David

McClelland
Presented by:
Group 8

Pritish Ku. Panigrahi
Chinmayee Sahu
Saurabh Wadhwa
Sidhant Routray
Swarnim Pant
Vidhi Shah
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Mt.Vernon, New York in 1917.
Graduated from Wesleyan University in 1938.
Acquired a master's degree in psychology from the University of
Missouri and a doctorate in psychology from Yale University in
1941.
He was an instructor at Connecticut College and a professor at
Wesleyan University before joining the Harvard faculty in 1956.
In 1963, he started McBer, a consulting company that aided
managers in assessing and training employees
He began teaching at Boston University in 1987 and remained
there until his death.
He died in 1998.
CONTRIBUTIONS
Motivational Needs Theory and
Research on Achievement
Motivation.
Apart from research on
achievement motivation, his
research interests also ranged
from personality to
consciousness.
Thematic Apperception Test that he co-
developed with John Atkinson.
ACHIEVEMENTS
McKinsey Award in 1976 along with David H. Burnham
on their research- "Power is the Great Motivator".
American Psychological Association Award for
Distinguished Scientific Contribution in 1987.
Receives the Bruno Klopfer Award from the Society for
Personality Assessment in 1998.
McClelland received numerous awards for his
research, including the-
1. Used to evaluate Personality

2. 31 ambiguous and provocative cards a story
to be told on each of them

3. Responses analyzed to uncover underlying
needs, attitudes and patterns of reaction
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Most male subjects do not react to this
picture as implying aggressiveness,
but most female subjects regard it as a
very aggressive picture, with
unpleasant overtones of intrusiveness
and danger.

Many researchers consider the gender
difference in responses to this card as
a reflection of the general imbalance
in power between men and women in
the larger society.
Example of a picture used in TAT
Something that is essential for organisms to live a
healthy life.

Distinguished from wants because a deficiency would
cause a clear negative outcome , disfunction or death.

Can be objective and physical, such as food, or
subjective and psychological, such as the need for self-
esteem.
What is need ?
Need Theory
There are three types of needs as
proposed by McClelland.
Need for
Achievement
(N-Ach)
Need for
Power
(N-Pow)
Need for
Affiliation(N-
Aff)
Need for Achievement (N-Ach)
Characteristics

1. Prefer to master the situation
2. Prefer to work on tasks with moderate difficulty
3. Avoid high risk and low risk
4. Motivated by accomplishments and promotions
in workplace
5. Always need feedback

Experimental observations
Based on the scores of n-Ach in TAT, individuals
are categorized as follows
High achievers
Low achievers

These investigations have indicated that the N-
Ach score increases with a rise in occupational
level. Invariably, businessmen, managers, and
entrepreneurs are high scorers.


Need for Affiliation (N-Aff)



The desire to maintain close and friendly
personal relationships.
Create and maintain social relationships
Work in groups
Want to feel accepted
In workplaces, they dont like to change
existing norms.
Value relationships over accomplishments and
friendship over power.


Characteristics
Depending on the specific circumstances, an
individual's level of need for affiliation can become
increased or decreased.
Situations
The need for affiliation among individuals was
increased after the September 11 terrorist attack on
the World Trade Center.
Example
Need for POWER (N-Pow)
Need to be influential
A strong need to lead and for their ideas to
prevail
Need towards increasing personal status and
prestige
Own more prestigious possessions
E.g. Nelson Mandela( Need for social power),
Adolf Hitler( Need for personal power),
Narendra Modi
Characteristics
They set challenging but realistic goals for
themselves
They assume personal responsibility for
solving problems
They calculate risks
They seek frequent feedback on their progress.
They are decisive.

Men
High levels of aggression
Engage in riskier behaviours
Participate in competitive sports

Women
Behave in a socially acceptable and responsible
manner
More concerned and caring
Men Vs Women
Why is the Three Needs Theory
important to organizations?
nACH
nAFF
nPOW


Implications seen in Sphere of Selection,
Placement & Training processes.

Important for Person-Job Fit.

Allotment of work as per the needs identified.

n(Ach)= Explicit goals, Feedback. Eg:
Salesperson, a weightlifter etc.




N-Aff = interpersonal interactions, team builders,
players. Eg: Social Workers, Teachers, Coaches.

N-Pow = influential, effective, authority-driven.
Eg: Politicians, top-heavy organisation.

Dynamism between roles and needs:- training
personnel to take on different roles within
organisation.

Books written by him include:

Studies in Motivation
The Roots of Consciousness
Power : The Inner Experience
The Achieving Society
Human Motivation.


Publications

Doesnt hold good when evaluating public sector
employees.
Driven by job security, stability and team work.

The need to achieve is only acquired during
childhood and cannot be taught at a later stage in
life.

High need to achieve does not make a good
manager always.

Criticisms Of McClelland's Theory

What intrinsically drives a person in professional
and personal life predicts behaviour and course of
action.
An awareness of these intrinsic motives enhances
a managers or human resource professionals
understanding of leadership, managerial success
and job satisfaction.

Conclusion
Thank You
Any questions?