The relationship between Edwards' and McClelland's measures of achievement motivation.

Abstract

Independent measures of achievement motivation have recently been developed by Edwards (1) and McClelland et al. (2). Edwards' measure of this variable is one of fifteen that have their origin in, and bear the same names as, a list of manifest needs presented by Murray (3). They form the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule which measures a "number of relatively independent normal personality variables" (1, p. 1). Mc-Clelland's method of measuring n Achievement is also rooted in Murray, since he uses imaginative stories evoked by two TAT cards and two other pictures designed by him and his associates. He has developed a quantitative method of scoring the imaginative material in terms of n Achievement categories (2, pp. 107-138).Since both Edwards and McClelland independently measure the same variable, a high correlation is expected between the scores obtained on their two measures. The purpose of this study is to test whether such a relation exists or not. MethodThe subjects (Ss) in this experiment were 84 Arabic-speaking students in two psychology classes at the American University of Beirut. Approximately half of the Ss were citizens of Lebanon, and the other half came from Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Bahrain. All the 5s had a good command of English, which is the language of instruction in the University. Sixty of the 5s were males. '•The author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to Aimee Sabbagh and Sumaya Kurani, of the Department of Psychology, for scoring the imaginative stories on the McClelland Test.

Relations between Needs and Behavior as measured by the Edwards PPS and Interpersonal Check List

“…T w o assumptions which underlie the interpretation of the results of this study are: ( a ) ICL data are more closely related to behavior; and ( b ) EPPS data are more closely related to needs. W e have offered the results of an unpublished study i n support of the ICL-behavior relationship, but other investigators (7,8 ) have found evidence which raises doubts as to the EPPS-needs (at least, needs in the T A T fantasy sense) relationship. One explanation, then, of our findings is that the EPPS and the ICL, which in the final analysis are both self-rating inventories, may be tapping very nearly the same level of behavior.…”

Individual Differences and Course Performance

“…This study adds to the already existing body of literature which debates the usefulness of these predictors. With respect to need for achievement, studies have shown that there does not seem to be an accurate, reliable way of measuring the construct (Molikan, 1958;AtkinsonandLitwin, 1960;Mitchell, 1961). Perhapsinthefuture, measurement could be facilitated by the development of an instrument which would quantify need for achievement in terms of a specific state, in this case, those motivations and goals directly associated with the academic setting.…”

“…1959; Robinson, 1964;Meyer, 1965 ;Heckhausen, 1967). However, the results are far from unequivocal and some studies have failed to find a relationship between ' n-Ach ' and academic performance (Walter, 1957;Haber, 1957;Molikan, 1958;Atkinson and Litwin, 1960 ;Mitchell, 1961). Some of the difficulties in obtaining reliable results and in predicting more than 50 per cent of the variance in academic achievement may be a function of the lack of control for (1) individual instructor effects, (2) the interaction between instructor and teaching method, (3) a lack of a consistent measure of the amount of information learned by students, and (4) a failure to consider the degree of correspondence between student preference for particular course conditions and 286 those to which the student is actually exposed.…”

Discussions and Reviews : Time for reorientation: a review of recent research on the Arab-Israeli conflict Ania Francos, Les Palestiniens Paris: Julliard, 1968. Pp. 318. Fr. 20.70. Yehoshafat Harkabi, Fedayeen Action and Arab Strategy London: Institute for Strategic Studies (Adelphi Paper No. 53), 1969. Pp. 43. 5s (75¢). To Make War or Make Peace (New Outlook Symposium) Proceedings of the International Symposium on Inevitable War or Initiatives for Peace. Tel-Aviv: New Outlook, 1969. Pp. 288. I.L. 8.00 ($2

“…Experiments involved Arabic-speaking students at the American University of Beirut and American universities. Relationship between Edwards' and McClelland's measures of Achievement Motivation with (relatively) culturally unbiased probing of imaginative stories indicated some special traits appearing in Arab language and personality which bear directly and indirectly on Arab behavior vis-b-vis the conflict situations (Melikian, 1958, andBen-Dak, 1969).…”