Motivational induction and the behavior correlates of the achievement and affiliation motives.

The present study derives from previous work in this area with which the author was involved (see 33: 7674). Herein, the effects of picture cues, picture order, individual vs. group administration, measures of performance on certain tasks, and varying kinds of instructions on TAT stories were investigated. "Motivating" instructions and high ACE Q scores were significantly correlated with high performance on the problems; predictions in regard to characteristics of motive and performance were made but not supported by the data of the TAT stories. The study is related to others in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational state regulates the content of learned flavor preferences.

Rats acquired a preference for an aqueous odor (almond) presented in simultaneous compound with sucrose. Separate presentations of saccharin reduced this preference in rats with ad-lib access to food during training or at test, but not in rats that were hungry during both training and test. In contrast, separate presentations of sucrose reduced the preference for the almond irrespective of deprivation state during training and test. We interpret the results to mean that a hungry rat forms odor–taste and odor–calorie associations, and its motivational state on test determines which of these associations controls the preference. In contrast, a rat that is not hungry during training only forms an odor-taste association, and its performance on test is independent of its level of hunger. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure and health correlates of trait repetitive thought in older adults.

Repetitive thought (RT) involves frequent or prolonged thoughts about oneself and one's world, encompassing discrete forms such as trait worry, rumination, processing, and reminiscing. These forms of RT can be described using 3 basic, underlying qualities: total propensity for RT of all types, valence (positive vs. negative content), and purpose (searching or uncertainty vs. solving or certainty). The adaptiveness of discrete forms with regard to health is likely to be related to these qualities, particularly valence and total propensity. The present study confirmed the model and identified the relationship of these qualities of RT to subjective psychological, physical, and cognitive health in older adults aged 60–94 (N = 179). As predicted, more negatively valenced trait RT was associated with worse psychological, physical, and cognitive health. More total propensity for RT was associated only with worse psychological health. Searching purpose was associated only with worse cognitive health. In turn, negatively valenced RT was predicted by poorer executive functions, suggesting that such functions may be important for directing this quality of RT. The valence of older adults' RT is important insofar as it may contribute to their sense of good or ill health. However, the propensity for all kinds of RT to associate with poorer psychological health may reflect the co-occurrence of negative and positive RT, such as rumination and emotional processing. Although RT has not been extensively investigated in older adults, it appears to play an important role in their subjective health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A review and meta-analysis of the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of organizational commitment.

In this article, we summarize previous empirical studies that examined antecedents, correlates, and/or consequences of organizational commitment using meta-analysis. In total, 48 meta-analyses were conducted, including 26 variables classified as antecedents, 8 as consequences, and 14 as correlates. Statistical artifacts were found to account for the variance between studies in only one meta-analysis that used attendance. Type of organizational commitment (attitudinal vs. calculative) was proposed as a moderator variable and was found to account for significant between-study variance in 9 of 18 comparisons. Theoretical and methodological issues pertaining to the measurement of various forms of organizational commitment, its interrelations with other forms of attachments, and its role in causal models of behavior in organizations are reviewed. Directions for future research are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cross-cultural personality correlates of intensity and content category of positive experiences.

Investigated the relationship between teenagers' personality traits and 2 aspects of their most positive remembered experiences (MPREs)—intensity and content—across cultures expected to differ on these variables. 192 male and 159 female Israeli Arabs, 166 male and 191 female Israeli Jews, and 195 male and 191 female US Christians (aged 14–15 yrs) completed a high school personality questionnaire (HSPQ) and a positive experience questionnaire (PEQ). MPREs elicited by the PEQ were rated on a 4-point intensity scale and then classified as with external world, with self, or interpersonal. Results indicate that, despite cultural differences in mean intensities and content-category distributions, 9 of the HSPQs' 14 personality factors correlated (beyond the effect of culture) with either intensity, content category, or both. Content categories exhibited sharply differentiated personality factor tendencies. Intensity-linked personality factor tendencies seemed consistent with self-actualizer characteristics described by A. H. Maslow (1971). (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Objective personality test and sociometric correlates of frequency of sick bay visits.

What are those Marine officers who appear for sick call seeking medical care like? Personality test scores, sociometric ranking of pilot efficiency, officer-like qualities, and social acceptability in their squadron were related to an index of frequency of sick call visits. Some traits were related to frequency of sick bay visits. Those having the lowest sociometric ratings appeared most often. Educational level and intelligence were unrelated. "Primary personality, and temperamental traits may be the underlying factors related to the tendency to seek frequent medical consultation and to lower sociometric ratings." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3LD04K. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conviction and commitment.

Comments on R. P. Abelson's (see record 1988-23399-001) work noting the necessity of exploring conviction. The present author suggests 5 methods of measuring conviction/commitment that need to be compared in research using Abelson's approach. These include (1) ego involvement research by M. Sherif and C. W. Sherif (1956) and C. W. Sherif (1980), (2) M. Rokeach's (published 1973–1980) research on values, (3) the definition and measurement of values growing out of reasoned action approaches in social psychology, (4) the intrinsic/extrinsic distinction in the psychology of religion, and (5) attitudes themselves as measures of commitment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational control of blocking.

Hungry and thirsty rats lever pressed for food pellets in 1 visual stimulus (V1) and for a saline solution in another stimulus (V2). In a 2nd phase, the rats were made either hungry or thirsty and pressed for a starch solution in 2 stimulus compounds, each containing 1 of the visual cues and an auditory cue, that is, V1A1 and V2A2. On test, rats responded less to A1 than to A2 when hungry but less to A2 than to A1 when thirsty. Two further experiments replicated this selective blocking effect when the rats were both hungry and thirsty during Phase 2 and demonstrated that the magnitude of blocking was comparable to that observed when the reinforcer identity was held constant across the 2 phases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task-unrelated thought frequency as a function of age: A laboratory study.

Using retrospective reports, Giambra (1977–1978, 1979–1980) found an inverse relation between age and daydreaming/mind wandering. To deal with an alternate explanation of these results based on age-dependent memorial deficiencies and attitudes toward daydreaming/mind wandering and to provide independent convergent validity, five experiments were carried out. Task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) were taken as the operational definition of daydreams/mind wanderings and their frequency recorded in vigilance tasks. All five experiments found an inverse relation between age (17–92 years, N?=?471) and TUTs, confirming the reliability and validity of the earlier studies. The age-dependent reduction in TUTs was considered as evidence of reduced nonconscious information processing with increased age. The results of this study were incompatible with a recent theory that predicts for older individuals an increased input of irrelevant thoughts into working memory due to the older individual's reduced inhibitory control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational conflict and vocational development.

Presents a classification of the sources of motivational conflicts found in college students seeking counseling for vocational problems and their application to 82 vocational counseling cases. The major classification categories of synthetic difficulties, identity problems, gratification conflicts, change orientation, and overt pathology were derived from case notes and recent emphasis on a developmental approach to vocational choice that emphasizes personality development and treats successive choice points as transitional periods in a continuous process. Since the vocational choice task involves negotiating an integration of operating identity (needs, identification, skills, impulse-defense styles, and values) with occupational roles, the classification of motivational conflicts as a source of difficulty in vocational indecision offers a useful method for explicating issues in vocational-choice counseling. Applications to differential counseling processes are discussed. (l7 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotion perception is mediated by spatial frequency content.

Spatial frequencies have been shown to play an important role in face identification, but very few studies have investigated the role of spatial frequency content in identifying different emotions. In the present study we investigated the role of spatial frequency in identifying happy and sad facial expressions. Two experiments were conducted to investigate (a) the role of specific spatial frequency content in emotion identification, and (b) hemispherical asymmetry in emotion identification. Given the links between global processing, happy emotions, and low frequencies, we hypothesized that low spatial frequencies would be important for identifying the happy expression. Correspondingly, we also hypothesized that high spatial frequencies would be important in identifying the sad expression given the links between local processing, sad emotions, and high spatial frequencies. As expected we found that the identification of happy expression was dependent on low spatial frequencies and the identification of sad expression was dependent on high spatial frequencies. There was a hemispheric asymmetry with the identification of sad expression, especially in the right hemisphere, possibly mediated by high spatial frequency content. Results indicate the importance of spatial frequency content in the identification of happy and sad emotional expressions and point to the mechanisms involved in emotion identification. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring impulse control in institutionalized delinquents using Rorschach content and thought process scales.

Separated 20 institutionalized delinquent males by judges into a more controlled (GGs) and more impulsive (SSs) group. Ss were matched by age, IQ, and ethnic origin. Rorschachs were individually administered and scored on 6 content scales and 2 thought process scales. A single control score derived from these scales significantly differentiated the 2 groups. In particular, the SSs produced more content similar to that hypothesized for manic patients while the GGs demonstrated more thinking which involved exaggerated attempts at control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transformation in narrative thought during adolescence: The structure and content of story compositions.

Narrative understanding has been identified as a primary mode of human thought that informs us about the nature, causes, and consequences of human actions and interactions and, as such, underlies social knowledge. The development of narrative thought was investigated by analyzing the structural complexity and social-psychological understanding displayed in the story compositions of 151 adolescents aged 10 to 18 years. A clear developmental progression was observed in structural complexity in terms of plot structure and the construction of flashbacks. Also observed was a clear developmental trend in social-psychological content from an intentional understanding of human behavior in terms of immediate feelings, thoughts, and goals to an interpretive understanding in terms of personal history, long-standing psychological traits, and broader contextual factors. Gender differences were also noted, with girls outperforming boys on some measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational processes affecting learning.

Describes how motivational processes influence a child's acquisition, transfer, and use of knowledge and skills. Recent research within the social-cognitive framework illustrates adaptive and maladaptive motivational patterns, and a research-based model of motivational processes is presented that shows how the particular performance or learning goals children pursue on cognitive tasks shape their reactions to success and failure and influence the quality of their cognitive performance. Implications for practice and the design of interventions to change maladaptive motivational processes are outlined. It is suggested that motivational patterns may contribute to gender differences in mathematics achievement and that empirically based interventions may prevent current achievement discrepancies and provide a basis for more effective socialization. (79 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational interviewing and the social context.

Comments on the article by Miller and Rose (see record 2009-13007-002). As Miller and Rose opened “the black box of treatment to examine linkages between processes of delivery and client outcomes” (p. 529) in motivational interviewing (MI), it is important that their model include factors from the social context that may explain conditions that enhance or diminish MI interventions. Aspects of the social context may serve as mediators or moderators of the relational (MI spirit) and technical (change talk) components in MI theory. In this comment, the author suggests the addition of social influence to their theoretical model. The author suggests that existing research on the role of significant others argues that the conceptual model should include a box for Social Influence as a hypothesized process variable that relates to “Client Preparatory Change Talk and Diminished Resistance” and “Commitment to Behavior Change” (see Figure 1, p. 530). In addition, a second new box, labeled Significant Other Training in MI, should be added in direct relationship to the new Social Influence variable. Further research is needed to explore these variables and their specific functions within the model. These additions to the theoretical model affirm the active components of MI and potentially extend the effects through positive social influence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational variables and children's text search.

This experiment investigated the effects of choice and response format on children's search of informational text. We compared the information-seeking performance of 42 Grade 3 children who were given a choice of books with 42 children who were not given a choice. Half of the children in the choice and no-choice conditions were instructed to record their answers on a theme board, and half were instructed to write their answers on a work sheet. Children were randomly assigned to the following conditions: (a) choice–theme board, (b) choice–work sheet, (c) no-choice–theme board, and (d) no-choice–work sheet. Prior knowledge and topic interest were included as covariates. Choice of topic facilitated both performance and process measures, whereas response format affected process measures only. Prior knowledge emerged as a significant contributor to accuracy and time to locate information. Children's text search was affected by choice and context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational determinants of job performance.

Studied V. Vroom's expectancy theory model in relation to work performance. 138 incentive workers employed in a steel fabricating plant participated in the study. The data indicate that the total expectancy model is a valid indicator of job performance, although the variances explained by the various parts of the theory were low. Several operational problems in defining the basic measures used in testing Vroom's theory are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational factors in health and disease.

Evidence is reviewed that measures of motive strength, as measured through content analysis of associative thought, are related to physiological systems, the functioning of which affect health outcomes. Studies show that affiliative and power motive syndromes assessed in associative thought are associated with health and illness. A relaxed or easygoing affiliative motive syndrome characterizes insulin dependent Type I diabetics and can, if aroused, lead to poorer blood sugar control in such diabetics. A stressed power motive syndrome is associated with sympathetic activation, release of stress hormones, depressed immune functions, and greater susceptibility to infectious diseases. Affiliative trust and a greater sense of agency as measured in associative thought content are associated with better health. An intervention study and a longitudinal study have demonstrated that differences in the levels of these motivational variables are not simply the result of illness but lead to alterations in subsequent health status. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational Control of Second-Order Conditioning.

Two experiments examined the motivational specificity of the associations that support 2nd-order conditioning. In the 1st phase of each experiment rats were exposed to 2 visual conditioned stimuli (CSs) paired with either a saline or food pellet unconditioned stimulus (US) prior to exposure to 2nd-order conditioning using 2 auditory CSs, 1 paired with each visual CS. Rats' motivational state was then shifted prior to a test such that if and only if specific motivational features of the 1st-order training US played a role in the 2nd-order associative structure would responding to the 2nd-order cues shift appropriately with the state change. Even when the US was irrelevant to the training motivational state, shifts in state revealed that it was encoded within the associative structure supporting 2nd-order responding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational type and the satisfaction-performance relationship.

Discusses the importance of individual differences in the area of job satisfaction and work motivation. The logic of subgrouping was combined with a consideration of individual differences in the motivation to work in an attempt to shed some light on the satisfaction-performance relationship. 175 professional engineers were subgrouped on 3 motivational dimensions. Motivational type was tested as a moderator of the relationship between 5 factor analytically derived satisfaction dimensions and 6 performance dimensions. 2 of the emerging types showed moderator characteristics. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)