Computer measurement of social motivation

Abstract

This study examined a computer implementation of an algebraic model which assumes that a person’s utility for a given social outcome is a simple linear function of the outcomes to self and to the other person in the interaction. The computer estimated the subject’s social motivation orientation based solely on his choices in a series of decomposed games. The computer-measured motives closely corresponded to the verbally stated reasons subjects gave. A central advantage of the present method is that social motivation can be studied in a unified fashion, without artificial restriction to single substantive categories such as aggression, altruism, or cooperation/competition. © 1976, The Psychonomic Soceity, Inc.. All rights reserved.