Implicit and explicit motives influence accessibility to different autobiographical knowledge

In two studies, participants completed implicit and explicit measures of achievement and intimacy/affiliation motivation. In Study 1, they recalled an emotional and a self-descriptive memory. In both domains, implicit motive scores were higher when motivational content was present in the emotional memory. When motivational content was present in the self-descriptive memory, explicit motive scores were higher in both domains. In Study 2, participants recalled four autobiographical memories (two agentic, two communal) that were then categorized as specific or general events. Implicit motive scores were higher for participants who recalled specific agentic and communal events. Explicit motive scores were higher for participants who recalled general achievement events but not general communal events. Findings suggest that implicit motives are linked to accessibility of specific and emotional experiences, whereas explicit motives are linked more strongly to accessibility of specific and general memories that relate to the self-concept.