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. 2008 Sep;95(3):510-23.
doi: 10.1037/a0012833.

Increasing and decreasing motor and cognitive output: a model of general action and inaction goals

Dolores Albarracín  1 , Ian M Handley, Kenji Noguchi, Kathleen C McCulloch, Hong Li, Joshua Leeper, Rick D Brown, Allison Earl, William P Hart
Affiliations

Increasing and decreasing motor and cognitive output: a model of general action and inaction goals

Dolores Albarracín et al. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2008 Sep.

Abstract

General action and inaction goals can influence the amount of motor or cognitive output irrespective of the type of behavior in question, with the same stimuli producing trivial and important motor and cognitive manifestations normally viewed as parts of different systems. A series of experiments examined the effects of instilling general action and inaction goals using word primes, such as "action" and "rest." The first 5 experiments showed that the same stimuli influenced motor output, such as doodling on a piece of paper and eating, as well as cognitive output, such as recall and problem solving. The last 2 experiments supported the prediction that these diverse effects can result from the instigation of general action and inaction goals. Specifically, these last 2 studies confirmed that participants were motivated to achieve active or inactive states and that attaining them decreased the effects of the primes on behavior.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effects of primes on the percentage of participants who chose to problem solve and how the choice was described (experimental vs. control): Experiment 6.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of primes and task introduced to produce conditions with and without goal satisfaction: Experiment 7.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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