User:Alyssagoodpaster/sandbox

The article has organizational problems- the table is a mess and contains too much information in one place. Alyssagoodpaster (talk) 19:https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Alyssagoodpaster/sandbox&action=edit44, 23 February 2015 (UTC) Two additional references that we will include are: Cunningham, C. H., Wakefield, J. A., & Ward, G. R. (1975). An empirical comparison of Maslow's and Murray's needs systems. Journal Of Personality Assessment, 39(6), 594-596. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa3906_8 and Reichard, S. (1948). Review of The Thematic Apperception Test: The theory and technique of interpretation. American Journal Of Orthopsychiatry, 18(2), 369-370. doi:10.1037/h0096476 Alyssagoodpaster (talk) 19:44, 23 February 2015 (UTC) Some questions/comments that I have are: Would a little bit of background information on Henry Murray be good information? Should we provide any examples about how his system of needs has been applied? Alyssagoodpaster (talk) 19:44, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

The talk section does not have much content in it. The section named "Content" does not have anything useful. There should be subheadings so the reader is better able to follow the page. And even in the sections you don't know what you will be reading until you actually start reading the page. Htepp1226 (talk) 19:47, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Additional Sources that will be used: Costa, P. J., & McCrae, R. R. (1988). From catalog to classification: Murray's needs and the five-factor model. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 55(2), 258-265. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.55.2.258; Shneidman, E. S. (1980). A possible classification of suicidal acts based on murray's need system. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 10(3), 175-181. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/61078467?accountid=6766 Htepp1226 (talk) 19:47, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Some questions and comments: Would it be a good idea to list specifically all six of Murray's needs, with a full detailed explanation of each. Or would that get too wordy/too much information? Is it necessary to have the able that is shown on the page? Where would be a good place to gather information on Murray? We looked on NDSU's website and on Google and didn't come up with much. Htepp1226 (talk) 19:47, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Section 2- The Outline Alyssagoodpaster (talk) 16:19, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

Murray's System of Needs was established by Henry Alexander Murray (1893-1988) in 1938 shortly after releasing his publication Explorations in Personality. He focused on needs, motives, and drives as the main forces that influence human behavior and their personality. His system is characterized by a total of seventeen physical primary and psychological secondary human needs (Murray, 1938). Murray coined the term personology to describe his study of human life and in depth research on personality (Flett, 2008). He created the system of needs predominately for the study of personality within psychology. Murray's System of Needs has influenced ongoing research on individual differences in motivation and the role of situational factors. Ultimately, it has led to the creation of the Thematic Apperception Test and further influenced personality testing (Flett, 2008).

Explanation of Murray's System of Needs
For Murray, human nature involves a set of universal basic needs. Individual differences of these needs lead to the uniqueness of a person's personality due to varying amounts of each need. In other words, specific needs are more important to some than to others. He believed that the study of personality should look at the entire person over the course of their lifespan (Flett, 2008). According to Murray, human psychogenic needs function on an unconscious level, but they can play a major role in our personality (Cherry, 2015). According to Murray, personality can be determined in four major ways. These include constitutional determinants, group membership determinants, life role determinants, and situational determinants (Flett, 2008).

He defines a need as a "potentiality or readiness to respond in a certain way under certain given circumstances" (1938). Murray defines needs in two ways- primary and secondary. Primary needs are any biological need, such as food, water, and oxygen and secondary needs as needs that are generally psychological- such as nurturing, achievement, and independence. Murray identified a total of seventeen needs- each belonging to one of five particular need categories. The five categories of needs that Murray identified are Ambition, Materialistic, Power, Affection, and Information.

While each need is important in and of itself, he also believed that needs can support other needs, conflict with one another, and can be interrelated. He coined the term subsidation of needs when two or more needs are combined in order to satisfy a more powerful need and fusion of needs when a single action satisfies more than one need (Flett, 2008). For example, the need for dominance may conflict the need with affiliation when overly controlling behavior drives away family, romantic partners, and friends. Environmental factors play a role in how these psychogenic needs are displayed in behavior.

Table of Needs
(Cherry, 2015).

Applications
Personality Testing

Murray's system of needs has influenced the creation of personality testing. A personality test is a questionnaire or other standardized instrument designed to reveal aspects of an individual's character or psychological makeup. The first personality tests were developed in the 1920s and were intended to ease the process of personnel selection, particularly in the armed forces. The Personality Research Form and the Jackson Personality Inventory are two personality tests that Murray's system of needs directly influenced (Thematic apperception test, n.d.).

Thematic Apperception Test

Henry Murray, along with Christina Morgan, developed the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) as a tool to assess personality. The Thematic Apperception Test is a test that is based on the main assumption that human unconscious needs are directed towards an external stimulus. Murray and Morgan created the TAT to evaluate “press” and “need”, which Murray emphasized in his theory of personality.

While implementing TAT, the assessor chooses a subset of a particular subject out of 30 cards. Each card features various ambiguous scenes, many relating to interpersonal situations. The scenes shown relate to each of Murrays theoretical needs. The individual is asked to give details about what they see on the card. Their explanation given may include what is happening in the scene, what they believe may happen next, what events may follow, and what the individual is feeling or thinking. From the stories presented by the individual, the assessor uses emerging themes to infer personality characteristics (Thematic apperception test, n.d.). The stories that the participants generate are thought to reflect their individual unconscious needs (Flett, 2008).

Criticisms
Although Murray's theory has had a substantial influence on further personality testing and research, critics say that his system of needs is too broad and rather subjective. When evaluating the Thematic Apperception Test, critics have claimed that the test has a low test-retest reliability and validity. This could possibly be due to contrasting instructions from the experimenters (Flett, 2008).