Social Motivation

Purposive, goal-directed behaviour is one of the defining characteristics of human beings. This volume surveys the most recent theories and research on the psychological mechanisms involved in the planning and execution of motivated social behaviour. The contributors are all leading international researchers, and their chapters discuss such exciting topics as how goals influence thinking and behaviour, how affect and social motivation interact, how unconscious motivation operates, and the relationship between habits and intentions as sources of social action. The applications of contemporary research on motivation to practical questions in clinical, organisational, educational and counselling psychology receive special attention. The book is written in a readable yet scholarly style. The chapters take a highly comprehensive and integrative approach, and the book should be of interest to students, practitioners and researchers interested in the psychology of motivation, and should also be suitable as an advanced textbook of this field.

Preface; Part I. Conscious and Unconscious Social Motivation: General Issue; 1. Social motivation: introduction and overview Joseph P. Forges, Kipling D.Williams and Simon M. Laham; 2. Multiple goals, optimal motivation, and the development of interest Judith M. Harackiewicz, Amanda M. Durik and Kenneth E. Barron; 3. The machine in the ghost: a dual process model of defence against conscious and unconscious death-related thought Tom Pyszcymski, Jeff Greenberg and Sheldon Solomon; 4. Habits and the structure of motivation in everyday life Wendy Wood and Jeffey M. Quinn; 5. Motivation in social settings: studies of effort-related cardiovascular arousal Guido H. E. Gendolla and Rex A. Wright; 6. Reflection and impulse as determinants of 'conscious' and 'unconscious' motivation Fritz Strack and Roland Deutsch; 7. The role of motivation in the unconscious: how our motives control the activation of our thoughts and shape our actions Steven J. Spencer, Steven Fein, Erin J. Strahan and Mark P. Zanna; Part II. Social Motivation: Cognitive and Affective Implications: 8. From evolved motives to everyday mentation: evolution, goals, and cognition Steven L. Neuberg, Douglas T. Kenrick, Jon K. Maner and Mark Schaller; 9. Automatic goal inference and contagion; on pursuing goals one perceives in other people's behaviour Henk Aarts and Ran R. Hassin; 10. The interaction between affect and motivation in social judgements and behaviour Joseph P. Forgas and Simon M. Laham; 11. Internal and external encoding style and social motivation Pawel Lewicki; 12. Authenticity, social motivation, and psychological adjustment Michael H. Kernis and Brian M. Goldman; 13. Motivation and construct accessibility; Part III. Conscious and Unconscious Social Motivation: Some Consequences and Applications; 14. Self-regulatory processes in interracial interactions: the role of internal and external motivation to respond without prejudice Patricia G. Devine, Amanda B. Brodish and Stephanie L. Vance; 15. Exploring the discrepancy between implicit and explicit prejudice: a test of aversive racism theory Leanne S. Son Hing, Greg A. Chung-Yan, Robert Grunfeld, Lori K. Robichaud and Mark P. Zanna; 16. Ostracism: when competing motivations collide Wayne A. Warburton and Kipling D. Williams; 17. Attentional and regulatory mechanisms of momentary work motivation and performance Howard M. Weiss, Neil A. Ashkanasy and Daniel J. Beal; 18. Social motivation and object relations: narcissism and interpersonal self-esteem regulation Frederick Rhodewalt; 19. To know and not to know: consciousness, meta-consciousness, and motivation Jonathan W. Schooler and Charles A. Schreiber.

"Well written scholarly, and engaging. Even the most complex ideas are lucidly expressed...This book definitely belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in nuanced, thoughtful summaries of current research programs exploring the conscious and unconscious mechanisms...of motivated social behavior." Contemporary Psychology

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