vard University studied this urge to achieve.McClelland's research led him to believe that the need for achievement is a distinct human motive that can be distinguished from other needs. More important, the achievement motive can be isolated and assessed in any group.Characteristics of people with a high need for achievementMcClelland illustrates some of these characteristics in describing a laboratory experiment.Participants were asked to throw rings over a peg from any distance they chose. Most people tended to throw at randomnow close, now far away; but individuals with a high need for achievement seemed carefully to measure where they were most likely to get a sense of masterynot too close to make the task ridiculously easy or too far away to make it impossible.They set moderately difficult but potentially achievable goals. In biology, this is known as the overload principle. In weight lifting, for example, strength cannot be in creased by tasks that can be performed easily or that cannot be performed without injury to the organism. Strength can be increased by lifting weights that are difficult but realistic enough to stretch the muscles.Do people with a high need for achievement behave like this all the time?McClelland maintains, only if they can influence the outcome.Achievement-motivated people are not gamblers. They prefer to work on a problem rather than leave the outcome to chance.With managers, setting moderately difficult but potentially achievable goals may be translated into an attitude toward risks. Many people tend to be extreme in their attitude toward risks, either favoring wild speculative gambling or minimizing their exposure to losses. Gamblers seem to choose the big risk because the outcome is beyond their power and, therefore, they can easily rationalize away their personal responsibility if they lose. The conservative individual chooses tiny risks where the gain is small but secure, perhaps beca...
