Implicit Motive Profile Analysis: An If‐Then Contingency Approach to the Picture‐Story Exercise

Abstract

Picture‐story exercise (PSE) measures of implicit motives provide objective, stable, and valid scores. However, PSE scores are also characterized by substantial variability from one picture to the next, resulting in low internal consistency estimates. We argue that this variability is a critical source of the PSE's validity because it reveals stable if‐then contingencies between the situational contexts represented by the picture cues and individuals' motivational responses to them. We also present the correspondence hypothesis, according to which the situational cues in the PSE are representative of specific real‐life situations and a person's imaginative‐story responses to the PSE cues therefore also reflect his or her real‐life responses to such situations. We review corroborating research and discuss the implications of the if‐then contingency approach for assessment, prediction, and for the measurement of motivational congruence.

Endocrine and aggressive responses to competition are moderated by contest outcome, gender, individual versus team competition, and implicit motives

“…Our picture-story measure of motives was geared towards the differentiated assessment of nPower, but was less suitable in terms of score distributions for the assessment of nAffiliation, which may explain the relative lack of effects obtained for the latter motive. Researchers interested in a more detailed study of the contribution of nAffiliation to hormonal and behavioral responses to competitions, particularly when looking at teams, should therefore compile a picture story measure geared specifically towards the assessment of this motive [ 82 ]. Moreover, due to limitations in how much work each coder could do, we had four coders code the picture stories of four subsets of participants and later converted the scores obtained in each subset to z scores.…”

Enhancing Congruence between Implicit Motives and Explicit Goal Commitments: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…But they were also encouraged to draw on the peak experience they had listed for this domain to identify potentially rewarding aspects of this goal. The latter strategy is based on the premise that a weak motive does not necessarily imply that the person cannot cherish the incentives associated with this motive, only that he or she responds to fewer of them (see Schultheiss and Schultheiss, 2014 ).…”

Stability of and Changes in Implicit Motives. A Narrative Review of Empirical Studies

“…Implicit motives exist in all human beings, but are expressed to different degrees in each individual. Researchers conclude that the capacity to develop implicit motives is innate and that individual differences are mainly attributable to early (prelinguistic) learning experiences (Weinberger and McClelland, 1990 ; for recent reviews on the interaction between implicit motives and learning/memory see Schultheiss and Köllner, 2014 ; Schultheiss and Schultheiss, 2014 ). McClelland ( 1985 ) argued that implicit motives are automatic impulses triggered by environmental variables (e.g., a baby being touched by its mother) to act in a specific way (e.g., seeking contact) that enhances the likelihood of pleasurable affective experiences (e.g., feeling accepted).…”