Achievement Motivation Test for children

The Achievement Motivation  Test for children (Prestatie-Motivatie-Test voor kinderen in Dutch) is 94 multiple-choice item questionnaire for the measurement of four motives:

- Achievement motive: the tendency to excel in task-situations, both in the eyes of another person and in the eyes of oneself.

- Debilitating anxiety: a fear of dysfunctioning in task situations which are stressful or lack a clear structure, a fear which has a debilitating influence on performance in such situations

- Facilitating anxiety: a fear of dysfunctioning in task situations which are stressful or lack a clear structure, a fear which has a facilitating influence on performance in such situations.

- Social desirability: the tendency to present oneself in a socially desirable way as an expression of the so-called approval motive

For an introduction into the basic structure of the Achievement Motivation Test for children see the article: Hubert J.M. Hermans, Jan J.F. ter Laak, & Piet C.J. Maes (1972). Achievement motivation and fear of failure in family and school. Developmental Psychology, 6, 520-528.

The manual is in Dutch: Hubert J.M. Hermans (1983), Prestatie-Motivatie-Test voor kinderen (PMT-k 83). Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.

For historical information about this test see For historical information about this test see Research Program.

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