Title |
Are implicit motives revealed in mere words? Testing the marker-word hypothesis with computer-based text analysis
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Published in |
Frontiers in Psychology, January 2013
|
DOI | 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00748 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Oliver C. Schultheiss |
Abstract |
Traditionally, implicit motives (i.e., non-conscious preferences for specific classes of incentives) are assessed through semantic coding of imaginative stories. The present research tested the marker-word hypothesis, which states that implicit motives are reflected in the frequencies of specific words. Using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC; Pennebaker et al., 2001), Study 1 identified word categories that converged with a content-coding measure of the implicit motives for power, achievement, and affiliation in picture stories collected in German and US student samples, showed discriminant validity with self-reported motives, and predicted well-validated criteria of implicit motives (gender difference for the affiliation motive; in interaction with personal-goal progress: emotional well-being). Study 2 demonstrated LIWC-based motive scores' causal validity by documenting their sensitivity to motive arousal. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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United States | 2 | 67% |
Unknown | 1 | 33% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
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Members of the public | 3 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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United States | 2 | 2% |
Unknown | 96 | 98% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
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Student > Ph. D. Student | 25 | 26% |
Researcher | 11 | 11% |
Student > Bachelor | 11 | 11% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 10 | 10% |
Student > Master | 9 | 9% |
Other | 20 | 20% |
Unknown | 12 | 12% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
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Psychology | 48 | 49% |
Social Sciences | 8 | 8% |
Business, Management and Accounting | 6 | 6% |
Computer Science | 4 | 4% |
Sports and Recreations | 3 | 3% |
Other | 12 | 12% |
Unknown | 17 | 17% |