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A Positive Psychology Perspective on Quality of Life pp 51–66Cite as

Living in Accordance with One’s Implicit Motives: Cross-Cultural Evidence for Beneficial Effects of Motive-Goal Congruence and Motive Satisfaction

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Part of the book series: Social Indicators Research Series ((SINS,volume 51))

Abstract

People differ in how well the consciously represented explicit motives they pursue match their implicit motivational system. Such an alignment of consciously represented and implicit motives has beneficial effects on well-being. The present chapter firstly provides a definition of implicit and explicit motives. Then, after briefly summarizing what is known about antecedents of motive-goal congruence, consequences resulting from an alignment of motivational systems are highlighted. At first, this is done by reviewing research conducted with Euro-American samples. Subsequently, however, we argue that cross-cultural research increases the degree to which corresponding results can be generalized. Thus, we provide a definition of culture and then go on to review the cross-cultural research which demonstrates that implicit motives universally impact the satisfaction derived from goal pursuance. Finally, we give an outlook on an open question that needs to be addressed in future research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Trier, 54286, Trier, Germany

    Jan Hofer & Holger Busch

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  1. Jan Hofer
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  2. Holger Busch
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Correspondence to Jan Hofer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 541 24, Greece

    Anastasia Efklides

  2. , School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki,, 541 24, Greece

    Despina Moraitou

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Hofer, J., Busch, H. (2012). Living in Accordance with One’s Implicit Motives: Cross-Cultural Evidence for Beneficial Effects of Motive-Goal Congruence and Motive Satisfaction. In: Efklides, A., Moraitou, D. (eds) A Positive Psychology Perspective on Quality of Life. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 51. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4963-4_4

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