Achievement Ambitions. Discussion Papers 449.

This review of the literature on achievement ambitions summarizes the more important developments in this area for the last 10 years. Sociology and psychology literature are included. Among the topics discussed are the following: (1) ambition and achievement in the context of role theory, (2) measurement of achievement ambitions, (3) acquisition and development of ambition, (4) sex roles and ambition, and (5) socioeconomic and related consequences of ambition. The conclusions of the paper indicate that: (1) there are few if any conventions by which ambition is assessed, (2) the social psychological sources of differential ambition are at best suggested by an unsystematic empirical literature, and (3) in tightly controlled experimental situations, success and failure at competitive tasks influence levels of ambition and are consequences of it. However, in the natural world, the successes and failures of persons are more likely to result from events in their life cycles such as marriages, divorces, etc. than from their differential ambition to achieve in these competitive settings. (Author/AM)