Affect misattribution procedure as an implicit goal measure: Implicit and explicit goals and daily behavior

Abstract

Based on the idea that goals are represented mentally as behavior that activates positive affect (Bargh, 1990; Custers & Aarts, 2005a, b), the present study sought to test the validity of the affect misattribution procedure (AMP; Payne, Cheng, Govorun, & Stewart, 2005) as a measure of implicit goals. Participants, 62 Japanese undergraduates, were shown images related to either academic goals or leisure goals as prime stimuli. The affect misattribution procedure exhibited high validity and reliability; the effect size was moderate. Implicit (the affect misattribution procedure) and explicit (self-reports) measures showed a moderate positive correlation with academic goals, but not with leisure goals. Moreover, the amount of time reported spent on leisure activities was correlated with the implicit measure, but not with the explicit one. These results are consistent with the notions that (a) implicit and explicit measures may converge or diverge, depending on the level of social desirability associated with the topic, and (b) implicit measures are often better predictors of uncontrolled behavior. The present study provides initial empirical evidence for the validity of the affect misattribution procedure as a measure of implicit goals. The results suggest that individual differences in implicit goals may predict daily behavior, independent of explicit goals. Copyright © 2005-2009 National Institute of Informatics. All Rights Reserved.