3 Types of Achievement Theories 1.

Need achievement postulated as two acquired drives called "motives": one to achieve success, the other to avoid failure. These motives were thought to be acquired through conditioning in achievement situations were children learned to feel pride in accomplishment and shame at failure. The theory states that in every situation, whether it is an accomplishment or a failure, achievement goals was seen as the energizing force to achieve success or to avoid failure.

2. Test anxiety theory is defined as a drive acquired in achievement situations that facilitates or inhibits performance on evaluative tasks. The same as need achievement theory stated that acquired drives can energize performance of students.

3. Attribution theory is the people's beliefs about the reasons fo he outcomes of their efforts in achievement situations guide their behavior in those situation. This theory explains that when a situation happened often and the same thing resulted, the tendency is that they will stick on the same thought. They will not expect on another result as they believed that when things happened again, the same result will occur.

McClellands Achievement Motivation Theory David McClelland was a psychological theorist. Similar to the boost that knowing how to read body language gives you, simply being aware of this theory (which has been indirectly validated by a thousand subsequent pieces of research) gives you a useful framework for interpreting the behavior and motivations of co-workers, clients and even yourself.

Every individual is driven to varying extents by one of three motivators: Achievement Power Affiliation

These motivators ALL exist to varying extents in each individual, and are socially acquired or learned. How people act is to a significant extent driven by the combination of these attributes, both based on individual and relative strengths. Its interesting to note that most people arent consciously aware of what drives them, and yet the combination of these motivators that you hold significantly impacts how you work with others and the types of roles youre likely to succeed in.

ACHIEVEMENT: Achievement oriented people are driven to master complex challenges, to find solutions, overcome goals, and they love getting feedback on the level of success. Standards of excellence, precise goals and clear roles are what motivate these people. This results in a non-conscious concern for achieving excellence through individual effort. They usually set challenging goals for themselves, assume personal responsibility for accomplishment and take calculated risks for achieving these goals. They are very effective in leading task oriented groups and do well in entrepreneurial roles. Simply put, they love to achieve, and to measure that achievement. POWER: Power oriented people want to control and influence, they have a need to win arguments, and love to persuade and prevail. This motivator is typically and not surprisingly strong in executives. In fact, when the power motivator exceeds that of achievement (which can be an individual focused trait); it is predictive of leadership effectiveness. The desire to influence results in a sustained focus on leadership. However, this motivator needs to be constrained to a level where

self-promotion doesnt have negative consequences for the organization. This motive is activated when the individual is allowed to have an impact, impress those in power or beat competitors. AFFILIATION: Affiliation oriented people have a strong desire to belong. They have a deep concern for relationships, they strive to reduce uncertainty, and they love teamwork. They tend to be less assertive, submissive, and tend to be more dependent on others. In management positions, too great of a need for affiliation can surface in behaviors such as: avoidance for disciplining subordinates, favoritism, submissiveness, and reluctance to hold others accountable. These leaders are motivated by what they can accomplish with people they know and trust. Reference: http://blog.kirkleverington.com/?p=753