Chapter 11: Motives and Personality Flashcards
motives
- internal states that arouse and direct behaviour toward specific objects/goals
- often caused by a deficit (lack of something)
- differ from each other in type and amount, intensity
- often based on needs
needs
- states of tension within a person
- need satisfied = state of tension is reduced
- needs create motives
what kinds of motives are based on growth needs
self-actualization
describe the process of motives and needs
deficits cause people to have a need, which initiates a motive –> motives can lead to specific actions (to satisfy the need), or fantasies (thoughts that are satisfying)
describe the importance of internal psychological needs/motives
- internal needs propel people to think, perceive and act in certain predictable ways
- motives can be unconscious
what are some techniques that reveal intrapsychic motives that are driven by the unconscious
- projective tests (inkblot)
- free associations
what are the five factors stressed by motive psychologists
- people differ from one another in terms of type/strength of their motives
- differences are measurable
- differences are associated with important life outcomes (e.g. work/relationship success)
- differences are stable over time
- motives provide one answer to “why do people do what they do”
what can motive psychology be thought of as
a halfway point between the intrapsychic domain and the dispositional domain
describe Murray’s definition of need
- potentiality or readiness to respond in a certain way under certain given circumstances
- organizes perception –> guide us to see what we want/need to see
- organizes action –> compels people to fulfill the need
- needs are states of tension –> it is the process of reducing tension that is satisfying (not the tensionless state itself)
explain what was different about Murray’s theory about needs
- he agreed that needs were states of tension
- however, he didn’t think that the tensionless state itself was what was satisfying
- thought that the act of reducing tension what was satisfying
- people might actually seek to increase tension to experience the pleasure of reducing that tension (e.g. rollercoasters)
describe the two types of needs Murray distinguished between
- primary need = viscerogenic (satisfaction by physical means; e.g. food, water, sex)
- secondary needs = psychogenic (mental/emotional)
what three things are each psychogenic needs associated with (Murray)
- a specific desire or intention
- a particular set of emotions
- specific action tendencies
–> each need can be described by a trait name
what are the 6 higher-level categories of Murray’s needs
- materialistic needs
- ambition needs
- needs to defend status
- needs related to social power
- social affection needs
- exchange of information needs
describe Murray’s hierarchy of needs
- believed each person had a unique hierarchy of needs
- various needs exist at different levels of strength
- all needs interact with each other –> “motive dynamic”
describe the concept of motive dynamic (Murray)
- interaction of various needs within a person
- dynamic = mutual influence of forces within a person
- e.g. need for dominance coupled with need for affiliation = development of social skills to lead people effectively (rather than solely a need for dominance, that would result in the person being bossy)
what is a press (Murray)
- need-relevant aspects of the environment
- elements of environment affect people’s needs
- e.g. need for affiliation won’t affect behaviour UNLESS it has an appropriate environmental press (e.g. presence of friendly people)
what are the two presses theorized by Murray
- alpha press (real environment, objective reality)
- beta press (reality as it is perceived, perceived environment)
describe an example that outlines the difference between alpha and beta presses
- someone walks down the street and smiles at two people
- alpha press –> the same smile
- beta press –> one person sees the smile as friendly, the other sees it as a smirk (which reflects their differences in the need for affiliation)
what is apperception (Murray)
- needs influence how people perceive the environment, especially when the environment is ambiguous
- apperception = act of interpreting environment and perceiving the meaning of what is going on
- asking people what is happening in ambiguous situations reveals their primary motives
thematic apperception test (TAT; Murray)
- formal technique for assessing needs and motives
- set of B&W images that are ambiguous
- people asked to make up a story about what is happening in the image
- encouraged to tell story with beginning, middle and end
- coded for various types of imagery associated with particular motives (e.g. achievement imagery)
describe why the thematic apperception test (TAT) is similar to projective techniques (2 reasons)
- the subject is given an ambiguous stimulus
- asked to describe and interpret what is going on
what does the thematic apperception test (TAT) continue to be used for today
- primarily used to assess psychoanalytic constructs
- defence mechanisms, attachment styles, psychosexual stages
- needs and motives
what are state levels (TAT)
- person’s momentary amount of a specific need
- fluctuates with specific circumstances
- e.g. person failing at a task might experiene a sharp increase in state of achievement motivation
- TAT is sensitive to changes in state levels of various motives (especially achievement, power and intimacy)
what are trait levels (TAT)
- measure of person’s average tendency, or set point, on a specific trait
- people differ in their typical/average amounts of specific needs
- can average needs displayed on the TAT to assess this
what is the Multi-Motive Grid
- combines features of the TAT with self-reports
- 14 pictures to arouse one of the big three motives (achievement, power or intimacy)
- pictures presented along with questions about important motivational states
- idea is that photo will arouse a motive, which will influence how people answer the questions
what are the big three motives
achievement, power and intimacy
what are some limitations of the TAT
- some argue it has low test-retest reliability
- some have reported extremely low correlations between TAT measures of certain needs and questionnaire measures of the same needs
- low correlations between TAT and other outcomes (e.g. achievement scores and GPA)
describe McClelland’s argument for why the TAT and questionnaire measures are uncorrelated
- they measure two different types of motivation
- implicit motivation = TAT
- self-attributed motivation = questionnaires
what is implicit motivation (McClelland)
- motives based on needs
- measured in fantasy-based measures (e.g. TAT)
- stories are implied motives of individual’s writing the story
- unconscious & unspoken needs/desires
what is self-attributed motivation (McClelland)
- primarily a person’s self-awareness or conscious motives
- normative beliefs about desirable goals and modes of conduct
- conscious self-understanding
what do implicit vs self-attributed motives predict (McClelland)
- implicit = long-term, spontaneous behavioural trends over time (e.g. entrepreneurial success)
- self-attributed = responses to immediate and specific situations, choice behaviours, attitudes (e.g. how hard a person will work to obtain a reward in a psychological experiment)
explain the need for achievement (McClelland) and what states it is associated with
- desire to do better, be successful and feel competent
- energizes our behaviour in achievement-related situations
- energized by incentives of challenge and variety
- accompanied by feelings of interest and surprise
- associated with feeling curious and exploratory
- e.g. Steve Jobs
describe the level of challenge that people high in need for achievement prefer
- prefer moderate levels of challenge (not too high or too low)
- obtain satisfaction from accomplishing a task or from anticipation of accomplishing a task
- motivated to do better than others (not satisfying if it is impossible to accomplish because no one will do well, not satisfying if too easy because then everyone does well)
summarize the three main characteristics of people high in need for achievement
- prefer activities that provide some (but not too much) challenge
- enjoy tasks in which they are personally responsible for the outcome
- prefer tasks for which feedback on their performance is available
what are some outcomes associated with a high need for achievement
- starting and managing a small business
- more attraction to business occupations
- adopting innovative practices that improve rates of production
- self-employment
- more deliberate pursuit for good grades
- more problem-solving after being laid off
- drawn to careers which more potential risk/uncertainty and where emergency problem-solving is required
describe some cultural differences in need for achievement
- in N.A many students have high need to achieve
- in Papua New Guinea, school is noncompetitive and it is important for everyone to do well (doing better than others is associated with vanity)
what are intrinsically motivated behaviours
- largely self-determined based on inherent satisfactions directly associated with behaviours themselves (enjoyment, interest)
- not contingent on reinforcements in environment
what are extrinsically motivated behaviours
- performed for more instrumental reasons
- based on some environmental contingency
- e.g. receiving a reward, avoiding punishment/guilt
describe the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in academic success
previous research demonstrated intrinsic motivation as a stronger predictor
what is acculturation
process by which individuals adopt new customs and behaviours upon moving to a new country or cultural context
what were the effects found of acculturation on intrinsic/extrinsic motivation
- looked at Canada (individualistic) vs India (collectivistic)
- Indian-Canadian adolescents were more intrinsically motivated by their Indian counterparts
- more individualistic Canadian culture may contribute to less socially dependent motivation
- academic achievement was higher in Indian-Canadian students –> intrinsic motivation = success
- intrinsic motivation predicts, especially in individualistic cultures