Motive Perspective

The Motive Perspective

Main Ideas:

  • Examines personality in relation to motivations, processes, and outcomes.

  • Pioneered by Henry Murray.

  • Motives are a strong aspect of identity.

  • Needs, motives, and press underlie thoughts and actions.

Limitations and Advantages

Limitations:

  • Qualities seem arbitrary and rarely critiqued.

  • Researchers focus on one need at a time.

Advantages:

  • Intuitively appealing.

  • Outlines how dispositions influence behavior.

  • Motive states fluctuate.

Needs and Press

Needs:

  • Internal states due to lack of something necessary.

  • Exist at different levels.

  • Particular and directive.

Press:

  • External conditions prompting desire.

  • Reignite motives.

  • Behavior influenced by need/press strength.

Motives

Characteristics:

  • Cognitive-affective clusters.

  • Driven by needs and press.

  • Direct thoughts and behaviors.

Fluctuation:

  • Vary across time, situations, and people.

  • Motive dispositions influence behavior.

  • Incentive determines action satisfaction.

Thematic Apperception Test/ Picture Story Exercise

Usage:

  • Assess personality and measure motives.

  • Apperception based on experiences and motives.

  • Motives relevant in assessments.

Need for Achievement

Description:

  • Desire to excel and overcome obstacles.

  • Predicts goal-related variables.

  • Influences task difficulty preferences.

Need for Power

Description:

  • Desire for impact, prestige, and strength.

  • Predicts power-related variables.

  • Can lead to harmful behavior.

  • Moderated by responsibility.

Need for Affiliation

Description:

  • Motive for social ties and positive relationships.

  • Need for intimacy for warm exchanges.

  • Predicts social behavior and relationship outcomes.

Inhibited Power Motivation

Description:

  • More need for power than affiliation.

  • Predicts managerial success.

  • Influential in starting/avoiding conflicts.

Implicit and Self-Attributed Motives

Types:

  • Explicit or implicit motives.

  • Correlation between the two might be weak.

  • Implicit motives are basic and automatic.

Motives Via Goals & Strategies

Components:

  • Goals as desired ends.

  • Strategies as means to achieve goals.

  • Importance of long-term goals.

  • Lack of goals leads to aimlessness.

Idiographic Goals

Characteristics:

  • Unique to individuals.

  • Ongoing motivations until goal attainment.

  • Personal projects and strivings.

  • Conflicts between strivings can arise.

Nomothetic Goals

Types:

  • Essential motivations pursued by most.

  • The Big Three, Big Five, and Big Two motives.

Judgement and Development Goals

Description:

  • Judgment goals for self-validation.

  • Development goals for self-improvement.

  • Responses to failure differ based on goals.

Entity and Incremental Theories

Theories:

  • Entity theory believes qualities are unchangeable.

  • Incremental theory believes in personal growth.

  • Mindsets affect behavior and responses.

Defensive Pessimism

Description:

  • Negative