Henry Murray

Henry Murray and
Psychological
Needs
Murray from a Psychoanalytic Murray from a
Perspective Psychoanalytic Perspective
Murray used the term Murray believed the study
personology to describe his study of personality should
of human lives and individual examine the entire person
differences in personality
across the lifespan
Murray described a habit system
as automatic, unconscious Murrays multiform
behaviors shaped by the id, ego, method involved
and superego gathering information
Murray emphasized positive from many observers
instincts related to motivation across various situations
and needs
1
Henry Murray and Psychological Needs
The Importance of the Situation: Press Interdependence of Personality

Murray emphasized the impact of from a Cultural Perspective
the situation on behavior which Murrays broad definition of
he referred to as press: environment included the
physical, biological, and
1. Alpha press refers to the social dimensions
actual, objective reality Murray and Kluckhohn
2. Beta press refers to ones (1953) identified four types
of determinants in
subjective perceived, personality development:
reality 1. Constitutional determinants
Murray referred to a single 2. Group membership
episode involving the interaction determinants
of internal and external factors as 3. Life role determinants
a thema 4. Situational determinants
2
Murray as a Motivational Murray as a Motivational Theorist:

Theorist: Needs Needs
Murray focused on needs, For Murray, an action can satisfy
motives and drives as the more than one need in a process he
forces that direct behavior called fusion of needs
Murray described needs as Subsidation of needs occurs when
internal, abstract constructs several needs are recruited to satisfy
that can be inferred through a more powerful need
behaviour Murray (1951) described ordination
Murray (1938) coined the as a process of schedules
term regnanacy to emphasize implemented to reduce conflict in
a biological correlate for a the face of opposing goals
psychological need
3
Murray as a Motivational
Theorist: Needs Types of Needs
Murray distinguished Murray distinguished
among several types of between the physical
needs: primary and the
1. Focal and diffuse psychological secondary
2. Proactive and active needs
3. Manifest and. latent Murray identified 13
viscerogenic (primary)
4. Conscious and needs which included the
unconscious
need for sex
Unconscious needs
form a dissociated
collective in what
Murray referred to as
the alter ego
4
5
6
7
The Personal Needs of Henry Murray and the Unabomber

Murray The Unabomber was a Harvard
Murray is described as neurotic student that participated in
with a high need for intimacy Murrays (1959) controversial
and uniqueness study
Snyder and Fromkin (1980) Murrays study violated several
ethical principles concerning
asserted a cultural role for the informed consent and
need for uniqueness associated risks
Tafarodi, Marshall, and Katsura The Unabomber was obsessed
(2004) found differences in the with a distrust of technology
expression of uniqueness in and authority figures control
Japanese and Canadian students over people
that reflected motivational Murrays study has been linked
differences to the Unabomber's subsequent
behaviour but cannot be
confirmed
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Evaluation of Murrays The Assessment of Psychological Needs

Theory
Murray sparked research The Thematic Apperception Test
in discovering individual The TAT is a projective test that is
differences in motivation based on the assumption that
Murray emphasized the unconscious internal needs are
role of situational factors directed toward an external stimulus
Murray co-developed The TAT presents respondents with a
the Thematic series of black and white pictures
Apperception Test representing various scenes that
reflect each of Murray's theoretical
Critics state his theory is needs
too broad and subjective
Respondents generate stories that
are believed to reflect their own
unconscious needs
9
The Assessment of Psychological Needs
The Thematic Apperception
Test Alternative Measures of Psychological
Needs
Concerns with the
psychometric properties
include low test-retest The Edwards Personality Preference
reliabilities and validity Schedule
Others note that different EPPS (Edwards, 1959) is widely
instructions across used in clinical settings
presentations may contribute
to the low reliability estimates Consists of 135 statements that tap
15 needs
TAT shows clinical utility in
psychopathology, and in Critics argue that the ipsative
assessment of differences in scoring procedure leads to biased
relationship variables as responding and low validity
outlined in object relations measures
theory
10
Alternative Measures of Psychological Needs
The Adjective Check List The Personality Research Form
The ACL (Gough & (PRF)
Heilbrun, 1965) consists of The PRF (Jackson, 1974) consists
300 adjectives that of 20 scales that tap various needs
respondents select to outlined by Murray
describe a personality
Two validity scales also assess
Measures the same needs social desirability and infrequent
as the EPPS but unique responses
scales allow for a measure
of extreme responding Attention to item selection and
test construction reduces the
Needs identified by the
impact of social desirability
ACL converge with traits
identified by components PRF responses show a six-factor
of the fivefactor model solution that is replicated in
French and English
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Specific Psychological Needs
Achievement Motivation High versus Low
McClelland(1961) states the Achievement Motivation:
TAT is an implicit measure A TAT Illustration
that does not require a
conscious reflection of Differences in
motives achievement motivation
Self-report is an explicit can be observed using the
measure that does require a TAT as indicated in the
conscious reflection of scenario depicting a boy
motives
playing a violin (see text p.
Implicit measures are viewed 230)
as better indicators of
motives than explicit
measures and may reflect
different systems as seen in
the lack of correlation
between the two tests
12
Achievement Motivation from Affiliation Motivation
a Societal Perspective Byrne, McDonald, and Mikawa
Differences in achievement (1963) found that level of
motivation are observed affiliation was associated with
between individualistic and approach and avoidance
collectivist cultures behaviours
Spence (1985) suggested Current research centers on
that mainstream theories of the need to be with people
achievement motivation may referred to as intimacy
be limited to individualistic motivation
cultures
The expression of
achievement motivation can
also vary across cultures
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Affiliation Motivation The Need for Power

Hill (1987) designed the Winter (1973) defined
Interpersonal Orientation power as the need to
Scale and determined four impact on others and the
motives that direct world
affiliation:
Efectance is a related term
1. Attention that refers to impacting on
2. Positive stimulation people, places, and objects
3. Social comparison Power is associated with
aggression, gambling, and
4. Emotional Support heavy drinking
Festinger in his (1954)
similarity hypothesis stated
that we engage in social
comparison for assurance
14
The Need for Power Contemporary Theory and

Research shows no gender Research on Motivation
differences in the need for Personal Strivings
power, but power motives Personal striving are units of
may be linked to testosterone behavior that are directed
levels toward personal goals and
reflect personality traits
Winter (2002) found no
relation between power and Emmons and McAdams (1991)
political success based on an investigation of individual
differences in personal strivings
analysis of written content distinguished three types of
(e.g., Presidential speeches) people:
1. High in Intimacy motivation
2. High in Power motivation
3. High in Achievement motivation
15
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
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Henry Murray

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Henry Murray

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Henry Murray and

The Importance of the Situation: Press Interdependence of Personality

Murray as a Motivational Murray as a Motivational Theorist:

The Personal Needs of Henry Murray and the Unabomber

Evaluation of Murrays The Assessment of Psychological Needs

Affiliation Motivation The Need for Power

The Need for Power Contemporary Theory and

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