Age and gender differences in mean levels and assessment dynamics of implicit motives: a thurstonian IRT analysis using the operant motive test

Research indicates that there are age and gender differences in implicit power, achievement, and affiliation motives, measured through participants’ interpretations of ambiguous pictures. However, past research on these group differences has not considered motivational dynamic effects during implicit motive assessment. These effects involve the idea that prior expressions of an implicit motive reduce the probability of its subsequent expressions throughout the assessment. Furthermore, these dynamic effects may also differ across age and gender. The present study examines (a) age and gender differences in implicit motives by considering the motivational dynamic effects during implicit motive assessment; and (b) age and gender differences in the motivational dynamic effects. We used Dynamic Thurstonian Item Response Theory (DT-IRT; Psychol Rev 121(3), 481–500, 2014) on data from participants (N = 3066) responding to the Operant Motives Test (OMT; University of Osnabruck 1999). Results revealed that older groups showed (a) higher levels of implicit power and achievement motives; and (b) weaker motivational dynamic effects for implicit power and achievement motives. Women compared to men displayed (a) a higher level of implicit affiliation motive; (b) a lower level of implicit power motive; (c) weaker motivational dynamic effects for implicit affiliation motive; and (d) stronger motivational dynamic effects for implicit power and achievement motives. We discussed theoretical implications.