David G. Winter

Traits and Motives: Toward an Integration of Two Traditions in Personality Research

After reviewing classic and current conceptions of trait (as measured by questionnaires) and motive (as measured by the Thematic Apperception Test [TAT] or other imaginative verbal behavior), the authors suggest that these 2 concepts reflect 2 fundamentally different elements of personality--conceptually distinct and empirically unrelated. The authors propose that traits and motives interact in the prediction of behavior: Traits channel the behavioral expression of motives throughout the life course. The authors illustrate this interactive hypothesis in 2 longitudinal studies, focusing on the broad trait of extraversion and the 2 social motives of affiliation and power. In interaction with extraversion, both motives show predicted and replicated relations to independently measured life outcomes in the domains of relationships and careers. Extraversion facilitates unconflicted motive expression, whereas introversion deflects social motives away from their characteristic goals and creates difficulties in goal attainment.

Threat and Authoritarianism in the United States, 1978-1987

Studies at both the individual and collective levels have implicated threat as an important factor in authoritarianism. As a follow-up to Saless (1973) study relating behavioral indicators of authoritarianism to levels of social threat, the present research analyzed archival data from the United States for high-threat (1978-1982) and low-threat (1983-1987) periods. Societal measures of most attitude and behavioral components of the authoritarian syndrome significantly decreased between the high-threat and the low-threat periods. These results support the threat-authoritarianism relationship but also suggest a more complicated theoretical model that links perceived social conditions, arousal of authoritarian sentiments, dispositional authoritarianism, and the nature of political appeals--particularly those that engage authoritarian aggression.

A motivational model of leadership: Predicting long-term management success from TAT measures of power motivation and responsibility

Abstract In an AT&T longitudinal study of managers, managerial success after sixteen years is predicted by “responsible power,” which is a combination of TAT-based measures of power motivation and responsibility. These results are consistent with previous theory and research on leadership, and are similar to those obtained with the leadership motive pattern, on the same sample, by McClelland and Boyatzis. The theoretical basis and independently established empirical validity of the new measure of responsibility increases our understanding of how power motivation is channeled into responsible “leadership” behavior instead of exploitative dominance strivings.

Authoritarianism and Gender Roles: Toward a Psychological Analysis of Hegemonic Relationships

The authors examined the relationship between authoritarianism and gender-role identity, attitudes, and behaviors. Using Altemeyers Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) Scale, they found that high scores on authoritarianism were related to traditional gender-role identity and attitudes, rating political events concerning women as less important, and rating feminists and women as having relatively more power and influence in society. Authoritarianism was also related to the expression of anti-abortion views in essays and using arguments based on conventional morality, submission to authority, and punitiveness toward women seeking abortions. Finally, high scores on authoritarianism were related to participating in pro-life rallies and not participating in pro-choice and womens issues meetings. The authors offer speculations about the connections between social structures and individual psychological mechanisms.

The personalities of Bush and Gorbatchev measured at a distance: procedures, portraits and policy

We assessed the personalities of George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev at a distance, using methods and materials developed by each of the authors for measuring motives, cognitions, and traits. We discuss methodological and procedural issues. Results are presented in terms of quantitative scores, expressed in comparison with other political leaders. The integrated personality portraits developedfor each leader are discussed in relation to popular and media impressions of that leader. We conclude with some predictions and suggestions about policy implications, including ways of facilitating direct negotiations between Bush and Gorbachev.

Authoritarianism and American Students' Attitudes about the Gulf War, 1990-1996

Studies with several different groups of students over the period from October 1990 to spring 1996 show a consistent set of relationships between right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and aggressive support for U.S. policy during the Persian Gulf crisis and Gulf War Before the war, high-RWA scorers endorsed more aggressive responses (including the use of nuclear weapons) to hypothetical Iraqi actions. After the war, they expressed relatively more gloating and less regret and, in retrospect, endorsed more aggressive hypothetical U.S. policies. Overall, their opinions tended to be low in complexity, high in certainty, and brief.

Becoming the Harvard man: person-environment fit, personality development, and academic success.

The continuity and change of the needs and evaluations of the college environment and person-environment fit (PE fit) with the college environment were studied in a 4-year longitudinal study of students (N = 191). Perceptions of the environment changed more dramatically than corresponding self-perceived needs. PE fit demonstrated moderate levels of consistency over the 4-year span, but no significant increases in mean levels were found over time. Antecedents to PE fit in the college environment included both intelligence and openness to experience. Outcomes associated with PE fit included changes in personality traits linked to openness to experience and higher academic achievement. The implications of the findings for personality development and the relationship of PE fit to successful outcomes are discussed.

The role of motivation, responsibility, and integrative complexity in crisis escalation: comparative studies of war and peace crises.

Drawing on D. G. Winters (1993) comparison of 1914 and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the author identified 8 paired crises (1 escalating to war, 1 peacefully resolved). Documents (diplomatic messages, speeches, official media commentary) from each crisis were scored for power, affiliation, and achievement motivation; text measures of responsibility and activity inhibition; and integrative complexity. Aggregated effect-size results show that war crises had significantly higher levels of power motivation and responsibility, whereas peace crises showed trends toward higher integrative complexity and achievement motivation. Follow-up analyses suggested that these results are robust with respect to both sides in a crisis, type of material scored, and historical time. The power motive results extend previous findings, but the responsibility results suggest that responsibility plays a paradoxical role in war. Future research directions are sketched, and the role of psychological content analysis in monitoring the danger of war is discussed.

Gender, Social Class, and the Subjective Experience of Aging: Self-Perceived Personality Change From Early Adulthood to Late Midlife

This study explored the applicability of previous research (obtained with groups of college-educated women) about the subjective experience of aging in midlife to men and less-educated people. Two-hundred fifty-nine men and women who graduated from a public high school in 1955-1957 retrospectively assessed their feelings of identity certainty, confident power, generativity, and concern about aging for their 60s, 40s, and 20s. Participants reported higher levels of identity certainty, confident power, and concern about aging at each age, and a leveling off of generativity in their 60s. There were some gender and social class differences. Although men and women recalled the same trajectory of these feelings, men reported higher levels of identity certainty and confident power across age. Non-college-educated men recalled the highest levels of concern about aging across age. We discuss how these findings add to our understanding of the experience of aging in these domains.

Why Achievement Motivation Predicts Success in Business but Failure in Politics: The Importance of Personal Control

Several decades of research have established that implicit achievement motivation (n Achievement) is associated with success in business, particularly in entrepreneurial or sales roles. However, several political psychology studies have shown that achievement motivation is not associated with success in politics; rather, implicit power motivation often predicts political success. Having versus lacking control may be a key difference between business and politics. Case studies suggest that achievement-motivated U.S. presidents and other world leaders often become frustrated and thereby fail because of lack of control, whereas power-motivated presidents develop ways to work with this inherent feature of politics. A reevaluation of previous research suggests that, in fact, relationships between achievement motivation and business success only occur when control is high. The theme of control is also prominent in the development of achievement motivation. Cross-national data are also consistent with this analysis: In democratic industrialized countries, national levels of achievement motivation are associated with strong executive control. In countries with low opportunity for education (thus fewer opportunities to develop a sense of personal control), achievement motivation is associated with internal violence. Many of these manifestations of frustrated achievement motivation in politics resemble authoritarianism. This conclusion is tested by data from a longitudinal study of 113 male college students, showing that high initial achievement motivation combined with frustrated desires for control is related to increases in authoritarianism (F-scale scores) during the college years. Implications for the psychology of leadership and practical politics are discussed.