to satisfaction of the implicit motive. Corresponding affiliation behavior constitutes the second condition. Three studies confirmed the hypothesis that both conditions must be fulfilled in order to positively connect the implicit affiliation motive to emotional well-being. Participants with high implicit and explicit affiliation motives and who additionally showed a large amount of affiliation behavior reported the lowest negative affectivity and the highest life satisfaction compared to participants who lacked one of the conditions.

[1]  J. Kuhl.  A Functional-Design Approach to Motivation and Self-Regulation , 2000 .

[2]  W. Stroebe,et al.  Handbook of bereavement research: Consequences, coping, and care , 2001 .

[3]  R. Ryan,et al.  Employee and Supervisor Ratings of Motivation: Main Effects and Discrepancies Associated with Job Satisfaction and Adjustment in a Factory Setting1 , 1993 .

[4]  H. Heckhausen.  Social Bonding: Affiliation Motivation and Intimacy Motivation , 1991 .

[5]  P. Pintrich,et al.  Handbook of self-regulation , 2000 .

[6]  E. S. Conklin.  Human Motivation , 1932, The Journal of Religion.

[7]  B. Rimé,et al.  Social Sharing of Emotion in Anticipation of Cardiac Surgery , 2006, Journal of health psychology.

[8]  Edward L. Deci,et al.  Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination , 2004 .

[9]  Albert Mehrabian,et al.  The Development and Validation of Measures of Affiliative Tendency and Sensitivity To Rejection , 1970 .

[10]  J. Lansing,et al.  Need affiliation and frequency of four types of communication. , 1959, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[11]  David C. McClelland,et al.  How Do Self-Attributed and Implicit Motives Differ?. , 1989 .

[12]  L. Miller,et al.  Self-disclosure and liking: a meta-analytic review. , 1994, Psychological bulletin.

[13]  F. Bryant,et al.  Intimacy motivation and subjective mental health in a nationwide sample. , 1987, Journal of personality.

[14]  E. Deci,et al.  Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. , 2000, The American psychologist.

[15]  I. Chadwick,et al.  Some characteristics of affiliation motivation. , 1956, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[16]  Jan Hofer,et al.  Congruence between social values and implicit motives: effects on life satisfaction across three cultures , 2006 .

[17]  Thomas A. Langens.  Congruence Between Implicit and Explicit Motives and Emotional Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Activity Inhibition , 2007 .

[18]  E. Deci,et al.  A motivational approach to self: integration in personality. , 1990, Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation.

[19]  C. J. McGrath,et al.  Effect of exchange rate return on volatility spill-over across trading regions , 2012 .

[20]  E. Higgins,et al.  Handbook of motivation and cognition : foundations of social behavior , 1991 .

[21]  A. Maslow.  Motivation and Personality , 1954 .

[22]  D. McAdams.  A Thematic Coding System for the Intimacy Motive , 1980 .

[23]  Kennon M. Sheldon,et al.  Daily Well-Being: The Role of Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness , 2000 .

[24]  D. Mcclelland,et al.  The Achievement Motive , 1954 .

[25]  Oliver C. Schultheiss,et al.  Personal goals and emotional well-being: the moderating role of motive dispositions. , 1998, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[26]  E. Deci,et al.  The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior , 2000 .

[27]  K Sokolowski,et al.  Assessing Achievement, Affiliation, and Power Motives All at Once: The Multi-Motive Grid (MMG) , 2000, Journal of personality assessment.

[28]  R. M. Puca,et al.  The Influence of the Achievement Motive on Spontaneous Thoughts in Pre- and Postdecisional Action Phases , 2001 .

[29]  Harry T. Reis,et al.  Evidence for bivariate systems: An empirical test of appetition and aversion across domains , 2003 .

[30]  M. Argyle.  The Psychology of Happiness , 1986 .

[31]  Carol E. Franz,et al.  Motivation and personality: Methodological considerations: steps in research employing content analysis systems , 1992 .

[32]  H. Murray,et al.  Explorations in Personality , 2007 .

[33]  Edward L. Deci,et al.  Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior , 1975, Perspectives in Social Psychology.

[34]  R. Baumeister,et al.  The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. , 1995, Psychological bulletin.

[35]  J. Veroff,et al.  The effect of experimental arousal of the affiliation motive on thematic apperception. , 1954, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[36]  Thomas A. Langens,et al.  Emotional Consequences of Positive Daydreaming: The Moderating Role of Fear of Failure , 2002 .

[37]  Robert A Emmons.  Personal strivings: An approach to personality and subjective well-being. , 1986 .

[38]  D. Watson,et al.  Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. , 1988, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[39]  H. Kehr,et al.  Implicit/Explicit Motive Discrepancies and Volitional Depletion among Managers , 2004, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[40]  J. W. Atkinson.  Motives In Fantasy, Action, And Society , 1958 .

[41]  R. Ryan,et al.  Further Examining the American Dream: Differential Correlates of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Goals , 1996 .

[42]  R. M. Puca.  The influence of the achievement motive on probability estimates in pre- and post-decisional action phases☆ , 2005 .

[43]  J. Pennebaker,et al.  Disclosing and sharing emotion: Psychological, social and health consequences , 2001 .

[44]  R. B. Heisch.  How, what and why. , 1963, East African medical journal.

[45]  J. Brunstein,et al.  Personal goals and subjective well-being: A longitudinal study. , 1993 .

[46]  Carl-Walter Kohlmann,et al.  Untersuchungen mit einer deutschen Version der "Positive and Negative Affect Schedule" (PANAS). , 1996 .

[47]  Shelly L. Gable,et al.  Approach and Avoidance Motivation in the Social Domain , 2006, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[48]  G. Bodenmann.  Stress und Coping bei Paaren , 2000 .

[49]  D. Jackson.  Personality research form manual , 1974 .

[50]  Edward L. Deci,et al.  Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation , 2000 .

[51]  J. Kuhl,et al.  Striving for unwanted goals: stress-dependent discrepancies between explicit and implicit achievement motives reduce subjective well-being and increase psychosomatic symptoms. , 2005, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[52]  Charles P. Smith.  Motivation and personality: Name Index , 1992 .

[53]  R. Larsen,et al.  The Satisfaction with Life Scale , 1985, Journal of personality assessment.

[54]  Richard E. Lucas,et al.  Subjective Weil-Being: Three Decades of Progress , 2004 .

[55]  J. Kuhl,et al.  Putting Self-Regulation Theory into Practice: A User's Manual , 2006 .

[56]  D. Mcclelland,et al.  Cognitive versus traditional motivational models: Irreconcilable or complementary? , 1990 .

[57]  J. Kuhl.  Chapter 5 – A Functional-Design Approach to Motivation and Self-Regulation: The Dynamics of Personality Systems Interactions , 2000 .

[58]  Kennon M. Sheldon,et al.  Trait Self and True Self: Cross-Role Variation in the Big-Five Personality Traits and Its Relations With Psychological Authenticity and Subjective Well-Being , 1997 .

[59]  Oliver C. Schultheiss,et al.  The pursuit of personal goals: A motivational approach to well-being and life adjustment. , 1999 .

[60]  Jan Hofer,et al.  Congruence of Life Goals and Implicit Motives as Predictors of Life Satisfaction: Cross-Cultural Implications of a Study of Zambian Male Adolescents , 2003 .

[61]  Jutta Heckhausen,et al.  Motivation and action , 1991 .