CLASS Distinguished Public Lecture Series

9th March 2009, Monday
LT 2, Nanyang Executive Centre (NEC), NTU [map]
4.30 pm - 6.00 pm [reception starts at 4.00 pm]

" You think you know what motivates you, but you could be wrong:
Some causes and consequences of the independence between
implicit and explicit motives "
by Professor Oliver Schultheiss, Friedrich Alexander University

Abstract

Research over the past 50 years consistently shows that self-report measures and indirect measures of human motivation typically correlate around zero. This suggests that across motivational domains (e.g., power, achievement, affiliation) roughly 50% of people hold explicit views of themselves that do not match their implicit motivational needs.  In this talk, I will present a model that explains the independence between implicit and explicit motives on the basis of differences in verbal and nonverbal information processing. I will also present findings illustrating the consequences of (in) congruence between implicit and explicit motives for emotional well-being and symptoms of depression and discuss interventions that can help increase the fit between one’s explicit motivational strivings and implicit needs.

Speaker’s biography

Professor Schultheiss is currently Chair for Experimental Psychology, Motivation, and Affective Neuroscience at Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen, Germany.  He obtained his Ph.D from Friendrich-Alexander University and has held academic positions in University of Michigan, University of Potsdam, and Harvard University.  He is the recipient of numerous grants, awards, and honours such as fellowships from the German Research Society, the American National Science Foundation, and the American National Institutes of Mental Health.  Professor Schultheiss is the author of over forty peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and a forthcoming edited handbook on various subjects surrounding the topic of implicit motives.  His main areas of research are the endocrine underpinnings of implicit motives, the relationship between implicit and explicit levels of motivation, the role of implicit motives in the processing of facial expressions of emotion, and how implicit motives influence Pavlovian and instrumental learning. Recently, Professor Schultheiss has also started to examine the ability to quickly name nonverbal stimuli as a fundamental cognitive trait and how this trait interacts with brain asymmetries in perception and motor control in a variety of phenomena related to motivation and personality.

Registration

To register, please click https://wis.ntu.edu.sg/pls/webexe/REGISTER_NTU.REGISTER?EVENT_ID=OA09022719044426. If you have any queries, please feel free to contact us at 65148382 or email d-class@ntu.edu.sg .