Fear of Failure and Indices of Leadership Utilized in the Training of ROTC Cadets

Abstract

Subjects were 43 male college seniors enrolled in the Army ROTC program. A modified version of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) was administered and scored for fear of failure motivation by means of the Hostile Press system of Birney, Burdick, and Teevan. Scores from the Leadership Opinion Questionnaire of Fleishman, and subjects' leadership evaluations from ROTC cadet summer camp were utilized as indices of various leadership traits. Significant negative correlations were found between fear of failure, as measured by the Hostile Press system, and both Initiative and Structure. Individuals who feared failure tended to structure neither their own roles nor the roles of their subordinates toward goal attainment. They did not show the ability to take necessary and appropriate actions on their own during summer training. These findings are discussed in terms of the individuals who fear failure, concern with the opinions of others, and their need to submit to gain approval.