Self-report and projective measures of achievement and affiliation.

Projective (TAT) and direct self-report measures of achievement (n Ach) and affiliative motivation (n Aff) were compared as predictors of behavior in 2 studies with 67 and 80 Ss. For n Ach, there was no significant difference in the predictive validities of the 2 measures, but both measures together predicted better than either one alone. For n Aff, the projective measure was a better predictor than self-report for males, and there was an opposite tendency for females. For males who reported themselves as being revealing about themselves to others, self-report n Aff was correlated with affiliative behavior; for concealing males, the correlation was nonsignificant. Where self-reports were collected with instructions to fake responses, they were uncorrelated with behavior and with previous self-reports. There were no differences in self-reports taken in individual interviews or in a group setting. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Birth order and need affiliation.

In order to determine whether previously observed relations between birth order and affiliative tendencies were motivationally based, or simply reflected differences in kinds and/or strengths of instrumental behaviors acquired to satisfy equally strong affiliation needs, a sample of 22 (14 females, 8 males) first-born individuals was compared with an equivalent sample of later borns on a projective measure of need Affiliation (n Aff). As assessed by a median test, the first borns had a significantly and markedly higher average n Aff score, thus supporting the generally accepted, though tacit and hitherto untested, motivational interpretation of previous findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of academic achievement using the Edwards need Achievement scale.

A study of the utility of the Edwards need Achievement scale (n Ach) as (a) a supplement to academic aptitude tests, and (b) a predictor of over- and underachievement. Ss were 61 male college sophomores. A correlational analysis was carried out among the following measures: Edwards n Ach, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), grade-point average (GPA), and a derived measure of over- and underachievement. The results indicated (a) no increment in prediction of GPA when n Ach scores were added to SAT scores in a multiple regression equation, and (b) little success in predicting over- and underachievement from n Ach scores. Implications for the construct validation of the Edwards n Ach scale were discussed. The use of individual course grades as alternative criteria of academic achievement was explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Curiosity, achievement, and avoidant motivation as determinants of epistemic behavior.

Measures of n Achievement (n Ach), Test Anxiety (Anx), level of Academic performance (AL), and "Involvement" (Inv) in task content, differentiated students tested for Rote retention and Comprehension of written material under 2 conditions of knowledge seeking: (a) achievement oriented, and (b) curiosity oriented. Predictions from Atkinson's Motive-Expectancy-Incentive (M-E-I) model regarding the superiority of High n Ach, Low Anx over Low n Ach, High Anx Ss, and of High over Low AL Ss, were upheld for Comprehension, but not for Rote, in the Achievement condition. As predicted from a combination of the M-E-I model and Berlyne's theory of epistemic curiosity, superiority of the High AL, High Inv over the Low AL, Low Inv Ss held for both Comprehension and Rote in the Curiosity condition. Hypothesized differences across conditions were partially confirmed. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A questionnaire measure of achievement motivation.

Conducted 3 studies with 125, 67, and 118 male undergraduates to investigate the possibility of constructing a new questionnaire to measure the achievement motive. Study I started with an initial item pool whose content ranged over 10 aspects thought to be characteristic of an individual who is highly motivated to achieve. Items embodying all except 1 aspect were included in the scale resulting from an item analysis. Study II investigated correlations between need achievement (n Ach) and performance in a neutral and an achievement-oriented condition. Only in the latter were significant correlations found. In Study III, 2 educational programs were compared with regard to their motivational implications. In an unstructured program, a high correlation was found between n Ach and performance, while there was no significant correlation in a structured program. The importance of a theoretical approach stressing relevant situational cues is discussed. (34 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Direct versus projective measurement of achievement motivation.

Tested the predictive validity of 3 techniques for measuring need for achievement (n Ach): (1) TAT projection (scored in 2 ways), (2) Ss' self-reports on a rating scale, and (3) 2 self-peer ranking measures. Ss were 72 male undergraduates. In the self-peer ranking measures, each S listed 10 of his friends and then rated himself in relation to each friend. The criterion measures were class grades and 2 short laboratory tasks. Neither the scores derived from the TAT protocols nor the rating scale self-reports were related to any criterion measure. Both of the self-peer ranking scores were significantly correlated with grades. It was concluded that n Ach was conscious and subject to direct self-report if the means of responding is made specific. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of achievement motivation in job design.

Examined the effects of job scope and need for achievement (n Ach) on organizational commitment and performance among a sample of 115 managers in various departments of a major midwest manufacturing firm. Measures of perceived job scope, n Ach (Manifest Needs Questionnaire), and commitment were obtained from the sample, whereas independent performance ratings were obtained from their superiors. Using both moderated regression and subgroup analysis, it was found that high-scope jobs (i.e., jobs characterized by greater amounts of variety, autonomy, task identity and feedback) were directly related to managerial commitment to the organization; n Ach did not moderate the relationship. Furthermore, it was found that the effect of high job scope on performance was moderated by n Ach. This latter finding is consistent with earlier research on need for achievement and suggests that the n Ach construct offers considerable utility for future research on job design. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Level of N achievement and persistence behavior in children.

Individually tested 5th and 6th graders-10 high and 10 low in need for achievement (n Ach)-on a puzzle-solving task too complex for their age range. High n Ach Ss persisted significantly longer than low n Ach Ss in attempts to solve the puzzle, supporting the idea that an achievement-oriented personality develops at an early age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of need for achievement on the job performance-job attitude relationship.

Studied the effect of employee need for achievement (n Ach) on the job performance-job attitude relationship among 1st-level supervisors. Ss were 133 females with a mean age of 42 yrs employed in a large public utility. Before need strength variations were considered, overall performance was found to be somewhat related to job satisfaction but not to job involvement. However, when Ss were split into high and low n Ach groups, performance was significantly related to both satisfaction and involvement for high n Ach Ss but not for low n Ach Ss. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Detection of metals in tissues, cells and subcellular organelles

The Perometer, a device designed for the measurement of limb volume, has been rigorously assessed by comparison with other methods. Differences in the volume of geometric shapes and limbs determined by the Perometer and a tape measure/meter rule (i.e., Perometer minus direct measurement) were -0.8 to 2.4% (cylinders), -4.6% (truncated cone), -3.3% (mannequin limbs), 6.1% (normal human arms) and 6.8% (lymphedema arms). The larger differences were likely to be due to deviation from circular or elliptical cross-section (Perometer or tape method) and compression of the arm (tape method). Errors arising from incorrect positioning within the measuring frame were generally small, but large errors occurred when a cylinder was partially rotated within the frame (i.e., no longer perpendicular to the light beams). The Perometer was highly reproducible, each measurement taking only a few seconds. When recording the change in volume with time of a segment of arm during venous occlusion (blood flow measurement by venous occlusion plethysmography) using the Perometer plus a mercury strain gauge, between-method differences for individual blood flow recordings were apparent. The source of these differences is discussed. However, using the average of a number of blood flow recordings the Perometer and the strain gauge agreed fairly closely for both the normal and lymphedema arms. The Perometer is thus a reliable and convenient tool for the measurement of limb volume, and may also be used to measure the rate of swelling during venous occlusion plethysmography.     

Implicit and Self-Attributed Motives to Achieve: Two Separate but Interacting Needs.

This research examined how implicit and self-attributed needs to achieve (labeled as n Ach and san Ach, respectively) combine with self-referenced and norm-referenced feedback to predict effort-related (task performance) and choice-related (task continuation) indexes of students' engagement in a mental concentration task. In Experiment 1 the authors found that in a task-focused setting, task performance was predicted by the joint effect of self-referenced feedback and n Ach, whereas task continuation was predicted by the joint effect of norm-referenced feedback and san Ach. In Experiment 2 the authors found that in an ego-focused setting, n Ach and san Ach interacted in the prediction of task performance but not of task continuation. In Experiment 3 the authors found that the effects of n Ach and san Ach on students' performance were mediated by the anticipated affective value of achievement outcomes. These findings are discussed in relation to a 2-system approach to achievement motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Need for achievement and schedules of variable reinforcement.

In a simple stimulus discrimination experiment Ss were selected on the basis of their achievement need (n Ach) and assigned to 1 of 3 reinforcement conditions. Later 14 of the persons who had operated under a 5:1 schedule of reinforcement were paired on the basis of n Ach scores. The new persons were told it was a new type intelligence test and urged to do their best. Results indicated that the schedule of reinforced responses made for persons emitting more reinforced responses while n Ach was associated with a higher ratio of S responses over total response. The arousal made a difference in the ratio and seemingly had most effect on the low n Ach persons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some correlates of high need for achievement among urban northern negroes.

A survey instrument was administered to a random sample of 200 Boston Negroes. Positive r's between need for Achievement (n Ach) and occupational status, information, and seeing white as larger on the irradiation perceptual illusion were found. A negative r existed between n Ach and authoritarian child training attitudes. Father absence was linked to low n Ach. High n Ach northern men (NM) tend to be less religious, more militant, better educated, have higher occupational status, and feel more victimized than low n Ach NM. High n Ach southern men (SM) have higher incomes, are more religious, deny feeling victimized by discrimination, repress their hostility, and are less educated than low n Ach SM. High n Ach women tend to join protest groups. High n Ach southern women (SW) express their own hostility and accept male violence while high n Ach northern women do not. No relation was found between n Ach and somatotype. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in the connection between need for achievement and school performance.

Hypothesized that in a traditional classroom, only boys of moderate ability and girls of high ability would be strongly motivated to achieve. 138 male and 157 female 7th graders in Norway were tested for need to achieve (n Ach), IQ, and school achievement. Motive to achieve success was measured by the TAT score of n Ach. Results support the hypothesis. It is suggested that bright boys need to be stimulated since they are not inspired to use their motive to achieve and that low-ability boys and low- and average-ability girls are not stimulated to achieve since they probably find the demands too heavy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

N achievement and father dominance in Turkey.

This study presents cross-cultural data to support the hypothesis that father dominance is associated with low need Achievement (n Ach) in men. Evidence for the hypothesis was obtained (a) by testing groups of American and Turkish junior executives and (b) by comparing n Ach scores of Turks who differ in the degree to which they were dominated by their fathers. The American junior executives, as compared with the Turks, were found to have significantly higher n Ach scores. In 3 independent samples, Turks who were less dominated by their fathers, as measured by Ss' age when their fathers died or when they first lived apart from their fathers, had significantly higher n Ach scores than did men who were more dominated by their fathers. Such a relationship was not found, however, when dominance was measured by Ss' report of who had had the greatest influence in their lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measurement of very low stable isotope enrichments by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry: application to measurement of muscle protein synthesis

Measurement of muscle protein synthesis using stable isotopically labeled tracers usually requires isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) because of the need to measure very low enrichments of stable isotopically labeled tracers (tracer to tracee ratio [TTR], 0.005% to 0.10%). This approach is laborious, requiring purification of the metabolite of interest and combustion to a gas for IRMS analysis, and is best suited for use with 13C tracers. We have developed an approach whereby low enrichments can be conveniently measured by a conventional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) instrument. The approach includes three critical elements: (1) use of a highly substituted tracer containing three or more labeled atoms, to measure enrichment above a very low natural abundance of highly substituted isotopomers; (2) use of a highly substituted natural abundance isotopomer as a base ion for comparison rather than the most abundant m + 0 isotopomer, to reduce the dynamic range of the isotopomer ratio measurement; and (3) a sensitive mass spectrometric analysis that measures the natural abundance of the isotopomer used as a tracer with a high signal to noise ratio (> 100:1). This approach was used to measure the rate of synthesis of muscle protein following a primed continuous infusion of L-[13C6]-phenylalanine (PHE) in eight fasted dogs and L-[2H3]-leucine in five fasted human subjects. Values for [13C6]-PHE enrichment by GC/MS rates were virtually identical to those obtained by a conventional approach using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to isolate PHE, combustion to CO2, and measurement of 13CO2 enrichment by IRMS (IRMS enrichment = 0.9988 x GC/MS enrichment, R2 = .891), resulting in identical values for muscle fractional synthesis rates ([FSRs] mean +/- SEM: 2.7 +/- 0.2 and 2.5 +/- 0.2%/d for GC/MS and IRMS, respectively). Human muscle synthesis rates measured by GC/MS analysis of [2H3]-leucine enrichment (1.90 +/- 0.17%/d) were similar to published values based on IRMS analysis using a 1- 13C-leucine tracer. We conclude that compared with the IRMS approach, the GC/MS approach offers faster throughput, has a lower sample requirement, and is suitable for a wider variety of tracers such as 2H. The principles outlined here should be applicable to the measurement of low enrichments by GC/MS in a wide variety of stable isotope tracer applications.     

Distance of foetal movement measured using the analytical signal derived from non-directional Doppler sound

The goal of the present study was to evaluate the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the depression of endothelium-dependent vacular response in spontaneously hypertensive Okamoto rats (SHR). Aortae from SHR demonstrated a decreased relaxant response to acetylcholine (Ach) as compared to aortae from normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats, while papaverine lowered the force of aorta to a similar degree in both strains of rats. PKC inhibitors, H-7 (5 x 10(-6) M) and chelerythrine chloride (10(-6) M), produced a greater decrease in the force developed by the aortae from SHR vs. WKY rats both in intact and chemically permeabilized tissues. In SHR aortae PKC inhibitors enhanced relaxation to Ach to a greater extent as compared to WKY aortae. Furthermore, in the presence of PKC inhibitors, the constrictor responses of SHR aortae to Ach were transformed into relaxant responses, and the concentration-response curve to Ach was shifted to the left. The sensitivity of aortae from SHR to authentic nitric oxide (NO) was lowere compared to WKY rats. EC50s for authentic NO in SHR and WKY rat aortae were different: -2.9 +/- 0.15 x 10(-6) M and 4.58 +/- 0.1 x 10(-7) M (n = 15, p < 0. 001), respectively. Bioassay experiments using SHR aortae showed that the addition of chelerythrine (10(-6) M) to the detector superfusate caused relaxation during treatment of the donor segment with Ach, indicating that the sensitivity of the aortae to NO had been restored. When SHR detector ring was substituted for denuded aortae from WKY rats and PKC inhibitors were not added to the detector superfusate, the relaxation of the detector aortae was also close to the normal Ach-induced relaxation. WKY aortae demonstrated a positive relationship between Ach-stimulated NO release and relaxant response amplitudes (correlation coefficient r = 0.905, p < 0.001, n = 10). In contrast, there was a significant negative correlation in SHR aortae (r = -0.712, p < 0.05, n = 10). Detection of NO release by chemiluminescence showed no significant difference in NO release in SHR and WKY aortae. Taken together, these data suggest that the blunted endothelium-dependent relaxations seen in SHR aortae are mainly due to a decreased sensitivity of vascular smooth muscle to EDRF/NO resulting from an increased PKC activity.     

Physique and motivation.

In accordance with the large collection of research findings on n Ach published by McClelland and his associates, it was hypothesized that mesomorphy would correlate positively with n Ach. Ss were 100 nondelinquent and 100 delinquent boys with a mean of 17? yr. They were somatotyped following, not Sheldon's, but Parnell's more recent and objective method. They also took the test that McClelland has used in various countries for measuring n Ach as well as other kinds of motivation. A positive and significant correlation between mesomorphy and n Ach was obtained in both samples as well as a negative and significant correlation between ectomorphy and n Ach. Other types of motivation were also studied. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

N achievement, test anxiety, and subjective probability of success in risk taking behavior.

This study was concerned with the effects of n Ach and Test Anxiety on risk taking behavior and subjective probability of success in a sequential decision task. The principal findings were as follows: Ss who scored high on n Ach and low on Test Anxiety tended to make their decisions in the intermediate quartiles of the distribution of reported confidence at the trial of decision more often than Ss who scored high in Test Anxiety and low in n Ach. High n Ach tends to bias the overall level of subjective probability of success upward. Ss who scored high in n Ach and low in Test Anxiety tended to increase confidence rapidly up to the level of 50% confidence and then decrease their rate of increase in confidence after the 50% level of confidence has been attained in comparison to Ss who scored low in n Ach and high in Test Anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unraveling the differential effects of motivational and skills, social, and self-management measures from traditional predictors of college outcomes.

The authors report on a large-scale study examining the effects of self-reported psychosocial factors on 1st-year college outcomes. Using a sample of 14,464 students from 48 institutions, the authors constructed hierarchical regression models to measure the predictive validity of the Student Readiness Inventory, a measure of psychosocial factors. Controlling for institutional effects and traditional predictors, the authors tested the effects of motivational and skill, social, and self-management measures on academic performance and retention. Academic Discipline was incrementally predictive of academic performance (grade-point average) and retention. Social Activity and Emotional Control also helped predict academic performance and retention, whereas Commitment to College and Social Connection offered incremental prediction of retention. This study elaborates recent meta-analytic findings (S. Robbins et al., 2004), demonstrating the salience of a subset of motivational, social, and self-management factors. Future research questions include how measures of psychosocial factors can be used to aid students, the salience of these measures over the entire college experience and for predicting job performance, and the need for testing theoretical models for explaining postsecondary educational outcomes incorporating traditional, motivational, self-management, and social engagement factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)