Gender differences in achievement motive: a facet analysis of Hungarian samples

We devised an achievement motive questionnaire (Elizur 1979, 1986; Shye 1978a) based on a facet definition of achievement motive. We then administered it to 165 women and 362 men employed by a large industrial corporation in Hungary in order to examine achievement motivation. Although we found significant differences in the frequency of responses to the achievement motive items, the basic structure of the achievement motive domain was similar for women and men. We detected no special tendency for women to score higher than men on affective responses. These results support the view that gender differences in achievement motive are rooted in socialization processes rather than in basic differences between women and men.