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The need for affiliation (N-Affil) is a term which describes a person's need to feel a sense of involvement and "belonging" within a social group.The term was popularized by David McClelland, whose thinking was strongly influenced by the pioneering work of Henry Murray, who first identified underlying psychological human needs and motivational processes in 1938.
Need theory, also known as Three needs theory, [1] proposed by psychologist David McClelland, is a motivational model that attempts to explain how the needs for achievement, affiliation, and power affect the actions of people from a managerial context.
Murray defines a need as a drive that has the potential to prompt a behavior from the person. For example, the need for affiliation may drive a person to join a social organization. Needs are often influenced by environmental stimulus or "presses", another component of Murray's theory.
Basing his work on the work of Henry Murray, he focused on three particular motives: the need for achievement (N-Ach); the need for affiliation (N-Aff); and the need for power (N-Pow). N-Ach is the desire to excel in relation to a set of standards. It is the drive to succeed. N-Pow is the desire to be influential and affect an organization.
The Need for Affiliation is the desire to be around people and be well received socially. It also includes the desire for being a member in a group and conformity. The Need for Power is the desire for control over others and over yourself. It confers the need to be able to exercise direction in the world surrounding you, and cause things to happen.
Similarly, those with a high need for affiliation are more drawn to join groups, spend more time with groups and accept other group members more readily. [29] Previous experiences with groups (good and bad) inform people's decisions to join prospective groups.
In the 1960s, psychologist David McClelland expanded on Murray's work, focusing on the effects of human needs in a work environment. [2] His need theory proposes that most people are consistently motivated by one of three basic desires: the need for affiliation, the need for achievement, or the need for power.
Need for achievement is a person's desire for significant accomplishment, mastery of skills, control, or high standards. The psychometric device designed to measure need-for-achievement, N-Ach , was popularized by the psychologist David McClelland .