Personality psychology chapter5 the motive perspective

Basic Elements• Needs – Manifestation of an internal state – Direct behavior – Reflect an unsatisfactory state of being – Derived from biological sources primary – Derived from psycholog

Chapter Five

The Motive Perspective

Basic Elements

• Needs

– Manifestation of an internal state

– Direct behavior

– Reflect an unsatisfactory state of being

– Derived from biological sources (primary)

– Derived from psychological sources (secondary)

– Need strength influences intensity of related behavior – Directive in nature

• Positive needs (approach)

• Negative needs (avoidance)

Basic Elements

• Motives

– Influenced by underlying need

– Represent cognitive structures

– Have affective overtones

– Are more proximal to behavior than needs

– Provide a venue through which motives operate – Pertain to goals and desires

– Are ultimately reflected in actions

Basic Concepts

• Press

– Influence motives

– Characterize an external event or condition

– Act as trigger for motivational states

– Example:

Press:

Cold Lemonade

Need:

Water Motivational State:

Thirst

Behavior:

Drink

Murray’s System of Needs

• Emphasizes universal needs

• Focuses on secondary (psychological) needs

• Recognizes differing dispositional need levels among individuals

• Points out that:

– Single behaviors can satisfy multiple needs

– Needs can facilitate each other

– Needs can conflict

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

• Underlying assumptions:

– Manifest needs = needs reflected in overt behavior

– Latent needs = needs not reflected in behavior

• Assesses latent needs

• Presents an ambiguous picture

• Provides a detailed story about picture (i.e.,

character’s thoughts, feelings, and relationships)

• Latent needs are projected into the story’s content

• Dispositional tendencies emerge over multiple

pictures

Need for Achievement

• TAT images: obtaining goals, overcoming

adversity, performing well

• High need for achievement…

– Associated with choice of moderately difficult tasks

(diagnosticity)

– Predicts higher performance in some domains

– May be reflected culturally to influence economic growth

– May result in behavior that is similar to that motivated by desire

to avoid failure

Desire to do things well, to feel pleasure in overcoming obstacles

Need for Power

• TAT images: vigorous action, concern about

status, position, or self-image

• High need for power…

– Associated with patterns of friendship choice

– Predicts behavior in interpersonal interactions

– Manifests in less concessions in negotiations

– May be manifested differently depending on sense of

responsibility

• High responsibility = conscientious pursuit of power

• Low responsibility = profligate, impulsive pursuit of power

Desire to have an impact on others, to have prestige, to feel strong

Need for Affiliation

• TAT images: concern about acceptance by others, attempts to establish and maintain relationships

• High need for affiliation…

– Associated with more agreeableness and concern over

being liked

– Predicts time engaged in social activities

– Experiences most relationship satisfaction if matched with another who is high in need for affiliation

– May reflect more specific needs:

• Social comparison • Positive stimulation

• Emotional support • Attention from others Desire to spend time with others

Need for Intimacy

• TAT images: disclosing communication, sharing thoughts and feelings

• More passive than need for affiliation

• High need for intimacy…

– Associated with more one-on-one interactions and self-disclosing interactions

– Predicts amount of listening behavior

– Associated with greater marriage and job satisfaction

Desire to experience warm, close, and

communicative exchanges with another

person

Patterns of Needs

Inhibited Power Motivation (IPM)

• Low need for affiliation (want to influence people)

• High need for power (doesn’t worry about being disliked)

• Associated with non-technical managerial success

• IPM imagery in politicians’ speeches

preceded British wars

What Determines Behavior?

• Behavior reflects:

– a system of multiple needs

– the changing balance of the relative intensity of needs at any given time

– the fundamental influence of three superordinate needs

• Need for Power

• Need for Affiliation-Intimacy

• Need for Achievement

Incentive Value

• Determines how a motive expresses itself in

behavior

– Example: Need for Affiliation

Go to party Join a sorority Call a friend

• Accounts for behavioral diversity

• Relates to (conscious) choices of action within a domain

The degree to which a given behavior can satisfy a need

Issues in Assessment

• TAT

– Questionable reliability

– Time consuming

– Reflect implicit motives

– Tied to desire for broad,

primitive, affective

experiences

– Predict frequency of

motive-relevant feelings

• Self-Reports

– Reflect self-attributed motives

– Tied to desire for specific action goals – Predicts frequency of motive-relevant

events

Motive and the Five-Factor Model

• PRF shows some overlap with Five-Factor Model

• TAT-derived motives show less overlap with Five-Factor Model than do self-attributed

motives

• Integrative approach (Winter et al.)

– Motives are fundamental desires

– Traits represent the channels through which motives are expressed

Behavior Change

• Key elements for change of problematic behavior

– Identify underlying motive for problematic behavior

– Identify alternative methods of satisfying motive

• Key elements for increasing achievement

motivation

– Instruction to frequently use achievement imagery

– Generalize imagery to all situations

– Target specific, concrete actions