Competition in sport and physical education programs has been used to motivate the learning of skills, increase physical fitness, and to create environments purportedly conducive to the development of desirable personality qualities. However, the way in which competition is conceptualized is of great importance. In direct competition, achievement…

This study examined the effects of the need to achieve, as measured by a behavioral checklist, on reading achievement. Subjects were 96 students enrolled in a southwestern Mississippi school district; 32 students were randomly selected from each of the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Each subject was then tested in reading achievement, IQ, and…

Performance is affected by cognitive learning skills, but also by the reasons people perceive as causes of their successes and failures. People with high achievement needs perceive their successes as caused by their own ability and effort, and their failures as caused by lack of effort. People with low achievement needs blame their failures on…

The construction of an objective, self-report, objectively-scored measure of achievement motivation is reported. Empirically keyed items were developed, reflecting empirical results found in a review of achievement motivation literature. An initial item pool consisting of 153 self-report items was administered using a matrix sampling approach to…

This booklet is an introduction to the question of retirement that is addressed specifically to educators. Its four chapters raise the following questions: "Are You Ready to Retire?""Can You Afford to Retire?""Where Will You Live?" and "How Will You Spend Your Time?" Each chapter contains a list of recommended readings, and the monograph ends with…

This speech relates the results of a study designed to discover what combination of loving-or-rejecting and casual-or-demanding mothers and fathers is likely to produce the highest achievement orientations among girls and what combination of parent-child relations is least productive of achievement orientations. The data for this study came from…

Results show that consistency of student performance was related to both the stability dimension of attributional behavior and attributions for immediate outcome varied along the locus of control dimension. Findings suggest the dominance of an informationally oriented influence on attributional behavior. (BJG)

An English professor gives ten reasons why he believes that it is not merely important but essential for all English teachers to write for publication. He feels that writing for publication is a professional obligation of English teachers to themselves, to their students, and to other teachers. (MF)

Undergraduate males of different achievement orientations received either no feedback or success feedback on six tasks. On later tasks, success feedback had: (1) no effect on learning easy tasks; (2) positive effects on learning difficult tasks for high achievement orientation subjects; and (3) negative effects with low achievement orientation…

Results showed that significantly more accurate predictions of academic performance were obtained for lower fear of failure students and for students who perceived their present course grades as more important to their career plans than those who did not. (Author/DEP)

A study investigated early aspects of Type A behavior by assessing children's goal setting and parents' aspirations for their children. Teachers of 73 fourth through sixth grade children rated them for Type A behavior. A replication study of parental aspiration findings was conducted. Results show fathers may strongly influence development of Type…

A father describes how his experiences as parent of a severely disabled young son have deepened his resilience, causing a reexamination of personal and social values and a broadened perspective on the significance of competition and achievement. (JW)

Biographical interviews elicited information concerning personality characteristics that predispose women toward achievement-striving behavior, taking into account the effects of family, friends, and role models. The majority of women reported not fearing success, but most wondered if their achievements were worth it and at what cost. (Author/ABB)

Explores factors that can enable children reared in impoverished environments to use their conditions of adversity to succeed. Discusses essential components to development of achievement motivation, including innate potential; family ties and roots; creative manipulation of the environment; expectations; and the roles of religion, parents, and…

Analyzes the interrelationships of six basic child-rearing dimensions (nurturance, obedience, responsibility, self-reliance, achievement, and general independence) in a cross-cultural sample of 110 societies. Most generally, results reveal that societal pressures in child rearing in one dimension is likely to be related to pressure in any other…