What Is Achievement Motivation Theory?

Achievement motivation (achievement motivation) is people's desire to engage in activities that are important, difficult, and challenging for him, in which they can achieve excellent results and achievements, and can exceed the motivation of others. [1]

There are two theories of achievement motivation.
McClelland Pass

Determinants of achievement motivation theory

John William Atkinson
The characteristic of this theory is that it can be described in quantitative form. Atkinson believes that the original motivation for high achievement comes from the family or cultural group in which the child lives, especially the impact of early childhood education and training. Individual achievement motivation can be divided into two parts, one is the intention to strive for success; the other is the intention to avoid failure. That is, achievement motivation involves an emotional conflict between expectations of success and fear of failure. Motivation for success is a function of the product of the need for achievement, the subjective expectation of behavioral success, and the incentive value for achievement. If Ts is used to indicate the tendency to pursue success, it is determined by the following three factors: The need for achievement (motivation for success) Ms; the probability that the task will succeed P; the incentive value of success Is. The formula can be expressed as: Ts = Ms × Ps × Is. In this formula, Ms represents the relatively stable tendency to strive for success (this is obtained by using the TAT theme system test); the probability of success Ps refers to cognition The expectation of the goal, or the possibility of success as understood by the subject; Is is the incentive value for success. This term is considered to have the opposite relationship with Ps, that is, Is = 1-Ps, that is, when the value of Ps decreases, The incentive value for success increases. aims
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The incentive value is a feeling called pride in achievement. He believes that the pride experienced after the success of a difficult task is stronger than the pride experienced after the success of an easy task. For example, a mathematical problem solved after a few days of meditation is easier than a simple solution. Math problems are much happier. Atkinson believes that in achievement-related scenarios, both expectations for success and fear of failure can be raised. The factors that determine the fear of failure are similar to the factors of hope for success, that is, the tendency to avoid failure. Taf is a function of the product of the following three factors: The motivation to avoid failure, Maf, is the energy of shame experienced by failure; the probability of failure N; the negative incentive value If failure. The formula is: Taf = Maf × Pf × If the impact of failure on success
As before, If = 1-Pf, that is, when the probability of failure decreases, the value of the incentive for failure increases. The inducement value of failure can be understood as a negative emotion, such as shame, depression, etc. Then the shame experienced after the failure of an easy task is stronger than the shame after the failure of a difficult task. From the above, the resulting motivation for achievement is the strength of the tendency to strive for success minus the strength of the tendency to avoid failure, Ta = (Ms × Ps × Is)-(Maf × Pf × If). If a person's need to succeed in a particular situation is greater than the need to avoid failure, then he dares to take risks to try and pursue success. According to this theory, if a student's motivation to achieve achievement is greater than the motivation to avoid failure, in order to explore a problem, after encountering a certain amount of failure, they will increase their desire to solve the problem, and on the other hand If it is too easy to succeed, it will reduce the motivation of these students. Studies have shown that such students are most likely to choose a task with a probability of success of about 50%, because this choice can provide them with the greatest realistic challenge, they can resist unreliable opinions, have their own independent opinions, and perform in school Good scores in intelligence tests. Instead, their level of motivation for missions that are completely impossible or steadily winning is reduced. Conversely, if a student's fear of failure is greater than the motivation for achievement, then it is also possible that frustration may result from failure. Encouraged for success. Such students tend to choose very easy or very difficult tasks when choosing tasks. Choosing easy tasks can save them from failure, while choosing tasks is extremely difficult. Even if they fail, they can find appropriate excuses so that they can Reduce the sense of failure. McClelland's experimental research confirms this. The level of achievement motivation is closely related to the quality and quantity of academic tasks. High achievement motivators can still maintain good performance in the environment without external control. During the process of failure, high achievement motivators are more persistent in tasks than low achievement motivators. In addition, those who pursue success have strong self-confidence, high levels of achievement motivation and internal attribution. Success further strengthens the above three characteristics, making them more confident in their abilities. Once they fail, they will think that they have adopted inappropriate strategies and did not pay enough effort. They will not regard failure as lack of ability. , They will work harder to complete the task. Avoiding failed students is the opposite. They have low self-confidence and tend to external attribution. Because they believe that their abilities are limited, they often set unrealistic goals and do not pay enough effort, which leads to another Failure. Constant failure has led them to a fixed view of their inadequacy. Attribute failure to lack of ability and success to luck, opportunity, and simple tasks. In this way, neither success nor failure has a positive impact on them: if they succeed, they will not work hard again, but once they fail, they will be further prevented from failing. Atkinson demonstrated this in a classic experiment.

Shortcomings in achievement motivation theory

Atkinson's theory of achievement motivation theory proposes a comprehensive motivation theory of need, expectation, and incentive value. It unifies the emotional and cognitive aspects of human motivation, and expresses it concisely using mathematical models, revealing the factors that affect achievement motivation Certain variables and laws, and experimental tests have confirmed the rationality and objectivity of its theoretical assumptions. This cannot be said to be a breakthrough in the traditional motivation theory, and it has profound implications for the establishment and development of motivation theory. Significance and great contributions, but this theoretical model is still very imperfect. It does not explain well the nature of achievement motivation, the conditions for its occurrence and development, and various variables that affect achievement motivation. The main drawbacks are: human achievement motivation is seen as being motivated only by internal factors, and the influence of internal factors is seen more, but the role of external social living conditions on human achievement motivation is not fully seen. Human achievement motivation is a social motivation, and its formation, development and change are all affected and restricted by social politics, economy and culture. This model ignores or does not fully see this point, it is impossible to finally resolve the source of individual achievement motivation, and do not see the decisive role of social living conditions on people's achievement motivation and behavior. It is inadequate and incomplete to just view achievement motivation as a product of individual experience. Although this theory is a model that initially combines the emotional and cognitive aspects of motivation, its understanding of the role of cognition is vague, general, and not specific. In fact, people's expectations and incentive values can only affect people's motivations through their cognition of environmental conditions and their own conditions. The understanding and discussion of the internal factors affecting achievement and behavior are also incomplete and insufficient. As one of the stable personality traits, achievement motivation has not been fully studied and explored in its relationship with the entire personality trait.
More attribution theory also emphasizes the need for success and the fear of failure, but is more flexible when considering these two elements.

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