Skip to main content

Resistance and Overmotivation in Achievement-Oriented Activity

  • Chapter

Abstract

What is stressful in the everyday effort to achieve? We get two answers from experimental work that has been designed to sharpen our conception of how individual differences in personality influence motivation and its expression in action: viz., resistance and overmotivation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Atkinson, J. W. (1953). The achievement motive and recall of interrupted and completed tasks. J. Exp. Psychol. 46, 381–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Studies in Motivation (D. C. McClelland, Ed.). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts (1955).

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J. W. (1957). Motivational determinants of risk-taking behavior. Psychol. Rev. 64, 359–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J. W. (1958). Toward experimental analysis of human motivation in terms of motives, expectancies, and incentives. In Motives in Fantasy, Action and Society (J. W. Atkinson, Ed.). Princeton: Van Nostrand (1958).

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J. W. (1974a). Strength of motivation and efficiency of performance. In Motivation and Achievement (J. W. Atkinson and J. O. Raynor). Washington, D. C.: V. W. Winston and Sons, pp. 193–218.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J. W. (1974b). Motivational determinants of intellective performance and cumulative achievement. In Motivation and Achievement (J. W. Atkinson and J. O. Raynor). Washington, D. C.: V. W. Winston and Sons, pp. 389–410.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J. W., and Birch, D. (1970). The Dynamics of Action. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J. W., and Birch, D. (1974). The dynamics of achievement-oriented activity. In Motivation and Achievement (J. W. Atkinson and J. O. Raynor). Washington, D. C.: V. W. Winston and Sons, pp. 271–326.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J. W., and Feather, N. T. (Eds.). (1966). A Theory of Achievement Motivation. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J. W., and Raynor, J. O. (1974). Motivation and Achievement. Washington, D. C.: V. W. Winston and Sons. (Distributed by Halsted Press/Wiley.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Broadhurst, P. L. (1959). The interaction of task difficulty and motivation: The Yerkes-Dodson Law revived. Acta Psychol. 16, 321–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eysenck, H. J. (1966). Personality and experimental psychology. Brit. Psychol Soc. Bull. 19, 62, 1-28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eysenck, H. J., and Himmelweit, H. T. (1946). An experimental study of the reactions of neurotics to experiences of success and failure. J. Gen. Psycho. 35, 59–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N. T. (1961). The relationship of persistence at a task to expectation of success and achievement related motives. J. Abnorm. Soc. Psychol. 63, 552–561.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, J. O. (1974). Motivation and risk taking behavior. A test of Atkinson’s theory. J. Person. Soc. Psychol. 29, 856–864.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, L. (1974). Fear of success in males and females: 1965 and 1972. J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 42, 353–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horner, M. S. (1974a). The measurement and behavioral implications of fear of success in women. In Motivation and Achievement (J. W. Atkinson and J. O. Raynor). Washington, D. C.: V. H. Winston and Sons, 91–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horner, M. S. (1974b). Performance of men in noncompetitive and interpersonal competitive achievement oriented situations. In Motivation and Achievement (J. W. Atkinson and J. O. Raynor). Washington, D. C.: V. W. Winston and Sons, pp. 237–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karabenick, S. A., and Youssef, Z. I. (1968). Performance as a function of achievement motive level and perceived difficulty. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 10, 414–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahone, C. H. (1960). Fear of failure and unrealistic vocational aspiration. J. Abnorm. Soc. Psychol. 60, 253–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A Theory of Achievement Motivation (J. W. Atkinson and N. T. Feather, Eds.). New York: Wiley (1966).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandler, G., and Sarason, S. B. (1952). A study of anxiety and learning. J. Abnorm. Soc. Psychol. 47, 166–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, D. R. (1951). Responses of psychiatric patients to threat of failure. J. Abnorm. Soc. Psychol. 46, 378–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moulton, R. W. (1965). Effects of success and failure on level of aspiration as related to achievement motives. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 1, 399–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A Theory of Achievement Motivation (J. W. Atkinson and N. T. Feather, Eds.). New York: Wiley (1966).

    Google Scholar 

  • Moulton, R. W., Raphelson, A. C., Kristofferson, A. B., and Atkinson, J. W. (1958). The achievement motive and perceptual sensitivity under two conditions of motive-arousal. In Motives in Fantasy, Action, and Society (J. W. Atkinson, Ed.). Princeton: D. Van Nostrand, pp. 350–359.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, P., Atkinson, J. W., and Horner, M. (1966). Motivational implications of ability grouping in schools. In A Theory of Achievement Motivation (J. W. Atkinson and N. T. Feather, Eds.). New York: Wiley, pp. 231–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raphelson, A. C. (1957). The relationships among imaginative, direct verbal and physiological measures of anxiety in an achievement situation. J. Abnorm. Soc. Psychol. 54, 13–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raynor, J. O. (1969). Future orientation and motivation of immediate activity: An elaboration of the theory of achievement motivation. Psychol. Rev. 76, 606–610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raynor, J. O. (1970). Relationships between achievement-related motives, future orientation, and academic performance. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 15, 28–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raynor, J. O. (1974). Future orientation in the study of achievement motivation. In Motivation and Achievement (J. W. Atkinson and J. O. Raynor). Washington, D. C.: V. W. Winston and Sons, pp. 121–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raynor, J. O., Atkinson, J. W., and Brown, M. (1974). Subjective aspects of achievement motivation immediately before an examination. In Motivation and Achievement (J. W. Atkinson and J. O. Raynor). Washington, D. C.: V. H. Winston and Sons, pp. 155–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raynor, J. O., and Rubin, I. S. (1971). Effects of achievement motivation and future orientation on level of performance. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 17, 36–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, C. P. (1966). The influence of testing conditions and need for achievement scores and their relationship to performance scores. In A Theory of Achievement Motivation (J. W. Atkinson and N. T. Feather, Eds.). New York, Wiley, pp. 277–297.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J. A., and Spence, K. W. (1952). The relationship of anxiety level to performance in serial learning. J. Exp. Psychol. 44, 61–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B. (1965). The effects of unsatisfied achievement motivation on persistence and subsequent performance. J. Personal. 33, 428–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B. (1966). Role of success and failure in the learning of easy and complex tasks. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 3, 339–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B. (1972). Theories of Motivation. Chicago: Rand-McNally.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1976 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Atkinson, J.W. (1976). Resistance and Overmotivation in Achievement-Oriented Activity. In: Serban, G. (eds) Psychopathology of Human Adaptation. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-2238-2_12

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-2238-2_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-2240-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-2238-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics