To dispel fantasies about the fantasy-based measure of fear of success.

A review of M. Horner's (1968) study and subsequent research using the fantasy-based measure of fear of success suggested the following conclusions: Horner's results do not support the hypothesis that high-fear-of-success females perform poorly under competitive conditions; there are no reliable age or sex differences in motivation to avoid success; fear of success and sex role orientation appear to be unrelated; it is not clear whether the fear-of-success measure taps a motive or taps cultural stereotypes; there are no consistent relationships between fear of success and achievement-related variables; the reliability of the fear-of-success measure is low (probably in the .30-.40 range); and there are no consistent relationships between fear of success and any behavioral measures. It is suggested that future research will have to use new measures of fear of success. 3 such measures and preliminary findings are presented. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)