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Psychology 320: Psychology of Gender and Sex Differences

Lecture 49

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Achievement:

1. Are there sex differences in achievement motivation and fear of success?

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1. describe methodological flaws associated with early research on sex differences in achievement motivation and fear of success.

By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

2. review present research findings regarding sex similarities in achievement motivation and fear of success.

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1. Achievement Motivation

• Achievement motivation is typically measured using projective tests (e.g., the Thematic Apperception Test, Picture Story Exercises).

Are there sex differences in achievement motivation and fear of success?

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Thematic Apperception Test Images

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Instructions for the Thematic Apperception Test:

“I am going to show you some pictures, one at a time, and your task will be to make up a story for each card. In your story, be sure to tell what has led up to the event shown in the picture, describe what is happening at the moment, what the characters are feeling and thinking, and give the outcome. Tell a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end. Do you understand? I will write your stories verbatim as you tell them. Here’s the first card.”

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• Early research on achievement motivation was largely restricted to male participants (Atkinson, 1958;

Featehr, 1961; McClelland, 1961).

The scant research that examined both sexes (e.g., McClelland et al., 1953) found that:

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achievement motive scores related to outcome measures (e.g., test scores, persistence in the face of

failure) similarly among females and males.

among females, achievement motive scores did not increase when “achievement-involving” task

instructions were used.

among males, achievement motive scores increased when “achievement-involving” task instructions were used.

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• On the basis of the latter two findings, theorists concluded that females have a weaker achievement

motivation than males.

• This conclusion was later questioned by feminist researchers who noted flaws in early research on the

achievement motivation:

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(a) The domains of achievement that were studied (e.g., workplace achievement) were more relevant to

males than females.

(b) The characteristics that were used to define achievement motivation (e.g., competitiveness) conflicted with the female gender role.

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• Recent research (e.g., Langan-Fox & Grant, 2006; Pang, 2005; Salili, 1996) that has addressed these flaws has demonstrated that the sexes do not differ in achievement motivation.

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2. Fear of Success

• Horner (1972) maintained that females are more likely than males to fear success because success (i.e., achievement) is inconsistent with the female gender role.

To test her theory, Horner asked females and males to complete a projective storytelling exercise:

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“Anne (John) is at the top of her (his) class in medical school ….”

Participants responses were coded for the presence or absence of negative outcomes.

Found that 65% of females but only 10% of males identified negative outcomes associated with success.

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• In addition, Horner (1972) found that females who obtained relatively high scores on fear of success:

indicated that they would prefer to tell a male that they received a “C” rather than an “A” on an exam.

performed worse on a task when working with males than when working with females.

were more likely to change from a non-traditional college major to a traditional college major over the course of their study.

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• Although Horner’s theory was widely publicized, feminist researchers noted flaws with her work:

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Horner’s research methods tapped awareness of the negative outcomes associated with success for

women rather than a fear of success:

Males identified many negative outcomes for Anne’s success; females identified few negative outcomes for John’s success.

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Horner’s research methods tapped discomfort with gender-role incongruent behaviour rather than a fear of success:

Males identified many negative outcomes for John who “is at the top of his class in nursing school.”

Sex differences in fear of success did not emerge when participants were asked to create a story about Anne or John who had succeeded, but for whom no other situation information was provided.

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• On the basis of more recent findings, contemporary theorists maintain that females are no more likely than males to fear success.

Rather, both sexes fear negative consequences associated with achievement in gender-incongruent domains.

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Achievement:

1. Are there sex differences in achievement motivation and fear of success?