Explicit Reasons for Examining the Implicit Motive System RUSSELL E. JOHNSON University of South Florida JAMES A. TAN St. Cloud State University As Kanfer (2009) notes, one needed direc- tion for content theories of motivation is research on the explicit and implicit motive systems. In the explicit motive system, infor- mation is represented as symbols, which are mental representations of organisms, rela- tionships, and states of the world. These sym- bols are interconnected via semantic relations (e.g., ‘‘is a’’ or ‘‘causes’’) to form pro- positions (e.g., ‘‘My boss is unfair’’), which are then evaluated via deductive reasoning (Gawronski & Bodenhausen, 2006). Pro- cessing in the explicit motive system oc- curs consciously and requires significant amounts of attention, motivation, and capac- ity to operate effectively. In contrast, infor- mation in the implicit motive system is represented by the activation of units in con- nectionist memory networks and the strength of associations among units, which is based on similarity, contiguity, and frequency (Kunda & Thagard, 1996). This information is subjected to associative processing where activation spreads among closely related units and it does so automatically—that is, outside people’s awareness, intention, and control. Although motivation theory and research traditionally targeted the explicit motive sys- tem, it is clear that explicit processing is biased by affect and cognition that operate at subconscious levels. A greater understand- ing of the implicit system and the ways in which it interacts with its explicit counterpart is therefore required. In the remainder of this article, we build a case for why the implicit motive system ought to be assessed and dis- cuss measurement issues with doing so. Reasons to Consider the Implicit Motive System in Work Contexts A key reason for examining the implicit motive system is that information here is represented and processed differently than it is in the explicit system. In fact, findings from stereotype research suggest that asso- ciative knowledge at the implicit level sometimes conflicts with proposition-based conclusions at the explicit level (Devine, 1989). Thus, responses may vary depending on whether they are produced by the implicit or explicit system. Often times, the implicit motive system has a larger impact on behav- ior because, as the default processing mode, it operates automatically and on a faster time scale than the explicit system. Even when behavior is produced by the explicit system, the implicit system serves as a gatekeeper of the information that is available for con- scious processing, and it biases the relative weight assigned to information that is made available (Strack & Deutsch, 2004). Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Russell E. Johnson. E-mail: rjohnson@cas. usf.edu Address: Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, 4204 East Fowler Avenue, PCD 4139, Tampa, FL 33620 Russell E. Johnson, Department of Psychology, Uni- versity of South Florida; James A. Tan, Department of Management, G. R. Herberger College of Business, St. Cloud State University. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2 (2009), 103–105. Copyright ª 2009 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. 1754-9426/09 103