Henry Murray and Psychological Needs
Murray from a Psychoanalytic Perspective
Murray used the term personology to describe his study of human lives and individual
differences in personality
Murray described a habit system as automatic, unconscious behaviors shaped by the id, ego,
and superego
Murray emphasized positive instincts related to motivation and needs
Henry Murray and Psychological Needs
The Importance of the Situation: Press
Murray emphasized the impact of the situation on behavior which he referred to as press:
1. Alpha press refers to the actual, objective reality
2. Beta press refers to ones subjective perceived, reality
Murray referred to a single episode involving the interaction of internal and external factors as a
thema
Henry Murray and Psychological Needs
Murray as a Motivational Theorist: Needs
Murray focused on needs, motives and drives as the forces that direct behavior
Murray described needs as internal, abstract constructs that can be inferred through behaviour
Murray (1938) coined the term regnanacy to emphasize a biological correlate for a psychological
need
Henry Murray and Psychological Needs
Murray as a Motivational Theorist: Needs
Murray distinguished among several types of needs:
1. Focal and diffuse
2. Proactive and active
3. Manifest and. latent
4. Conscious and unconscious
Unconscious needs form a dissociated collective in what Murray referred to as the alter ego
Henry Murray and Psychological Needs
Henry Murray and Psychological Needs
Henry Murray and Psychological Needs
Henry Murray and Psychological Needs
The Personal Needs of Henry Murray
Murray is described as neurotic with a high need for intimacy and uniqueness
Snyder and Fromkin (1980) asserted a cultural role for the need for uniqueness
Tafarodi, Marshall, and Katsura (2004) found differences in the expression of uniqueness in
Japanese and Canadian students that reflected motivational differences
Henry Murray and Psychological Needs
Evaluation of Murrays Theory
Murray sparked research in discovering individual differences in motivation
Murray emphasized the role of situational factors
Murray co-developed the Thematic Apperception Test
Critics state his theory is too broad and subjective
The Assessment of Psychological Needs
The Thematic Apperception Test
Concerns with the psychometric properties include low test-retest reliabilities and validity
Others note that different instructions across presentations may contribute to the low reliability
estimates
TAT shows clinical utility in psychopathology, and in assessment of differences in relationship
variables as outlined in object relations theory
Alternative Measures of Psychological Needs
The Adjective Check List
The ACL (Gough & Heilbrun, 1965) consists of 300 adjectives that respondents select to describe
a personality
Measures the same needs as the EPPS but unique scales allow for a measure of extreme
responding
Needs identified by the ACL converge with traits identified by components of the fivefactor
model
Specific Psychological Needs
Achievement Motivation
McClelland(1961) states the TAT is an implicit measure that does not require a conscious
reflection of motives
Self-report is an explicit measure that does require a conscious reflection of motives
Implicit measures are viewed as better indicators of motives than explicit measures and may
reflect different systems as seen in the lack of correlation between the two tests
Specific Psychological Needs
Achievement Motivation from a Societal Perspective
Differences in achievement motivation are observed between individualistic and collectivist
cultures
Spence (1985) suggested that mainstream theories of achievement motivation may be limited
to individualistic cultures
The expression of achievement motivation can also vary across cultures
Specific Psychological Needs
Affiliation Motivation
Hill (1987) designed the Interpersonal Orientation Scale and determined four motives that direct
affiliation:
1. Attention
2. Positive stimulation
3. Social comparison
4. Emotional Support
Festinger in his (1954) similarity hypothesis stated that we engage in social comparison for
assurance
Specific Psychological Needs
The Need for Power
Research shows no gender differences in the need for power, but power motives may be linked
to testosterone levels
Winter (2002) found no relation between power and political success based on an analysis of
written content (e.g., Presidential speeches)
Contemporary Theory and
Research on Motivation
Personal Projects
Little (2005) defined personal projects as a mid-level process-oriented construct that directs our
daily tasks toward current goals
Personality traits and overall levels of life satisfaction are reflected in our approach to personal
projects
Cross-sectional research confirms personal projects change with age throughout the lifespan
