Bargh suggests that unconscious goals are pursued flexibly, and automatically adapt to changing environments during tasks in the experiment. Bargh hypothesized that unconscious goals are represented mentally. Those mental representation influence behavior. For example, a mental representation of a relationship partner triggers goal-oriented behavior consistent with what is expected for that specific relationship. For example, subjects asked to bring to mind a mental representation of a "friend" were more helpful to a stranger than those asked to call to mind a "co-worker."