David McClelland

For the English soccer player, see David McClelland (footballer).

For the Northern Irish unionist, see David McClelland (politician).

David McClelland.

David C. McClelland (May 20 1917 – March 27 1998) was an American psychological theorist. Noted for his work on need theory, he published a number of works from the 1950s until the 1990s and developed new scoring systems for the Thematic Apperception Test and its descendants.^[1] McClelland is credited with developing the Achievement Motivation Theory commonly referred to as need achievement or n-achievement theory.^[2]

Career

McClelland, born in Mt. Vernon in New York State, was awarded a bachelor of arts from Wesleyan University in 1938, and an MA from the University of Missouri the following year.^[1] He received his PhD from Yale University, and taught at Connecticut College and Wesleyan University before joining the faculty at Harvard University in 1956, where he worked for 30 years, serving as chairman of the Department of Social Relations. He moved to Boston University in 1987. Here, he was awarded the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions.

Quotes

“Understanding human motivation ought to be a good thing. It should help us to find out what we really want so that we can avoid chasing rainbows that are not for us. It should open up opportunities of self-development if we apply motivational principles to pursuing our goals in life” (McClelland, 1978, p.201).^[3]

Publications

McClelland published a number of works during his career.

• The Achievement Motive (1953)
• The Achieving Society (1961)
• The Roots of Consciousness (1964)
• Toward A Theory Of Motivation Acquisition (1965)
• Power: The Inner Experience (1975)
• Managing Motivation to Expand Human Freedom (1978)
• Human Motivation (1987)

See also

• Need theory
• Need for achievement
• Need for affiliation
• Need for power

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Biography - David C. McClelland retrieved June 24, 2008
2. ^ Hoy, K. H., & Miskel, G. M. (2008). Structure in Schools. In E. Barrosse, D. Patterson, & J. Eccher (Eds.),Educational Administration: Theory, Research, and Practice (pp. 135-174). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
3. ^ McClelland, David C. (1978). Managing motivation to expand human freedom. American Psychologist,33(3) 201-210.

Hoy, K. H., & Miskel, G. M. (2008). Structure in Schools. In E. Barrosse, D. Patterson, & J. Eccher (Eds.),Educational Administration: Theory, Research, and Practice (pp. 135-174). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. McClelland, David C. (1978). Managing motivation to expand human freedom. American Psychologist,33(3) 201-210.

Persondata
Name	Macclelland, David
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Date of birth	May 20, 1917
Place of birth
Date of death	March 27, 1998
Place of death