The need for achievement is a stable, learned characteristic in which a person obtains satisfaction by striving for and attaining a level of excellence.
People with a high need for achievement seek out situations in which they can compete against some standard.
People with low achievement motivation tend to be motivated primarily by a desire to avoid failure.
A high need for achievement generally produces positive outcomes, at least in a success-oriented society such as our own.
The instrument most frequently used to measure need for achievement is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).
An examiner shows a series of ambiguous pictures.
The examiner tells participants to write a story that describes what is happening.
Researchers then use a standard scoring system to determine the amount of achievement imagery in people's stories.
