Institute of Education, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.
Int J Psychol. 2012;47(2):111-7. doi: 10.1080/00207594.2011.590493. Epub 2011 Jul 26.
Previous research suggests that there is a relationship between social contexts (e.g., economic growth, engagement in wars) and motives within populations. In particular, high achievement motive is associated with subsequent economic growth, which in turn increases power motive. Increased national achievement and power motives have been argued to precede social changes that lead to decreased affiliation motives, and engagement in wars. The present study aimed to examine differences in achievement, power, and affiliation motives between 266 college students in China (a nation with sustained high economic growth) and 255 college students in the USA (a nation with previously strong but now slowing economic growth, and engaged in war). Analysis of personal strivings suggested that Chinese college students showed significantly higher levels of achievement motive than the American college students, but American college students showed significantly higher levels of affiliation motive than Chinese college students. Overall, males exhibited higher achievement motivation than females. No significant interaction effects were found for gender by location for any of the three motives. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research.
先前的研究表明，社会背景（如经济增长、参与战争）与人群中的动机之间存在关系。特别是，高成就动机与随后的经济增长有关，而经济增长又会增加权力动机。有人认为，国家成就和权力动机的增加先于导致隶属动机和参与战争减少的社会变革。本研究旨在检验中国 266 名大学生（一个经济持续高速增长的国家）和美国 255 名大学生（一个经济曾强劲但现在放缓、并参与战争的国家）在成就、权力和隶属动机方面的差异。个人奋斗的分析表明，中国大学生的成就动机显著高于美国大学生，但美国大学生的隶属动机显著高于中国大学生。总体而言，男性表现出的成就动机高于女性。在这三种动机中，没有发现任何因地点而异的性别交互效应。研究结果与先前的研究进行了讨论。
