Motives in American men and women across the adult life span.

The stability and change in four social motives (achievement, affiliation, fear of weakness, hope of power) over the adult life cycle were investigated in two surveys representative of the American population. One sample of 1,363 respondents was drawn in 1957; the other of 1,208 respondents, in 1976. Motives were assessed by established procedures that coded thematic apperceptive content for motivational imagery. Some age differences in motives were evident in both samples: Women's achievement and affiliation motives decline in older ages; men's hope of power is distinctly high at mid-life. These major age effects were found to depend on work and family patterns. By and large, however, the strength of the motives is remarkably similar over different age groups. Year and education differences moderate some of these results. Although not robust, indications of some cohort stability in certain motives emerge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)