PSYCHOLOGIST

David McClelland

1917 - 1998

Photo of David McClelland

Icon of person David McClelland

David Clarence McClelland (May 20, 1917 – March 27, 1998) was an American psychologist, noted for his work on motivation Need Theory. He published a number of works between the 1950s and the 1990s and developed new scoring systems for the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and its descendants. McClelland is credited with developing Achievement Motivation Theory, commonly referred to as "need for achievement" or n-achievement theory. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of David McClelland has received more than 507,239 page views. His biography is available in 32 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 29 in 2019). David McClelland is the 87th most popular psychologist (down from 81st in 2019), the 1,491st most popular biography from United States (down from 1,257th in 2019) and the 30th most popular American Psychologist.

David McClelland is most famous for his theory of needs, which he proposed in the 1960s. This theory states that people have three basic needs: the need for achievement, the need for affiliation, and the need for power.

Memorability Metrics

  • 510k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 60.03

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 32

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 7.93

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.57

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PSYCHOLOGISTS

Among psychologists, David McClelland ranks 87 out of 235Before him are Jean Tatlock, G. Stanley Hall, David Wechsler, Walter Bradford Cannon, Donald O. Hebb, and Hugo Münsterberg. After him are Rollo May, James McKeen Cattell, Frederick Herzberg, Rudolf Arnheim, Muzafer Sherif, and Théodule-Armand Ribot.

Most Popular Psychologists in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1917, David McClelland ranks 67Before him are Herbert Lom, David Easton, Rodney Robert Porter, Dinu Lipatti, Juan Rulfo, and Yigael Yadin. After him are Kunitaka Sueoka, Pál Maléter, Kamal Jumblatt, Obdulio Varela, Magda Szabó, and Robert Bloch. Among people deceased in 1998, David McClelland ranks 43Before him are Martha Gellhorn, Conrad Schumann, Alan J. Pakula, Alan Hodgkin, Imi Lichtenfeld, and Adem Jashari. After him are Kunitaka Sueoka, Maurice Bucaille, Shoichi Nishimura, Kurt Franz, Maria Reiche, and Marie-Louise von Franz.

Others Born in 1917

Go to all Rankings

Others Deceased in 1998

Go to all Rankings

In United States

Among people born in United States, David McClelland ranks 1,491 out of 20,380Before him are Red Cloud (1822), Michael Rooker (1955), J. J. Cale (1938), Bessie Smith (1894), W. Eugene Smith (1918), and Kelly Preston (1962). After him are Thomas J. Sargent (1943), Stonewall Jackson (1824), William Nordhaus (1941), Erskine Caldwell (1903), Herbert Blomstedt (1927), and David Graf (1950).

Among PSYCHOLOGISTS In United States

Among psychologists born in United States, David McClelland ranks 30Before him are George Armitage Miller (1920), Edward C. Tolman (1886), Timothy Leary (1920), Jean Tatlock (1914), G. Stanley Hall (1846), and Walter Bradford Cannon (1871). After him are Rollo May (1909), James McKeen Cattell (1860), Frederick Herzberg (1923), Benjamin Bloom (1913), Clark L. Hull (1884), and Harry Stack Sullivan (1892).