Motivation

Assigned Reading from Text:  Chapter 7.  Motivation in Personality.  Skip page 249 and
    physiological discussion on pages 258-260.

Sample Essay Questions:

    a. Describe a person high in achievement motivation (and low in power motivation) and a person high in power motivation (and low in achievement motivation).  What would someone high in both motives be like?  Someone low in both motives.
    b.  Briefly define affiliation motivation and intimacy motivation.  In what ways are these motives similar and how do they differ?
................................................................................................................................................................................

A.  Understanding motivation.
    1.  Motives energize behavior.  Assumed to be nonconscious.
    2.  Henry Murray was one of the early major theorists.  Developed a list of basic motives.
    3.  Motives often measured through projective tests.  Examples include Rorschach and Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).  Validity often low using standard assessment methods.  But, self-report measures have even lower validity if direct questions asked.  Reliability assessed through looking at consistencies across coders [inter-coder reliability].
    4.  Self-report measures may reflect societal values.

B.  Achievement motivation (n ach)
    1.  Most extensively studied of all motives.
    2.  Defined as a desire to do things better.
    3.  Those high in the motive prefer challenge, show Zeigarnik Effect, try harder if they do poorly, and may start new businesses.
    4.  Societies high in n ach have higher rates of economic growth.
    5.  Those high in n ach attribute successes more to ability and effort and attribute failures more to lack of effort or task difficulty.  Low n ach attribute successes externally and failure internally.
    6.  Fear of success is a related motive.  Once believed to be found mostly in women, but later studies have shown that both sexes can have this motive.

C.  Affiliation motivation (n affil)
    1.  Defined as desire to have lots of friends.
    2.  Those high in the motive reach out to others socially and are interested in social information.
    3.  Being high in n affil does not necessarily mean one is liked by others.
    4.  Intimacy motivation proposed as another way of thinking about social motivation.  Those high in intimacy motivation have good feelings when with someone one feels close to.  Seen as warm by others and have a strong "we" orientation in groups.

D.  Power motivation (n power)
    1.  Defined as the desire to have influence over others or to have a reputation.
    2.  Expressed in several different ways.  Those high in n power tend to seek and win elective offices, make themselves visible to others by writing to campus paper, putting name on door, having prestige possessions.  They are more aggressive and help others more.