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The role of motivation, responsibility, and integrative complexity in crisis escalation

Comparative studies of war and peace crises

Bibliographic Data

ID6201903
AuthorsDavid G Winter (0000-0002-6490-7467, University of Michigan, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume92
Issue5
Pages920-937
Publication date2007-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/0022-3514.92.5.920
PMID17484613
OpenAlexW2083111659
LanguageEN
Citations received27
References cited52

Drawing on D. G. Winter's (1993) comparison of 1914 and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the author identified 8 paired crises (1 escalating to war, 1 peacefully resolved). Documents (diplomatic messages, speeches, official media commentary) from each crisis were scored for power, affiliation, and achievement motivation; text measures of responsibility and activity inhibition; and integrative complexity. Aggregated effect-size results show that war crises had significantly higher levels of power motivation and responsibility, whereas peace crises showed trends toward higher integrative complexity and achievement motivation. Follow-up analyses suggested that these results are robust with respect to both sides in a crisis, type of material scored, and historical time. The power motive results extend previous findings, but the responsibility results suggest that responsibility plays a paradoxical role in war. Future research directions are sketched, and the role of psychological content analysis in monitoring the danger of war is discussed

Need for achievement · Political science · Power (physics) · Public relations · Social responsibility · Cultural Differences and Values · Psychological Testing and Assessment · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology

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Unique citing works27
Citations per year1,5
Citation span2008 - 2026 (19)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 23
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