Need for power

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Need for power (nPow) is a term that was popularized by psychologist David McClelland in 1961. McClelland's thinking was influenced by the pioneering work of Henry Murray, who first identified underlying psychological human needs and motivational processes (1938). It was Murray who set out a taxonomy of needs, including needs for achievement, power, and affiliation—and placed these in the context of an integrated motivational model. McClelland was inspired by Murray's research, and he continued to further develop Murray's theory by focusing on this theory in regard to the human population. In McClelland's book The Achieving Society, nPow helps explain an individual's imperative to be in charge. According to his work there are two kinds of power, social and personal.

Contents

Background

Murray's system of needs

Henry Murray was one of the first psychologists to systematically investigate human needs. In his 1938 book, Explorations in Human Personality, he identified and labeled twenty needs he believed were universal in nature for all humans. Later research demonstrated that Murray's system of needs positively correlates with the Big Five personality traits. [1]

McClelland's three needs theory

In the 1960s, psychologist David McClelland expanded on Murray's work, focusing on the effects of human needs in a work environment. [2] His need theory proposes that most people are consistently motivated by one of three basic desires: the need for affiliation, the need for achievement, or the need for power.

Thematic apperception test

To determine how strongly an individual felt each of the three needs, McClelland used the thematic apperception test (TAT), which is designed to uncover a person's unconscious drives, emotions, wants and needs. During the test, a psychologist shows an individual a series of picture cards depicting ambiguous situations and asks them to tell a story about each image. The psychologist then interprets those stories to identify desires or personality traits the individual may be are unaware of or want to hide. [3] Several empirical studies have demonstrated that the TAT cannot detect mental illness at a rate higher than chance, [4] [5] and the inter-rater validity as measured by Cronbach's alpha (the likelihood of two psychologists providing similar interpretations of the same person's results) is low, especially if the clinician gives a subjective interpretation instead of using the test's original scoring system. [6] [7] However, proponents of the TAT argue that Cronbach's alpha is artificially low for tests with a small number of items, and that the TAT provides a more detailed and flexible description of an individual than a structured questionnaire. [6]

Effects of a high need for power

McClelland defines the need for power (nPow) as a desire for "power either to control other people (for [one's] own goals) or to achieve higher goals (for the greater good)," and describes people high in this trait as seeking "neither recognition nor approval from others - only agreement and compliance.". In his later research, McClelland refined his theory to include two distinct types of power motivation: the need for socialized power, expressed on the TAT by descriptions of plans, self-doubts, mixed outcomes, and concern for others, and the need for personal power, expressed by stories in which one individual seeks power and must oppose another to get it. [8] Compared to people who value affiliation or achievement, individuals with high nPow scores tend to be more argumentative, more assertive in group discussions, and more likely to experience frustration when they feel powerless or not in control of a situation. [9] They are more likely to seek or hold a position in which they have control over others, and to engage in conspicuous consumption. [10]

Pros and cons

For individuals

A high nPow score predicts greater career success for men and for women who report high satisfaction with the power-related aspects of their workplace. [11] [12] McClelland's own research included case studies illustrating the advantage of high nPow in the workplace, especially for more experienced workers competing for management positions. In one characteristic example, a successful salesman with a high need for affiliation and a low need for power began to perform poorly after being promoted to management. He experienced difficulty giving direct orders, leading his subordinates to complain that he failed to set clear goals and reward individuals who performed well. [13]

Outside of work, a high nPow score is associated with both positive and negative outcomes, with the result often depending on whether an individual also reports a strong sense of responsibility. When combined with a low score on a measure of responsibility, a high nPow score predicts higher rates of externalizing self-destructive behavior, such as binge-drinking and physical aggression. Men with this combination of personality traits are more likely to divorce, separate, or physically abuse their spouses. However, this association disappears for individuals with average or high responsibility scores, who are disproportionately likely to report positive outcomes like taking on social leadership roles. [14]

For society

As with individual outcomes, whether a high need for power results in positive or negative outcomes is influenced by the individual's other traits, particularly responsibility and empathy. An argumentative group member may prevent groupthink, or they may intimidate other group members and refuse to make reasonable compromises; a hard-charging manager may motivate and focus their team, or they may bully and manipulate their subordinates. Even dangerous behaviors, like impulsive risk-taking, can be beneficial in moderation: successful stock traders [15] and entrepreneurs [16] often have a high propensity for risk.

Gender

On average, men report a higher need for power than women, which may be due to biological factors, social factors, or an interaction between them. Gender also influences how the need for power is outwardly expressed: men are more likely to express anger directly, use physical violence to establish control, or engage in risky or impulsive behavior, while women are more likely to employ relational aggression or suppress their hostility. [14] When the needs for socialized and personal power are measured separately, women managers express a greater desire for socialized power than their male counterparts, but an equal desire for personal power. Men, but not women, reported greater job satisfaction if they had a high need for socialized power. [12]

Other parts of the theory

Need for achievement

Murray defined need for achievement as the attempt to overcome obstacles. Need for achievement (nAch) was defined by McClelland as the motive to strive for success in particular situations in which his/her performance would be looked at against some type of standard. McClelland used the thematic apperception test in order to test this part of his theory. He would show people four pictures and ask people to write a story regarding these pictures. Based on his/her story, McClelland would be able to determine what type of achievement a person strived. [17]

Need for affiliation

Murray believed need for affiliation was a trait that was very strong in most people, especially in stressful situations. Murray believed that when people were put into a stressful situation, people were more likely to feel less stress if another person was present. In McClelland's research, he found that people who had need for affiliation were often unpopular tried to avoid interpersonal conflicts because they have levels of anxiety about if others will accept them. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that examines personality and its variation among individuals. It aims to show how people are individually different due to psychological forces. Its areas of focus include:

Personality is any person's collection of interrelated behavioral, cognitive and emotional patterns that comprise a person’s unique adjustment to life. These interrelated patterns are relatively stable, but can change over long time periods.

Need for achievement is a person's desire for significant accomplishment, mastery of skills, control, or high standards. The psychometric device designed to measure need-for-achievement, N-Ach, was popularized by the psychologist David McClelland. A need for achievement figures as a secondary or psychogenic need in Henry Murray's system of needs.

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is a projective psychological test developed during the 1930s by Henry A. Murray and Christiana D. Morgan at Harvard University. Proponents of the technique assert that subjects' responses, in the narratives they make up about ambiguous pictures of people, reveal their underlying motives, concerns, and the way they see the social world. Historically, the test has been among the most widely researched, taught, and used of such techniques.

A need is dissatisfaction at a point of time and in a given context. Needs are distinguished from wants. In the case of a need, a deficiency causes a clear adverse outcome: a dysfunction or death. In other words, a need is something required for a safe, stable and healthy life while a want is a desire, wish or aspiration. When needs or wants are backed by purchasing power, they have the potential to become economic demands.

In psychology, a projective test is a personality test designed to let a person respond to ambiguous stimuli, presumably revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts projected by the person into the test. This is sometimes contrasted with a so-called "objective test" / "self-report test", which adopt a "structured" approach as responses are analyzed according to a presumed universal standard, and are limited to the content of the test. The responses to projective tests are content analyzed for meaning rather than being based on presuppositions about meaning, as is the case with objective tests. Projective tests have their origins in psychoanalysis, which argues that humans have conscious and unconscious attitudes and motivations that are beyond or hidden from conscious awareness.

Content theory is a subset of motivational theories that try to define what motivates people. Content theories of motivation often describe a system of needs that motivate peoples' actions. While process theories of motivation attempt to explain how and why our motivations affect our behaviors, content theories of motivation attempt to define what those motives or needs are. Content theory includes the work of David McClelland, Abraham Maslow and other psychologists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Five personality traits</span> Personality model consisting of five broad dimensions

In trait theory, the Big Five personality traits are a group of five characteristics used to study personality:

Political psychology is an interdisciplinary academic field, dedicated to understanding politics, politicians and political behavior from a psychological perspective, and psychological processes using socio-political perspectives. The relationship between politics and psychology is considered bidirectional, with psychology being used as a lens for understanding politics and politics being used as a lens for understanding psychology. As an interdisciplinary field, political psychology borrows from a wide range of disciplines, including: anthropology, economics, history, international relations, journalism, media, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Murray</span> American psychologist and academic (1893–1988)

Henry Alexander Murray was an American psychologist at Harvard University. From 1959 to 1962, he conducted a series of psychologically damaging and purposefully abusive experiments on minors and undergraduate students. One of those students was Ted Kaczynski, later known as the Unabomber.

Dependency need is "the vital, originally infantile needs for mothering, love, affection, shelter, protection, security, food, and warmth."

Developed by psychologist and University of Washington professor Allen L. Edwards, the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS) is a forced choice, objective, non-projective personality inventory. The target audience in between the ages of 16-85 and takes about 45 minutes to complete. Edwards derived the test content from the human needs system theory proposed by Henry Alexander Murray, which measures the rating of individuals in fifteen normal needs or motives. The EPPS was designed to illustrate relative importance to the individual of several significant needs and motives. It is useful in counseling situations when responses are reviewed with the examinee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Hogan (psychologist)</span> American psychologist (born 1937)

Robert Hogan is an American personality psychologist and organizational psychologist known for developing socioanalytic theory, which fuses psychoanalytic theory, role theory, and evolutionary theory. Hogan is the president of Hogan Assessment Systems, which he co-founded in 1987. He is the author of three widely used personality inventories—the Hogan Personality Inventory; the Hogan Development Survey; and the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory—along with more than 300 scholarly articles, chapters, and books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John William Atkinson</span> American psychologist

John William Atkinson, also known as Jack Atkinson, was an American psychologist who pioneered the scientific study of human motivation, achievement and behavior. He was a World War II veteran, teacher, scholar, and long term member of the University of Michigan community.

Managerial psychology is a sub-discipline of industrial and organizational psychology that focuses on the effectiveness of individuals and groups in the workplace, using behavioral science.

The need for affiliation (N-Affil) is a term which describes a person's need to feel a sense of involvement and "belonging" within a social group. The term was popularized by David McClelland, whose thinking was strongly influenced by the pioneering work of Henry Murray, who first identified underlying psychological human needs and motivational processes in 1938. It was Murray who set out a classification of needs, including achievement, power and affiliation, and placed these in the context of an integrated motivational model. People with a high need for affiliation require warm interpersonal relationships and approval from those with whom they have regular contact. Having a strong bond with others make a person feel as if they are a part of something important that creates a powerful impact. People who place high emphasis on affiliation tend to be supportive team members, but may be less effective in leadership positions. A person who takes part in a group, whether it be a movement or project, helps create a push towards a sense of achievement and satisfaction for the individual and the whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David McClelland</span> American psychologist (1917–1998)

David Clarence McClelland was an American psychologist, noted for his work on motivation Need Theory. He published a number of works between the 1950s and the 1990s and developed new scoring systems for the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and its descendants. McClelland is credited with developing Achievement Motivation Theory, commonly referred to as "need for achievement" or n-achievement theory. A Review of General Psychology survey published in 2002, ranked McClelland as the 15th most cited psychologist of the 20th century.

Need theory, also known as Three needs theory, proposed by psychologist David McClelland, is a motivational model that attempts to explain how the needs for achievement, affiliation, and power affect the actions of people from a managerial context. This model was developed in the 1960s, two decades after Maslow's hierarchy of needs was first proposed in the early 1940s. McClelland stated that every person has these three types of motivation regardless of age, sex, race, or culture. The type of motivation by which each individual is driven derives from their life experiences and the opinions of their culture. This need theory is often taught in classes concerning management or organizational behaviour.

In 1938, the American psychologist Henry Murray developed a system of needs as part of his theory of personality, which he named personology. Murray argued that everyone had a set of universal basic needs, with individual differences among these needs leading to the uniqueness of personality through varying dispositional tendencies for each need; in other words, a specific need is more important to some people than to others.

Goal orientation, or achievement orientation, is an "individual disposition towards developing or validating one's ability in achievement settings". In general, an individual can be said to be mastery or performance oriented, based on whether one's goal is to develop one's ability or to demonstrate one's ability, respectively. A mastery orientation is also sometimes referred to as a learning orientation.

References

  1. ↑ Costa, Paul T.; McCrae, Robert R. (1988). "From catalog to classification: Murray's needs and the five-factor model". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 55 (2): 258–265. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.55.2.258.
  2. ↑ NetMBA. "McClelland's Theory of Needs". 2010
  3. ↑ Teglasi, Hedwig. "Essentials of TAT and Other Storytelling Assessments". Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2010
  4. ↑ Wildman, R.W., & Wildman, R.W. II. (1975). An investigation into the comparative validity of several diagnostic tests and test batteries. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 31, 455-458
  5. ↑ Lilianfeld, S., Wood, J., & Garb, H. The scientific status of projective techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest.
  6. 1 2 Meyer, G. The reliability and validity of the Rorschach and Thematic Apperception Test compared to other psychological and medical instruments.
  7. ↑ Gruber, N. & Kreuzpointner, L. Measuring the Reliability of Picture Story Exercises like the TAT. PLOS
  8. ↑ Chusmir, L. & Parker, B. (1984). Dimensions of need for power: Personalized vs. socialized power in female and male managers. Sex Roles.
  9. ↑ Conger, Jay & Kanungo, Rabindra. "The Empowerment Process: Integrating Theory and Practice" 1988
  10. ↑ Larson, R. & Buss, D. (2010). Personality psychology: domains of knowledge about human nature. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
  11. ↑ Jenkins, SR. (1991). Need for power and women's careers over 14 years: structural power, job satisfaction, and motive change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
  12. 1 2 Chusmir, L. & Parker, B. (1984). Dimensions of need for power: Personalized vs. socialized power in female and male managers. Sex Roles, 11, 759-769.
  13. ↑ Levinson, H. Managing and Directing Your Career.
  14. 1 2 Worell, J. [Ed.] The Encyclopedia of Women and Gender: Sex Similarities and Differences, Volume 1.
  15. ↑ Cho, Jinsook; Lee, Jinkook (1 January 2006). "An integrated model of risk and risk-reducing strategies". Journal of Business Research. 59 (1): 112–120. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2005.03.006.
  16. ↑ Carland, James W. III; Carland, James W. Jr.; Carland, Jo Ann C.; Pearce, James W. (1 March 1995). "Risk Taking Propensity among Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners and Managers". Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship. 7 (1): 15.
  17. 1 2 Duane P. Schultz; Sydney Ellen Schultz (2008). "Chapter 5 – Henry Murray: Personology" (PDF). Theories of Personality (PDF). Cengage Learning. ISBN   978-0-495-50625-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-07. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
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