Achievement Motivation and Religious Background

Abstract

High achievement motivation scores derived from thematic apperceptive measures administered in a nationwide sample survey were most prevalent in Jewish men, and more prevalent in Catholic than in Protestant men. This high incidence among Catholic men was found attributable largely to the middle-aged group. Furthermore, Catholics' achievement motivation, unlike Protestants' was associated with a low income and a large family. This difference is interpreted as an indication of the more restrictive and concrete significance achievement has for Catholics. From the national survey and from other findings, evidence suggesting that Catholic child-rearing would induce an achievement orientation sensitive to specific economic failure is offered. The inconsistency of these results with previous findings is interpreted in terms of the high economic status and restricted geographic locale of the population from which previous samples were drawn.