Sex differences in college students in achievement motivation and performance in competitive and noncompetitive situations

This study was conducted to determine if the motive to avoid success was one factor contributing to the unresolved sex differences found in previous research on achievement motivation. The sample consisted of 89 women and 88 men who were students in an introductory psychology course (largely first year) at the University of Michigan in the winter of 1965. Participants completed six verbal TATs. The Alpert-Haber(1960) Achievement Anxiety Test, and three timed tests entitled "Ability Indices" were also administered at this time. The ability indices included one-half of the Lowell (1952) Scrambled Words Test, a series of solvable and nonsolvable line puzzles, and an arithmetic puzzle. During the second test period, participants were randomly assigned to one of three performance conditions: noncompetitive, mixed sex competitive, or same sex competitive. The instruments administered during the second testing session included a level of aspiration or risk preference task, three performance measures, and a personal questionnaire. All existing paper and computer-accessible data are available. Data are also available from two follow-ups, conducted in 1974 and 1980 (see Hoffman, A014; and Foltz, A615).