Appendix D: Authority, Achievement and Affiliation

Appendix D: Authority, Achievement and Affiliation

Here are a few examples of how McClelland's Theory of Needs could work in a peer relations context

Authority: Students who are popular have domination and prestige. They gain authority through their status. Therefore, one may be motivated to be popular depending on how much they had a high need for authority.

Achievement: Students may want to work their way up in the social scene because they want to achieve more on a social level. If there is a high need for achievement, popular status may be considered a goal

Affiliation- Students want to feel accepted and liked by others. Within schools the status of popularity has many social benefits. Although, peer perceived popularity may not mean that you are liked by all. Therefore those with a drive to be sociometricly popular (liked by others) may have a higher need for affiliation.