Assessing Achievement Motivation: Construction and Application of a New Scale Using Elizur's Multifaceted Approach

Abstract

A multifaceted approach to achievement motivation (Elizur, 1979, 1986; Elizur & Tziner, 1985) was used to devise a Situational Achievement Motive Questionnaire for assessing need for achievement. The questionnaire was administered to 159 respondents who were being screened for a prestigious managerial course in a large, public organization in Israel. The results of factor analysis and smallest space analysis demonstrated that, instead of one unitary disposition, there are six separate components of achievement motivation: confronting uncertainty, facing difficulties, assuming personal responsibility, calculating risks, solving problems, and striving for perfection. Also, smallest space analysis revealed two basic facets—type of confrontation and time perspective relative to task performance—on which the classification of achievement content is based.