first proposed by Henry Alexander Murray (1893 - 1988) but wasn't truly investigated until David McClelland took up research looking at the Need for Achievement. Defined plainly, the need for achievement is a strong desire to complete a set goal, or aim and to further attain a high standard of performance and personal fulfilment from that performance when completing the goal. The exaggerated need for affection and approval (in this context) is one of the ten neurotic trends which were identified by German-born U.S. psychoanalyst Karen D. Homey (1885 - 1952).