Improving the Assessment of Implicit Motives Using IRT: Cultural Differences and Differential Item Functioning.

Researchers have long been interested in studying differences in implicit motive between different groups. Implicit motives are typically measured by scoring text that respondents have written in response to picture cues. Recently, research on the measurement of implicit motives has made progress through the application of a dynamic Thurstonian item-response theory model (DTM; Lang, 2014 ) that captures 2 basic motivational processes in motivational research: motive competition and dynamic reduction of motive strength after a motive has been acted out. In this article, the authors use the DTM to investigate differential item functioning (DIF) in implicit motive measures. The article first discusses DIF in the context of the DTM. The authors then conduct a DIF analysis of data from a study that used a picture set of the Operant Motive Test (OMT; Kuhl & Scheffer, 2002) with participants from Cameroon, Germany, and Costa Rica. Results showed no evidence of DIF in 9 pictures and some evidence for DIF in 3 pictures. The authors show a partial invariance model can be specified and use this partial invariance model to study latent mean differences between Cameroon, Germany, and Costa Rica. The discussion focuses on the use of IRT DIF methods in future research on implicit motives.

Work event experiences: Implications of an expanded taxonomy for understanding daily well-being.

This article builds on earlier research on work events and uses a recently developed taxonomy of situation perceptions-the CAPTION taxonomy-to study daily work events. The authors specifically test the ideas that the specific affective event dimensions A (Adversity) and O (humOr), and cognitive and typicality dimensions-I (Importance), C (Complexity), and T (Typicality)-contribute to explaining daily well-being beyond P (Positive valence) and N (Negative valence). Study 1 included N = 242 employees who filled in a diary over 5 workdays, and Study 2 included a total of 295 employees in an experience sampling design. Results from multilevel confirmatory factor analyses with events nested in persons and days nested in persons suggested that a seven-dimension model-in line with the CAPTION taxonomy-improved model fit. Multilevel structural equation modeling further revealed that the additional dimensions contributed to explaining well-being after work (Study 1) and well-being at work (Study 2) at both the between- and the within-person level. These effects were in particular driven by the A (Adversity) and O (humOr) dimensions. The authors discuss to what degree a multidimensional perspective on situation perceptions can improve occupational health researchers' understanding of work events as drivers of well-being at work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Can people recognize their implicit thoughts? The motive self-categorization test.

Psychologists have long been interested in studying individual differences in implicit motives. Implicit motives are typically measured asking respondents to write fantasy-stories based on a series of pictures showing one or several persons. The stories are then coded for implicit motivational content by trained experts because researchers have long assumed that respondents have no conscious access to the motivational themes in the stories they write. However, empirical research on self-evaluation of implicit motives is scarce. In this article, we provide new insights into this topic with a new measurement procedure-the motive self-categorization (MSC) test. In the MSC, respondents first fill out an implicit motive measure and then self-code their stories using lists of picture-specific statements that are typical concrete manifestations of implicit motives in the specific picture. We studied the MSC in a sample of 247 respondents by analyzing convergence with expert codings using a latent multitrait-multimethod item response theory (IRT) model. Results showed respondents could evaluate the motivational content of their stories (latent motive-motive rs = .37-.62), IRT latent motive scores based on self-categorization showed evidence of reliability (rs = .42-.67), and we found small method effects. The discussion focuses on implications for theory on measuring implicit motives and the possibility that self-insight occasionally goes beyond expert insight. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).