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#artificial intelligence Preprint Open access

MultivationBench: A Benchmark for Multimodal Sequential Motivation Reasoning

Kawai Chung Chunkit Chan Yauwai Yim Yuxuan Liu Haochen Shi Weiqi Wang Qing Zong Tianshi Zheng Yixuan Fu Kai Chung Wong Hao Liang Yifan Gao Xi Yang Janet Hui-wen Hsiao Yangqiu Song
Sep 2026
Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

Multimodal Large Language Models have sparked significant interest due to their potential for social intelligence; however, their ability to perform sequential motivation reasoning remains insufficiently studied. Existing evaluations predominantly examine static text or isolated visual snapshots, which do not reflect the cumulative nature of real-world behavioral drivers. To address this gap, we introduce MultivationBench, a benchmark designed to rigorously evaluate multimodal motivation reasoning within story-driven visual narratives. The benchmark builds upon established psychological frameworks - Maslow's hierarchy and Reiss's basic desires - and requires models to integrate accumulated multimodal context to infer evolving motivations. Results indicate that MultivationBench presents a significant challenge: all tested models struggle to maintain consistent motivation reasoning across sequential contexts, revealing a critical disconnect between static recognition capabilities and the dynamic reasoning essential for human-like social understanding.

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