The power motive and reactivity to power stresses.

Conducted an industrial simulation experiment with 80 college males to determine the influence of the power motive and power stresses on activation as measured via the Activation–Deactivation Adjective Check List and R. F. Bales's (1970) interaction category "shows tension." Need for power (n Power) was assessed by means of the TAT. Ss scoring among the top and bottom thirds of those taking the test acted as "supervisor" in the industrial simulation by directing the work of a work crew (which was actually fictitious) in the next room. Comments from members of the supposed work crew of high-school students were play-acted tape recordings. All work output was preprogrammed. A group stress condition presented the supervisor with worker comments that suggested group concern about performance. Supervisors exhibited roughly similar activation scores in response to the nonstress condition, regardless of n-Power scores, but supervisors high in n Power showed greater activation in response to group stress than did those low in n Power. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lifespace variables and managerial success.

Correlated lifespace measures with the discrepancies between original test battery forecasts (Miller Analogies Test, Nonverbal Reasoning Ability Test, Guilford-Zimmerman Temperment Survey, and Management Judgment Test) and subsequent managerial success on the job. Variables included the manager's perceived task challenge on his entry job (Modified Task Characteristics Questionnaire), his life change between test and criterion measurement (Schedule of Recent Experiences), his personality match with his first supervisor, and the success of his first supervisor. These served in combination for 140 Exxon managers (average age, 31 yrs) to account for an additional 22.7% of the variance in success after 5 to 7 yrs on the job when added to the validity of prediction (.63) by the Exxon Early Identification of Management Program battery of aptitude and personality assessments administered during the 1st 18 mo of employment. The equivalent of a multiple correlation of .79 was attained. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The power motive in women—and men.

Previous studies and original research on the power motive (n Power) in women show no sex differences in the ways in which the power motive is aroused, in average levels of n Power, or in relationships between n Power and getting formal social power, power-related careers, and prestige. While in women n Power does not predict the "profligate impulsive" behaviors that it often does in men (drinking, aggression, sexual exploitation), a closer analysis shows that for both sexes having younger siblings and/or having children—interpreted as proxy variables for responsibility training—moderate the relationship between n Power and profligate (versus leadership) behaviors. Thus to some extent socialization experience rather than gender determines the channels of expression of power motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leadership motive pattern and long-term success in management.

TAT protocols for 237 managers obtained at the managers' entry into the American Telephone and Telegraph Company were retrieved, scored for the personality variables in question, and correlated with the levels of promotion attained after 8 and 16 yrs. As predicted, the leadership motive pattern (moderate–high need (n) for Power, low n-Affiliation, and high Activity Inhibition) was significantly associated with managerial success after 8 and 16 yrs for the nontechnical managers. Among these Ss, n-Achievement was also associated with success, but only at lower levels when individual contributions were more important than the ability to influence people. Measures of maturity were associated with success, but only within subgroups of managers. None of these measures was associated with success for technical managers with engineering responsibilities. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The identification of traits related to managerial success.

To evaluate the effectiveness of a test battery in discriminating between successful and unsuccessful managers, a comprehensive battery was administered to 76 supervisors of an autonomous, medium-sized operating division. Results from the Guilford-Zimmerman Aptitude Survery, California Test of Mental Maturity, and Structured-Objective (S-O) Rorschach Test were related to ratings of overall performance, promotability, and versatility by peers and superiors. The test battery showed significant correlations with peer ratings in all three of these areas (.46-.68), but showed a significant correlation (.44) only with the supervisors' evaluation of versatility. The S-O Rorschach Test proved to be the most effective test in the battery. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement motive and test anxiety conceived as motive to approach success and motive to avoid failure.

"… the following hypotheses are investigated: persons in whom the motive to achieve success is stronger than the motive to avoid failure (a) should prefer tasks of intermediate difficulty, (b) should show greater persistence in working at an achievement related task, and (c) should show more efficiency, or a higher level of accomplishment, than persons in whom the motive to avoid failure is stronger… . [Results] support the hypotheses." 3 measures of achievement related motives were not found to be correlated. "These results highlight the importance of discovering why different methods of measuring apparently the same human motive do not yield comparable results." 30 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moving up the corporate ladder: A longitudinal study of the leadership motive pattern and managerial success in women and men.

Using TAT data collected prior to entering management positions, sex differences in motive patterns related to leadership were examined in a 12-yr longitudinal study of 211 men and 180 women (aged 21–43 yrs at initial assessment) who entered a large utility corporation between 1977 and 1982. Ss were followed up in 1990 and recorded as to how far they had advanced in management level. While the results showed no sex differences in motivational predictors of attained management level, the content analysis revealed 2 distinct styles of power-related themes that distinguished the successful men from the successful women. The successful male managers were more likely to use reactive power themes while the successful female managers were more likely to use resourceful power themes. Differences between the sexes in the power themes were less pronounced among the managers who had remained in lower levels of management. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between managerial values and managerial success of Black and White managers.

Recent research has shown a relationship between personal values and the success of managers. The present study attempted to determine if a relationship exists between the managerial success of Black managers and their personal values. 64 Black male and 64 White male managers from a variety of business organizations completed the Personal Values Questionnaire developed in 1967 by G. W. England. The managerial success index was a measure of pay relative to age. For Whites results were similar in direction and magnitude to findings in previous research. For Blacks results were similar in direction but not quite so strong as the previous data collected on White samples. Thus, results of the present study do not refute the basic thesis that personal values can be used in the selection and placement process. Additional research is needed, however, to firmly establish this point. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The power motive as an influence on use of power.

Conducted an industrial simulation experiment with 120 male graduate business students to determine the influence of the power motive on their use of power. Need for power (nPow) was assessed by D. G. Winter's (1973) TAT measure. 80 Ss scoring in the top and bottom thirds on the test acted as "supervisor" in the simulation by directing the labors of a work crew in the next room. One member of the crew, Man C, behaved as an ingratiator. Supervisors high and low on nPow evaluated Man C about the same when he was neutral and noningratiating in his manner, but when Man C was an ingratiator, high-nPow supervisors evaluated his performance more favorably than did low-nPow supervisors. High-nPow supervisors also perceived themselves as exerting greater influence on the work group. Findings are seen as extending the heuristic value of the nPow construct by demonstrating its relationships to use of power in an industry-like situation. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between managerial values and managerial success in the United States, Japan, India, and Australia.

Investigated the relationships between managerial values and managerial success for a diverse sample of 878 American managers, 301 Australian managers, 500 Indian managers, and 312 Japanese managers. Cross-validated results show that value patterns were significantly predictive of managerial success and could be used as a basis for selection and placement decisions. Results also indicate that managers from the 4 countries were rather similar in terms of the personal values that were related to success. More successful managers had pragmatic, dynamic, and achievement-oriented values, while less successful managers had more static and passive values. Arguments for and against using value assessment results in selection and placement decisions are discussed. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The power motive, group conflict, and physiological arousal.

Tested D. C. McClelland's (1976; see also PA, Vol 68:12164) theory that persons high in power motivation experience high physiological reactivity to "power stress." A group of 192 male undergraduates, from which 64 group leaders were selected by means of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) as being high or low in the need for power (n Power), participated. The 128 Ss not designated as leaders served as group members. The experiment was a 2?×?2 factorial design, in which group conflict (high, low) served as the 1st factor and leader's n Power served as the 2nd factor, which yielded 4 conditions. Group discussion focused on a controversial proposal to market a new sunlamp. The group leader was wired for electromyographic (EMG) recordings and at the end of the experiment completed R. E. Thayer's (1967, 1970) Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List. Analysis of variance for the EMG data disclosed a main effect for condition of the experiment and a marginally significant interaction effect. Consistent with McClelland's theory, the greatest EMG reactivity occurred in high-n-Power leaders subjected to group conflict. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Arousal of the power motive in women.

Experimental data from female college students show that the use of 2 different procedures for arousing need for power ( n Power) in men produced the same motive arousal in females. Utilizing TAT-type pictures with female and male or female-only stimulus figures, data were obtained which suggest that whatever the reasons for previous difficulty with the arousal of need achievement in women, there is no comparable difficulty with n Power. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of managerial success by peer and training-staff ratings.

Examined the predictive validity of peer and training-staff ratings made under "real" conditions in an industrial situation. Ratings were obtained for 156 middle-level managers and 83 higher level executives attending a 4-wk training course. Analysis of 13 peer-related characteristics yielded 2 factors: Impact and Tactfulness. Follow-up showed that later success (promotion and performance appraisal) was predicted by most peer ratings mainly from the Impact factor. Training staff ratings were much weaker predictors and added little to the peer ratings. Broader use of peer ratings for executive selection is discussed. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The motive to avoid success and its effect on performance in school-age males and females.

169 male and 168 female 5th-11th graders completed a TAT-like measure of motive to avoid success in a developmental replication of M. S. Horner's (1968) study of the motive to avoid success. Ss also performed a series of tasks in competitive and noncompetitive conditions. No sex differences or clear age trends in motive-to-avoid-success imagery were found; however, there were sex and grade differences in the reasons given for avoiding success. In general, Ss, regardless of motive-to-avoid-success status, performed better in noncompetitive than competitive conditions. Developmental data show a tendency for 9th- and 11th-grade females with motive to avoid success to perform better in noncompetitive conditions, while older females without motive to avoid success perform better in competitive conditions. Males in the 8th, 9th and 11th grades with motive to avoid success performed better in a competitive condition, while their peers without motive to avoid success performed better in a noncompetitive condition. Results question that the motive to avoid success is aroused in the same experimental situations, that is, affects performance similarly, for males and young females as for older females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The power motive as an influence on group decision making.

40 groups of 5 undergraduates came together to discuss a business study case; each group member had a different role and a role sheet specifying items of information available only to him/her. The case featured most of the characteristics I. L. Janis (1972) identified as the kinds of policy decisions that produce "groupthink." Need for power was assessed by the TAT. Extreme top and bottom scorers were group leaders, and an attempt was made to create group cohesiveness in 20 groups by offering a reward for best group performance. Groups whose leaders scored low on the power motive brought more factual information from their role sheets into group discussion and considered more action proposals than did leaders who scored high. Group cohesiveness did not affect the quality of the decision-making process. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tacit knowledge as a predictor of managerial success: A field study.

Tested R. K. Wagner's (1985) tacit knowledge model regarding managerial success. Male volunteers from a large Canadian organization participated in an in-house assessment center as prospective 1st-level supervisors. Ss were from 2 functional areas within the organization: 96 Ss were in engineering and 55 were in equipment. The groups were comparable in age and work experience. Data were collected using performance in a management simulation (MS) and Wagner's Business Management Tacit Knowledge Measure. Tacit knowledge scores were related to performance in the MS, but no evidence was found in support of the proposed substructure of the model. The level and significance of the intercorrelations between actual and ideal scores indicate Ss did not clearly distinguish between these 2 orientations despite the fact that the mean scores on these scales were significantly different for both groups. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The implicit power motive and sociosexuality in men and women: Pancultural effects of responsibility.

Research has shown that an individual's implicit power motive relates to 2 types of behavioral clusters: either prosocial, socially appropriate behaviors or profligate, impulsive behaviors. The present study examined the relationship between individuals' implicit power motives and their tendency to engage in sexual activities without strong emotional ties (i.e., sociosexuality). For men, but not for women, this relationship was hypothesized to be moderated by an implicit disposition for responsibility. Whereas most research has been limited to Euro-American contexts, the present study examined the relationship between power motive, disposition for responsibility, and sociosexuality among participants recruited in Cameroon, China, Costa Rica, and Germany. Explicit Big Five measures of personality were controlled for. For women, only a main effect of responsibility on sociosexuality was found across cultural groups; for men, the association between power motivation and sociosexuality was moderated by responsibility, independent of cultural group. Traits of agreeableness and conscientiousness were systematically related to lower levels of sociosexuality. Effects for both implicit and explicit measures of personality suggest universality in the processes associated with more enactments of sociosexuality, confirming in part the hypothesized role of responsibility in channeling the realization of the power motive into less impulsive activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal history data as a predictor of success in service station management.

For a sample of 29 dealers, ratings on 15 aspects of service station management were reduced to a single over-all rating that was used as a criterion against which a personal history blank was item analyzed using a variant of double cross validation. The scoring key was then cross-validated on a new sample of 23 dealers. It was concluded that the unitary criterion was adequate to describe performance, and that 14 of the 39 items in the blank discriminated more successful dealers from less successful, retaining validity on cross-validation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The success of a clinical librarian program in an academic autopsy pathology service

Residents in pathology must acquire a broad base of knowledge in all areas of medicine and the basic medical sciences. We report our experience with the first Clinical Medical Librarian (CL) program used to aid resident training in anatomic pathology. This program was developed by the Lister Hill Library of Health Sciences (LHL) of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to test the value of a CL program in filling the clinical needs of medical students and residents by providing key recent references to the wide variety of diseases seen in a busy autopsy service. Use of a CL was accepted completely by both faculty and residents as a method of increasing their efficiency in evaluating the recent literature on diseases seen in the autopsy service. Our use of this program broadened the scope and extent of specific case-oriented medical literature read by both residents and faculty.