The present study was a partial replication of one by Atkinson in 1953 and an attempt to assess the effect of strength of fear-of-failure motivation on recall of interrupted and completed tasks. 81 freshman men enrolled in introductory psychology classes were administered the Thematic Apperception Test under typical “neutral” conditions. At a later date, the test for Zeigarnik effect was given and scores obtained. Correlational analyses suggested (1) a successful replication of the Atkinson study, (2) a strikingly similar relationship between nAch and the dependent variables and between fear of failure and these variables, and (3) the independence of nAch and fear-of-failure motives.
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