Ambition Under Study

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31322, 18 March 1967, Page 2

Ambition Under Study

“Why do some children have the desire to do well and others/ not?” The research done on this question by two Americans was described at the annual meeting of the Christchurch Parents’ Centre by Dr. G. A. Nuthall, lecturer in education at the University of Canterbury. “High achievement motivation” was a term applied to "a desire to reach standards of excellence.” It did not mean a very great sense of competition, but a determination to do things well, Dr. Nuthall said. In one experiment male children from a cross-section of homes in Chicago were set problems. Parents were allowed to set the standard—the amount of time the child could have to solve the problem, for example—and could assist verbally. The parents usually set high standards, and the child’s performance differed according to parental reaction to the situation.

“Mothers of children with high achievement motivation

were very dominating,” he said. “They got very involved in the task, continually offering advice and suggestions. However, the fathers, who also set high standards, stayed out of the situation, allowing the child as much independence as possible. “The reverse was true of children with low achievement motivation. When the father was dominant, the

child became either hostile or withdrawn. The mother’s involvement did not seem to disturb the boys, and if the mother stayed out of the experiment, the child did not have a high achievement motivation. “The conclusion is that if both parents set high standards they will have a child with the desire to do well,” said Dr. Nuthall.