Contributor: Laytoya Welch, School of Information Studies Syracuse University
VARIABLES:
The degree to which a person achieves motivation and how the effects of motivation on their performance.
DOMAINS: business, education, psychology
DEVELOPERS
McClelland (1961), Atkinson (1968), David Elliot (1996)
BACKGROUND
David McClelland (believes that the need for achievement is a distinct human motive that can be distinguished fro other needs. One characteristic of achievement motivated people is that they see to be more concerned with personal achievement than with the rewards of success. He believes that they do not reject rewards but the rewards are not essential as the accomplishment itself (Argyris, 2010).
Atkinson theorized that orientation results from achieving success and avoiding failure. The motive to achieve success is determined by three things: (1) the need to succeed or need achievement (nAch); (2) the person's estimate of the likelihood of success in performing the particular task; and (3) the incentive for success-that is, how much the person wants to succeed in that particular task. The motive to avoid failure is determined by three similar considerations: (1) the need to avoid failure which, like the need to achieve success, (2) the person's estimate of the likelihood of failure at the particular task; and (3) the incentive value of failure at that task, that is, how unpleasant it would be to fail (Atkinson, 1966).
Both McClelland and Atkinson’s achievement and motivation theory was based on a personality characteristic that manifested as a dispositional need to improve and perform well according to a certain standard of excellence In order to assess people’s need for achievement, they used a projective instrument called the Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT) that elicits unconscious processes. In this instrument, people are asked to write a story describing the thoughts, emotions and behaviors of a person in an ambiguous picture or drawing (for example, a child sitting in front of a violin). The stories are then coded for achievement-related content including indicators of competition, accomplishments, and commitment to achieve. This technique, labeled the Picture Story Exercise (PSE), was used in numerous studies that tested the relations of nAch with various indicators of performance (Kaplan, 2009).
The Debate
After Atkins and McClelland’s theory of using the Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT) and the Picture Story Exercise (PSE), many researchers such as David Elliot believed that nAch was not the only achievement instrument. They also believed that the nArch approach was rather controversial due to its stereotype-promoting implication that people from certain groups were inherently low in need for achievement. Researchers such as, Davis Elliot realized that a more complete description of the achievement motive would require supplementing the positive affective arousal triggered by the potential for achievement, or Hope of Success (HS), with the negative affective arousal triggered by the potential for failure, labeled Fear of Failure (FF). Similar to HS, FF was believed to be shaped during the early years of life through child-rearing practices that included punishment—again, either tangible or affective, such as love withdrawal—for failing to meet parents' expectations (Elliot & Covington, 2001).
Terms and Definitions
Achievement Motivation – also referred to as the need for achievement, is an important determinant of aspiration, effort, and persistence when an individual expects his performance will be evaluated in relation to some standard of excellence. Such behavior is called achievement-oriented.
Motivation – to achieve is instigates when an individual knows that he is responsible for the outcome of some venture, when he anticipates explicit knowledge of results that will define his success or failure, and when there is some degree of risk, i.e., some uncertainty about the outcome of his effort. The goal of achievement oriented activity is to succeed, to perform well in relation to a standard of excellence or in comparison with others who are competitors (McClelland 1961, chapter 6; Atkinson 1964).
Achievement – Achievement imagery in fantasy takes the form of thoughts about performing some task well, of sometimes being blocked, of trying various means of achieving, and of experiencing joy or sadness contingent upon the outcome of the effort. The particular diagnostic signs of achievement motivation were identified by experimental fact. The results of validating experiments have been replicated in other social groups and societies. Together these experimental findings specify what is counted in an imaginative protocol to yield the n Achievement source, an assessment of the strength of achievement motivation (McClelland et al. 1953, chapter 4; McClelland et al. 1958)
Expectancy Value Theory – Expectancy Value (EV) Theory holds that an individual will expend EFFORT on a task to the degree that she 1) feels confident or has an expectation that she can be successful at the task if she applies herself to it, and 2) values the task and its associated rewards.
RECOMMENDATIONS/APPLICATIONS:
Achievement Motivation is an interesting topic that should be carefully examined to find its core purpose. It is first developed my an individual who has an extreme interest in accomplishing a task, therefore, is determined to put to forth an effort in accomplishing the task if one desires to. There are people who take on the role of achievement motivation in a different manner. For instance there are some who are motivated to achieve their goals only if there performance is evaluated and an award is given. However, there are some who are motivated to achieve their goals because of their fear of success or failure. I would recommend using Atkinson’s, McClelland’s and the expectancy value theory of achievement motivation because it examines the core aspects of achievement motivation of an individual.
REFERENCES