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)     

Some clinical correlates of operant behavior.

"22 chronic psychotic patients, Ss in an operant conditioning study, were given psychological tests and rated as to their ward behavior. Ratings of ward behavior and rates of operant response were directly related. Those patients who were testable by at least one clinical test were those who were high operant responders. These findings were discussed in terms of a notion of adaptability to the demands of the hospital environment. Clinical and operant data on 6 normal Ss were also presented." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Retributive and utilitarian motives and other correlates of Canadian attitudes toward the death penalty.

An in-depth survey of 144 English Canadian adults examined the motives behind, and other social psychological correlates of, attitudes toward capital punishment. The results suggested that for a substantial percentage of people the motive of retribution may be more important than deterence as a reason for favoring the death penalty. Other findings indicated that the more strongly people favored the death penalty, the more likely they were to score high on measures of authoritarianism, punitiveness, dogmatism, and prejudice. They were also more likely to be older and less educated. The hypothesis that people who felt threatened by crime would be more likely to favor capital punishment received equivocal support. Both theoretical and practical applications of the data are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The achievement motive.

Reviews "The achievement motive," by D. C. McClelland, J. W. Atkinson, R. A. Clark, and E. L. Lowell (see record 2006-09558-000). This book is primarily a progress report on a program of research which thus far has shown very promising results. The authors have worked out a scheme for measuring the achievement motive under standardized conditions, thus making available for controlled study one of the most important human strivings. The device for measuring the achievement motive is derived from the Thematic Apperception Test: subjects are asked to write stories in response to four pictures. The scoring scheme has been worked out with great care and is both efficient and reliable. This basic experiment was repeated with several different groups, including a group of Navaho boys. In their theory of motivation the authors are strongly influenced by Hebb: "our own theory in many respects picks up where he leaves off." Their system, moreover, follows Young's lead in basing motives on affective arousal. All motives are learned; what is unlearned is affect, which occurs whenever stimuli or situations produce a significant change in the organism's adaptation level. Changes in adaptation level, with their accompanying affect, become the basis for learning motives. These few sentences must suffice here to indicate the general nature of the theory, which though still tentative is worked out in considerable detail with abundant reference to current research. To me it seems an important broadening of the concept of motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of chronic achievement motivation and achievement primes on the activation of achievement and fun goals.

This research examined the hypothesis that situational achievement cues can elicit achievement or fun goals depending on chronic differences in achievement motivation. In 4 studies, chronic differences in achievement motivation were measured, and achievement-denoting words were used to influence behavior. The effects of these variables were assessed on self-report inventories, task performance, task resumption following an interruption, and the pursuit of means relevant to achieving or having fun. Findings indicated that achievement priming (vs. control priming) activated a goal to achieve and inhibited a goal to have fun in individuals with chronically high-achievement motivation but activated a goal to have fun and inhibited a goal to achieve in individuals with chronically low-achievement motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reading achievement gaps, correlates, and moderators of early reading achievement: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) kindergarten to first grade sample.

This study estimated reading achievement gaps in different ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic groups of 1st graders in the U.S. compared with specific reference groups and identified statistically significant correlates and moderators of early reading achievement. A subset of 2,296 students nested in 184 schools from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) kindergarten to 1st-grade cohort were analyzed with hierarchical linear models. With child-level background differences controlled, significant 1st-grade reading differentials were found in African American children (-0.51 SD units below Whites), boys (-0.31 SD units below girls), and children from high-poverty households (-0.61 to -1.0 SD units below well-to-do children). In all 3 comparisons, the size of the reading gaps increased from kindergarten entry to 1st grade. Reading level at kindergarten entry was a significant child-level correlate, related to poverty status. At the school level, class size and elementary teacher certification rate were significant reading correlates in 1st grade. Cross-level interactions indicated reading achievement in African American children was moderated by the schools students attended, with attendance rates and reading time at home explaining the variance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between achievement-related motives and intelligence, performance level, and persistence.

Test Anxiety and Need for Achievement are related to intelligence, performance level (exam grades), and persistence (time spent in exams). Ss were 146 college students. Test Anxiety is negatively related to intelligence (p     

Birth order and social behavior.

Recent research of Schachter has redirected a longstanding interest in physiological, psychological, and sociological correlates of order of birth to affiliative or withdrawal tendencies as birth-order correlates. The most firmly established and persistent finding relative to birth order shows an overproportion of 1st-born children in college. Substantial evidence also exists showing (1) 1st-born to be more susceptible than later born to social pressure and (2) 1st-born women, when apprehensive, to be more strongly attracted than later-born women to the company of others. Studies relating birth order to conformity or dependence, delinquency, alcoholism, and schizophrenia as well as college attendance and affiliative behavior are reviewed. (2p. ref.) (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)     

Motivational interviewing and the social context.

Comments on the article by Miller and Rose (see record 2009-13007-002). As Miller and Rose opened “the black box of treatment to examine linkages between processes of delivery and client outcomes” (p. 529) in motivational interviewing (MI), it is important that their model include factors from the social context that may explain conditions that enhance or diminish MI interventions. Aspects of the social context may serve as mediators or moderators of the relational (MI spirit) and technical (change talk) components in MI theory. In this comment, the author suggests the addition of social influence to their theoretical model. The author suggests that existing research on the role of significant others argues that the conceptual model should include a box for Social Influence as a hypothesized process variable that relates to “Client Preparatory Change Talk and Diminished Resistance” and “Commitment to Behavior Change” (see Figure 1, p. 530). In addition, a second new box, labeled Significant Other Training in MI, should be added in direct relationship to the new Social Influence variable. Further research is needed to explore these variables and their specific functions within the model. These additions to the theoretical model affirm the active components of MI and potentially extend the effects through positive social influence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contextual amplification of pubertal transition effects on deviant peer affiliation and externalizing behavior among African American children.

The effects of the pubertal transition on behavior problems and its interaction with family and neighborhood circumstances were examined with a sample of 867 African American children 10-12 years of age. Pubertal development status, pubertal timing, and primary caregivers' parenting behaviors were significantly related to affiliation with deviant peers and externalizing behaviors. Externalizing behavior among early-maturing children was associated positively with primary caregivers' use of harsh-inconsistent discipline and negatively with nurturant-involved parenting practices. Disadvantaged neighborhood conditions were significantly associated with deviant peer affiliation. The effect of pubertal transition varied according to family and neighborhood conditions: Early-maturing children living in disadvantaged neighborhoods were significantly more likely to affiliate with deviant peers. Early-maturing children with harsh and inconsistent parents were significantly more likely to have externalizing problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anxiety and the experimental arousal of affiliation need.

Small groups of college Ss were placed in a 1-way vision observation room; the instructions structured the situation so that personal anxiety was presumed to be high. Other groups were purposefully not exposed to anxiety-producing instructions. Level of anxiety was measured by self-rating scales; need for affiliation was assessed through TAT cards. It was assumed that degree of anxiety would be positively related to degree of need affiliation. Ss high in need affiliation did rate themselves higher in anxiety when placed in the anxiety-producing situation; in the non-anxiety-producing situation, affiliation need was unrelated to anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Good soldiers and good actors: Prosocial and impression management motives as interactive predictors of affiliative citizenship behaviors.

Researchers have discovered inconsistent relationships between prosocial motives and citizenship behaviors. We draw on impression management theory to propose that impression management motives strengthen the association between prosocial motives and affiliative citizenship by encouraging employees to express citizenship in ways that both “do good” and “look good.” We report 2 studies that examine the interactions of prosocial and impression management motives as predictors of affiliative citizenship using multisource data from 2 different field samples. Across the 2 studies, we find positive interactions between prosocial and impression management motives as predictors of affiliative citizenship behaviors directed toward other people (helping and courtesy) and the organization (initiative). Study 2 also shows that only prosocial motives predict voice—a challenging citizenship behavior. Our results suggest that employees who are both good soldiers and good actors are most likely to emerge as good citizens in promoting the status quo. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Goal motives, well-being, and physical health: An integrative model.

The present paper proposes an integrative model on the motivational determinants and health consequences of two forms of well-being (i.e., happiness and self-realization). This model posits that pursuing autonomous goals enhances both happiness and self-realization, whereas pursuing controlled goals thwarts these two same forms of well-being. The model further posits that self-realization, but not happiness, promotes physical health via the practise of more vigilant and less avoidant coping strategies, that lead to reduced stress. Empirical support for the model is reviewed and the model is discussed in terms of its theoretical and research implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of persistence at a task to expectation of success and achievement related motives.

This investigation examines the effects of S's motivation to achieve success or avoid failure (measured from TAT), his preception of the degree of difficulty of the task, and his probability of success upon continued attempts (persistence) to solve a given problem. Substantiating hypotheses derived from Atkinson's theory (1957, 1958), the results indicated that persistence occurs when motivation to achieve and anticipation of success are high, or when motivation to avoid failure and anticipation of failure are high. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Students' motivational profiles and achievement outcomes in physical education: A self-determination perspective.

Previous studies in education have inspected the relations between students' autonomous versus controlled motivation and relevant outcomes. In most of those studies a global index of self-determined motivation was created. The purpose of this article was to examine (a) how the different types of motivation proposed by Self-Determination Theory combine into distinct profiles as identified by cluster analysis and (b) the links between those profiles and objective criteria of achievement. In Study 1, motivation toward physical education was assessed at the beginning of a 10-week gymnastics teaching cycle, and performance was assessed at the end of the cycle among a sample of high school students (N=210). Study 2 (N=215) extended Study 1 by controlling students' initial performance, measuring the effort they exerted and recording their grades. Cluster analyses revealed three motivational profiles: self-determined, non-self-determined, and moderate levels of both types of motivation. Path analysis showed that the self-determined profile was related to the highest achievement. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the assessment of students' motivation and the consequences of motivational profiles for educational outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivational Orientations in the Classroom: Age Differences and Academic Correlates.

Age differences in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and the relationships of each to academic outcomes were examined in an ethnically diverse sample of 797 3rd-grade through 8th-grade children. Using independent measures, the authors found intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to be only moderately correlated, suggesting that they may be largely orthogonal dimensions of motivation in school. Consistent with previous research, intrinsic motivation showed a significant linear decrease from 3rd grade through 8th grade and proved positively correlated with children's grades and standardized test scores at all grade levels. Extrinsic motivation showed few differences across grade levels and proved negatively correlated with academic outcomes. Surprisingly few differences based on children's sex or ethnicity were found. Causes and consequences of the disturbingly low levels of motivation for older, relative to younger, children are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational factors in the violation of a prohibition.

An experiment with 90 college Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intellectual and personality correlates of test anxiety.

Ss were administered: Sarason's True-False Test Anxiety Scale, Bendig's 20-item version of the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, Sarason's Lack of Protection Scale, and Edwards' Social Desirability Scale. These data were intercorrelated with 13 measures of intellectual performance. "Although all correlations between anxiety and intellectual measures were small, there was a consistent, significant tendency for… [Sarason's True-False Test Anxiety Scale] to correlate negatively with the intellectual measures. No similar tendency was observed for the… [other scales]." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stability and validity of achievement fantasy.

"Although projective and fantasy instruments have been widely used both in clinical and research settings the reliability and validity of many fantasy variables still remains in question. This paper is the first in a series of reports dealing with the stability and validation of fantasy variables from the TAT and Rorschach and deals specifically with achievement fantasy on the TAT… . (a) its stability over time, (b) its relation to certain antecedent conditions, and (c) its prediction of overt achievement behavior… . It was suggested that achievement fantasy is an index of the strength of the subject's behavioral tendency to seek achievement goals and that achievement concern on the part of the same-sex parent has a special influence on the child's achievement strivings. Specific methodological and theoretical problems with respect to measurement and interpretation of achievement fantasy were discussed." 19 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)