Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2025

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
Power and Intimacy Motives in Narratives About Closeness Presented by People Staying in a Penitentiary Institution
Katarzyna Czubak-Paluch1, Małgorzata Łysiak1
1The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland.
Abstract:
The world of people imprisoned in penitentiary institutions may never be understood by those who enjoy their freedom. The present study investigated the narratives about close relations, produced by inmates, with the analyses focusing specifically on the motive of power and the motive of intimacy, as described by McAdams. It was hypothesized that, depending on the length of prison sentence, the inmates would differ significantly regarding these motives and secondly that the motive of intimacy and the subjects' age would be significant predictors for the duration of the prison sentence. The study involved 356 male inmates (M = 28.80; SD = 10.91) who were asked to write stories about close relations with their partners. The findings show that individuals with longer prison sentence present a higher level of the power motive focused on building a stronger self, compared to the inmates sentenced to prison for a shorter duration. A multivariate regression analysis showed that the duration of imprisonment is positively predicted by the subjects' age and negatively by the motive of intimacy.
Related Concept Videos
The Stanford Prison Experiment
Relationship Formation
Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
Secondary Motives: Affiliation Motivation and Aggression Motivation
Milgram's Obedience to Authority

