David McClellan, Essay Example

Achievement is one of the social motives as defined by David McClellan. McClellan is a psychologist made famous for his  research on what motivates humans in society (Competency International). The definition of achievement, per McClelland, is a focus on goals and improving performance. This is a task-oriented motivation that demands measurable and tangible results. A person who is motivated by achievement will be naturally drawn to jobs where they can achieve success and recognition. Achievement driven individuals are often found in management level jobs, especially those where promotion is possible (Emmerick, Gardner, Wendt, and Fischer, 2010).

In terms of the Five Factor Model, the person motivated by achievement will be more closely correlated  to some of the factors than with others. The achievement motivated individual would be most closely tied to extraversion. The more extraverted a person is, the more they can achieve. He will also be extremely conscientiousness, both of people and situations. Having a high degree of conscientiousness will enable goals to be met more easily by those motivated by achievement. Conscientiousness enables the individual to have a better understanding of the factors that will bring success. Agreeableness will help out to a lesser degree. An achievement motivated person needs to be agreeable, able to get along with a wide variety of people. However, he will not be so agreeable that he allows others to walk over him.

The achievement motivated individual is not positively correlated to openness (Emmerick, Gardner, Wendt, and Fischer, 2010). Openness to Experience includes traits such as wide interest, being imaginative and being insightful (Srivastava 2010). Achievement motivated individuals are likely to follow the steps they know will lead to success and achievement. Management level jobs are popular for achievement motivated people. They know that success is possible by climbing the corporate ladder, and they follow the rules carefully to achieve this. Imaginative and creative individuals are not necessarily obedient followers in this sense.  The achievement motivated individual is also not neurotic, a factor that includes traits like being tense, moody and anxious (Srivastava 2010). These traits would not allow them to achieve success since this factor usually inhibits achievement.

References

Competency International (2007) “David McClelland’s Contribution to Applied Psychology” Retrieved October 7, 2010 from http://www.competencyinternational.com/david_mcclelland.htm

Emmerik, Hetty van, Gardner, William L, Wendt, Hein, Fischer, Dawn (2010) “Associations of Culture and Personality with McClelland’s Motives: A Cross-Cultural Study of Managers” Group and Organization Management 35(3), 329-367. Retrieved October 7, 2010 from

Srivastava, S. (2010). Measuring the Big Five Personality Factors. Retrieved October 7, 2010 from   http://www.uoregon.edu/~sanjay/bigfive.html