A behavioral decision theory approach for measuring McClelland's trichotomy of needs.

Describes the initial research associated with a new approach for measuring D. C. McClelland's trichotomy of needs. The method is based on behavioral decision theory and involves modeling an individual's decision-making behavior to determine how the person weights his or her need for affiliation, need for power (nPow), and need for achievement (nAch) in arriving at decisions. 161 scientists and engineers, 149 US Air Force officer graduate students, and 94 management executives were involved in this initial validation effort. All 8 hypotheses concerning inter- and intragroup relationships and concurrent validity issues were supported. The dominant motive for scientists, engineers, and graduate students was nAch, whereas nPow was dominant for management executives. Scientists, engineers, and graduate students had higher nAch scores than management executives, who had the highest nPow scores. Student GPA correlated with nAch, and officer performance scores correlated with nPow. Scientists and engineers who published had higher nAch scores than those who did not. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A second look at need for achievement and need for autonomy as moderators of role perception–outcome relationships.

Work-manifested need for achievement (nAch) and need for autonomy (nAut) were examined as moderators of relationships between facets of role conflict and role ambiguity and the outcomes, organizational commitment, job involvement, psychosomatic complaints, and propensity to leave the organization; Ss were 262 public sector employees. Results fail to provide convincing evidence of pervasive linear moderating effects due to nAch or nAut on the variable linkages examined. Greater support was found for treating nAch and nAut as independent predictor variables in the regression analyses. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of fear of success on intrinsic motivation, causal attribution, and choice behavior.

Examined the extent to which fear of success (FOS) moderates effects of choice and task outcomes on intrinsic motivation, causal attribution, and subsequent choice behavior. 139 undergraduates worked either on puzzles of their choice or puzzles that were assigned to them and were then informed that they had performed either better or worse than the majority of other Ss. Measures of intrinsic motivation (task engagement during a free-choice period) and of attribution for performance were obtained. Ss then indicated how much choice they wanted to have over similar tasks that they were going to perform. Finally, Ss completed the Fear of Success Scale and a resultant achievement motivation measure. Results show that following success, low FOS Ss (in comparison to high FOS Ss) showed higher intrinsic motivation, made more internal attributions, and wanted to have more choice if initially they had been given choice and less choice if initially they had been given no choice. There were no significant differences between low and high FOS Ss following failure. Results could not be accounted for by resultant achievement motivation that was unrelated to FOS. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The interaction of achievement motivation and ability in problem-solving success.

The hypotheses were that Armed Forces Qualifications Test scores would be related to problem-solving performance among Ss with high achievement motivation, that motivation would be related to performance with time constant, and that this relation would be greater below the median of the motivation distribution than above it. 96 Ss were used with a switch-light pattern apparatus. The first 2 hypotheses were supported, while the third was not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in predicting final examination grades: The influence of past performance, attributions, and achievement motivation.

43 male and 41 female undergraduates reported their high school and last semester GPAs, their 1st and 2nd midterm grades, and their final exam predictions. Ss also rated the influence that ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck had on their performances and completed Mehrabian's achievement motivation scale. Regression analyses provided support for the attribution model of achievement expectations. All Ss used ability to explain their successes; however, males attributed failures to lack of effort while females often used luck to explain their performances. Although both sexes earned equal midterm scores and predicted similar final grades, males based their predictions solely on the 2 midterms. Females' predictions were significantly affected by both midterm performance and achievement motivation. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation as a variable in work-partner selection.

It was hypothesized that in making a work-partner choice between a competent nonfriend and a less competent friend Ss with high achievement motivation would select the competent nonfriend; those with high affiliation motivation, the less competent friend; and those high in both motivations would show evidence of conflict. Friendship ratings together with achievement and affiliation motivation scores were obtained from the Ss, who were then divided into groups of 4 consisting of 3 mutual friends and 1 nonfriend. The nonfriend was made to succeed on the group task, and the friends, to fail. The Ss were then told to write down their choice of a work-partner. The results confirmed the set of hypotheses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement motivation among managers of small businesses, corporation managers, and business students.

A questionnaire measure of achievement motivation by H. J. Hermans that was originally tested on college students in the Netherlands was administered to 45 business college students, 41 small business managers, and 36 corporation managers. In addition, category scores were developed to reflect the more specific components of the need for achievement (n-Ach) construct. Item analyses and Kuder-Richardson 20 estimates were adequate. Intercorrelations among the category scores were significantly lower for the student sample, which suggests the n-Ach construct may be less differentiated among older managers. Managers differed significantly from business students on several components of n-Ach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher control strategies and choice of educational objectives among college students.

Studied effects of high vs low teacher control strategies on student educational objectives in a quasi-simulation university career game. 60 undergraduates, divided into 2 groups on the basis of scores on A. Mehrabian's measure of achievement motivation, were randomly assigned to high or low teacher control conditions. High-control Ss heard a 20-min lecture on choices available in a university career. Low-control Ss were invited to begin the simulation game immediately and explore alternatives as they proceeded. Results show that high-control Ss made significantly more goal choices for educational efficiency, while low-control Ss made significantly more choices favoring personal and social growth. Individual level of achievement motivation modified these overall results in predicted directions. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement imagery in women's lives from adolescence to adulthood.

Used a well-known longitudinal archive (surveys conducted in 1932, 1934 and 1936) to examine situational incentives in the anticipated careers of 18–19 yr old women as a contextual determinant of the relation between their achievement imagery and behavior from adolescence to early adulthood. The analysis identified 2 motivational trajectories; (a) the social/marital path of achievement-oriented Ss who claimed a domestic or family-centered future and (b) the worklife/career sequence of highly motivated Ss (high need for achievement) who favored both family and work interests. The 1st career sequence links achievement motivation with investment in activities that are part of the sequence of dating, courtship, and marriage. Boys and dating ranked high in the adolescence of these Ss, and they tended to bear more children in their adult years. In the 2nd career sequence, the achievement imagery of Ss was related to their IQ, grades, and conversation about other than boy–girl issues. As young adults these Ss tended to finish school, marry, and start a family at a later age. The study highlights the value of a life-course perspective on achievement thoughts and motivation across the life span. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement performance related to achievement motivation and text anxiety.

Assessed achievement motivation, test anxiety, and performance on a standardized reading test among 43 male and 36 female 7th and 8th graders. 2 achievement test formats were employed: an ascending item-difficulty sequence and a random order. Results indicate that performance was not related to the type of test format. For both male and female Ss, reading performance was positively related to achievement motivation and negatively related to test anxiety. Learning vs. performance explanations of these findings were examined, and a relatively new measure of achievement motivation was briefly discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic intrinsic motivation in elementary and junior high school students.

Investigated in 3 studies the significance of academic intrinsic motivation (AIM) for children's education. Ss for Studies 1–3 were 77 4th graders and 64 7th graders; 260 Ss in Grades 4–7; and 166 White middle-class Ss in Grades 5–8, respectively. Ss were administered an AIM inventory and an inventory of academic anxiety (AA). As predicted, AIM was found to be significantly and positively correlated with Ss' school achievement and perceptions of academic competence and negatively correlated with AA. Findings support the view that AIM is differentiated into school subject areas and is also a general orientation toward school learning. Relations between motivation and perception of competence and anxiety were differentiated by subject area, whereas achievement was more pervasively related to general motivation. Mathematics motivation, however, emerged as a unique predictor of mathematics achievement. The significance of AIM as differentiated into subjects and as a general orientation is discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incidental learning in adults of different social backgrounds.

Reports unexpected findings in a survey of 191 urban adults from different social backgrounds who were tested on several standard intelligence measures. Social status of all Ss was consistently related to intelligence measures except Picture Order Incidental, a measure of incidental learning. These scores consistently correlated higher with other intelligence measures and with measures of achievement motivation among Ss of low social status than among those of high social status. There was no main effect of race, and none of the intercorrelation patterns of any of the other measures showed this trend. Possible explanations for this anomaly are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of difficulty and diagnosticity on choice among tasks in relation to achievement motivation and perceived ability.

Replicated Y. Trope's (see record 1976-09902-001) study, by investigating the effects of 2 person characteristics (achievement motivation and perceived own ability) and 2 task characteristics (difficulty and diagnostic value about own ability) on choice among achievement tasks. Ss were 104 male high school students. In accordance with the results of Trope, it was found that high-diagnostic tasks were preferred to low-diagnostic tasks, independent of their difficulty. Trope's finding that high resultant achievers choose high-diagnostic tasks over low-diagnostic tasks to a greater extent than low resultant achievers was not replicated. The perceived degree of own ability affected choice behavior: When easy and difficult tasks were both high in diagnosticity, Ss high in perceived ability preferred difficult over easy tasks, whereas Ss low in perceived ability preferred easy over difficult tasks. It is concluded that a self-informational conception of choice behavior has to include the subjective probability of success at tasks as a determinant of choice, in addition to objective difficulty and diagnostic value. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal test of the investment model: The impact on job satisfaction, job commitment, and turnover of variations in rewards, costs, alternatives, and investments.

A 12-mo longitudinal study of 88 newly hired nurses and junior accountants (mean age of all Ss 24 yrs) tested a series of assumptions from the authors' (see record 1981-31481-001) investment model concerning the determinants of job satisfaction, job commitment, and turnover. In general, greater job satisfaction resulted from high job rewards and low job costs; whereas strong job commitment was produced by high rewards, low costs, poor alternative quality, and large investment size. Whereas the impact of job rewards on satisfaction and commitment remained relatively constant, job costs seemed to exert an increasingly powerful influence over time. Investment size also exerted greater impact on job commitment with the passage of time. Just prior to their leaving, the job commitment of Ss who left was best predicted by a combination of rewards, costs, and alternatives. Ss who stayed and those who left differed from one another with regard to changes over time in each investment model factor—those who left experienced greater decline in rewards, increase in costs, increase in alternative quality, and decrease in investment size than those who stayed. Turnover appeared to be mediated by a decline over time in degree of job commitment. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement motivation: A rational approach to psychological education.

Investigated the achievement motivation training component of psychological education, using 54 late-adolescent pupils as Ss. Ss were stratified and randomly placed into control and experimental groups. In addition to a reduction of test anxiety, the experimental training program had as its objectives an increase in academic achievement motivation, internal feelings of control, and school performance. Results indicate that significant differences existed between experimental and control groups in achievement motivation and internal feelings of control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Between- and within-domain relations of academic motivation among middle and high school students: Self-efficacy, task value, and achievement goals.

The author used confirmatory factor analysis to examine between-domain relations of self-efficacy, task-value, and achievement goal orientations among 424 Korean middle and high school students. All motivational constructs demonstrated strong subject specificity in both age groups. Strengths of between-domains differed substantially by individual constructs. Performance-approach and performance goals were highly correlated across domains, whereas task-value and mastery goals were more distinct across domains. Self-efficacy perceptions were moderately correlated across subjects. High school students' academic motivation was more differentiated than that of middle school students. Within-domain interrelations among these motivation constructs were generally consistent with previous research. More important, consistent patterns of relations were observed in four different academic domains within each age group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in achievement: A test of alternate theories.

200 students in Grades 8–10 were given the following attitudinal measures regarding both math and English: self-concept of ability, subjective task value, perceived task difficulty, and continuing motivation. In a follow-up, Ss" math course enrollment decisions were assessed each year through high school. 142 of the Ss also were exposed to 2 sets of trials: a number sequence set and an anagram set. Outcome was manipulated across trials (success, failure, success). For each series, Ss provided estimates of their ability, their expectations for continued success, and causal attributions. Their response time, persistence, and accuracy were recorded. Finally, teacher estimates of learned helplessness were obtained in Year 1 of the study for all Ss. Subjective task value emerged as the strongest mediator of sex differences in achievement-related behaviors and plans. There was little support for learned-helplessness models of sex differences in achievement. There was some evidence of sex differences in ability attributions, but these differences occurred only among low-expectancy Ss. Verbal and behavioral indexes of achievement beliefs were often inconsistent. Implications for general attribution theory and for sex-difference theory are discussed. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evolution and validation of a behavioral decision theory measurement approach to achievement, power, and affiliation.

Extended the present author's (see record 1981-23696-001) research on a behavioral decision theory approach to the measurement of need for Affiliation (nAff), need for Power (nPow), and need for Achievement (nAch). In a decision-making exercise, S made decisions concerning the attractiveness of 24 hypothetical jobs that were described in terms of Aff, Pow, and Ach. Extensive psychometric data gathered from 1,741 Ss (partners in an accounting firm, military officers and cadets, high school students, undergraduates, and graduate students) were also reported. The modified measure was reliable and free of social desirability bias. The Aff, Pow, and Ach scores were significantly correlated with several objective behaviors and an alternative measure of the motives. Group difference tests among the 7 samples also supported the validity of the measurement approach. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)