Behavioral and psychological correlates of the implicit power motivein children in two cultural contexts

对动机的研究表明，人类的行为是由一个主要的无意识(即，隐含的)动机系统激励和指导的。这一传统中的一个中心动机是权力动机，定义为关注对他人的行为和情绪施加影响。在成年人中，内隐的权力动机与亲社会和反社会行为有关。尽管有关于语前儿童内隐动机形成的理论，但关于儿童内隐动力动机的行为和心理伴随的知识几乎是不存在的。为了填补这一令人遗憾的空白，该研究计划采用纵向、多方法、多层次的设计来审视内隐动机研究中一个引人注目的问题：内隐动机是如何塑造儿童的心理过程和行为的？为了回答这个问题，我们将在小学生中评估内隐动力动机的强度，并在纵向上与意念、情感和认知相关(注意力、学习和压力现象、儿童互动序列中的行为和自我报告中的行为以及父母告密者评级)。鉴于假定的隐性动机的普遍性以及育儿行为(例如制裁行为)的巨大文化差异，将在德国和喀麦隆实施该项目，以确定实现隐性权力动机的普遍性和文化约束性方面。这项拟议的研究开启了新的视野，从内隐动机的角度对儿童行为进行了重新解释。

Research on motivation has demonstrated that human behavior is energized and directed by a predominantly unconscious (i.e., implicit) motivational system. A central motive in this tradition is the power motive, defined as the concern for exerting influence on behavior and emotions of other people. In adults the implicit power motive is associated with prosocial as well as antisocial behavior. Despite theorizing about the shaping of implicit motives in prelingual childhood, knowledge on behavioral and psychological concomitants of the implicit power motive in childhood is virtually nonexistent. To fill this regrettable gap, the research program implements a longitudinal multi-method and multi-level design to scrutinize a compelling question in research on implicit motives: How does the implicit power motive shape childhood psychological processes and behavior? To answer this question, the strength of the implicit power motive will be assessed in elementary school children and longitudinally related to conative, affective, and cognitive correlates (attention, learning, and stress phenomena, behavior in interaction sequences and in self-report of children and parental informant rating). Given the postulated universality of implicit motives as well as vast cultural differences in parenting behavior (e.g., sanctioning behavior), the project will be realized in Germany and Cameroon to identify universal as well as culture-bound facets of the realization of the implicit power motive. The proposed research opens new horizons by initiating a re-interpretation of childhood behavior from an implicit motive point of view.