Implicit and self-attributed affiliation motive congruence and depression: The moderating role of perfectionism

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Abstract

The current study further explores Langan-Fox, Canty, and Sankey’s (2010) conceptual framework for the moderation of the relationship between implicit and self-attributed motive congruency and psychological well-being. Consistent with this framework, we found evidence for moderation effects in a secondary data analysis of a sample (N = 441) drawn from the Eugene-Springfield Community Sample longitudinal dataset. Firstly, the previously unsubstantiated congruent-absent promotion-hypothesis was supported as low/low affiliation motive congruence was associated with decreased depression at high levels of perfectionism. Second, the previously unreported incongruent overclaiming exacerbation-hypothesis was supported with the negative effects (i.e., high depression) of low/high affiliation motive incongruence being exacerbated at high levels of perfectionism. The findings support and extend the motive congruence moderation framework and suggest ways in which depression can be ameliorated.

Introduction

Operating outside of conscious awareness, the implicit affiliation motive – defined as the desire to “form friendship and association … To love, to join groups” (Murray, 1938, p. 83; see Hill, 2009) – is positively associated with psychological well-being (Deci and Ryan, 2000, McClelland, 1985b); frustration of a high affiliation motive causes anxiety and somatization (Baard, Deci, & Ryan, 2000). Moreover, the combination of a high implicit affiliation motive and a correspondingly high consciously accessible, self-attributed affiliation motive is positively associated with life satisfaction (Schuler, Job, Frohlich, & Brandstatter, 2008). Langan-Fox, Canty, and Sankey (2010) recently demonstrated that dependence and locus of control (LOC) moderated the relationship between affiliation motive congruence and life satisfaction, however, research is yet to establish moderators of affiliation motive congruence in predicting depression. The current paper aims to address this issue by exploring Langan-Fox et al.’s conceptual framework of motive congruency for the prediction of depression via the examination of perfectionism as a moderator of affiliation motive congruence.

Implicit motives are conceptualized as unconscious thoughts and behavioral tendencies that energize, select, and direct behavior towards motive congruent goal states (McClelland, 1985a) and predict long-term behavioral trends over time (e.g., McClelland & Franz, 1992). Self-attributed motives are consciously accessible thoughts that an individual has about their behavior, cognitions (McClelland, 1985a), and goals (Brunstein et al., 1998, Langan-Fox, 1991a, Langan-Fox, 1991b). Implicit and self-attributed motive congruence is associated with positive well-being outcomes (Brunstein et al., 1998, Hofer and Chasiotis, 2003, Sheldon and Kasser, 1995) as is motive incongruence with negative outcomes (Baumann et al., 2005, Brunstein et al., 1998). Langan-Fox et al. (2010) demonstrated that the positive effects of affiliation motive congruence (i.e., high life satisfaction) were neutralized at high levels of dependence, and that the negative effects of affiliation motive incongruence were ameliorated at high levels of LOC. The current study further examines the relationship between affiliation motive congruence and psychological well-being in the context of psychological ill-health – i.e., depression – by testing perfectionism as a moderator of motive congruence.

Langan-Fox et al. (2010) recently proposed a framework for the moderation of the relationships between motive congruency and psychological well-being (see Fig. 1) built on Langens and McClelland’s (1997) taxonomy of implicit and self-attributed motives and Bing, LeBreton, Davison, Migetz, and James’ (2007) framework of implicit and explicit social cognition. By integrating Langens’ (2007) finding of a neutralizer of motive congruence, and Langan-Fox et al., 2008, Langan-Fox et al., 2009a, Langan-Fox et al., 2009b findings of motive incongruence protective factors, Langan-Fox et al. delineated the two types of motive congruence from the two types of incongruence, and found that dependence neutralized the positive effects of high implicit/high self-attributed (H/H) affiliation motive congruence, and LOC ameliorated the negative effects of incongruence. Nevertheless, several important combinatorial pathways within the framework remain unexplored. The current study aims to further elaborate the framework by elucidating the previously unexplored moderation effects of promoting the otherwise neutral effect of low implicit/low self-attributed (L/L) motive congruence, and exacerbating the negative effects of low implicit/high self-attributed (L/H) motive incongruence.

According to the framework of implicit and self-attributed motives first proposed by Langens and McClelland (1997), H/H motive congruence corresponds to elevated psychological well-being outcomes, whereas L/L congruence is associated with neither elevated nor impaired outcomes. Based on a series of findings that did not show moderation effects for L/L congruence (i.e., “congruent absent”, cf. Bing, LeBreton, Davison, Migetz, & James, 2007), Langan-Fox et al. (2010) concluded that L/L congruence can be utilized as a referent set for testing other motive (in)congruence moderation effects. Indeed, this approach proved successful, with the findings that, compared to L/L congruence, dependence neutralized the otherwise positive effect (i.e., high life satisfaction) of H/H affiliation motive congruence, and that LOC ameliorated the otherwise negative effects of either type (i.e., high/low – H/L – or L/H) of motive incongruence. Notwithstanding these findings, moderation of L/L congruence remains theoretically important. For example, the as yet unexplored, congruent-absent promotion-hypothesis describes the situation of creating a positive outcome from the otherwise neutral combination of L/L congruence. The current study tests the congruent-absent promotion-hypothesis (see Fig. 1, pathway 1) by proposing perfectionism as a moderator of L/L affiliation motive congruence (for guidance in the choice of candidate moderator variables, see Thrash & Elliott, 2002).

Langan-Fox et al. (2010) argued that the exacerbation of the negative effects of motive incongruence, although theoretically possible, is implausible due to a “floor” effect – i.e., moderators are unlikely to further exacerbate the negative effects of either type of motive incongruence. However, the theoretical possibility of motive incongruence exacerbation effects remains an untested proposition. Moreover, to date there is no empirical evidence to substantiate different moderation effects according to incongruency type. Although Langan-Fox et al. delineated H/L from L/H incongruence in their conceptual framework, no predictions were made a priori based on the theoretical distinction between H/L and L/H incongruency. Subsequently, Langan-Fox et al.’s results showed a similar pattern of moderation across both H/L and L/H incongruence. Therefore, we aim to elucidate the incongruence exacerbation-hypothesis by delineating H/L from L/H incongruence. Whereas H/L incongruence (i.e., “incongruent denial,” Bing et al., 2007) describes the state of lack of striving for goals which would give rise to positive affect, L/H (i.e., “incongruent overclaiming,” Bing et al., 2007) corresponds to the state of striving for goals without gaining pleasure from doing so (Langens & McClelland, 1997). As a preliminary exploration of the incongruence exacerbation effect, we test the incongruent overclaiming exacerbation hypothesis by proposing perfectionism as a moderator of L/H affiliation motive incongruency (see Fig. 1, pathway 2).

Perfectionism is a multidimensional construct (for a review, see Enns & Cox, 2002) that represents both the tendency to strive towards perfection – i.e., personal standards perfectionism (PSP) – and to evaluate the self in a critical manner – i.e., evaluative concerns perfectionism (Gaudreau & Thompson, 2010). Whereas evaluative concerns perfectionism has consistently been shown to be a maladaptive form of perfectionism, PSP is associated with both negative and positive characteristics, process, and outcomes (Stoeber, Feast, & Hayward, 2009). For example, despite a positive correlation with psychopathological symptoms (Hewitt & Flett, 2004), PSP is also positively associated with conscientiousness, self-esteem, positive affect, and goal attainment (e.g., Hewitt and Flett, 2004, Molnar et al., 2006, Powers et al., 2005, Trumpeter et al., 2006). Therefore, PSP is an ambivalent form (Enns & Cox, 2002) of an otherwise negative construct (Bergman, Nyland, & Burns, 2007). Furthermore, PSP is conceptualized as an internally motivated form of perfectionism (Stoeber et al., 2009) associated with intrinsic motivation (Miquelon et al., 2005, Stoeber et al., 2009). Therefore, since PSP is associated with intrinsic motivation, goal attainment (i.e., explicit motivation-related outcomes), and psychopathological symptoms, PSP is a plausible moderator of the relationship between implicit and self-attributed motive congruence and depression.

Following the logic of Langan-Fox et al.’s (2010) conceptual framework of motive congruence moderation (see Fig. 1), it is unlikely that PSP would moderate the relationship between H/H affiliation motive congruence and depression since: (a) the enhancement of the positive outcomes (i.e., low depression) of H/H is unlikely due to a “ceiling” effect for H/H, and; (b) the positive aspects of high PSP are unlikely to inhibit the positive effect of H/H. It is plausible, however, that high PSP may promote positive outcomes for the otherwise neutral combination, L/L. Since high intrinsic PSP is associated with positive affect, PSP may help to overcome the otherwise ambivalent nature of L/L and lead to such “positive” outcomes as a reduction in depression (see Fig. 1, pathway 1). Therefore, the current study tests the congruent absent-promotion hypothesis by proposing that: Hypothesis 1: nAff, SAM, and perfectionism will interact such that congruent absent individuals (i.e., L/L) will demonstrate a negative relationship between perfectionism and depression.

Langan-Fox et al. (2010) argued that the likelihood of moderators exacerbating the negative effects of motive incongruence was unlikely due to a “floor” effect – i.e., moderators are unlikely to further exacerbate the negative effects of either type of motive incongruence. However, it is plausible that perfectionism may exacerbate the detrimental effects of motive incongruence. For example, L/H motive incongruence describes the state of striving for goals without gaining pleasure from doing so, a combination that creates tension and leads to negative psychological outcomes. It is plausible that high PSP may exacerbate this tension, rather than mitigate it, since the combination of perfectionistic striving and anhedonic goal striving may further impair psychological wellbeing. Therefore, the current study tests the incongruent overclaiming-exacerbation hypothesis by proposing that: Hypothesis 2: nAff, SAM and perfectionism will interact, such that L/H incongruent individuals will demonstrate a positive relationship between perfectionism and depression (see Fig. 1, pathway 2). (It is implausible that PSP will exacerbate H/L incongruence – PSP would most likely counteract the tension caused by the disproportionately high SAM. Furthermore, it is unlikely that this effect would be strong enough to fully mitigate the negative effects likely caused by H/L tension.).

Section snippets

Participants and procedure

The first author was given access to the Eugene-Springfield Community Sample (ESCS; Goldberg, 2008; see Acknowledgments). Commencing in 1993, an initial sample of approximately 850 homeowners in the Eugene-Springfield (Oregon) metropolitan area (50% female, 50% male) between the ages of 18 and 85 were recruited for participation in a series of assessments (see Farmer & Goldberg, 2008). ESCS participants had agreed to complete one or two questionnaires per year for at least 5–10 years, and are

Results

Table 1 shows the correlations between the key predictor, mediator, and criterion variables.

A hierarchical regression analysis predicting depression was performed to test H1 and H2 with nAff, SAM, PSP, age, sex and education entered in the first step, followed by the three two-way interaction terms in step 2, and the three-way interaction in step 3 (Cohen, Cohen, West, & Aiken, 2003). Demographic variables (i.e., age, sex, and education) were included due to the significant correlations with

Discussion

The results showed that nAff, SAM and PSP interacted to predict depression, such that congruent absent individuals (i.e., L/L) demonstrated a negative relationship between PSP and depression. Furthermore, incongruent overclaiming individuals (i.e., L/H) demonstrated a positive relationship between PSP and depression. Our findings further validate Langan-Fox et al.’s (2010) conceptual framework, namely by explicating moderation pathways for the promotion of the otherwise theoretically neutral

Acknowledgements

We would like to gratefully acknowledge Professor Lewis R. Goldberg for his generosity in giving access to the Eugene-Springfield Community data set to the first author, and also to Maureen Barkley at the Oregon Research Institute for providing files for analysis.

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