Managerial and Technical Motivation: Assessing Needs for Achievement, Power and Affiliation

One of the most widely accepted theories of motivation is a trichotomy of needs theory popularized by David C. McClelland of Harvard University. Many organizational behavior textbooks today discuss McClelland’s need for achievement, need for affiliation, and need for power. The three needs have been found to possess predictive power in a wide variety of settings, particularly organizational ones. Impressed by the ability of the three needs to explain behavior, but aware of the measurement problems associated with the Thematic Apperception Test which is used to assess these needs, the author searched for an alternative measurement approach. This book reports on those design efforts, validation of the instrument, and use of the instrument in organizational settings.