SalesDialogue | Dr. Henry Murray

We take you back to 1938 and introduce you to Dr. Henry Murray.

Dr. Murray invented a psychological test called the TAT, or Thematic Apperception Test. The TAT is comprised of a series of 8 1/2 x 11 cards. On each card is a black and white picture. The first card has a picture of a little girl staring intently at a violin. Dr. Murray would show these cards to his subjects, or his clients, asking them to tell a short story on what they thought each card was about. Murray noticed a significant difference in the stories told by successful and unsuccessful individuals. According to their own definition, successful individuals were people who were happy in their lives, moving toward their goals, and optimistic about the future. Unsuccessful individuals, according to their definition, were unhappy in their lives, either moving away from their goals or without goals, and pessimistic about what they could accomplish in the future.

When Murray showed the card depicting the little girl staring intently at the violin, unsuccessful people typically told the following story:

"This is the story of a little girl who is very disappointed. She’s been struggling to learn to play the violin but she can’t do it. It’s just too difficult. She’s upset and she’s going to tell her mother and father she doesn’t want to take violin lessons anymore. She feels frustrated that she’s tried to play it and has failed. She’s feeling discouraged about the whole thing."

Contrast this story with the one typically told by successful individuals:

"This is the story of a little girl who intends to play the violin. It’s a very challenging instrument to master but she is determined to learn how to play it – one note at a time. In her mind, in her imagination she sees herself playing to appreciative audiences all over the world, culminating in loud applause."

When Murray studied the two types of stories told by unsuccessful and successful individuals, he realized the link between one’s inner world and one’s outer world. Murray was one of the original psychologists to postulate a direct, observable link between thinking and behavior. What we think about, we bring about and our inner world has a direct bearing on our outer world.

From Murray's research, including analysis of the content of the stories given in response to the TAT, Murray (1938) developed a list of human psychological needs that lead to particular personality traits. These needs are relevant to later studies of motivation and personality. Each results in a tendency to behave in a particular way. For your reference, here are the psychological needs identified by Murray:

Achievement. A person operating from this need strives to accomplish something difficult, to do something for the first time, to win over others. This is the type of person whom McClelland describes as having high need for achievement (denoted as n’Ach). Such a person tends to be an entrepreneur or self-employed. He or she enjoys being measured on the basis of results.

Affiliation. This person seeks to develop close relationships with others. It is important to this person to be a loyal friend or employee. He or she would prefer to work in a group and would want to form close relationships with co-workers and to identify with the group work.

Aggression. A tendency to attack, injure, or punish others - to overcome opposition forcefully - characterizes a person with this need. This individual seeks opportunities to beat the competition and make rivals look bad.

Autonomy. To act independently and be free of constraints is the goal of people with a high need for autonomy. They want to be in control of their jobs or their areas of responsibility and they want to have full responsibility for results. They can be found employed as branch managers, as field representatives, as consultants, and in research and development work. Because of their aversion to being closely supervised, many of them prefer to be self-employed.

Dominance. People with high needs for dominance will attempt to control their human environments. They will attempt to influence others to accept their way of thinking, often by forceful methods. They will volunteer to be the leader or will attempt to take charge in group events. Such people may attempt to manipulate others for their own advantage.

Exhibition. The goal of this type of person is to make an impression on others - to be noticed, to excite, to entertain, or to elicit a reaction from others. A person in whom this need is strong will engage in self-promotion. If emotionally immature, such a person will become the office clown or the “life of the party."

Nurturance. Nurturing people find satisfaction in helping, supporting, and taking care of those who are more needy or more disadvantaged than they. They literally enjoy the role of nurse, and they tend to be overprotective of subordinates.

Order. An orderly person likes to arrange things carefully; put them in order; and keep them clean, neat, and precise. Such a person may enjoy data collection and analysis or other forms of computational work. This person probably keeps his or her desk clean and tidy. People who are very orderly may not be highly creative.

Power. People with a high need for power attempt to control both people and resources. They tend to desire fame and recognition and may focus their lives on attaining high stature in their respective fields. They may exhibit this orientation by means of clothing, automobiles, and surroundings that contribute to their "power" images.

Reference: Murray, H.A. (1938) Explorations in Personality. New York: Oxford University Press