THE READING QUESTION
A work-motivation statement must preserve its intended meaning, response process, and context when it moves between languages.
What the multilingual study contributes
Gagné and colleagues studied the Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale across several languages and countries. The publication illustrates a research programme that examines a specific instrument across settings. It does not supply evidence for a translated Machiavelli questionnaire, even when both projects discuss self-determination theory or use familiar motivation terms.
A phrase with several possible meanings
Consider a fictional statement about choosing how to perform a task. In one workplace, choice means selecting a method within a clear responsibility. In another, the same wording may suggest acting without approval or ignoring a supervisor. A literal translation could preserve the dictionary meaning while changing the social implication. Different answers would then reflect different interpretations of the situation as well as different motivational experiences.
A participant interview can make this visible. The interviewer asks what task the person imagined, what choices were available, and what consequence they expected from using them. The goal is not to coach the participant toward the intended answer. It is to discover whether the statement asks the same question for them. A revised item may need a more explicit situation or a narrower claim rather than a more elegant synonym.
Interpreting the original work-motivation profile
Machiavelli Motivation at Work keeps several proposed themes separate. It should not collapse them into a universal work-ethic score or assume that low endorsement means laziness. People can work hard under pressure, enjoy a task while lacking resources, or value an outcome without enjoying the activity itself. Language about choice, obligation, interest, and contribution needs to preserve those distinctions in both the questions and the report.
A practical research sequence
An original translation programme could begin with independent translations and a discussion of conceptual disagreements, followed by interviews with intended users in relevant roles. Pilot research would then examine whether the proposed structure and response patterns behave similarly across language versions. Researchers should also investigate whether participants interpret the report's examples in comparable ways. Country is not a substitute for language, occupation, or organizational context, so those factors should be recorded separately. Any later claim should name the version and population actually studied. A translated interface is a technical achievement; comparable psychological meaning remains a separate question that requires direct evidence.
FOLLOW THE ORIGINAL SOURCES
Gagné and colleagues (2015) ↗Continue the reading
Measuring recent motivation without copying an established scale →