Unconscious Motivations for Teaching Scale

Abstract

The Unconscious Motivations for Teaching Scale (UMTS), developed by Stern, G. G. and colleagues in 1960, is a specialized psychological instrument designed to quantify the underlying psychological drivers of educators. Specifically, it assesses the sources of gratification (the motivational components) and the ideological attitudes or rationalizations associated with various professional teaching roles. The development process was rigorous, initially utilizing 18 detailed teacher role descriptions created with input from public school supervisory staff.

The final instrument is self-administering and comprises two primary scales: one measuring gratification and the other measuring attitudes. These scales map across ten distinct teaching roles (e.g., Practical, Nurturant, Dominant). Each of the two main scales contains 100 items, resulting in ten items dedicated to each specific teaching role. Responses are captured on a six-point scale, and the completion time typically ranges between 25 and 40 minutes. Initial validation efforts demonstrated satisfactory test-retest reliabilities, and detailed item analyses confirmed significant discriminatory power across all subscales.

Keywords

Test Development, Test-Retest Reliability, Unconscious Motivations for Teaching, Gratification Scale, Attitudes Scale, Teaching Motivation, Rating Scale, Educational Psychology.

Authors

Stern, G. G., Masling, J., Denton, B., Henderson, J., Levin, R.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Unconscious Motivations for Teaching Scale is to provide quantitative measurement of the core underlying psychological mechanisms that influence an individual’s engagement with the teaching profession. This involves distinguishing between the deep-seated motives (gratification derived from the role) and the socially acceptable explanations or rationalizations (attitudes) for adopting specific teaching styles and behaviors.

By capturing both the unconscious drivers and the conscious justifications, the scale aims to offer a nuanced profile of why individuals choose and persist in specific roles within education, facilitating better understanding in areas such as teacher selection and professional development.

Construct

The central psychological construct measured by the UMTS is Teaching Motivation, viewed through a psychoanalytic or depth psychology lens. This construct is operationalized by assessing ten distinct teaching roles (e.g., Practical, Nurturant) and measuring two dimensions within each role: the source of unconscious gratification and the corresponding conscious attitude.

The scale attempts to move beyond surface-level self-report of job satisfaction to explore the deeper, often unacknowledged needs—such as the need for dominance, nurturance, or practical application—that are fulfilled through the act of teaching.

Validity

The original publication of the Unconscious Motivations for Teaching Scale did not explicitly detail formal validity studies (such as criterion or construct validity). The focus of the initial report was primarily on the scale construction methodology and internal consistency measures.

While the development process involved careful selection of role descriptions and expert teacher interviews to establish face validity and content relevance, researchers utilizing the UMTS should refer to subsequent scholarly literature for evidence regarding its predictive or concurrent validity in specific educational contexts.

Reliability

The reliability of the UMTS was primarily established using the test-retest reliability method. This assessment involved re-administering the scales to the identical sample population three to four weeks following the initial testing session.

The resulting coefficients demonstrated satisfactory stability over time, ranging from a low of 0.654 to a high of 0.865. These figures suggest that the scale provides consistent measurements of unconscious motivations and attitudes related to teaching roles, indicating the stability required for a personality or motivational inventory.

Factor Analysis

While the original source does not specifically report large-scale factor analysis findings, a crucial component of the scale construction involved detailed item analysis. This analysis was performed to ensure that each item effectively discriminated between individuals who represented the specific teaching role being measured and those who did not.

The initial findings indicated significant discriminations for all scales, providing preliminary evidence that the items were functioning appropriately and contributing uniquely to the measurement of the underlying ten teaching role dimensions.

Instrument

Test Type: Rating Scale (Self-administering Psychological Inventory)

Format: Paper-based test, requiring responses on a six-point Likert-type scale. The instrument comprises two distinct 100-item scales (Gratification and Attitudes), totaling 200 items overall, designed to be completed in 25–40 minutes.

Language Available: English (United States)

Population Group: Adult males and females, specifically those engaged in or preparing for educational careers.

Age Group: Adulthood (18 years & older)

Population Details: The scale was initially normed and utilized on undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in teaching or education programs in the United States.

Test Methodology: The methodology included extensive initial development based on expert role descriptions and teacher interviews, followed by psychometric assessments including reliability estimations and rigorous item analyses to ensure scale integrity.

Keywords

Unconscious Motivations, Educational Psychology, Teacher Assessment, Psychological Measurement, Gratification, Rationalizations, Role Theory, 1960s Psychometrics.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source content.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source content. (Original research conducted in the United States.)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was developed and published in 1960. Information regarding current licensing, permissions for use, or associated fees is not available in the original source material and must be sought directly from the estate of Stern, G. G. or the journal publisher, Educational and Psychological Measurement.

Test Year: 1960

Reference’s

Stern, G. G., Masling, J., Denton, B., Henderson, J., & Levin, R. (1960). Two scales for the assessment of unconscious motivations for teaching. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20, 9–29. The full reference, including the DOI, is available here: https://doi.org/10.1177/001316446002000102

Items of the Unconscious Motivations for Teaching Scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

The specific item text for the 200 items of the Unconscious Motivations for Teaching Scale is not provided in the source content. The scale consists of two main parts (Gratification and Attitudes), with 100 items each, covering ten specific teaching roles identified during the initial development phase.

The structure of the ten teaching roles measured includes:

• Practical
• Nurturant
• Dominant
• (Seven other roles not specified in the abstract)