Team confidence,motivated information processing,and dynamic group decision making

According to the Motivated Information Processing in Groups (MIP‐G) model, groups should perform ambiguous (non‐ambiguous) tasks better when they have high (low) epistemic motivation and concomitant tendencies to engage in systematic (heuristic) information processing and exchange. The authors tested this prediction in an experiment with four‐person groups performing a complex and dynamic decision making task. Group confidence was measured after extensive training and prior to actual group decision‐making. Task ambiguity was manipulated. Results showed that when task ambiguity was low, group confidence indeed benefits decision quality and group performance. But when task ambiguity was high, group confidence hurt decision quality and group performance. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On being motivated

Merleau-Ponty’s notion of being motivated or solicited to act has recently been the focus of extensive investigation, yet work on this topic has tended to take the general notion of being motivated for granted. In this paper, I shall outline an account of what it is to be motivated. In particular, I shall focus on the relation between the affective character of states of being motivated and their intentional content, i.e. how things appear to the agent. Drawing on Husserl’s discussion of perceptual awareness, I suggest that the intentional content of states of being motivated has a horizonal structure, in which both affective and perceptual features are implied. In states of being motivated, the agent becomes aware of certain possibilities for action, towards which they feel drawn. This structure is what Merleau-Ponty refers to as the “intentional arc” (1962, 136).     

The energetics of motivated cognition: a force-field analysis

A force-field theory of motivated cognition is presented and applied to a broad variety of phenomena in social judgment and self-regulation. Purposeful cognitive activity is assumed to be propelled by a driving force and opposed by a restraining force. Potential driving force represents the maximal amount of energy an individual is prepared to invest in a cognitive activity. Effective driving force corresponds to the amount of energy he or she actually invests in attempt to match the restraining force. Magnitude of the potential driving force derives from a combination of goal importance and the pool of available mental resources, whereas magnitude of the restraining force derives from an individual's inclination to conserve resources, current task demands, and competing goals. The present analysis has implications for choice of means to achieve one's cognitive goals as well as for successful goal attainment under specific force-field constellations. Empirical evidence for these effects is considered, and the underlying theory's integrative potential is highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Social creativity strikes back: improving motivated performance of low status group members by valuing ingroup dimensions

Motivation of stigmatized group members to perform on status‐relevant ‘outgroup’ dimensions can be impaired after ingroup failure. Three experiments examined whether social creativity by valuing ingroup dimensions (dimensions on which an ingroup outperforms an outgroup) can increase motivation and performance on outgroup dimensions. It was hypothesized that under high social identity threat, motivation on the outgroup dimension would benefit from valuing an ingroup dimension. Experiments 1 and 2 show that when social identity threat is increased, low status group members who personally value ingroup dimensions show higher motivation to perform on the outgroup dimension. Experiment 3 shows that the induction of high contextual value of both ingroup and outgroup dimensions improves low status group members' well‐being and motivated performance on the outgroup dimension. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self-stimulation by DC current as a model of motivated behavior

Data are reported on the frequency spectrum and coherence function of the electrical activity of the motor and the visual cortex, the hippocampus, the olfactory bulb, and the emotionally positive and negative areas of the hypothalamus during selfstimulation of rats by DC current. It was shown that certain stages of motivated behavior are accompanied by natural changes in the synchronization of bioelectric activity of the structures of the brain studied: coherence in theta- and in alpha-activities on some leads increases before the animal has moved to the pedal and decreases with reinforcement once the animal is on the pedal. Since, according to M. Livanov, high coherence at these frequencies signals readiness of neural paths to conduct excitation, the obtained data suggest the involvement of backward conditional reflexes (according to I. P. Pavlov and E. Asratyan) and of a specialized dominant (corresponding to the third stage in the development of a dominant, using Ukhtomsky’s terminology) in the mechanisms of motivated behavior.     

The case for motivated reasoning

It is proposed that motivation may affect reasoning through reliance on a biased set of cognitive processes--that is, strategies for accessing, constructing, and evaluating beliefs. The motivation to be accurate enhances use of those beliefs and strategies that are considered most appropriate, whereas the motivation to arrive at particular conclusions enhances use of those that are considered most likely to yield the desired conclusion. There is considerable evidence that people are more likely to arrive at conclusions that they want to arrive at, but their ability to do so is constrained by their ability to construct seemingly reasonable justifications for these conclusions. These ideas can account for a wide variety of research concerned with motivated reasoning.     

Role of sex in externally motivated self-touching gestures

Self-touching gestures can be externally induced by the verbal presentation of anxiety-inducing stimuli and the active discussion of a passage. The frequency of these self-touching gestures appears to be affected by the individual interacting with the topic, the type of discourse (listening or discussing), the type of stimulus (canaries or leeches), and the interaction between the types of discourse and stimulus. This study assessed these variables as well as the sex of the participant and the order of presentation of stimulus type, neither of which were statistically significant. Participants were read two passages, one about a topic (leeches) expected to produce anxiety and the other about a topic (canaries) not expected to do so, and asked to answer questions about the passages. The number of self-touches was counted by an observer in another room. Each participant had both types of discourse (listening and discussing) and both types of stimulus (canaries and leeches). There was no significant difference between the number of self-touches by participants with either the male or female reader. Discussion as a method of discourse was associated with a significantly greater number of self-touches than listening. The interaction between discourse type and stimulus type was also significant. The combination of the anxiety-producing stimulus and the active discourse (discussion) produced the highest average number of self-touches.     

The interpersonal effects of emotions in negotiations: a motivated information processing approach

Three experiments tested a motivated information processing account of the interpersonal effects of anger and happiness in negotiations. In Experiment 1, participants received information about the opponent's emotion (anger, happiness, or none) in a computer-mediated negotiation. As predicted, they conceded more to an angry opponent than to a happy one (controls falling in between), but only when they had a low (rather than a high) need for cognitive closure. Experiment 2 similarly showed that participants were only affected by the other's emotion under low rather than high time pressure, because time pressure reduced their degree of information processing. Finally, Experiment 3 showed that negotiators were only influenced by their opponent's emotion if they had low (rather than high) power. These results support the motivated information processing model by showing that negotiators are only affected by their opponent's emotions if they are motivated to consider them.     

The epistemic innocence of motivated delusions

Delusions are defined as irrational beliefs that compromise good functioning. However, in the empirical literature, delusions have been found to have some psychological benefits. One proposal is that some delusions defuse negative emotions and protect one from low self-esteem by allowing motivational influences on belief formation. In this paper I focus on delusions that have been construed as playing a defensive function (motivated delusions) and argue that some of their psychological benefits can convert into epistemic ones. Notwithstanding their epistemic costs, motivated delusions also have potential epistemic benefits for agents who have faced adversities, undergone physical or psychological trauma, or are subject to negative emotions and low self-esteem. To account for the epistemic status of motivated delusions, costly and beneficial at the same time, I introduce the notion of epistemic innocence. A delusion is epistemically innocent when adopting it delivers a significant epistemic benefit, and the benefit could not be attained if the delusion were not adopted. The analysis leads to a novel account of the status of delusions by inviting a reflection on the relationship between psychological and epistemic benefits.     

Political conservatism as motivated social cognition

Analyzing political conservatism as motivated social cognition integrates theories of personality (authoritarianism, dogmatism-intolerance of ambiguity), epistemic and existential needs (for closure, regulatory focus, terror management), and ideological rationalization (social dominance, system justification). A meta-analysis (88 samples, 12 countries, 22,818 cases) confirms that several psychological variables predict political conservatism: death anxiety (weighted mean r = .50); system instability (.47); dogmatism-intolerance of ambiguity (.34); openness to experience (-.32); uncertainty tolerance (-.27); needs for order, structure, and closure (.26); integrative complexity (-.20); fear of threat and loss (.18); and self-esteem (-.09). The core ideology of conservatism stresses resistance to change and justification of inequality and is motivated by needs that vary situationally and dispositionally to manage uncertainty and threat.     

Task complexity as a factor in eliciting heterosis in mice: aversively motivated behaviors.

Three inbred strains of mice (A/J, DBA/2J, and C57BL/6J) and their six reciprocal F1 hybrids were tested in activity levels before and after shock, inhibitory avoidance, one-way avoidance, and shuttle avoidance. In the activity and inhibitory situations the hybrids generally exhibited an intermediate pattern of inheritance. In the one-way avoidance task complete dominance was the rule, whereas in the shuttle task overdominance was apparent in all the hybrid strains. Overdominance was found to be more evident in tasks requiring increased versatility of associative processes. It is suggested that when the task involves relatively simple contingencies or reflexive behaviors, increased versatility is not necessary and consequently the hybrid advantage is not apparent. When the task involves integrative capacities, the hybrid advantage emerges.     

Unfixing the fixed pie: a motivated information-processing approach to integrative negotiation

Negotiators tend to believe that own and other's outcomes are diametrically opposed. When such fixed-pie perceptions (FPPs) are not revised during negotiation, integrative agreements are unlikely. It was predicted that accuracy motivation helps negotiators to release their FPPs. In 2 experiments, accuracy motivation was manipulated by (not) holding negotiators accountable for the manner in which they negotiated. Experiment 1 showed that accountability reduced FPPs during face-to-face negotiation and produced more integrative agreements. Experiment 2 corroborated these results: Accountable negotiators revised their FPPs even when information exchange was experimentally held constant. Experiment 2 also showed that accountability is effective during the encoding of outcome information. Negotiators appear flexible in their reliance on FPPs. which is consistent with a motivated information-processing model of negotiation.     

Behavioural consequences of motivated self-concept change

The present study examines how motivated self-concept changes are reflected in actual behaviour. Subjects were led to believe that either extroversion or introversion was related to success. Their preferences for others as interaction partners were then examined. The findings suggest that people seek others who confirmed the belief that they possessed the success-related attribute. Self-verification, as a possible strategy to confirm a desired self, was partially supported. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.