Dispositional attribution: multiple inferences about motive-related traits

This research views dispositional inference as a process whereby perceivers integrate multiple inferences about a target person's motives and traits. The findings suggest that although perceived motives may stimulate extra attributional processing (S. Fein, 1996), the content of the inferred motive is important as well. Perceivers learned about situational forces implying that a target person had free choice, no choice, or an ulterior motive for helpful behavior. Inferences about the target's helpfulness differed depending on whether the target's behavior was attributed to an obedience motive (no-choice condition) or to a selfish motive (ulterior-motive condition). In general, inferences about motives were more predictive of dispositional inferences than were global causal attributions (to situational vs. dispositional forces) or base rate assumptions.     

The effects of experimenter's instructions, feedback, and praise on teacher praise and student attending behavior

Systematic use of experimenter's instructions, feedback, and feedback plus social praise was used to increase teacher praise for student attending behavior of three elementary school teachers. Experimenter's verbal interactions with teachers, teacher's verbal praise for student behaviors, and pupil attending behavior were recorded during baseline conditions. As the three successive experimental conditions were introduced first with Teacher A, then with Teacher B, in a multiple baseline design, behaviors of the experimenter, the two teachers, and eight students were measured and recorded. In the cases of Teachers A and B, experimental condition one (Instructions) and experimental condition two (Feedback) produced inconclusive results. Experimental condition three (Feedback Plus Social Praise) produced more teacher praise for student attending behavior. The entire "Package" of Experimenter's Instructions, Feedback, and Feedback Plus Social Praise was introduced to Teacher C in a single experimental condition. As in the cases of Teachers A and B, behaviors measured were: (1) the experimenter's verbal interactions, (2) the teacher's praise of students, and (3) the student's attending behavior. Introduction of the "Package" also produced more teacher praise for student attending behavior.     

Psychopathic traits,gender, and motivations for sex: Putative paths to sexual coercion

Evidence suggests that both men and women perpetrate sexual coercion. Psychological factors, including psychopathic traits and power motivations, have been proposed to characterize male-perpetrated sexual coercion; however, it is unclear whether these factors play a similar role in female-perpetrated coercion or whether other motivations (e.g., intimacy, affect regulation) should be considered. To improve our understanding in this area, the current study first examined relationships between psychopathic traits and sexual coercion in a sample of 1199 undergraduate students (756 women), with gender as a potential moderator of these relationships. Second, the role of motivations for sex (e.g., power, affect regulation) in accounting for the psychopathy-coercion relationship was examined in men and women. Data were collected using an online survey and analyzed using multigroup path analysis. Results implicated impulsive-antisocial traits as particularly important to male-perpetrated verbal (e.g., manipulative) and nonverbal (e.g., physical) coercion, and that this relationship was partially explained by motives for sex involving power. In contrast, psychopathic traits did not appear to play a major role in female perpetrated coercion; instead, emotional value (i.e., intimacy-related) motivations for sex were associated with verbal (e.g., manipulation) coercion in women. In sum, our results support a conceptual model of male perpetration where men who are high in impulsive-antisocial traits may engage in sexual coercion in an attempt to feel powerful. Further, the findings in the female sample suggest that factors other than psychopathy, such as gender role beliefs in regard to sexual encounters, may be particularly important to female perpetrated sexually coercive behavior.     

...And some men have leadership thrust upon them.

Viewing leadership behavior as a joint function of situational factors, individual predispositions, and followers' responsive behavior, this study used 64 subjects, half of them high and half of them low in measured leadership self-concept. Half had a high and half a low stake in a group task. Each subject was twice appointed leader of a three-man group, once exposed to "followers" (experimenter's condederates,) altercasting him to lead, once to followers alter-casting him to follow. Multivariate analyses of variance showed effects of followers' behavior on profiles of a subject's behavior (when subjects were pushed to lead they led, when pushed to follow they increased socioemotional activity) and perceptions of followers. These effects were specified by leadership self-concept (little difference between groups when confronting pushy followers, more when confronting passive ones), prompting an interpretation in terms of role incongruity.     

The effects of overhearing peers discuss an authority's fairness reputation on reactions to subsequent treatment

Fairness heuristic theory was used to examine how information from one's peers affects an individual's interpretation of, and reactions to, an authority's subsequent behavior. Participants (N=105) overheard their peers discuss an experimenter's reputation (fair, unfair, or absent) before interacting with the experimenter who behaved more versus less fairly. Results showed that the social cues biased participants' subsequent information processing: controlling for the experimenter's behavior, interactional justice mediated the effect of social cues on retaliation. Social cues and the authority's behavior also interacted to predict retaliation. Participants who were treated less fairly retaliated more after being led to expect fair treatment than did participants who heard no prior information about the experimenter.     

The Expression of Achievement Motives in Interpersonal Problems

ABSTRACT Achievement motivation influences self-regulatory strategies, affective processes, and achievement outcomes, but little is known about how individual differences in achievement motivation influence interpersonal behavior. Different forms of achievement motivation are likely to influence interpersonal behavior because achievement motives are grounded in social emotions. Two studies were conducted to examine relations between achievement motives and dispositional interpersonal problems. These studies linked deficits in pride-based need for achievement with self-reported submission-related interpersonal problems, and shame-based fear of failure (FF) with both self- and peer-reported interpersonal distress. The achievement motives were largely not associated with individuals' perceptions of their peers' interpersonal problems. These findings reinforce propositions that FF represents the commingling of achievement and relational concerns and suggest new mechanisms by which achievement motives may influence productivity, social success, and well-being.     

The role of goal-directed behavior in intention attribution in children

In this study, we addressed the question of the nature of the information needed by 13-month-old infants to understand another agent's intentions. In two experiments, an experimenter was either unable or unwilling to give a toy to an infant. Importantly, an implement (a gutter in which the toy could roll down toward the infant) was used to make the experimenter's behavior as similar as possible in the two conditions. When the experimenter remained still in both conditions, infants did not behave differently according to the experimenter's intentions, suggesting that they did not infer them. By contrast, in a second experiment, where the experimenter performed an action directed toward the gutter in both conditions, the infants looked away from the experimental setting more often and longer in the unwilling condition than in the unable condition. They also looked more toward the experimenter in the unable condition than in the unwilling condition. Therefore, we conclude that an agent's intentional attitude can already be inferred by a 13-month-old provided that this intention is concretely shown through a goal-directed action.     

Inferences about the morality of an aggressor: the role of perceived motive

The research investigated perceivers' inferences about the morality of target persons who engaged in aggressive behavior. Across several experiments, inferences about the morality of an aggressor were based more on the perceived motives of the target than on the presence of facilitating situational forces. For example, when a target's aggression was facilitated by personal rewards for aggression (instrumental aggression), perceivers inferred more negative motives and attributed lower morality to the target than when the target's aggression was facilitated by situational provocation (reactive aggression). The results suggest that perceived motives play an important role in dispositional inference and pose a problem for models that focus primarily on perceived causality, assumptions about base rates (consensus), or diagnosticity.     

Reciprocal relationships between contextual and situational motivation in a sport setting

ObjectiveThe purpose of this investigation was to test the hypothesized reciprocal top-down (TD) and bottom-up (BU) relationships between motivation at one given level and motivation at the next adjacent level in Vallerand's [1997, Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 271–360). New York: Academic Press] Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation. These postulates were examined in two studies, whereby the dynamic interplay between motivation toward a specific life domain (i.e., contextual) and the motivation experienced during a specific point in time (i.e., situational) was examined.Method and ResultsIn Study 1, a sample of collegiate basketball players (N=162) were followed during two games at a pre-season tournament. Reciprocal TD and BU effects between athletes’ contextual motivation toward their sport and the situational motivation they experienced during their games were expected. The influence of situational factors such as perceptions of personal and team performance on situational motivation was also examined. Results from path analyses provided support for our hypotheses. Study 2 (N=150) replicated the findings of Study 1 which followed athletes during an entire basketball season. Reciprocal TD and BU effects between athletes’ contextual motivation toward their sport and the situational motivation they experienced during games of each half of the season were observed. Moreover, contextual motivation assessed at the end of the season predicted athletes’ sustained interest in their sport. Results from Study 2, also provided support for the mediating role of psychological need satisfaction on the relationship between situational factors such as perceptions of personal and team performance on athletes’ situational motivation experienced during games.ConclusionImplications for intrinsic/extrinsic motivation theory and research in the sports domain are discussed.     

行为的跨情境一致性及人格与行为的关系——对人格内涵及其中西方差异的理论与实证分析

旨在对行为的跨情境一致性和人格的内涵等问题进行跨文化的理论和实证分析。人格内容被划分为4个层次,包括个体的外显行为、内心体验、动机和神经生理基础等,文化对人格的不同内容都会产生一定的影响。同时,不同情境下的行为由于受到来自个体内部不同动机（自我统一性动机与适应环境要求的动机）的影响而出现跨情境的一致或不一致。文中从理论和实证角度对上述问题进行了分析,并提出了进一步研究的方向     

Goal-Driven Cognition and Functional Behavior: The Fundamental-Motives Framework

Fundamental motives have direct implications for evolutionary fitness and orchestrate attention, memory, and social inference in functionally specific ways. Motivational states linked to self-protection and mating offer illustrative examples. When self-protective motives are aroused, people show enhanced attention to, and memory for, angry male strangers; they also perceive out-group members as especially dangerous. In contrast, when mating motives are aroused, men show enhanced attention to and memory for attractive members of the opposite sex; mating motives also lead men (but not women) to perceive sexual arousal in attractive members of the opposite sex. There are further functionally specific consequences for social behavior. For example, self-protective motives increase conformity among both men and women, whereas mating motives lead men (but not women) to engage in anticonformist behavior. Other motivational systems trigger different adaptive patterns of cognitive and behavioral responses. This body of research illustrates the highly specific consequences of fitness-relevant motivational states for cognition and behavior, and highlights the value of studying human motivation and cognition within an evolutionary framework.     

On the investigation of primed and chronic autonomous and heteronomous motivational orientations

Four studies examined primed and chronic autonomous and heteronomous motivations. Study 1 showed that autonomy and heteronomy can be primed and influence perceptions and behavior in a way consistent with consciously regulated motives. In Study 2, a measure of chronic motivation was developed and its construct validity and reliability were assessed. In Study 3, the chronicity measure predicted behavior while consciously regulated motives predicted intention but not behavior. Results of Study 4 replicated results of the priming manipulation in Study 1. However, this effect was moderated by level of motivational chronicity. The priming effect was found to be stronger for non-chronics than for chronics. Overall, the findings suggest that autonomous and heteronomous motivations can be regulated automatically as well as consciously.     

Better to Give and to Compete? Prosocial and Competitive Motives as Interactive Predictors of Citizenship Behavior

Research has returned mixed results concerning the relationship between prosocial motivation and citizenship behavior. Building from research suggesting that mixed motives might explain these equivocal findings, we conducted two field studies examining the interaction between prosocial and competitive motives and two types of citizenship behavior. Prosocial motivation, but not competitive motivation, was positively related to citizenship behavior directed at others, though this relationship was weakened when prosocial motives were accompanied by competitive motives. Prosocial motives compensated for weak competitive motives to predict citizenship behavior directed toward the organization. Our studies expand research on prosocial and competitive motivation, mixed-motives, and citizenship behavior. Further, they carry personnel implications given that many organizations seek to hire employees high on both competitive and prosocial motivation.     

The face of personality: Adaptive inferences from facial cues are moderated by perceiver personality and motives

Humans have historically been interested in understanding stable individual differences in behavioral tendencies, often referred to as personality traits. Recent work suggests that between‐person personality variability may be adaptive insofar as certain variations in personality constellations facilitate survival and reproduction across various types of groups and ecological niches. While past research has demonstrated that personality can be accurately inferred from self‐reports, other‐reports, and targets' past behavior, we discuss a more contemporary, yet understudied, means of personality inference: facial structure. We summarize research on personality traits that can be accurately inferred from facial structure, as well as how aspects of individuals' own personality, chronically accessible motives, and acutely activated goals lead to preferences for facially communicated personality that would aid in the satisfaction of these goals (e.g., higher need to belong predicts a stronger preference for faces whose structure communicates greater extraversion). We also discuss limitations of current approaches to understanding the relationship between perceiver personality and motives and their relation to perceptions of facially communicated personality as well as fruitful directions for future research.     

Examination of the Association Among Personality Traits,Anxiety Sensitivity,and Cannabis Use Motives in a Community Sample

Personality factors, such as neuroticism, are important for understanding motives for cannabis use; however, few studies have examined the role of neuroticism in the context of other personality factors, or possible mechanisms accounting for an association between neuroticism and motives for use. The present study examined concurrent associations between personality traits (i.e., conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) and cannabis use motives, and the role of anxiety sensitivity (AS) in the association between neuroticism and coping cannabis use motives. Seventy young adults endorsing past-month cannabis use (58.6 % female, M _age = 20.91) completed self-report measures. Linear regressions were conducted to examine the concurrent associations between personality factors and cannabis use motives. Higher levels of neuroticism, but no other personality traits, were significantly associated with greater coping (β = 45, p < .01) and expansion (β = 0.29, p = <.05) motives. Bootstrap analysis (10,000 re-samples) revealed that a significant portion of the relationship between neuroticism and coping motives was explained by AS (point estimate = 0.029, PB 95 % CI: 0.0089 to 0.0615). Greater neuroticism may result in heightened sensitivity to arousal, which may then increase motivation to use cannabis to alleviate such arousal.     

公正世界信念与跨情境动机效应

采用2（公正世界信念状态：公正vs不公正）×2（中奖者的个性品质：正向vs负向）被试间实验设计,以在校大学生为被试,考察公正世界信念是否具有跨情境动机效应。结果发现：预先激活的公正世界信念状态迁移到了回忆不同个性品质中奖者奖金数额这个不同情境中,影响了人们的记忆。表明公正世界信念存在跨情境动机效应。     

An integrative analysis of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in sport

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to propose a motivational sequence that integrates much of the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation literature in sport. The proposed motivational sequence: “Social Factors → Psychological Mediators → Types of Motivation → Consequences” is in line with self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan. 1985. 1991) and the Hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Vallerand, 1997). Using the sequence, it is first shown that the motivational impact of social factors inherent in sport, such as competition/cooperation, success/failure, and coaches' behaviors toward athletes, takes place through their influence on athletes' perceptions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness (i.e., the psychological mediators). Second, recent results are provided with respect to a new multidimensional measure (i.e., the Sport Motivation Scale; Pelletier et al., 1995) to assess the different types of athletes' motives. Third, we review findings that suggest that such sport motives lead to various consequences for the athlete e.g.     

Task-Intrinsic and Social-Extrinsic Sources of Arousal for Motives Assessed in Fantasy and Self-Report

ABSTRACT A review of the literature on individual differences in motive dispositions points toward the importance of distinguishing between motives as assessed in fantasy and self-report. We proposed that these two modes of assessment have identified independent motivational systems that influence behavior in different ways. Two experiments were designed to show that the two kinds of motives are unrelated to one another and are aroused by different factors in a performance situation. It was hypothesized that motives as assessed from fantasy (seen as implicit needs) are primarily aroused by factors intrinsic to the process of performing an activity, whereas motives obtained through self-report inventories (seen as self-attributed needs) are aroused by social factors that are extrinsic to the process of performing an activity (e.g., the way in which a task is presented by an experimenter). In the first experiment, performance on a memory task was shown to depend on the interaction of subjects' self-reported motive for achievement with achievement-arousing instructions, whereas performance on a word-finding puzzle depended on the interaction of subjects' fantasy need for achievement with the puzzle's level of intrinsic challenge. A second experiment generalized these findings to the power domain.