David McClelland facts for kids

David McClelland.

David Clarence McClelland (born May 20, 1917 – died March 27, 1998) was an American psychologist. He is famous for his work on Need Theory, which explains what motivates people.

McClelland wrote many books and papers from the 1950s to the 1990s. He also created new ways to score tests like the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). He is known for developing the Achievement Motivation Theory. This theory is often called "need for achievement" or n-achievement theory. A study in 2002 ranked McClelland as the 15th most important psychologist of the 20th century.

Life and Career

David McClelland was born in Mount Vernon, New York. He earned his first degree from Wesleyan University in 1938. He then got his Master's degree from the University of Missouri in 1939. In 1941, he received his PhD in experimental psychology from Yale University.

He taught at Connecticut College and Wesleyan University. In 1956, he joined Harvard University, where he worked for 30 years. He even led the Department of Psychology and Social Relations there. Later, in 1987, he moved to Boston University. He received an award for his important scientific work from the American Psychological Association. McClelland was a dedicated Quaker.

David McClelland's main goal was to understand personality. He wanted to use this knowledge to help people live better lives. One big idea he worked on was the expectancy-value theory of human motivation. He also created special tests like the Thematic Apperception Test. These tests helped understand people's thoughts and actions.

Another important area was studying "job competencies." This means understanding the skills and qualities that make someone great at their job. He used his research to help people and communities. This included helping with motivation and developing skills. He also helped people change their behavior to overcome challenges. McClelland believed in using research results to truly help people. He even started 14 research and consulting companies. The biggest one was McBer and Company.

What Motivates Us?

McClelland believed that motivation is "a strong desire for a goal or condition." This desire shows up in our thoughts and guides our actions. He built on the ideas of Henry Murray. McClelland focused on three main needs that drive people:

• Need for Achievement (N-Ach): This is the desire to do very well and succeed. It means wanting to reach high standards.
• Need for Power (N-Pow): This is the desire to influence others. It means wanting to have an impact on a group or organization.
• Need for Affiliation (N-Aff): This is the desire to have close and friendly relationships with people.

McClelland's three needs are not in a specific order. Instead, they work together in different ways for different people. His early work focused on how the Need for Achievement affects economic growth. It also looked at how it helps people become entrepreneurs. His ideas on leadership helped define what makes a person capable at work. He called these "competencies." He showed how important these skills are for success.

McClelland also looked at how these needs affect whole countries and cultures. He linked them to big trends like economic development and job creation. His work on motivation was seen as one of the most useful approaches.

Finding Better Tests

David McClelland argued that "operant methods" were better for predicting how people would act. Operant methods are tests where a person creates their own thoughts or actions. He said these tests were more accurate than "respondent measures." Respondent measures are tests where you just choose from given answers, like true/false or rating scales.

Many traditional psychologists preferred respondent measures. But McClelland believed that operant methods could be very reliable. He spent his life trying to get researchers to value understanding people's real thoughts. He wanted them to look at both conscious and unconscious thoughts, along with behavior.

He showed that operant methods were better in many ways. They were better at predicting outcomes. They offered more insights, even if they seemed less consistent at first. They were also better at showing differences in mood. Plus, they worked well across different cultures. This is because they didn't require people to answer pre-written questions.

Job Skills and Qualities

McClelland and his team studied many different abilities. In the 1970s, they focused on "competencies" for managers and leaders. Competencies include skills, how you see yourself, your traits, and your motivations.

To define a job competency, they needed to understand a person's true intentions. It wasn't enough just to watch their behavior. They used special interviews where people talked about important work situations. They compared people who were excellent performers with those who were less effective. This approach focused on the person, not just the tasks of the job.

Their research created a clear picture of how top performers think, feel, and act at work. This became a guide for helping anyone develop their abilities for a job. Over time, this approach became standard for designing training programs. It also influenced how people are chosen for jobs and promoted.

Helping People Change

David McClelland believed that if you knew how a top performer thought and acted, you could teach others to do the same. Early projects focused on helping entrepreneurs. They trained small business owners in countries like India and the US. These trainings helped them develop an achievement mindset.

McClelland said, "Understanding human motivation should be a good thing. It should help us find what we truly want. This way, we can avoid chasing goals that are not right for us. It should also create chances for us to grow and develop ourselves."

Publications

• McClelland, D.C. (1951). Personality. New York: William Sloane Associates.
• McClelland, D.C., Atkinson, J.W., Clark, R.A., and Lowell, E.L. (1953). The Achievement Motive. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
• McClelland, D.C., Baldwin, A.L., Bronfenbrenner, and Strodbeck, F.L. (1958). Talent and Society. New York: Van Nostrand.
• McClelland, D.C. (1961). The Achieving Society. New York: Van Nostrand.
• McClelland, D.C. (1964). The Roots of Consciousness. New York: Van Nostrand.
• McClelland, D.C. and Winter, D.G. (1969). Motivating Economic Achievement. New York: Free Press.
• McClelland, D.C. (1975). Power: The Inner Experience. New York: Irvington Publishers, Halstead Press.
• Winter, D.G., McClelland, D.G., and Stewart, A.J. (1981). A New Case for the Liberal Arts: Assessing Institutional Goals and Student Development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• McClelland, D.C. (1984). Motives, Personality, and Society: Selected Papers. New York: Praeger.
• McClelland, D.C. (1987). Human motivation. New York: University of Cambridge.
• Smith, C.P., with Atkinson, J.W., McClelland, D.C., and Veroff, J. (eds.) (1992). Motivation and Personality: Handbook of Thematic Content Analysis. New York: Cambridge University Press.

See also

In Spanish: David McClelland para niños