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Self-Infiltration vs. Self-Compatibility Checking in Dealing with Unattractive Tasks: The Moderating Influence of State vs. Action Orientation

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Abstract

Self-infiltration, or false self-ascription of external goals or ideas, is investigated using an implicit experimental procedure (J. Kuhl & M. Kazén, 1994). Based on personality systems interactions (PSI) theory (J. Kuhl, 2000), it was expected that state-oriented participants exposed to task-alienating conditions, under external pressure, or experiencing negative mood would show self-infiltration, because under those conditions access to their self-system is impaired, including integrated representations of personal preferences. A new prediction is that self-infiltration should occur in processing low-attractive goals or ideas and not in processing high-attractive ones, because the latter are internalized through integration or identification with the self. Three experiments yielded results consistent with this hypothesis: State-oriented participants showed self-infiltration with low-attractive items, whereas action-oriented did not show this pattern. A mechanism is proposed that helps people to resist external influences in the formation of personal goals and ideas: Self-compatibility checking. This mechanism is inferred on the basis of long latencies in counter-preferential decisions related to previous self-choices (autonoetic access). Only action-oriented participants gave systematic evidence of autonoetic access.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Psychology, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany;

    Miguel Kazén, Nicola Baumann & Julius Kuhl

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  1. Miguel Kazén
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  2. Nicola Baumann
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  3. Julius Kuhl
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Correspondence to Miguel Kazén.

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Kazén, M., Baumann, N. & Kuhl, J. Self-Infiltration vs. Self-Compatibility Checking in Dealing with Unattractive Tasks: The Moderating Influence of State vs. Action Orientation. Motivation and Emotion 27, 157–197 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025043530799

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