David McClelland
David Clarence McClelland (born May 20, 1917 - March 27, 1998 ) was an American behavioral and social psychologist and a representative of quantitative historiography .
Life
McClelland received his BA from Wesleyan University in 1938 , his MA from the University of Missouri in 1939, and his Ph.D. in 1941. in Experimental Psychology from Yale University . He taught at Connecticut College and Wesleyan University before accepting a position at Harvard University in 1956 . In 1957 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . After 30 years at Harvard, he moved to Boston University in 1987 , where he worked as Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology until his death in 1998.
McClelland presented a theory of motivation based on a personality theory by Henry Murray from 1938. In his book The Achieving Society (1961), McClelland wrote that human motivation comprises three dominant needs:
- Need for success (oh),
- Power (n Pow) and
- Affiliation (n Aff).
The subjective meaning of each need varies from individual to individual and also depends on the individual's cultural background. McClelland described this motivational complex as an important factor in social change and the evolution of societies . His legacy also includes the point system that he helped develop for the TAT , which is used for personality assessment and research into success motivation and is described in The achievement motive (1953).
McClelland's theory is related to Max Weber's Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism . One of the most important studies confirming the validity of his theories is that of Bradburn and Berlew (1961), who analyzed motivations for success in British school reading books and, a generation later, showed a close correlation between these topics and the industrial growth of Great Britain .
His opposition to the research of Tim Leary was reflected in fiction in TC Boyle's novel Das Licht (2019).
literature
- JW Atkinson (ed.): Motives in fantasy, action, and society. Van Nostrand, Princeton, 1958
- NM Bradburn and DG Berlew Need for achievement and English economic growth. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 10, pp. 8-20. 1961
- David McClelland: The achieving society . Van Nostrand, Princeton, 1961
- David McClelland: Power: the inner experience . Halstead, New York, 1975
- David McClelland, JW Atkinson, RA Clark and EL Lowell: The achievement motive . Van Nostrand, Princeton, 1953.
- HA Murray: Explorations in Personality. Oxford University Press, New York, 1938.
See also
Web links
- Literature by and about David McClelland in the catalog of the German National Library
- short portrait
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | McClelland, David |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | McClelland, David Clarence (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American psychologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 20, 1917 |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 27, 1998 |