In Chapter 6 we examined in detail how individual differences in motive strength can best be measured, because in science, measurement is of central importance. Without it we would still be in the position of McDougall, speculating about what motives there are and how they affect behavior. This chapter and the next chapters in Part 3 attempt to summarize what has been found out about several social motives that have been measured by the method recommended in Chapter 6—by coding fantasy or spontaneous thought patterns. For each motive we will Start by explaining how the method of measuring it in fantasy was developed, then turn to the evidence indicating it really is a measure of a motive using the validity criteria established in Chapter 6, and finally summarize what is known about how people behave who score high in the motive measured in this way. Naturally, there has been curiosity about how people develop a strong motive of one type or another, so at the end of each chapter is a section summarizing what is known about how people acquire such a motive.

The emphasis on measurement may seem boring or unnecessary, but the fact is that progress has been made in the field of motivation only as some standardization in measurement occurred.