Martin-Larsen Approval Motivation Scale (MLAMS)

Abstract

The Martin-Larsen Approval Motivation Scale (MLAMS) was developed as a direct measure of individual differences in the need for social approval. This approach contrasts with earlier measures, which often attempted to assess this personality dimension indirectly through the evaluation of socially desirable response tendencies.

Recognizing that the original MLAMS was susceptible to acquiescence response bias, revised versions—including fully balanced and partially balanced scales—were subsequently created to minimize this specific response style. Research confirmed that these revised measures maintained equivalence with the original version. Crucially, while balancing the scale items affected the magnitude of the correlations, it did not alter the fundamental pattern of correlates observed with other psychometric instruments.

Keywords

Approval Motivation, Social Approval, Need for Acceptance, Personality Assessment, Acquiescence Bias, Marlowe-Crowne Scale, Psychological Measurement.

Authors

Martin, H.J., Larsen, L.M.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the MLAMS is to provide a psychometrically sound and direct assessment of the extent to which an individual is motivated by the desire to receive positive evaluation and approval from others. It aims to quantify the underlying psychological need for acceptance, rather than merely measuring the behavioral manifestation of impression management.

By focusing on the intrinsic need for approval, the scale offers a more focused conceptualization of this construct compared to instruments primarily designed to detect response distortion or defensiveness in testing situations.

Construct

The MLAMS measures Approval Motivation, defined as a core dimension of personality reflecting the strength of an individual’s drive to obtain positive social feedback and avoid social rejection. High scores on the MLAMS indicate a strong reliance on external validation and a willingness to conform behaviorally or attitudinally to secure social acceptance.

The scale is theoretically distinct from Social Desirability. While social desirability often relates to intentional faking good, approval motivation, as measured by MLAMS, addresses the fundamental motivational structure that drives the person to seek approval, even when not explicitly asked to behave in a desirable manner.

Validity

Evidence for the validity of the MLAMS is primarily established through its divergent relationship with existing measures of related constructs. Comparisons with the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability (MCSD) Scale indicated a divergent pattern of correlates with various measures of personality.

This divergence supports the claim that the MLAMS assesses a basic motivational difference in the need for social approval, distinct from the conceptualization of impression management and artifactual responding captured by the MCSD. Furthermore, the development of balanced forms was a methodological intervention specifically designed to improve construct validity by eliminating confounding variance related to acquiescence response bias.

Reliability

The reliability of the MLAMS was addressed primarily during the scale revision process. The introduction of fully balanced and partially balanced versions aimed to ensure that the measurement was consistent and free from systematic response errors.

Results demonstrated that the revised measures were equivalent to the original scale in terms of their core measurement properties. Although balancing items successfully minimized response bias, it was noted that this manipulation affected the magnitude of the correlations with other scales, but critically, the overall pattern of correlates remained consistent, suggesting robust internal reliability across different forms of the instrument.

Factor Analysis

While detailed factor analytic structure is not explicitly provided in the core abstract, the design of the MLAMS strongly implies a focus on a single dominant factor: the Need for Social Approval. The deliberate effort to balance the scale items (by including both positively and negatively keyed statements) was a methodological procedure used to isolate this single construct by neutralizing the influence of response style factors, thereby confirming a preference for a clean, unidimensional measure of approval motivation.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Questionnaire

Format: Likert-type Scale

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: General Adult Population, Primarily used in psychological research

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults

Population Details: Typically administered to college students and general community samples during validation studies.

Test Methodology: 20 items (full scale) or 10 items (short form) rated on a 5-point agreement scale.

Keywords

Social Acceptance, Psychological Measurement, MLAMS, Marlowe-Crowne, Approval Motivation, Conformity, Personality Research.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not specified in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1984 (Year of primary revision and publication by Martin).

Permissions and Fees: Generally used for non-commercial academic research. Specific permission or fee structure is not detailed in the source material.

The original PDF detailing related research and the instrument can be downloaded here: http://scitechconnect.elsevier.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Baboons-Chapter.pdf

Reference’s

• Martin‚ H.J. (1984). A revised measure of approval motivation and its relationship to social desirability. Journal of Personality Assessment‚ 48: 508-519.

• Miller‚ R. S. (1987). The nature of embarrassability: Correlates and sex differences. Unpublished manuscript‚ Sam Houston State of University‚ Huntsville‚ TX.

• Wei‚ M.‚ Mallinckrodt‚ B.‚ Larson‚ L. M.‚ & Zakalik‚ R. A. (2005). Adult attachment‚ depressive symptoms‚ and validation from self-versus others. Journal of Counseling Psychology‚ 52: 368-377.

• Leary‚ Mark R.‚ Jongman-Sereno‚ Katrina P.‚ and Diebels‚ Kate J. (2015). Measures of Concerns with Public Image and Social Evaluation. in Gregory Boyle‚ Donald H. Saklofske and Gerald Matthews.‚ Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Constructs. Elsevier‚ Pages 448–473.

Items of the Martin- Larsen Approval Motivation Scale (MLAMS)

The MLAMS consists of 20 items, with a 10-item short form indicated by an asterisk (*). Items are typically scored on a 5-point Likert scale:

Scoring Key: 1=Disagree Strongly‚ 2=Disagree‚ 3=No Opinion‚ 4=Agree‚ 5=Agree Strongly

1. Depending upon the people involved‚ I react to the same situation in different ways.
2. I would rather be myself than be well thought of. (R)*
3. Many times I feel like just flipping a coin in order to decide what I should do.
4. I change my opinion (or the way that I do things) in order to please someone else.*
5. In order to get along and be liked‚ I tend to be what people expect me to be.*
6. I find it difficult to talk about my ideas if they are contrary to group opinion.*
7. One should avoid doing things in public which appear to be wrong to others‚ even though one knows that he is right.
8. Sometimes I feel that I don’t have enough control over the direction that my life is taking.
9. It is better to be humble than assertive when dealing with people.
10. I am willing to argue only if I know that my friends will back me up.*
11. If I hear that someone expresses a poor opinion of me‚ I do my best the next time that I see this person to make a good impression.
12. I seldom feel the need to make excuses or apologize for my behavior. (R)*
13. It is not important to me that I behave ‘properly’ in social situations. (R)*
14. The best way to handle people is to agree with them and tell them what they want to hear.
15. It is hard for me to go on with my work if I am not encouraged to do so.
16. If there is any criticism or anyone says anything about me‚ I can take it. (R)*
17. It is wise to flatter important people.
18. I am careful at parties and social gatherings for fear that I will do or say things that others won’t like.*
19. I usually do not change my position when people disagree with me. (R)*
20. How many friends you have depends on how nice a person you are.

(R) Indicates a Reverse scored item.