Henry A. Murray

Henry A. Murray (1893 - 1988)

American psychologist who developed a theory of human personality based on an individual's inborn needs and his relationship with the physical and social environment.

http://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/murray.html
Psychogenic Needs
Although considered a trait theorist, Murray's medical background, combined with his analytical training give a unique flair to his research and writing. This is probably most evident in his development of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), a personality test designed to determine personality themes as well as unconscious motivation.

He was focused on basic needs in personality which he called psychogenic needs. He believed these needs were largely at the unconscious level. After researching this area, he narrowed these needs down to 27, although the list and names vary depending on the time frame and the author.

Murray's Psychogenic Needs
Psychogenic Need
Description of Need
Abasement
To surrender and accept punishment
Achievement
To overcome obstacles and succeed
Acquisition
(Conservance)
To obtain possessions
Affiliation
To make associations and friendships
Aggression
To injure others
Autonomy
To resist others and stand strong
Blameavoidance
To avoid blame and obey the rules
Construction
To build or create
Contrariance
To be unique
Counteraction
To defend honor
Defendance
To justify actions
Deference
To follow a superior, to serve
Dominance
(Power)
To control and lead others
Exhibition
To attract attention
Exposition
To provide information, educate
Harmavoidance
To avoid pain
Infavoidance
To avoid failure, shame, or to conceal a weakness
Nurturance
To protect the helpless
Order
To arrange, organize, and be precise
Play
To relieve tension, have fun, or relax
Recognition
To gain approval and social status
Rejection
To exclude another
Sentience
To enjoy sensuous impressions
Sex
(Erotic)
To form and enjoy an erotic relationship
Similance
To empathize
Succorance
To seek protection or sympathy
Understanding
(Cognizance)
To analyze and experience, to seek knowledge

Murray contended that environmental forces played a significant role in the exhibition of the psychogenic needs. He called the forces "press," referring to the pressure they put on us that forces us to act. He further argued for a difference between the real environmental forces, alpha press, and those that are merely perceived, beta press.

The 27 needs and the forces that press them have stood up to research. Three of these, especially, have been the focus of study: the need for Power, Affiliation, and Achievement.


Power, Affiliation, and Achievement

Three of Murray's Psychogenic Needs have been the focus of considerable research: The Need for Power (nPow), Affiliation (nAff) and Achievement (nAch).

The need for Power refers to the desire or need to impact other people, to control or be in a position of influence. Careers that involve these aspects are better suited for high nPow people, such as teachers, psychologists, journalists, and supervisors. They don't necessarily make the best leaders though. Research has found that those with high nPow are more likely to rate an employee higher if that employee has a tendency to schmooz or flatter the subject where those with low or moderate nPow rate employees the same. In this sense, those with high nPow would do well if they also had traits of self-control and objectivity.

The need for affiliation has a long history of research, and studies show that those with a high nAff often have a larger social circle. They spend more time interacting with other such as talking on the phone and writing letters, and they are more likely to be members of social groups or clubs. Those with high nAff are also more likely to get lonely than those low in nAff, so their need for affiliation may be related to their sense of self and their desire for external stimulation.

Those with a high need for achievement (nAch) demonstrate a consistent concern about meeting obligations and accomplishing tasks. They are, however, more focused on internal motivation rather than external rewards. For example, those high in nAch are more likely to value intelligence and personal achievement over recognition and praise.

There are also cultural and gender differences among these three needs. For example, the United States is higher on ratings of nAch than other countries whose focus is more on relationships and nAff. Men and women also demonstrate their needs in different manners. Men with high nPow tend to be more risk takers and act out more readily while women tend to be more active in volunteer activities.

Combined with other personality aspects of traits, such as introversion/extroversion, the needs may also show themselves in very different manners. Introverts may demonstrate their high nAff through small groups and intellectual pursuits, while extroverts evidence this same need through large gatherings and louder parties. However they come out, these three needs have shown a consistent pattern in research, perhaps even more so related to humanistic theory than in trait theory itself.

http://www.wilderdom.com/personality/traits/PersonalityTraitsNeedsHenryMurray.html

Needs As Personality : Henry Murray
Henry Murray (1893 - 1988) was active in developing a theory of motivation throughout the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s. He believed that a need is a
potentiality or readiness to respond in a certain way under certain given circumstances… It is a noun which stands for the fact that a certain trend is apt to recur.(Murray, et al. 1938, p. 124).
A major assumption of Murray’s theory was that behaviour is driven by an internal state of disequilibrium. In other words we have a LACK of something and this drives us. We are dissatisfied and we desire something.
Murray classified needs as being either:
Primary needs (which are biologically based): food, water, air, sex, avoidance of pain
Secondary needs (which either derive from our biological needs or are inherent in our psychological nature):

achievement, recognition, acquisition
dominance, aggression, autonomy
affiliation, rejection
nurturance, play, cognizance (asking questions of others)

Murray believed that stronger needs are expressed more often over time and lead to more intense behaviour.
The main contribution from Murray’s was that he understand personality as being driven by the secondary needs: Achievement, Dominance, Affiliation and Nurturance. The extent to which each of these needs was felt by an individual shaped their personality and behavior.
Since the 60s and 70s the main needs studies have examined Achievement, Power, Affiliation and Intimacy.

For example, the need for achievement (or Achievement Motivation) was studied extensively by David McLelland in the 70s, and is the single most researched need. Achievement motivation refers to the desire to do things well, overcome obstacles, to do things better. A person high in achievement motivation tends to choose more difficult tasks than a person low in achievement motivation, because they want to find out more about their ability to achieve.
The need for power was studied intensely by David Winter in the 70s. The need for power is the desire to have dominance, impact on others, prestige, position, and influence over others. Those who have a need for power are often concerned about controlling the image of themselves that is portrayed to others. If the need for power can be combined with taking on responsibility, then "acceptable" displays of power can be experienced.
The need for affiliation has been studied by McAdam in the 80s. The need for affiliation refers to the desire to desire to spend time with other people. It can be more useful to look at subcomponents such as social comparison, emotional support, positive stimulation, and attention from others.
The need for intimacy is the desire to experience warm, close, and communicative exchanges with another person. Ultimately, it is the desire to merge self with another. The need for intimacy correlates .58 (medium correlation) with the need for affiliation, but focuses more on one to one interactions, particularly self-disclosure and listening.Murray’s Needs theory is sometime studied as part of the trait perspective as “needs” are seen as akin to traits. But probably more often, you’ll see Needs’ theory studied within the psychoanalytic perspective as it is seen as a DRIVE theory of personality. We’ll return to this when you look at the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) in the psychoanalytic section of the course. The TAT was derived from Murray’s Needs theory.

http://www.minddisorders.com/Py-Z/Thematic-Apperception-Test.html
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), is a widely used projective measure of personality. Historically, the Thematic Apperception Test or TAT has been amongst the most widely used, researched, and taught projective psychological tests. It taps a subject's unconscious to reveal repressed aspects of personality, motives and needs for achievement, power and intimacy, and problem-solving abilities.