The method of scoring stories written in response to pictures for power motivation closely parallels the pattern established for the hunger, achievement, and affiliation motives. Essentially what has been involved in measuring these motives and what will be involved in measuring power motivation is a content analysis of the written protocols for evidence of thought processes related to a conceptual behavioral sequence. In order to analyze a story for power motivation, therefore, a person has to decide that the story presents some evidence of concern with the satisfactions characteristic of the motive, as it will be defined, and then must understand how the motive is manifested in imagery relevant to the analysis of the behavioral sequence.

It is of crucial importance for scoring stories for power motivation that the scorer understand the behavioral sequence. Once a person is able to identify the presence of imagery in a story that is related to power motivation, then the subcategory system of coding logically follows from the behavioral sequence. The means of identifying Power Imagery in a story will be discussed in the following section, as will the way in which Power Imagery is manifested in the categories derived from the behavioral sequence. Once a scorer decides that a story is unrelated to power motivation, he no longer has to be concerned with the subcategories.