396 Iv. COGNITI vE AND M OTIvATIONAL P ROCESSES
Other proposed moderators of the rela -
tionship between implicit and explicit mo -
tives include self-  determination (Hofer et 
al., 2010; Thrash & Elliot, 2002), the abil -
ity to quickly down-  regulate negative affect 
(Brunstein, 2001), private body conscious -
ness, self-  monitoring, and preference for 
consistency (Thrash, Elliot, & Schult  heiss, 
2007), and the hemispheric decoupling ef -
fects of progesterone (Schult  heiss, Patalakh, 
& Rösch, 2012). It remains to be determined 
whether these moderators reliably influence 
the convergence between implicit and ex -
plicit motives and how they relate to each 
other, as well as to referential processing.
Biopsychological Aspects 
of Implicit Motives
A central idea in motivation science is that 
basic motivational needs represent phylo -
genetically evolved, neurobiologically an -
chored systems dealing with recurrent prob -
lems and requirements of survival, such as 
finding food, mating, caring for offspring, 
or, among socially living organisms, affili -
ating with others and finding one’s place in 
the pecking order (e.g., Panksepp & Biven, 
2012; Rolls, 2005; Toates, 1994). Onto -
genetically, these systems are fine-tuned 
through interactions with the environment 
throughout pre- and postnatal development 
(see our previous discussion of the associa -
tion of n Power and digit length as a marker 
of prenatal brain development), giving rise to 
individual differences in motive strength and 
style. But at their core, all of them are built 
around fundamental affective–  emotional re -
sponses to primal stimuli and situations (e.g., 
not only eating, orgasm, and having impact 
but also social rejection and threat) and the 
cues predicting them (Cabanac, 2014; Pank -
sepp & Biven, 2012; Schult  heiss & Wirth, 
2018). As a functional consequence, implicit 
motives are closely coupled to physiological 
and endocrine manifestations of these re -
sponses, such as sympathetic and parasym -
pathetic changes, and their effects on the 
immune system (see Jemmott, 1987; McClel -
land, 1989). The hypothalamus represents a 
central interface between motive-  relevant 
stimulus processing and the autonomic ner -
vous system (ANS) governing these changes (Iversen, Iversen, & Saper, 2000; Schult -
heiss, 2013b). But the biopsychological sub -
strates of implicit motives also encompass 
other brain structures that interact with the 
hypothalamus: the amygdala, which is criti -
cal for learning of predictive cues through 
Pavlovian conditioning; the striatum, which 
supports instrumental learning and habit 
formation; the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), 
which represents the hedonic value of re -
wards and punishers in a need-  dependent 
way; and the hippocampus, which not only 
provides relevant contextual information to 
motivational learning processes but is also 
influenced by the amygdala in its emotion- 
dependent creation of episodic memories 
(Hall, Stanton, & Schult  heiss, 2010; Schult -
heiss & Köllner, 2014; Schult  heiss & Wirth, 
2018). In the following sections, we review 
evidence for the involvement of specific 
brain, endocrine, and physiological systems 
in implicit motives, and also highlight some 
implications for physical health.
The Biopsychology of  the Power  Motive
The endocrinology of n Power is character -
ized by the interplay between situational 
factors, the hormonal stress responses they 
elicit, and gonadal steroid changes that 
partly depend, in turn, on stress hormone 
changes. Summarizing the state of research, 
Stanton and Schult  heiss (2009; Schult  heiss, 
2013b) describe this complex dynamic for 
individuals with high n Power as follows: 
Situational arousal of n Power leads to pri -
mary activation of the sympathetic nervous 
system (SNS), manifested in the release 
of adrenaline and noradrenaline. In men, 
adrenaline has a stimulating effect on the 
testes, leading to increased testosterone, a 
hormone involved in physical strength and 
male dominance across many species. If the 
individual prevails and wins a dominance 
contest, testosterone levels also remain el -
evated and appear to be involved in the 
consolidation of instrumental learning (see 
Schult  heiss & Schiepe-  Tiska, 2013). If the 
individual is defeated, on the other hand, 
another type of stress response, mediated by 
the hypothalamic–  pituitary–  adrenal (HPA) 
system, is primarily activated, leading to 
increased cortisol. In men, cortisol has an 
inhibiting effect on the testes, leading to a 