Gender differences in achievement motivation of employed adults

Abstract

Achievement motivation is a concept that can be used for the explanation of individual differences in achievement and success in various contexts as well as an explanation of motivated behaviour. Despite the fact that a generally accepted definition of achievement motivation is still lacking because of disagreement over the traits it encompasses, numerous studies have been conducted on this subject. Researchers agree that achievement motivation is an important factor in professional life, particularly in achieving high professional success when external demands for focusing activity on achieving goals are minimal. It is of particular importance for those activities that have low structure levels and high autonomy. The study included 267 employed adults (124 males and 143 females) older than 18 years. Participants completed the Achievement Motivation Inventory (AMI) which consists of 17 achievement motivation scales. Individual scales form three clusters of motivational facets relating to self-assurance, ambition and self-control. The aim of the study was to determine the existence of gender differences in individual achievement motivation dimensions in employed adults in the Republic of Croatia. The results show the existence of significant gender differences in achievement motivation facets related to self-assurance and ambition in favour of males (e.g. confidence in success, dominance, and fearlessness) and self-control in favour of females. These results are in agreement with previous research and contribute to the usefulness of multifaceted measures of achievement motivation.