RMP is the Science of Motivation®. This is the first in a series of articles summarizing the research that led to the Reiss Motivation Profile® being recognized as "The Science of Motivation®".
The RMP is the first - and perhaps the only - scientifically developed and comprehensive measure of what motivates an individual. In 1995, after being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, Professor Steven Reiss began to reflect on what made his life meaningful, what was important to him and what motivated his behavior. Recognizing the lack of a standardized measurement in the field of motivation, Reiss devoted the next few years to developing a psychological test that explains why people do certain things.
The RMP was developed empirically. Professor Reiss did not start with predetermined ideas about what motivates people. Instead, he started with more than 500 items reflecting all kinds of goals that can drive behavior. After reducing this list to 328 items by eliminating unnecessary duplication, he conducted a series of studies on four separate sample groups in which he used a statistical technique called factor analysis to interpret the data. Together with another study led by graduate student Susan M. Havercamp, the final result of the research was 16 scales, each with eight items, describing the universal goals that motivate each of us.
Over the next few years, Professor Reiss and his colleagues conducted further research to ensure the reliability and validity of each of the RMP scales. The initial research and subsequent studies underwent independent peer review for publication in scientific journals. Additional evidence of the reliability and validity of the test was provided by four independent researchers at universities in Canada, Poland and the United States.
Professor Reiss' first paper on the RMP, published with Havercamp, summarized the results of five studies used to develop and subsequently refine the baseline questionnaire.
Study 1: A 328-item questionnaire was administered individually and anonymously to a diverse sample of 401 adolescents and adults from six different sources. Exploratory factor analysis revealed 15 scales with several items loading on more than one factor. For all studies, only one item with a loading value of at least .3 on a single scale was retained.
Study 2: Retained 68 items, modified 42 items, and added 110 new items, totaling 220 items. Based on 380 new participants from nine sources, exploratory factor analysis suggested 17 scales as the optimal solution for the data.
Study 3: Involved 341 new participants from 14 sources. Of the 187 items, 89 items from the previous study were retained, 24 items were rewritten and 74 items were newly added. Exploratory factor analysis suggested 15 scales as the optimal solution for the data.
Study 4: retained 118 items and added three new items, totaling 121 items. Confirmatory factor analysis based on 398 new participants from six sources provided evidence for a robust 15-factor structure. Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from .74 to .92, with a median of .82, considered "good" internal reliability.
Study 5: Assessed test-retest reliability in a sample of 31 undergraduate students. Based on a significance level of less than 1% (p < .01), Pearson product-moment coefficients for the 15 scales ranged from .80 to .96, with a median of .83. These findings showed that the scale scores were stable over time.
The purpose of Professor Reiss' years of work was to learn about the universal goals that motivate everyone. Most other tests in the field of motivation have been created for commercial purposes, requiring shortcuts in the development process to get the product to market quickly. A common shortcut is to start with predetermined ideas about intrinsic motivators and then write items to assess these predetermined motivators. But this was not the process followed in the Reiss Motivation Profile®. Rather, Professor Reiss developed the RMP scientifically, allowing data to identify the basic needs of human nature, rather than pre-determined ideas.
Source: Reiss, S., & Havercamp, S.M. (1998). Toward a Comprehensive Assessment of Core Motivation: Factor Structure of the Reiss Profiles. Psychological Assessment, 10, 97-106.