David C. McClelland, professor of Psychology, revealed yesterday that he is establishing a training course for foreign businessmen as a means of stimulating economic growth in their countries.

A preliminary course was given in Mexico City last July, and a revised course will be offered again in February. In April, Research Associate George Litwin will travel to Japan, Malaya, India, Nigeria, Italy, and London to initiate the course in most or all of those countries. Instruction will be given through management consultant firms once they are established.

The idea for the course grew out of Professor McClelland's latest book. The Achieving Society, in which he found that achievement is the prime motivation for economic growth.

The course involves two strategies for encouraging achievement. The first strategy is "training in achievement thinking," to train the men through "practice in imagining achievement." The second is to increase the competence of the managers by having them play "business games" similar to those sponsored by I.B.M. in this country.

Professor McClelland has indicated that this course could prove a valuable complement to our policy of helping poor countries industrialize, since it trains industrialists to think in a manner necessary to successful business enterprises--a method of thought often neglected in their societies.