David McClelland’s Theory of Achievement Motivation
David McClelland (believes that the need for achievement is a distinct human motive that can be distinguished from other needs. One characteristic of achievement motivated people is that they see to be more concerned with personal achievement than with the rewards of success. He believes that they do not reject rewards but the rewards are not essential as the accomplishment itself.
Both McClelland and Atkinson’s achievement and motivation theory was based on a personality characteristic that manifested as a dispositional need to improve and perform well according to a certain standard of excellence In order to assess people’s need for achievement, they used a projective instrument called the Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT) that elicits unconscious processes. In this instrument, people are asked to write a story describing the thoughts, emotions and behaviors of a person in an ambiguous picture or drawing (for example, a child sitting in front of a violin). The stories are then coded for achievement-related content including indicators of competition, accomplishments, and commitment to achieve. This technique, labeled the Picture Story Exercise (PSE), was used in numerous studies that tested the relations of nAch with various indicators of performance.
McClelland, David C. "The American Psychologist." July 1985.
Reviews research that demonstrates the importance of motivation, incentive value, and probability of success, independently measured, for predicting achievement performance and the frequency with which affiliation acts are performed. Both theory and research lead to the following conclusions: (1) motive strength, particularly in relation to the strength of other motives in the person, is the more important determinant of operant act frequency; (2) incentive value is the more important determinant of cognitively based choices; (3) motive strength and probability of success combine multiplicatively to predict response strength or probability; and (4) all determinants, plus this last interaction, together account for over 75% of the variation in operant such as affiliative act frequency. The remainder of the variation is readily attributable to environmental opportunities. McClelland's motivation theory argues that n-ach people with strong 'achievement motivation' make the best leaders, although there can be a tendency to demand too much of their staff in the belief that they are all similarly and highly achievement-focused and results driven, which of course most people are not.Top of Form For example, employees who are Achievement-Motivated thrive very well in corporations where they receive regular performance evaluations. They feel energized and satisfied with their jobs because goals are set, they are given positive or negative feedback on past behaviors and given some type of rewards if they performed well.

Relation of McClelland's achievement motivation theory to other theories
McClelland's concept of achievement motivation is also related to Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory. People with high achievement motivation tend to be interested in the motivators (the job itself). Achievement-motivated (n-ach) people want feedback. They want to know how well they are doing on their job. On the other hand, people with low achievement motivation are more concerned about the environment. They want to know how people feel about them rather than how well they are doing. .