The paper presents results of the study focused on the work motivation dynamics. Participants were candidates for the job, accepted on probation period in finance company. The influence of the “Money“» motivation object on the motivational space before and after job placement, an attempt to operationalize situational and temporal stability of work motivation are presented. The study was conducted using method of “Motivational map“, based on the motivational task procedure (Strizhova, Gusev, 2013). Motivational task is a tool for consistent reflection of the field of motivational objects allowing further reconstruction of individual motivational space. The material stimulation is confirmed to have a significant impact on more parameters of motivational space before job placement than after job placement.

Situational stability of work motivation was assessed by correlation between coordinates of 15 motivational objects obtained in the two steps of motivational task. At the first step participant assessed 15 motivational objects in the graphic space of evaluation scales. At the second step participant placed motivational object “Money“ among already evaluated 15 motivational objects, which could be reevaluated after it. Temporal stability was assessed by correlations between the same parameters of motivational space before and after job placement.

The research results helped to assume that situational and temporal stability of motivation could be the factors of individual differences.

The article features a new technique of work motivation diagnostics based on the new developed concept of motivational task. A motivational task is a tool for selfappraisal in the field of motivational objects allowing further reconstruction of motivational space. The conditions of the motivational task resolution have been implemented in the diagnostic procedure “Motivational Map”. The diagnostics procedure consists in multiple visual appraisal forms of 16 motivational objects (J.Nuttin) within a dimensional graphic space determined by 6 evaluation scales. To indicate the geometric patterns that reflect the relationship between motivational objects the term subjective motivation space is used, based on the definition of subjective psychological space in modern models of multidimensional scaling. Conditions of motivational tasks are as follows: ranking of motivational objects, determining the subjective centre of motivational space, multiple comparative evaluation of motivational objects, successive refinement of estimates of motivational objects, adjusting the motivational space with due account of placing high priority motivational object. Approbation of new assessment technique was conducted using a sample of 206 financial experts and included two series which had the test and the retest stages. These results were compared with the scores received using the results of standard questionnaires. The construct validity of the methodology was assessed by means of the regression analysis. The scales used in the standard methodologies of work motivation assessment served as the independent variables, while the parameters registered by the developed methodology served as the dependent variables. In the course of validity analysis, 32 highly important regression models were established. The results of psychometric verification of validity and reliability are presented in this paper.