Achievement motivation and achievement behavior
David McClelland of Wesleyan developed a theory called "need achievement." This did not occur in a vacuum as Henry Murray had previously outlined a taxonomy of human needs, one of which was the need for achievement. McClelland was interested in outlining why some people demonstrate higher levels of both achievement motivation and achievement behaviors than others. He framed it, as Murray did, as a learned motive, but added that it could vary based on the experiences of childhood based on culture, class, and parental attitudes. His approach was the story writing technique, in which subjects would write about ambiguous scenes involving work or study. The resulting texts would be graded for achievement imagery, and then validated against independent measures of actual achievement.
The next step was to generalize this theory validation. McClelland scored the stories in the readers used in primary grades in more than twenty countries in the same way that the story writing samples were graded. Readers from 1920-1950 were scored, and the achievement imagery in those books correlated (r=+.53) with increases in economic productivity during subsequent years. It is important to remember that correlation is not causation, and a third variable (or combination of such variables) could precede both. However, the reverse (increases in production produce achievement imagery in readers) was not supported, which in and of itself still does not establish causality.
Atkinson's response to need achievement theory
Instead of a third variable, Atkinson postulated two competing variables: the motive to achieve success (Ms) and the motive to avoid failure (Maf). Basically, a hypothetical Subject #1 with a strong Ms can be overcome by a stronger Maf such that his achievement behaviors are lower than Subject #2 with a relatively weak Maf and a Ms that is objectively weaker Ms than Subject #1's.
Furthermore, Atkinson argued that the value one places on any success one might gain is an important determinant of achievement behavior. This emphasis on values in addition to motives was shared by Crandall, who pointed out that areas of achievement might not be those generally associated with success by society. For example, a gang member might place a very high value on peer identification and affiliation, and exhibit extremes in achievement behavior in that particular domain, to the exclusion of most socially acceptable forms of behavior.
Raynor's experimental validation of Atkinson
Raynor built off of both of these theorists experimentally when he evaluated introductory psychology students with respect to Ms, Maf, and level of relevance (value) the course had for their futures. His results supported Atkinson since GPA in the course varied in expected ways, with dominant Maf scored significantly lower when their value score was high, and actually score slightly higher than their dominant Ms counterparts when their value scores were low. In layman's terms, fear of failure was, especially in situations where the personal stakes are high, a severe inhibitor of success behaviors.
Perhaps this might be the issue with the subpar GRE scores when all other indicators are positive? High Maf or Motive to avoid failure.