Self-Assessment Exercise: What is my Motivation Orientation?

(Quiz developed by Dolan & Lingham)

Answer the following question/statement by choosing between agree or disagree. The validity of this test
depends on your answering honesty to all statements.

Question/statement
1. I love to be together with people; I like even when it serves no purpose.
2. In many situations, clarifying who is in charge is the most important business at hand.
3. When playing a game, I am as concerned with how well I have played based on my own judgment as I am
with whether or not I win.
4. I believe it is most important to have the respect of others in your community.
5. When I set a goal, there is a good chance I will make it even though it doesn't always happen.
6. It is important to have a career (or possession) that will influence others to respect me.
7. Losing a friend is very upsetting to me. I work hard to regain friends I have lost.
8. I insist on the respect of people under me, even if I have to push them around to get it.
9. I need lots of warmth from others and I give it back.
10. I think about how what I am doing today will affect my future five years from now.
11. I like to set up measures for myself of how well I am progressing.
12. I am very concerned with the efficiency and quality of my work.
13. Many people need advice and help, and someone should give it to them whether they want it or not.
14. Strong actions are needed when people make mistakes.
15. I enjoy social get-togethers and make time to go to them.
16. A key purpose in my life is to do things that have not been done before.
17. If I move to a new area, I imagine the first thing I would do is develop new friends.
18. I intend to get strong emotional reactions out of others because I know I am getting somewhere.
19. I very much need to be liked by others.
20. My friends may sometimes think it dull, but I find myself talking about how to overcome future obstacles I
have anticipated.
21. Relationships are very valuable to me, but everybody needs to understand their roles and obligations.
22. A good reason for being in business is to become rich and powerful!
23. I don't like working on a project without knowing how well I'm doing, so I make plans that allow me to
measure how fast I'm proceeding toward my overall goals.
24. I like to get involved in community activities because it gives me a chance to have influence where I live.
25. The real meaning of life is the capacity to influence other people.
26. I do best when I have some room to choose my own goals.
27. If people don't really know you, you can't expect them to listen to you carefully.
28. In everything I do – work, sports, hobbies – I try to set really high standards for myself.
29. People who make it in business, are those who know what they are doing and do not deviate from their
goals.
30. I always thought I would enjoy being a famous politician, actor or athlete and live in the lap of luxury.

Interpreting your score

Note: the above test was inspired by the dimensions of motivation developed by Professor David McClelland.
The authors of this text, nonetheless, had modified the measures and interpreted the scores. Further empirical
validation of the proposed scoring is needed. Also, remember that Professor McClelland's original measures
attempt to address whether you're motivated by Achievement, Power or Affiliation.

Please calculate your score by counting the number of "Agree" in the following questions:

Achievement 3, 5, 10, 11, 12, 16, 20, 23, 26, 28 Total _____
Power 2, 8, 13, 14, 21, 22, 25, 27, 29, 30 Total _____
Affiliation 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 15, 17, 18, 19, 24 Total _____
McClelland's Theory1
David McClelland is known for his refinement of Maslow's model. However, he
established no needs hierarchy. McClelland focused on three needs that are obviously
related to the working environment: the needs for achievement, affiliation, and power.
According to his theory, you will develop a dominant bias toward one of these needs
based on your socialization and life experiences.

 Achievement needs. These needs refer to the tendency or desire to excel.

McClelland found that people with high need for achievement perform better
than those with a moderate or low need for achievement.
 Affiliation needs. These needs are related to the desire for a friendly
interpersonal relationship. Some people look for social approval, wanting to
identify themselves with the group and be appreciated by it. Individuals
motivated by these needs are more open and more likely to succeed in jobs
requiring high interpersonal communication skills.
 Need for power. The need for power is the desire to influence others.
Unfortunately, the term has been associated with power abuse, which makes us
suspicious of anybody who displays a need for power. Nonetheless, such
individuals exercise considerable influence in their circles since they want to
control situations and people. Moreover, social and hierarchical status are
important considerations for people with a high need for power; the more they
can rise to the top of their organizations, the greater is their ability to exercise
power and influence.
Studies have found that employees with a high need for achievement (nAch) experience
satisfaction from good performance, set higher goals than those with low achievement
needs, and improve their performance following feedback. 1 An underlying assumption in
McClelland's work is that people can be taught to have certain needs through training, and
thus their achievement motivation could be enhanced.