Abstract
The literature on motivational measures from 1930 to 2005 is reviewed. First, major theoretical models in the area are discussed. Next, a search of PsycINFO is reported for the most frequently employed measures of motivation, with additional support from an SPSP Listserv query of researchers. From this, a diverse group of measures is sorted into various categories, including general scales, context-specific scales (e.g., schooling, work, athletics), and new scales of significance. Then, a descriptive taxonomy of measures in the field of motivation is suggested in order to synthesize ideas about measurement scales. Suggestions are offered for further research in motivational measurement.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allport, G. W. (1937). Personality: A psychological interpretation. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
Allport, G. W., & Ross, J. M. (1967). Personal religious orientation and prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 432–443.
Allport, G., Vernon, P., & Lindzey, G. (1960). A study of values: A scale for measuring the dominant interests in personality (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Amabile, T. M., Hill, K. G., Hennessey, B. A., & Tighe, E. M. (1994). The Work Preference Inventory: Assessing intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 950–967.
Baker, L., & Wigfield, A. (1999). Dimensions of children’s motivation for reading and their relations to reading activity and reading achievement. Reading Research Quarterly, 34, 452–477.
Barbuto, J. E. Jr., & Scholl, R. W. (1998). Motivational Sources Inventory: Development and validation of new scales to measure an integrative taxonomy of motivation. Psychological Reports, 82(3, Pt 1), 1011–1022.
Biernat, M. (1989). Motives and values to achieve: Different constructs with different effects. Journal of Personality, 57, 69–95.
Boyle, G. J., Start, K. B., & Lawry, R. (1988). A first delineation of higher-order factors in the Children’s Motivation Analysis Test (CMAT). Psychologische Beitrage, 30, 556–567.
Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 822–848.
Brunstein, J. C., Schultheiss, O. C., & Grässman, R. (1998). Personal goals and emotional well-being: The moderating role of motive dispositions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 494–508.
Burger, J. M., & Cooper, H. M. (1979). The desirability of control. Motivation and Emotion, 3, 381–393.
Buros, O. K. (Ed.) (1978). The eighth mental measurements yearbook (Vols I & II). Highland Park, NJ: Gryphon Press.
Cacioppo, J. T., Petty, R. E., Feinstein, J. A., & Jarvis, W. B. G. (1996). Dispositional differences in cognitive motivation: The life and times of individuals varying in need for cognition. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 197–253.
Campbell, D. T., & Fiske, D. W. (1959). Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56, 81–105.
Carver, C. S., & White, T. L. (1994). Behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: The BIS/BAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 319–333.
Cattell, R. B., Radcliffe, J. A., & Sweney, A. B. (1963). The nature and measurement of components of motivation. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 68, 49–211.
Cervone, D., Shadel, W. G., & Jencius, S. (2001). Social-cognitive theory of personality assessment. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5, 33–51.
Cesario, J., Grant, H., & Higgins, E. T. (2004). Regulatory fit and persuasion: Transfer from “feeling right”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 388–404.
Clarke, D. E. (1973). Measures of achievement and affiliation motivation. Review of Educational Research, 43, 41–51.
Cooke, R. A., & Rousseau, D. M. (1983). The factor structure of Level I: Life Styles Inventory. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 43, 449–457.
Cox, W. M., Heinemann, A. W., Miranti, S. V., Schmidt, M., Klinger, E., & Blount, J. (2003). Outcomes of systematic motivational counseling for substance use following traumatic brain injury. Journal of Addictive Diseases, 22, 93–110.
Cox, W. M., & Klinger, E. (Eds.) (2004). Handbook of motivational counseling: Concepts, approaches, and assessment. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Cramer, P. (1996). Storytelling, narrative, and the Thematic Apperception Test. New York: Guilford Press.
Cunningham, C. H., Wakefield, J. A. Jr., & Ward, G. R. (1975). An empirical comparison of Maslow’s and Murray’s needs systems. Journal of Personality Assessment, 39, 594–596.
deCharms, R. (1968). Personal causation. New York: Academic Press.
Deci, E. L., & Moller, A. C. (2005). The concept of competence: A starting place for understanding intrinsic motivation and self-determined extrinsic motivation. In A. J. Elliot & C. S. Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 579–597). New York: Guilford.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). The general causality orientations scale: Self-determination in personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 19, 109–134.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1987). The support of autonomy and the control of behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 1024–1037.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227–268.
DeNeve, K. M., & Cooper, H. (1998). The happy personality: A meta-analysis of 137 personality traits and subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 197–229.
Desrochers, S., & Dahir, V. (2000). Ambition as a motivational basis of organizational and professional commitment: Preliminary analysis of a proposed Career Advancement Ambition Scale. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 91, 563–570.
Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education. New York: Macmillan.
DiPerna, J. C., & Elliott, S. N. (1999). Development and validation of the Academic Competence Evaluation Scales. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 17, 207–225.
Dishman, R. K., Ickes, W., & Morgan, W. P. (1980). Self-motivation and adherence to habitual physical activity. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 10, 115–132.
Dolan, L. J. (1983). Validity analyses for the School Attitude Measures at three grade levels. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 43, 295–303.
Drummond, R. J., & McIntire, W. G. (1975). Note on test-retest reliability of the Self-concept and Motivation Inventory. Psychological Reports, 36, 563–566.
Duda, J. L., Chi, L., Newton, M. L., Walling, M. D., & Catley, D. (1995). Task and ego orientation and intrinsic motivation in sport. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 26, 40–63.
Dunton, B. C., & Fazio, R. H. (1997). An individual difference measure of motivation to control prejudiced reactions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 316–326.
Durand, V. M., & Crimmins, D. B. (1988). Identifying the variables maintaining self-injurious behavior. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 18, 99–117.
Edwards, A. L. (1959). Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (2nd ed.). Oxford, England: Psychological Corp.
Edwards, A. L., Abbott, R. D., & Klockars, A. J. (1972). A factor analysis of the EPPS and PRF personality inventories. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 32, 23–29.
Elliot, A. J., & Sheldon, K. M. (1997). Avoidance achievement motivation: A personal goals analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 171–185.
Emmons, R. A. (1986). Personal strivings: An approach to personality and subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1058–1068.
Fazio, R. H., & Olson, M. A. (2003). Implicit measures in social cognition research: Their meanings and uses. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 297–327.
Ferguson, E. (1994). Motivation. In R. J. Corsini (Ed.), Encyclopedia of psychology (2nd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 429–433). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Fineman, S. (1975). The Work Preference Questionnaire: A measure of managerial need for achievement. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 48, 11–32.
Fletcher, D., & Hanton, S. (2001). The relationship between psychological skills usage and competitive anxiety responses. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2, 89–101.
Fowler, P. C. (1986). Confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analysis of the Personality Research Form-E. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 42, 302–306.
Freud, S. (1915/1963). Instincts and their vicissitudes. In P. Rieff (Ed.), General psychological theory: Papers on metapsychology (C. M. Baines, Trans.). New York: Macmillan Publishing [Original work published 1915].
Freud, S. (1920/1950). Beyond the pleasure principle (J. Strachey, Trans.). New York: Liveright [Original work published 1920].
Funder, D. C. (1995). On the accuracy of personality judgment: A realistic approach. Psychological Review, 102, 652–670.
Gaertner, L., Sedikides, C., & Graetz, K. (1999). In search of the self-definition: Motivational primacy of the individual self, motivational primacy of the collective self, or contextual primacy? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 5–18.
Gaertner, L., Sedikides, C., Vevea, J. L., & Iuzzini, J. (2002). The “I,” the “we,” and the “when”: A meta-analysis of motivational primacy in self definition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 574–591.
Gangestad, S. W., & Snyder, M. (2000). Self-monitoring: Appraisal and reappraisal. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 530–555.
Geist, H. (1959). The Geist Picture Interest Inventory: General form: Male. Psychological Reports, 5, 413–438 (Monograph Supplement #3).
Gill, D. L., Dzewaltowski, D. A., & Deeter, T. E. (1988). The relationship of competitiveness and achievement orientation to participation in sport and nonsport activities. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 10, 139–150.
Gottfried, A. E. (1985). Academic intrinsic motivation in elementary and junior high school students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 631–645.
Gottfried, A. E., & Gottfried, A. W. (1996). A longitudinal study of academic intrinsic motivation in intellectually gifted children: Childhood through early adolescence. Gifted Child Quarterly, 40, 179–183.
Gould, D., Feltz, D., & Weiss, M. (1985). Motives for participating in competitive youth swimming. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 16, 126–140.
Greenwald, A. G., Banaji, M. R., Rudman, L. A., Farnham, S. D., Nosek. B. A., & Mellott, D. S. (2002). A unified theory of implicit attitudes, stereotypes, self-esteem, and self-concept. Psychological Review, 109, 3–25.
Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. L. K. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The Implicit Associations Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1464–1480.
Guay, F., Vallerand, R. J., & Blanchard, C. (2000). On the assessment of situational intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: The Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS). Motivation and Emotion, 24, 175–213.
Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1975). Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, 159–170.
Hall, C. R., Mack, D. E., Paivio, A., & Hausenblas, H. A. (1998). Imagery use by athletes: Development of the Sport Imagery Questionnaire. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 29, 73–89.
Hamilton, J. O. (1974). Validation of the Hermans Questionnaire measure of achievement motivation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1, 22–24.
Harlow, H. F. (1953). Mice, monkeys, men, and motives. Psychological Review, 60, 23–32.
Heckhausen, H., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (1987). Thought contents and cognitive functioning in motivational versus volitional states of mind. Motivation and Emotion, 11, 101–120.
Helmes, E., & Jackson, D. N. (1977). The item factor structure of the Personality Research Form. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 185–194.
Higgins, E. T., Friedman, R. S., Harlow, R. E., Idson, L. C., Ayduk, O. N., & Taylor, A. (2001). Achievement orientations from subjective histories of success: Promotion pride versus prevention pride. European Journal of Social Psychology, 31, 3–23.
Horowitz, L. M., Wilson, K. R., Turan, B., Zolotsev, P., Constantino, M. J., & Henderson, L. (2006). How interpersonal motives clarify the meaning of interpersonal behavior: A revised circumplex model. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 67–86.
Imparato, N. (1972). Relationship between Porter’s Need Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Job Descriptive Index. Journal of Applied Psychology, 56, 397–405.
Jackson, D. N. (1987). Personality Research Form—Form E. Port Huron, MI: Sigma Assessment Systems, Inc.
Jackson, D. N. (1999). Personality Research Form manual (3rd ed.). Port Huron, MI: Sigma Assessment Systems, Inc.
Jackson, D. N., Paunonen, S. V., Fraboni, M., & Goffin, R. D. (1996). A five-factor versus six-factor model of personality structure. Personality and Individual Differences, 20, 33–45.
Kassin, S. (1998). Psychology (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Kemmelmeier, M., Burnstein, E., Krumov, K., Genkova, P., Kanagawa, C., Hirshberg, M. S., et al. (2003). Individualism, collectivism, and authoritarianism in seven societies. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 34, 304–322.
Kimble, G. A. (1950). Evidence for the role of motivation in determining the amount of reminiscence in pursuit rotor learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 40, 248–253.
King, L. A. (1995). Wishes, motives, goals, and personal memories: Relations of measures of human motivation. Journal of Personality, 63, 985–1007.
King, L. A., & Emmons, R. A. (2000). Motivation: Assessment. In A. E. Kazdin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Psychology, Vol. 5 (pp. 320–324). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Klinger, E., Barta, S. G., & Maxeiner, M. E. (1980). Motivational correlates of thought content frequency and commitment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 1222–1237.
Koch, S. (1951). The current status of motivational psychology. Psychological Review, 58, 147–154.
Little, B. R. (1983). Personal projects: A rationale and method for investigation. Environment and Behavior, 15, 273–309.
Locke, K. D. (2000). Circumplex scales of interpersonal values: Reliability, validity, and applicability to interpersonal problems and personality disorders. Journal of Personality Assessment, 75, 249–267.
Lorr, M., & Seifert, R. F. (1977). First-order factor structure of the Personality Research Form. Journal of Personality Assessment, 41, 270–273.
Lynn, R. (1969). An achievement motivation questionnaire. British Journal of Psychology, 60, 529–534.
Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41, 954–969.
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human evolution. Psychological Review, 50, 370–396.
Mayer, J. D. (2004). A classification system for the data of personality psychology and adjoining fields. Review of General Psychology, 8, 208–219.
Mayes, B. T., & Ganster, D. C. (1983). A multitrait-multimethod matrix analysis of the PRF and MNQ need scales. Journal of Management, 9, 113–126.
McClelland, D. C. (1985). How motives, skills, and values determine what people do. American Psychologist, 40, 812–825.
McClelland, D. C. (1987). Human motivation. New York: Cambridge University Press.
McClelland, D. C., Atkinson, J. W., Clark, R. A., & Lowell, E. L. (1953). The achievement motive. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
McClelland, D. C., Koestner, R., & Weinberger, J. (1989). How do self-attributed and implicit motives differ? Psychological Review, 96, 690–702.
McMillan, L. H. W., Brady, E. C., O’Driscoll, M. P., & Marsh, N. (2002). A multifaceted validation study of Spence and Robbins’ (1992) Workaholism Battery. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 75, 357–368.
Mehrabian, A. (1994). Evidence bearing on the affiliative tendency (MAFF) and sensitivity to rejection (MSR) scales. Current Psychology, 13, 97–116.
Mehrabian, A., & Bank, L. (1978). A questionnaire measure of individual differences in achieving tendency. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 38, 475–478.
Miner, J. B. (1971). Personality tests as predictors of consulting success. Personnel Psychology, 24, 191–204.
Mischel, W., & Shoda, Y. (1995). A cognitive-affective system theory of personality: Reconceptualizing situations, dispositions, dynamics, and invariance in personality structure. Psychological Review, 102, 246–268.
Mook, D. G. (1996). Motivation (2nd ed.). New York: Norton.
Moskowitz, G. B. (1993). Individual differences in social categorization: The influence of personal need for structure on spontaneous trait differences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 132–142.
Murphy, L. L., Plake, B. S., Impara, J. C., & Spies, R. A. (Eds.) (2002). Tests in print VI: An index to tests, test reviews, and the literature on specific tests. Lincoln, NE: The Buros Institute of Mental Measurements.
Murray, H. A. (1938). Explorations in personality. New York: Oxford University Press.
Murray, H. A. (1943). Thematic Apperception Test manual. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Neuberg, S. L., & Newsom, J. T. (1993). Personal need for structure: Individual differences in the desire for simpler structure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 113–131.
Nygard, R., & Gjesme, T. (1973). Assessment of achievement motives: Comments and suggestions. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 17, 39–46.
Olson, M. A., & Fazio, R. H. (2004). Reducing in influence of extrapersonal associations on the Implicit Associations Test: Personalizing the IAT. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 653–667.
Osuch, E. A., Noll, J. G., & Putnam, F. W. (1999). The motivations for self-injury in psychiatric inpatients. Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes, 62, 334–346.
Pelletier, L. G., Fortier, M. S., Vallerand, R. J., Tuson, K. M., Brière, N. M., & Blaise, M. R. (1995). Toward a new measure of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation in sports: The Sport Motivation Scale (SMS). Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 17, 35–53.
Pelletier, L. G., Tuson, K. M., Green-Demers, I., Noels, K., & Beaton, A. M. (1998). Why are you doing things for the environment? The Motivation Toward the Environment Scale (MTES). Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, 437–468.
Pintrich, P. R., Smith, D. A., Garcia, T., & McKeachie, W. (1993). Reliability and predictive validity of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Educational and Psychological Measurement, 53, 801–813.
Plake, B. S., Impara J. C., & Spies R. A. (Eds.) (2003). The fifteenth mental measurements yearbook. Lincoln, NE: The Buros Institute of Mental Measurements.
Plant, E. A., & Devine, P. G. (1998). Internal and external motivation to respond without prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 811–832.
Rigby, C. S., Deci, E. L., Patrick, B. C., & Ryan, R. M. (1992). Beyond the intrinsic-extrinsic dichotomy: Self-determination in motivation and learning. Motivation and Emotion, 16, 165–185. (Special issue: Perspectives on intrinsic motivation).
Roberson, L., Houston, J. M., & Diddams, M. (1989). Identifying valued work outcomes through a content analysis of personal goals. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 35, 30–45.
Rotter, J. B. (1990). Internal versus external control of reinforcement: A case history of a variable. American Psychologist, 45, 489–493.
Rousseau, F. L., & Vallerand, R. J. (2000). Does motivation mediate influence of social factors on educational consequences? Psychological Reports, 87, 812–814.
Ryan, R. M., & Connell, J. P. (1989). Perceived locus of causality and internalization: Examining reasons for acting in two domains. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 749–761.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000a). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 54–67.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000b). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68–78.
Schroth, M. L. (1985). The effect of differing measuring methods on the relationship of motives. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 119, 213–218.
Schultheiss, O. C. (in press). Implicit motives. In O. P. John, R. W. Robins, & L. A. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Schultheiss, O. C., & Brunstein, J. C. (2001). Assessment of implicit motives with a research version of the TAT: Picture profiles, gender differences, and relations to other personality measures. Journal of Personality Assessment, 77, 71–86 (Special issue: More data on the current Rorschach controversy).
Schwartz, S. H., & Bilsky, W. (1990). Toward a theory of the universal content and structure of values: Extensions and cross-cultural replications. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 878–891.
Sedikides, C., Skowronski, J. J., & Gaertner, L. (2004). Self-enhancement and self-protection motivation: From the laboratory to an evolutionary context. Journal of Cultural and Evolutionary Psychology, 2, 61–79.
Seifriz, J. J., Duda, J. L., & Chi, L. (1992). The relationship of perceived motivational climate to intrinsic motivation and beliefs about success in basketball. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 14, 375–391.
Sellen, J. L., McMurran, M., Cox, W. M., Theodosi, E., & Klinger, E. (2006). The Personal Concerns Inventory (Offender Adaptation): Measuring and enhancing motivation to change. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 50, 294–305.
Sheldon, K. (2004). Optimal human being: An integrated, multi-level perspective. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Shuman, R. B. (2003). Motivation. In N. A. Piotrowski (Ed.), Magill’s Encyclopedia of social science: Psychology, Vol. 3 (pp. 1004–1008). Pasadena, CA: Salem Press.
Singelis, T. M., Bond, M. H., Sharkey, W. F., & Lai, C. S. Y. (1999). Unpackaging culture’s influence on self-esteem and embarassability: The role of self-construals. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 30, 315–341.
Smith, C. P., Atkinson, J. W., McClelland, D. C., & Veroff, J. (Eds.) (1992). Motivation and personality: Handbook and thematic content analysis. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Snyder, M. (1974). Self-monitoring of expressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30, 526–537.
Sokolowski, K., Schmalt, H. -D., Langens, T. A., & Puca, R. M. (2000). Assessing achievement, affiliation, and power motives all at once: The Multi-Motive Grid (MMG). Journal of Personality Assessment, 74, 126–145.
Sorrentino, R. M., Holmes, J. G., Hanna, S. E., & Sharp, A. (1995). Uncertainty orientation and trust in close relationships: Individual differences in cognitive styles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 314–327.
Sperry, R. W. (1993). The impact and promise of the cognitive revolution. American Psychologist, 48, 878–885.
Steers, R. M., & Braunstein, D. N. (1976). A behaviorally-based measure of manifest needs in work settings. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 9, 251–266.
Stricker, L. J. (1974). Personality Research Form: Factor structure and response style involvement. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 529–537.
Thrash, T. M., & Elliot, A. J. (2002). Implicit and self-attributed achievement motives: Concordance and predictive validity. Journal of Personality, 70, 729–756.
Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., Blais, M. R., & Brière, N. M. (1992). The Academic Motivation Scale: A measure of intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation in education. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 52, 1003–1017.
Vernon, P. E., & Allport, G. W. (1931). A test for personal values. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 26, 231–248.
Vroom, V. H. (1964). Work and motivation. Oxford: Wiley.
Wann, D. L., Schrader, M. P., & Wilson, A. M. (1999). Sport fan motivation: Questionnaire validation, comparisons by sport, and relationship to athletic motivation. Journal of Sport Behavior, 22, 114–139.
Webster, D. M., & Kruglanski, A. W. (1994). Individual differences in need for cognitive closure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1049–1062.
Wegener, F. C. (1956). The organic theory of control. Educational Theory, 6, 170–176, 191.
Weiss, D. J., Dawis, R. V., & England, G. W. (1967). Manual for the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Minnesota Studies in Vocational Rehabilitation, 22, 120.
Weiss, D. J., Dawis, R. V., England, G. W., & Lofquist, L. H. (1964). Construct validation studies of the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire. Minnesota Studies in Vocational Rehabilitation, 18, 1–76.
White, R. W. (1959). Motivation reconsidered: The concept of competence. Psychology Review, 66, 297–333.
Wiener-Levy, K., & Exner, J. E. (1981). The Rorschach EA-ep variable as related to persistence in a task frustration situation under feedback conditions. Journal of Personality Assessment, 45, 118–124.
Williams, J. M. G., Mathews, A., & MacLeod, C. (1996). The emotional Stroop task and psychopathology. Psychological Bulletin, 120, 3–24.
Winter, D. G. (1973). The power motive. New York: Free Press.
Wood S. E., & Wood, E. G. (1999). The world of psychology (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Wotruba, T. R., & Price, K. F. (1975). Relationships among four measures of achievement motivation. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 35, 911–914.
Zuckerman, M., & Allison, S. N. (1976). An objective measure of fear of success: Construction and validation. Journal of Personality Assessment, 40, 422–430.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to express thanks to a number of anonymous reviewers who commented on earlier drafts of this manuscript, and to Richard Ryan, whose editorial suggestions greatly assisted our work. A special thanks is owed to Kimberly Phillips, who helped draft the results of the SPSP Listserv query that was returned to the Listserv members. Finally, we extend our grateful thanks to the SPSP members who responded to our Listserv query; their comments greatly enriched this review.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Procedures for identifying major motivation measures
Part 1: initial search rules to get the initial names of tests
-
Step 1. The PsycINFO database was searched multiple times employing terms such as “motivation” “test” “measure” and a modifier for sub-listing purposes so as to identify a large number of tests and scales. Additional modifiers employed were “self-report,” “projective,” “athletic,” “academic,” “work,” and “intrinsic.”
-
Step 2. Tests names also were retrieved from (a) Tests in Print IV (Murphy et al. 2002) using the search terms motivating, motivation, work motivation, work motives, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, athletics/sports, athletics, achievement, achievement motivation, and academic motivation; and also from (b) Mental Measurements Yearbook (Buros 1978; Plake et al. 2003), using a similar list of terms.
-
Step 3. These three sources—PsycINFO, Tests in Print, and Mental Measurements Yearbook— were scanned for test names. (Original search dates were the week of November 21-28, 2004). Approximately 140 names were identified from PsycINFO, 75 from Tests in Print VI, and the remaining from the Mental Measurements Yearbook. The original list of psychological measures eventually numbered around 230.
Part 2: search for the number of research studies on a given test
-
Step 1. During February 2005, we entered the full name of each test individually from the list compiled above into PsycINFO.
-
Step 2. In most cases, numerous results were returned. To evaluate the quality of the search, we spot-checked the first, (and where applicable) second, fifth, and, one hundredth page of results to assess the degree to which the results really were research studies pertaining to the specific scale. Where the number was low, we spot checked all results.
-
Step 2a. If one or more mis-hits occurred, the test name was further specified by an acronym, or where appropriate, by an author.
-
Step 3. We then excluded a number of tests on the basis of recency and relevance. If a listed test had, for example, only three or four citations after 50 years, it was considered no longer in use and dropped from the list. Additionally, tests that were only peripherally related to motivation, such as those measuring social desirability, self-monitoring, or sensation-seeking, were not reviewed. This narrowed the list from more than 200 to 155 tests.
-
Step 4. A further exclusion rule was then applied in order to filter out more seldom-used tests. Scales published before 1980 with fewer than six references were eliminated, as were scales published before 1990 with fewer than three references.
-
Step 5. The “Number of hits” columns in Tables 1–5 are taken directly from each test’s valid list of results. Where the number was extremely high, some irrelevant search results are likely included.
Part 3: classification rules
The final set of rules involved sorting the resulting scales into useful categories.
-
Step 1. Based on the discussion above, we sorted scales into five main categories: (a) general motivation scales (both thematic and self-judged), specific area scales of (b) work, (c) academic, and (d) athletic motivation, and (e) a catchall “other” category for specific scales measuring only one motive which did not fall into the original three “specific” categories.
-
Step 2. The last few peripheral scales (“Values” scales) were then discarded. For the reasons behind this, see McClelland et al. 1989, pp. 690–691). The final group of 49 scales were included in Tables 1 through 5.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mayer, J.D., Faber, M.A. & Xu, X. Seventy-five years of motivation measures (1930–2005): A descriptive analysis. Motiv Emot 31, 83–103 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-007-9060-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-007-9060-2