Achievement, Power, and Affiliation Motives as Clues to (E)migration Desires: A Four-Countries Comparison

Abstract

Within the framework of McClelland’s motivational theory, a model of the motivational structure of the migrant personality is proposed. It is argued that those who choose to leave their country of origin have higher achievement and power motivation and lower affiliation motivation than those who want to stay. This model was tested with 1050 college students in Albania, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia. Data were collected between 1993 and 1996. MANOVA analysis confirmed our predictions for the achievement and power motives. Students who wanted to emigrate had higher achievement and power motivation scores than those who wanted to stay. This model was also applied to internal migrants. It was tested with 789 United States college students. Those who wanted to leave the region of their university after graduation scored significantly higher on achievement and power motivation than those who wanted to stay. It is argued that this pattern is specific for countries or regions of economic stagnation or decline, while it may be reversed for countries or regions of economic growth. Predictions for the affiliation motivation were only partly supported. Our findings suggest that psychological factors are important predictors of (e)migration.

The role of self-determined motivation and goals for study abroad in the adaptation of international students

“…Boneva, Frieze, and their colleagues (Boneva & Frieze, 2001;Boneva et al, 1998;Frieze et al, 2004), for example, considered values, such as work or family orientation, together with dispositional motives, to be key determinants of the decision to move abroad. In particular, they found that emigrants score higher on work orientation and lower on family orientation in comparison to those who stay.…”

Emigration Intentions: Mere Words or True Plans? Explaining International Migration Intentions and Behavior

“…To cite a number of recent studies: Abrams, Hinkle and Tomlins. 1999;Boneva and Frieze 2001;Boneva et al 1998;Burda et al 1998;Drinkwater 2003, Drinkwater andIngram 2008;European Commission 2006;Epstein and Gang 2006;Faini 1999;Fidrmuc and Huber 2007;Frieze et al 2004;Krieger 2004 5. Katz and Stark (1987: 722) present an example that produces a U-shaped pattern by skill level: only the lower level skills and higher level skills migrate.…”

Human behaviour and economic growth: A psychocultural perspective on local and regional development

“…This psychocultural behaviour is least evident in Greater London and more prevalent in the North of England, Scotland and South Wales (see Figure A1 -Online Appendix). Higher levels tend to be found in more rural localities such as West Somerset (South West England), with larger urban areas displaying less evidence, which could again reflect selective migration of more ambitious individuals to more dynamic economies (Boneva et al, 1998), or conditioning by the economic conditions (Steel et al, 2008;Jokela et al, 2015).…”

“…Complementary community cultures and personality traits reinforce one another to create quite distinct psychocultural behaviour profiles (Boneva et al, 1998;Hofstede and McCrae, 2004;Rentfrow et al, 2013). Three forms of psychocultural behavioural profile are identified.…”

“…At the other end of the spectrum, where agreeableness is higher, it is suggested that outward migration is reduced (Jokela et al, 2008;Boneva et al, 1998). This helps to generate a more socially cohesive society, potentially to such an extent that outsiders are excluded (Rodríguez-Pose and Storper, 2006).…”