Motivation Measures

Individual differences in motivation are differences in the drives to engage or not engage in various behaviors. Motivation measures can be loosely partitioned into four groups:
  1. Social desirability measures assess motivated self-presentation or social desirability. In other words, these measures assess how individuals present themselves to others.
  2. Self-regulation measures assess the motivations underlying individuals' regulation of themselves as they pursue various goals.
  3. Interpersonal motivation measures assess the motivations that drive individuals' interactions with others.
  4. Fears, needs, and other measures assess psychological needs and fears or aversions as motivations. Many of these measures are cross-listed as measures of interpersonal motivation. We include measure of epistemic motivation within this category (as well as under measures of decision style). See also measures of ambiguity (in)tolerance.

Social Desirability

Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR)

Paulhus (1991)
Edwards Social Desirability Scale (Edwards SDS)

Edwards (1957)
Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC-SDS)

Crowne & Marlowe (1960)

Self-Regulation

Action-State Orientation (ASO)

Kuhl (1994)
Behavioral Inhibition Scale / Behavioral Activation Scale (BIS / BAS)

Carver & White (1994)
Desire for Self-Control Scale (DSCS)

Uziel & Baumeister (2017)
Regulatory Focus



Higgins et al. (2001)

Higgins et al. (1997)

Lockwood et al. (2002)
Regulatory Mode Questionnaire (RMQ)

Kruglanski et al. (2000)
Response to Failure Scale (RTFS)

Zemack-Rugar et al. (2012)
Saving Personality

Otto et al. (2007)

Interpersonal Motivation

For related measures, see Constructs: Interpersonal
Some of these measures are also listed under Fears & Needs below
Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE)

Leary (1983)
Inequality Aversion


  • Equity Games



Kahneman et al. (1986)

Güth et al. (1982)
  • Reciprocity Games




Need for Affiliation and Achievement

Jackson (1967)
Need for Uniqueness (NFU)

Snyder & Fromkin (1977)
Self-Report Altruism Scale (SRA)

Rushton et al. (1981)
Social Value Orientation (SVO)



Liebrand (1984)
Liebrand & McClintock (1988)
McClintock (1978)

Murphy et al. (2010)

Fears, Needs, & Other

Some of these measures are also listed under Interpersonal Motivation above
or under Risk Attitude: Related Personality Traits
Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE)

Leary (1983)
Need for Affiliation and Achievement

Jackson (1967)
Need for Arousal

Figner et al. (2009)
Need for Uniqueness



Tian et al. (2001)

Ruvio et al. (2008)

Snyder & Fromkin (1977)
Need to Evaluate

Jarvis & Petty (1996)
Personal Fear of Invalidity

Thompson et al. (2001)
Personal Need for Structure

Thompson et al. (2001)
Resistance to Change (RTC)

Oreg (2003)



Epistemic Motivation


Also listed under Decision Style: Epistemic Motivation
For related measures, see also Ambiguity (In)Tolerance


Foscha et al. (in press)

Webster & Kruglanski (1994)
  • Need for Cognition (NFC)



Cacioppo & Petty (1982)

Cacioppo et al. (1984)

Thompson et al. (2001)

Thompson et al. (2001)

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