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A reconsideration of the achievement‐motivation theory
Author(s) -
Nygård Roald
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2420050105
Subject(s) - psychology , stimulation , social psychology , viewpoints , developmental psychology , neuroscience , visual arts , art
In a reconsideration of the achievement‐motivation theory it is assumed that moderate stimulation releases positive affects and very low or high stimulation negative affects. It is further assumed that as far as the achievement‐motivation system is concerned the most stimulating situation is that where the probability of success (P s ) is about .50, the least stimulating that where P s is near 1.00 or .00. The motive to achieve success (M s ) and the motive to avoid failure (M f ) are thought of as moderators of the stimulation provided by a given situation. M s ‐dominated individuals should experience positive affects (moderate stimulation) where P s is about .50 and should therefore engage in such situations. P s near 1.00 or .00 implies very low stimulation; hence, negative affects should be released, resulting in resistance to such situations. M f ‐dominated individuals should experience negative affects (very high stimulation) where P s is about .50, while they should experience moderate stimulation, and thus positive affects, if at any point, only where P s is either very high or very low. This implies that the relationship between M s strength, respectively M f strength, and degree of engagement should vary from positive to negative, depending on the probability of success in the situation. Results from previous investigations are related to these viewpoints.