Abstract
Administration of the pituitary hormone, arginine vasopressin (AVP), enhances memory in animals and humans. Since AVP is the antidiuretic hormone, its release can be inferred from reductions in urine flow. Forty-six male adults recalled the contents of a complex story and then either were exposed to achievement arousal or were not. Significantly more of the subjects in the aroused than the nonaroused condition showed a decrease in urine flow, and the greater the decrease in urine flow among the achievement-aroused subjects, the better the recall of achievement-related story content 24 hours later. Subjects high inn Achievement, in the achievement-oriented condition, showed lower urine output at the outset of the second day and greater improvement in learning to unscramble words. Since lower urine output was also related to improvement in unscrambling words, achievement arousal may have released AVP which in turn may have facilitated achievement-related retention and performance.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beckwith, B. E., Petros, T. V., Bergloff, P. J., & Staebler, R. J. (1987). Vasopressin analogue (DDAVP) facilitates recall of narrative prose.Behavioral Neuroscience, 103, 429–432.
Beckwith, B. E., Till, R. E., & Schneider, V. (1984). Vasopressin analog (DDAVP) improves memory in human males.Peptides, 5, 819–822.
Beckwith, B. E., Till, R. E., Reno, C. R., & Poland, R. E. (1990). Dose-dependent effects of DDAVP on memory in healthy young adult males: A preliminary study.Peptides, 11, 473–476.
deCharms, R., Morrison, H. W., Reitman, W. R., & McClelland, D. C. (1955). Behavioral correlates of directly and indirectly measured achievement motivation. In D. C. McClelland (Ed.),Studies in motivation (pp. 414–423). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
de Wied, D. (1984). Neurohypophyseal hormone influences on learning and memory processes. In G. Lynch, J. L. McGaugh, & N. M. Weinberger (Eds.),Neurobiology of learning and memory (pp. 289–312). New York: Guilford Press.
Flood, J. F., Smith, G. E., & Morely, J. E. (1987). Modulation of memory processing by cholecystokinin: Dependence on the vagus nerve.Science, 286, 832–834.
Frankenhaeuser, M. (1975). Experimental approaches to the study of the catecholamines in emotion. In L. Levi (Ed.),Emotions: Their parameters and measurement (pp. 22–35). New York: Raven Press.
French, E. G. (1955). Some characteristics of achievement motivation.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 50, 232–236.
Geelen, G., Keil, L. C., Kravik, S. E., Wade, C. E., Thrasher, T. N., Barnes, P. R., Pyka, G., Nesvig, V., & Greenleaf, J. E. (1984). Inhibition of plasma vasopressin after drinking in dehydrated humans.American Journal of Physiology, 247, R968-R971.
Hamburger-Bar, R., Eisenberg, J., & Belmaker, R. H. (1987). Animal and clinical studies of vasopressin effects on learning and memory.Israel Journal of Medical Science, 23, 12–18.
Jackson, D. N. (1974).Manual for the Personality Research Form. Goshen, NY: Research Psychology Press.
Jennings, J. R., Nebes, R. D., & Reynolds, C. F., 3rd (1986). Vasopressin peptide (DDAVP) may narrow the focus of attention in normal elderly.Psychiatry Research, 17, 31–39.
Kintsch, W., & van Dijk, T. A. (1978). Toward a model of text comprehension and production.Psychological Review, 85, 363–394.
Laczi, F., Valkusz, Z., Laszlo, F. A., Wagner, A., Jardanhazy, T., Szasz, A., Szilard, J., & Telegdy, G. (1982). Effects of lysine-vasopressin and 1-deamino-8-d-vasopressin on memory in healthy individuals and diabetes insipidus patients.Psychoneuroendocrinology, 7, 185–193.
McClelland, D. C. (1985).Human motivation. New York: Cambridge University Press.
McClelland, D. C., Atkinson, J. W., Clark, R. A., & Lowell, E. L. (1953).The achievement motive. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
McClelland, D. C., Davidson, R., Saron, C., & Floor, E. (1980). The need for power, brain norepinephrine turnover and learning.Biological Psychology, 10, 93–102.
McClelland, D. C., Koestner, R., & Weinberger, J. (1989). How do self-attributed and implicit motives differ?Psychological Review, 96, 690–702.
McClelland, D. C., Maddocks, J. A., & McAdams, D. F. (1985). The need for power, brain norepinephrine turnover and memory.Motivation and Emotion, 9, 1–10.
McClelland, D. C., Ross, G., & Patel, V. (1985). The effect of an academic examination on salivary norepinephrine and immunoglobulin levels.Journal of Human Stress, 11, 52–59.
McGaugh, J. L. (1990). Significance and remembrance: The role of neuromodulatory systems.Psychological Science, 1, 15–25.
Robertson, G. J. (1992). Regulation of vasopressin secretion. In D. W. Seldin & G. Giebisch (Eds.),The kidney: Physiology and pathophysiology (Vol. II, Chap. 43, pp. 1595–1613). New York: Raven Press.
Smith, C. P. (Ed.). (1992).Motivation and personality: Handbook of thematic content analysis. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Wendt, H. W. (1955). Motivation, effort and performance. In D. C. McClelland (ed.),Studies in motivation (pp. 448–459). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Winter, D. G. (1973).The power motive. New York: Free Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
I am greatly indebted to Sean Connelly for assistance in carrying out this research and to Dr. Franklin Epstein of the Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, for helping me to understand how the kidney functions in producing urine.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McClelland, D.C. Achievement motivation in relation to achievement-related recall, performance, and urine flow, a marker associated with release of vasopressin. Motiv Emot 19, 59–76 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02260672
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02260672