A THEORY OF SOCIAL MOTIVES 743
that, by explaining to voters how their impulses are worked upon by politicians, the voters, in a measure, are freed from the influence of the politician ; and I conclude that, here also, a science of human motives would be useful.
In working out a science of motives the elementary process in method is the observation and classification of facts. This is possible only through intimate association with the members of typical groups of a population. I have found such association indispensable and owe much of what has been accomplished thus far to what I have learned through association with the following groups and individuals : A family living on an island in a large body of water, isolated from other families by their remote situa- tion and the peculiarity of their religious beliefs ; a family living in a city; the superintendent of a large factory; a local federa- tion of labor ; several teachers in a public school ; a city church ; a county direct nominations league, as a member of which I have taken an active part in legislative hearings and in political cam- paigns.
The methods used in this sociological analysis differ from the set experiments of a psychological laboratory. Mechanical tests are impossible and direct questions often are fruitless, for an individual with difficulty recalls a past, and often cannot discern his present, mood or emotional state. The questionnaire method is too crude* for the study of emotional states because one is not ready to describe to a stranger what one hesitates to reveal to an intimate friend. Motives can be analyzed only through group- study. One must live in the group as a member and morally experience the daily life of the members. Then this accumula- tion of experience must be analyzed in psychological terms. To be sure, people must often be studied directly — their emotional expression, words, and reactions — but also indirectly as these suggest trains of recollection.
These first stages of investigation have yielded two closely related theories, a theory of the motives of personality and a theory of social forces. My paper will be devoted to a discussion of the theory of motives.
- Students of primitive peoples, also, find direct questioning of doubtful value.
An. Rep. Bureau of Ethnology (1889-90), 365.
