Achievement in children (McClelland, 1961; McClelland & Pilon, 1983). In
essence, parents can promote achievement motivation by providing supportand encouragement long enough to enable the child to develop a sense of per-
sonal competence, but not so long that the child is robbed of independence
and initiative. The prescription for raising a high need for Achievement child
thus seems to be finding that fine line between too much parental involve-
ment and not enough. Parents should encourage achievement in young chil-
dren, reward them, and show enthusiasm for their accomplishments.
Predictably, people with a high need for Achievement are more likely
than others to find economic prosperity (Littig & Yeracaris, 1965). But re-searchers also warn that a high need for Achievement can sometimes be atwo-edged sword. The same high level of achievement motivation that helps
some people succeed can also interfere with effective performance. For exam-
ple, success in upper management and executive positions often depends onthe manager ’s ability to delegate authority and motivate others. Someone too
concerned about his or her own accomplishments might have a difficult time
relinquishing control over details and effectively relying on subordinates. Thismay explain why one study found need for Achievement related to success
for low-level managers but not for those higher up the corporate ladder
(McClelland & Boyatzis, 1982). Another example of this phenomenon comes
from an intriguing study that examined need for Achievement and effective-
ness among American presidents (Spangler & House, 1991). Presidents whose
inaugural speeches indicate a high need for Achievement are usually rated by
historians as relatively ineffective leaders.
Gender, Culture, and Achievement
Much of the early work on need for Achievement was conducted with only
male participants. There are reasons for this. When this research was initi-ated in the 1950s, relatively few women entered the business world and
even fewer had opportunities to advance into high managerial positions.
Because the investigators were concerned with entrepreneurs, it was reason-
able to limit their studies to men. Obviously, things have changed quite a bit
since then. As career aspirations and opportunities for women changed, re-
searchers found a comparable increase in need for Achievement amongwomen college students (Veroff, Depner, Kulka, & Douvan, 1980). And, as
with men, a high need for Achievement predicts success in the business world
for women. In one study, need for Achievement scores taken from femalecollege students predicted job choice and job characteristics 14 years later
(Jenkins, 1987).
Although need for Achievement predicts success in the business world for
both genders, research suggests that many other variables come into play
when comparing the achievement behavior of men and women (Hyde & Kling,
2001; Mednick & Thomas, 2008). For example, some researchers find that menand women often differ in how they think about achievement (Eccles, 1985,
2005). Because of differences in gender-role socialization (Chapter 14), men
and women may differ on the kinds of achievement they value and where
achievement falls among their personal goals. For example, a businesswomen
might value achievement, but on occasion she may put other concerns —suchAchievement Motivation 187