In this article we analyzed the information processing that underlies nonconscious impression formation. In the first experiment, the nonconscious activation of the impression formation goal led to a faster analysis of the trait implications of behaviors, compared with a control group. In Experiment 2, participants who were nonconsciously primed with an impression formation goal were more likely than those in a control condition to form associations in memory between behaviors and implied traits. In Experiment 3, nonconsciously primed participants were more sensitive than those in a control condition to whether inconsistent trait information was relevant or irrelevant to the actor's disposition. Moreover, in Experiments 2 and 3, those with a nonconscious goal showed just as much evidence of impression formation as those who were consciously and intentionally trying to form an impression. Implications for nonconscious goal pursuit and impression formation are discussed. Keywordsnonconscious goal-pursuit; automaticity; impression formation; person perception; spontaneous trait inference Over the last three decades, research in social psychology has shown that stereotypes, traits, attitudes, and even individual actions can be generated without people's awareness or intentions (Bargh, in press; Dijksterhuis, Chartrand, & Aarts, in press;Greenwald & Banaji, 1995;Hassin, Uleman, & Bargh, 2005). Empirical work over the last five years suggests that even goal-pursuit can be characterized as proceeding automatically (e.g., Aarts, Gollwitzer, & Hassin, 2004;Fitzsimons & Bargh;, Shah & Kruglanski, 2002a, 2002b. Evidence for nonconscious goal pursuit comes from paradigms in which participants are surreptitiously presented with stimuli that are strongly related to a goal such as achievement or cooperation (e.g., Bargh, Gollwitzer, Lee-Chai, Barndollar, & Trotschel, 2001; Address for correspondence: Kathleen C. Mc Culloch, Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611. Email: kcmc@ufl.edu.. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. 1996). After perceiving such stimuli, participants act in line with the primed goal construct, and report no awareness or intention of doing so. Furthermore, the participants in these studies show classic signs of motivational behavior, including persistence, resumption after an interruption, and increased pursuit following a delay (e.g., Aarts et al., 2004;Atkinson & Birch, 1970;Bargh et al., 2001; Forster & Liberman, in press). NIH Public AccessAnd yet, the precise mental operations by which the nonconscious activation...

In social psychological models of goals, particular means or goals that receive more activation are pursued while their counterparts are "inhibited." To account for inhibition, these theories emphasize structural distribution of resources and the consequences of goal or means choices. Absent are alternate accounts of inhibition based on memory processes that rely on retrieval or recall of items. We propose that the act of recalling means or goals from memory entails inhibition of competing alternatives. Two experiments using repeated retrieval paradigms present evidence that recalling one means associated with a particular goal inhibits competing means. Moreover, this inhibitory mechanism is sensitive to the structural relationship of goals and means. Implications for models of inhibition in goal pursuit are discussed.

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of gender on exposure to gender‐tailored HIV‐prevention brochures. During an unobtrusive observation of participants' reading of brochures, both men and women were likely to avoid gender‐mismatched brochures. However, women were more likely to selectively approach gender‐matched brochures over gender‐neutral brochures than were men. Furthermore, exposure to the female‐targeted brochure predicted accepting an HIV‐prevention video. This pattern was only the case for females and not for males or for the male‐targeted brochure. This finding implies that the gender‐tailored brochures are more useful for women than for men, and may open the door to other materials designed with preventive objectives.