| Abstrakt: |
This study was based on two assumptions. The first is that the hierarchy of motives is learned. "Hierarchy of Motives" is a concept denoting those largely unconscious systems which enable the selection of alternative behavior. The second assumption is that learning the hierarchy of motives requires an aptitude which varies widely in the population. The working hypotheses were: (1) presently measured aptitudes and environmental influences are insufficient to account for the observed variance in performance, and (2) that a discriminative learning task which requires a differential physiological response of the autonomic nervous system can measure the aptitude for learning social motives. Sixty-three Negro subjects were classified into two relatively higher and lower motivation groups based on their history of employment (from interview data) or on vocational training school teachers' ratings. They were subjected to a single session of discriminative classical autonomic conditioning involving tones and pain, and given intelligence, personality, and level of aspiration tests. It was found that 18 variables, each individually statistically significant, when combined by means of a discriminant function analysis, classified 92% of the subjects into their correct criterion (motivation) groups. It was concluded that the working hypotheses were strongly confirmed and that the two assumptions were supported. Implications of these findings if confirmed by replication are (1) that a fundamental human aptitude for learning motives exists and can be measured; (2) having measures of the aptitude enables exploration of its relationships to other aptitudes and characteristics; (3) knowledge of these relationships will make it possible (a) to more accurately predict human performance involving motivation, (b) to more appropriately select and place personnel, (c) to devise more practicable training procedures for developing socially desirable motives, and (d) to provide persons unpr... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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