Implicit and explicit motivated self-perception as hypothesis-driven self-construal

Motivated Self-Perception (MSP) facilitates the positive perception of the self via the endorsement of desirable characteristics, selective recall of autobiographical memories, and performance of desirable behaviour. Peters and Gawronski (2011) proposed a model of MSP as “hypothesis-driven” self-construal integrating implicit and explicit self-concepts, motivation, and autobiographical memory. The current study provides the first complete test of this model. One hundred and twenty-seven participants read a summary of a fictional study before completing measures of motivation, personality self-ratings, autobiographical memory, and implicit self-personality associations. Explicit self-concept, autobiographical memory, and the implicit self-personality association were affected by the manipulation, consistent with predictions. Results also revealed that implicit self-personality associations were predicted by motivation and autobiographical memory, providing evidence for the proposed model of MSP, and further evidence for the interconnectedness of implicit and explicit self-constructs. Finally, these results are interpreted as evidence for the effect of MSP-based self-enhancement across all levels of the self.