ABSTRACT
Traditionally, the psychologist’s approach to human motivation has been to compile a list of needs; although this general approach is now largely discredited, some of the needs that have been specified still exert a major influence on current psychological theory. Independently of their need for achievement level, people can also vary in their motivation to avoid failure. High ‘Fear of Failure’ or FF subjects will tend to lack self-confidence and generally have a poor opinion of their capabilities. Accordingly, many attempts have been made to develop alternative measures, some of which are also based on projective tests, others on questionnaires. Kolb, for example, used achievement training in a project designed to produce higher grades in underachieving boys. Compared to boys who had no such training, their marte were significantly higher and the superiority lasted for up to two years afterwards. The theories put forward by McClelland and Atkinson are exemplary in terms of breadth of vision, imagination and creative conception.
