Achievement motivation and field independence

Abstract.— Previous studies on the relationship between achievement motivation and field independence appear to have concentrated on the hope of success motive and Embedded Figures Test measures of field independence. The present study relates measures of both hope of success and fear of failure to performance on the Rod and Frame Test. It was found that a group with high Hope of Success/high Fear of Failure and one with low Hope of Success/low Fear of Failure were more field dependent than a group with high Hope of Success/low Fear of Failure and one with low Hope of Success/high Fear of Failure. The results were interpreted in line with the Yerkes-Dodson law. High Hope of Success/high Fear of Failure was assumed to reflect a too high level of effort output or arousal, whereas low Hope of Success/low Fear of Failure was assumed to reflect a too low level of effort expenditure. According to a second interpretation, the field dependent performance of high/high and low/low groups was assumed to relate to a confused/uncertain self image.     

Achievement motivation theory and occupational choice

Two studies are reported which aimed to answer several questions relating to Atkinson's model of achievement motivation. Firstly, how successfully the theory can predict the occupational choices of two different populations and what changes, if any, need to be made to the model to make it more suited to such predictions. Several conceptual errors were found in the theory which make it unsuitable in its present form for predicting occupational choices and suggestions are made as to the possible correction of these. Secondly, a comparison is made between Atkinson's model and the expectancy-valence models currently utilized to describe and predict occupational decision-making. In particular Atkinson's incentive component is contrasted with the valence measure described by expectancy-valence models, and the possible influences of the motive factors (motive to succeed and motive to avoid failure) are considered since these are typically omitted by other models of career choice. Finally, the existence of sex differences in career choice, as well as in the various components of the model are studied and discussed. The changing conceptualization of ‘fear of success’ is also included in this consideration.     

Achievement motivation and perception of the body boundary

Vollmer, F. Achievement motivation and perception of the body boundary. Scand. J. Psychol., 1973, 14, 91–95.-In a group of 37 female students, a measure of the perceived body boundary (the Barrier Index) was related to three indices of achievement motivation: Hope of Success (HS), Fear of Failure (FF), and Net Hope (NH=HS minus FF). The Barrier Index correlated negatively with FF and positively with NH, but was unrelated to HS. Analysis of the NH variable showed that the correlation between NH and the Barrier Index could be ascribed alone to the strong negative relationship between FF and the Barrier Index, and that subjects with NH scores around zero, due both to high HS and high FF, scored notably low on the Barrier Index.     

Achievement goals and intrinsic motivation: Their relation and their role in adaptive motivation

In this article, the relation between research emerging from the goals approach to motivation and research emerging from the intrinsic motivation approach is examined. A review of relevant research suggests that factors promoting learning goals (emphasizing the development of competencies) are associated with enhanced intrinsic motivation, and that factors promoting performance goals (emphasizing the evaluation of competence) are associated with diminished intrinsic motivation. It is also suggested that important aspects of the goals approach are often incorporated into conceptions and measures of intrinsic motivation. Finally, a framework is presented in which adaptive motivation is described in terms of the coordination of achievement goals and intrinsic motivation.     

Analogical problem solving

The use of an analogy from a semantically distant domain to guide the problemsolving process was investigated. The representation of analogy in memory and processes involved in the use of analogies were discussed theoretically and explored in five experiments. In Experiment I oral protocols were used to examine the processes involved in solving a problem by analogy. In all experiments subjects who first read a story about a military problem and its solution tended to generate analogous solutions to a medical problem (Duncker's “radiation problem”), provided they were given a hint to use the story to help solve the problem. Transfer frequency was reduced when the problem presented in the military story was substantially disanalogous to the radiation problem, even though the solution illustrated in the story corresponded to an effective radiation solution (Experiment II). Subjects in Experiment III tended to generate analogous solutions to the radiation problem after providing their own solutions to the military problem. Subjects were able to retrieve the story from memory and use it to generate an analogous solution, even when the critical story had been memorized in the context of two distractor stories (Experiment IV). However, when no hint to consider the story was given, frequency of analogous solutions decreased markedly. This decrease in transfer occurred when the story analogy was presented in a recall task along with distractor stories (Experiment IV), when it was presented alone, and when it was presented in between two attempts to solve the problem (Experiment V). Component processes and strategic variations in analogical problem solving were discussed. Issues related to noticing analogies and accessing them in memory were also examined, as was the relationship of analogical reasoning to other cognitive tasks.     

Achievement motivation and entrepreneurial success: A follow-up study

A seven-year follow-up study of agricultural entrepreneurs of high and low achievement motivation was conducted. The findings indicate that agriculture entrepreneurs with high n-Ach continue to increase their productivity more than their counterparts. In addition, the data lend support to the thesis that n-Ach is stable over time.     

Achievement motivation and its constructs: A cognitive model

The first section of this paper introduces a set of constructs, develops a cognitive model of motivation, and derives specific propositions for the case of achievement motivation. The model describes functional relationships among expectancies, instrumentalities, incentive values, and valences, each of which is calculated separately for situations, actions, and outcomes. Each valence is calculated with reference to an outcome's anticipated consequences, both immediate and delayed. The model draws on, but reworks and extends, Expectancy × Value Theory, Bolles' Psychological Syllogism, Instrumentality Theory, Achievement Motivation Theory, and Causal Attribution Theory. The second section examines the model's fit to the body of data that bears on a central area of research in achievement motivation, namely task preferences. The last section scrutinizes the motive construct as a summary concept and divides it into six parameter sets which represent sources of individual differences.I wish to thank Eric Klinger for a judicious translation of the paper into English which has considerably improved the original; Herbert Götzl, Uwe Kleinbeck, and Julius Kuhl for helpful comments; and Rosemarie Tweer for assistance in reanalyzing 31 studies on task preference.     

Achievement motivation,psychological reactance,and learned helplessness

Two experiments are reported in which the behavior of subjects classified as high or low on achievement motivation was studied following experience of uncontrollable, nonaversive outcomes, using a triadic design. In both experiments, subjects high on achievement motivation displayed facilitation, whereas subjects low on achievement motivation displayed slight interference or no effect. In the second experiment it was shown that the experimental treatment was successful in inducing the expectation of response-outcome independence without associated perceptions of failure. It differed in this respect from manipulations used in most reported studies of human helplessness. The results are discussed in relation to theories of achievement motivation, psychological reactance, and learned helplessness.The first experiment was conducted by the first author under the supervision of the second author in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the B.A. Honors degree in psychology at the University of Adelaide. The authors wish to thank J. M. Innes and E. E. Rump for their helpful comments.     

Self-appraised social problem solving abilities, emotional reactions and actual problem solving performance

Self-report measures of social problem solving abilities have yet to be associated with objective problem solving performance in any consistent manner. In the present study, we investigated the relation of social problem solving abilities--as measured by the Social Problem Solving Skills Inventory--Revised (SPSI-R [Maydeu-Olivares, A. & D'Zurilla, T. J. (1996). A factor analytic study of the Social Problem Solving Inventory: an integration of theory and data. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 20, 115-133])--to performance on a structured problem solving task. Unlike previous studies, we examined the relation of problem solving skills to performance curves observed in repeated trials, while controlling for affective reactions to each trial. Using hierarchical modeling techniques, a negative problem orientation was significantly predictive of performance and this effect was not mediated by negative affectivity. Results are discussed as they pertain to contemporary models of social problem solving.