Achievement motivation: Examination of explicit and implicit measurements in two studies.

摘要

Two theories that seek to explain personality are explicit traits (Allport, 1937) and implicit motives (Murray, 1938; McClelland, 1951). The present research investigates both implicit and explicit cognitions (specifically cognitions related to achievement motivation). Scores on three implicit measures, one explicit measure, and cognitive ability were obtained (N = 294) as well as performance on an attention task. Study 1 examined the theoretical similarities and differences among the implicit measures, as well as their relationship with an explicit measure. No significant correlations were observed among the implicit measures, and only the IAT correlated with the explicit measure. Factor analysis revealed that the implicit measures loaded on separate factors. Study 2 examined how the implicit measures combine with the explicit measure to predict performance and task continuation while manipulating feedback and task setting. Implicit and explicit achievement motivation interacted with feedback and task setting to predict performance; however findings were not consistent across implicit measures. Results indicate that additional research is required to understand better the construct of implicit achievement motivation.