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Implicit motives are commonly believed to orient behavior. Despite only sparse empirical evidence for this claim, an interplay of implicit motives and the attentional system seems plausible. In 2 preregistered eye-tracking studies (total N = 263 after exclusions), we tested whether the implicit power motive (nPower), the capacity to derive pleasure from having impact on others, measured via the Picture Story Exercise, predicted participants' attentional orienting. Participants were simultaneously presented neutral faces and facial expressions of emotion (FEEs), with the latter signaling either dominance or submission. In both studies, nPower predicted initial avoidance of anger FEEs, which were deemed to be an aversive dominance signal. Initial orienting toward submissive FEEs was not predicted significantly by nPower. Results are discussed in the light of recent findings in neuroscience and with reference to limitations of our design. Our findings suggest that implicit motives do have an orienting function regarding initial responses to the encounter of interpersonal dominance signals.

Objectives We explored associations between the needs for power, achievement, and affiliation and functional cerebral asymmetries (FCAs), guided by three established hypotheses about the nature of these associations. Methods One-hundred-and-seven participants completed picture-story measures of dispositional motives and activity inhibition (AI), a frequent moderator of motive-behavior associations, tasks measuring FCAs (line bisection, chimeric emotional face judgments, turning bias, perceptual and response asymmetries on the Poffenberger task), self-reported laterality preferences (handedness, footedness, ear and eye preference), and interhemispheric interaction (crossed-uncrossed difference). They also completed an experiment manipulating hand contractions (left, right, both, neither) while they worked on a second picture-story motive measure. Results Dispositional power motivation was associated with stronger rightward asymmetry and less interhemispheric transfer in high-AI and stronger leftward asymmetry and more interhemispheric transfer in low-AI individuals. For the affiliation motive, findings were fewer and in the opposite direction of those for the power motive. These findings emerged for men, but not for women. Left- or right-hand contractions led to increases in power and achievement motivation, but not affiliation motivation. Only left-hand contractions led to decreased AI. Conclusions We discuss these findings in the context of sex-dimorphic organizing and activating effects of steroids on motives and laterality.