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Scientific Research Motivation Assessment3

Scientific Research Motivation Assessment Test

Learn what truly drives your scientific work in about 13 minutes. Get a clear, detailed motivation profile to support hiring, mentoring, and your own growth.

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Questions: 7013 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

16,696 views

1,812 completions

1,590 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

20/49

Indirect Motivation Subsystem (IMS)

Measures how strongly external, mediated factors (e.g., social environment and working conditions) influence engagement in scientific work.

Low reliance on external factors

Moderate reliance on external factors

High reliance on external factors

7 – 21: Low reliance on external factors | 22 – 35: Moderate reliance on external factors | 36 – 49: High reliance on external factors

A score of 20 falls in the low range, suggesting that external circumstances play a relatively minor role in sustaining your motivation for scientific activity.

example score

35/49

Reflective Motivational Subsystem (RMS)

Measures the extent to which a person reflects on, understands, and self-regulates their motives and goals in scientific activity.

Low reflection

Moderate reflection

High reflection

7 – 21: Low reflection | 22 – 35: Moderate reflection | 36 – 49: High reflection

A score of 35 indicates a moderate level of reflection, suggesting generally good self-analysis and goal awareness in scientific work with some room for further strengthening of self-regulation.

example score

26/49

Antimotivation Subsystem (AS)

Measures the extent of demotivating factors (e.g., fatigue, disappointment, reduced interest) that can hinder engagement in scientific work.

Low barriers

Moderate barriers

High barriers

7 – 20: Low barriers | 21 – 34: Moderate barriers | 35 – 49: High barriers

A score of 26 falls in the Moderate barriers range, suggesting noticeable but not overwhelming demotivating factors that may intermittently interfere with sustained scientific engagement.

example score

21/49

Cognitive Motivational Subsystem (CMS)

Measures the strength of motivation to acquire new knowledge, explore, and master the unknown in scientific work.

Low

Moderate

High

7 – 20: Low | 21 – 35: Moderate | 36 – 49: High

A score of 21 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a present but not dominant drive for learning and exploration in scientific activity.

example score

43/49

Value-Based Motivational Subsystem (VBMS)

This scale measures how strongly scientific activity is integrated into a person's core values, beliefs, and life principles.

Low alignment

Moderate alignment

High alignment

7 – 21: Low alignment | 22 – 35: Moderate alignment | 36 – 49: High alignment

A score of 43 indicates that scientific activity is highly meaningful for you and closely aligned with your personal values and guiding principles.

example score

26/49

Intrinsic Motivation Subsystem (IMS)

This scale measures the extent to which engagement in scientific work is driven by intrinsic interest, curiosity, and self-actualization motives.

Low

Moderate

High

7 – 21: Low | 22 – 34: Moderate | 35 – 49: High

A score of 26 indicates a moderate predominance of internal incentives, suggesting intrinsic interest supports your scientific activity but is not the sole driving factor.

example score

29/49

Safety Motivation Subsystem (SMS)

This scale measures the extent to which a person seeks stability, predictability, and risk minimization in scientific work.

Low

Moderate

High

7 – 20: Low | 21 – 35: Moderate | 36 – 49: High

A score of 29 indicates a moderate preference for stability and predictability, with some openness to uncertainty when necessary.

example score

31/49

Achievement Motivation Subsystem (AMS)

Measures the strength of a person's drive to achieve goals and gain recognition for scientific accomplishments.

Lower drive

Moderate drive

High drive

7 – 21: Lower drive | 22 – 35: Moderate drive | 36 – 49: High drive

A score of 31 falls in the Moderate drive range, suggesting a generally steady focus on meeting research goals with a balanced need for recognition.

example score

14/49

Competition Subsystem (CS)

Measures the extent to which a person is motivated by rivalry and outperforming others in scientific work.

Low competition drive

Moderate competition drive

High competition drive

7 – 20: Low competition drive | 21 – 34: Moderate competition drive | 35 – 49: High competition drive

A score of 14 indicates a low competitive orientation, suggesting scientific effort is less driven by rivalry or comparison with others.

example score

44/49

External Motivational Subsystem (EMS)

Measures how strongly external rewards, recognition, and material incentives influence engagement in scientific work.

Low

Moderate

High

7 – 21: Low | 22 – 35: Moderate | 36 – 49: High

A score of 44 falls in the High range, indicating that external incentives and recognition are an important driver of your involvement in scientific activity.

example score

193/490

Overall Motivation Level (OML)

This scale measures the overall intensity of a person’s motivation to engage in scientific research activities by combining multiple motivational components.

Low

Moderate

High

70 – 209: Low | 210 – 349: Moderate | 350 – 490: High

A score of 193 falls in the Low range, suggesting relatively weak overall engagement and drive toward scientific work compared to higher scores on this scale.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Graduate Students and PhDs

41%OF USERS

They take it to understand what keeps them engaged in research and how to sustain momentum through long projects and setbacks.

Research Scientists and Lecturers

34%OF USERS

They use it to map their motivational profile, prevent burnout, and align tasks with what drives their best work.

Academic HR and Supervisors

25%OF USERS

They administer it to better support, develop, and place researchers based on the motives that most influence performance and satisfaction.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Indirect Motivation Subsystem (IMS)

Average

26.2

Normal range

18.5 — 33.8

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Reflective motivational subsystem (Rms)

Average

34.5

Normal range

28.1 — 40.8

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Subsystem of Antimotivation (SoA)

Average

21.8

Normal range

15.6 — 28.1

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Cognitive Motivational Subsystem (CMS)

Average

25.2

Normal range

17.3 — 33.1

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Value-Motivational Subsystem (VS)

Average

25.4

Normal range

18.7 — 32.2

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Subsystem of Internal Motivation (SoIM)

Average

21.5

Normal range

15.6 — 27.4

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Safety Motivation Subsystem (SMS)

Average

30.4

Normal range

25 — 35.8

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Achievement Motivation Subsystem (AMS)

Average

24.6

Normal range

19.4 — 29.8

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Subsystem "competition" (S")

Average

32.4

Normal range

27.3 — 37.6

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

External Motivational Subsystem (EMS)

Average

26.2

Normal range

18.6 — 33.8

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Overall Level of Motivation (OLoM)

Average

327.6

Normal range

266 — 389.2

min.

max.

490

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Please read the questions, statements, or quotations from well-known scientists presented below carefully. Indicate the extent to which you agree with each one. For each item, select the response option that best reflects your level of agreement.

- Completely untrue
- Untrue
- Rather untrue
- Not sure
- Rather true
- True
- Completely true
- Completely untrue
- Untrue
- Somewhat untrue
- Not sure
- Somewhat true
- True
- Completely true
- Completely untrue
- Untrue
- Rather untrue
- Not sure
- Rather true
- True
- Completely true

These are 3 of the 70 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Scientific Research Motivation Assessment Test - Symptoms and Signs

motivation

work motivation

Motivation is a central determinant of persistence and performance in academic and research settings. The Scientific Research Motivation Assessment is a self-report measure designed to characterize an individual’s motivational profile related to scientific work, including the relative strength of different motivational orientations.

The instrument consists of 70 items and typically requires about 13 minutes to complete. Items are organized to sample multiple, relatively distinct dimensions, supporting a profile-based interpretation rather than a single global score. The Scientific Research Motivation Assessment is attributed to Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan and is intended for use in research, training, and organizational contexts where understanding motivation for scientific activity may inform supervision, professional development, or related decision-making.

Author: Edward L. Deci, Richard M. Ryan

Literature: Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Plenum Press. 1985.