I posted an article earlier this week that got no traction, but discusses exactly this. According to the article and the paper it references, people fall predo

I posted an article earlier this week that got no traction, but discusses exactly this. According to the article and the paper it references, people fall predominantly into two populations which are distingquished by their beliefs vis-a-vis achievement. The first population believes, inherently and without evidence, in the supremacy of accomplishing achievements. People in second population have as their primary motive the avoidance of failure. The paper and the article go on to detail the set of post-hoc rationalizations which support these beliefs, and how these were discovered. Article and paper: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/youre-hired/201110/how-do-high-achievers-really-think http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/youre-hired/201110/how-d... HN (non-)discussion: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4307947 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4307947