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
Murray from a
Psychoanalytic Perspective
Murray believed the study
of personality should
examine the entire person
across the lifespan
Murrays multiform
method involved
gathering information
from many observers
across various situations
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 Henry Murray and Psychological Needs

The Importance of the Situation: Press Interdependence of Personality

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 1.
Murray referred to a single 2.
episode involving the interaction
of internal and external factors as 3.
a thema 4.
from a Cultural Perspective
Murrays broad definition of
environment included the
physical, biological, and
social dimensions
Murray and Kluckhohn
(1953) identified four types
of determinants in
personality development:
Constitutional determinants
Group membership
determinants
Life role determinants
Situational determinants
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 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
Murray as a Motivational Theorist:
Needs
For Murray, an action can satisfy
more than one need in a process he
called fusion of needs
Subsidation of needs occurs when
several needs are recruited to satisfy
a more powerful need
Murray (1951) described ordination
as a process of schedules
implemented to reduce conflict in
the face of opposing goals
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 Henry Murray and Psychological Needs

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

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Henry Murray and Psychological Needs

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Henry Murray and Psychological Needs

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Henry Murray and Psychological Needs

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 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
Murray and the Unabomber
The Unabomber was a Harvard
student that participated in
Murrays (1959) controversial
study
Murrays study violated several
ethical principles concerning
informed consent and
associated risks
The Unabomber was obsessed
with a distrust of technology
and authority figures control
over people
Murrays study has been linked
to the Unabomber's subsequent
behaviour but cannot be
confirmed
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 Henry Murray and Psychological Needs

Evaluation of Murrays The Assessment of Psychological Needs

Theory
Murray sparked research The Thematic Apperception Test
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 TAT is a projective test that is
based on the assumption that
unconscious internal needs are
directed toward an external stimulus
The TAT presents respondents with a
series of black and white pictures
representing various scenes that
reflect each of Murray's theoretical
needs
Respondents generate stories that
are believed to reflect their own
unconscious needs
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 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 Edwards Personality Preference
Schedule
EPPS (Edwards, 1959) is widely
used in clinical settings
Consists of 135 statements that tap
15 needs
Critics argue that the ipsative
scoring procedure leads to biased
responding and low validity
measures
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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
The Personality Research Form
(PRF)
The PRF (Jackson, 1974) consists
of 20 scales that tap various needs
outlined by Murray
Two validity scales also assess
social desirability and infrequent
responses
Attention to item selection and
test construction reduces the
impact of social desirability
PRF responses show a six-factor
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

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 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
Affiliation Motivation
Byrne, McDonald, and Mikawa
(1963) found that level of
affiliation was associated with
approach and avoidance
behaviours
Current research centers on
the need to be with people
referred to as intimacy
motivation
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 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
The Need for Power
Winter (1973) defined
power as the need to
impact on others and the
world
Efectance is a related term
that refers to impacting on
people, places, and objects
Power is associated with
aggression, gambling, and
heavy drinking
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 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 Strivings
Personal striving are units of
behavior that are directed
toward personal goals and
reflect personality traits
Emmons and McAdams (1991)
investigation of individual
differences in personal strivings
distinguished three types of
people:
1. High in Intimacy motivation
2. High in Power motivation
3. High in Achievement motivation
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 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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