VIVID RECOLLECTION AS A TECHNIQUE TO AROUSE IMPLICIT MOTIVE-RELATED AFFECT

This study examined the link between implicit motives, pleasant experi ences, and associated affect. Subjects high in the need for power (n P ow) or intimacy (n Int) recalled a pleasant or neutral personal experi ence. Consistent with past findings, content analyses revealed that re called pleasant experiences reflected subjects, respective concerns fo r power and intimacy. Because the content of the pleasant memories of n Pow and n Int subjects differed, their vivid recollections were also expected to produce different affective states. Analyses of self-repo rt affect measures administered after the recall task showed that n In t subjects who recalled a pleasant event expressed move happiness, ela tion, and friendliness. By contrast, n Pow subjects in the pleasant re call condition reported more excitation and anger. Findings suggest th at positive affect inductions involving the vivid recall of idiographi c material may lead to different specific affective states based on th e content of those experiences and individuals' capacity to experience and sustain particular affective states.