Some South African Evidence of the Inter‐rater Reliability of the Motivation Assessment Scale

Inter‐rater reliability of the Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS) with an African sample was assessed for independent ratings of 102 low‐functioning children with mental retardation. Correlations of item and subscale scores across raters were high. The internal consistency of subscales and total scores of the MAS was high. Comparisons of the profiles for the South African and British subjects showed essentially similar profile patterns. Indeed, the similarities across both samples were more striking than were the dissimilarities. The results are further discussed in terms of a suggestion for a refinement of MAS which lends itself to more extensive norming and programmatic replication. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.