Topic 8: Process Theories of Motivation Flashcards
What are process theories?
Theories which explain how drives and needs translate into specific direction/levels/persistance of motivation.
What process theories & models do we consider?
- Expectancy Theory
- ABC Model
- Social Cognitive Theory
- Goal Setting Theory
- Theory of Distributive Justice
What is expectancy theory?
A theory which says an individuals effort depends on three factors:
- Effort tovPerformance (E-to-P) expacancy.
- Probability to Output (P-to-O) expectancy.
- Outcome valances.
What is E-P Expectancy?
Effort to Performance; The perception of the probability that effort will result in performance.
What is the probability to output (P-to-O) expectancy?
The perceived probability that a specific behavior or performance level will lead to a parcicular outcome.
What are outcome valiencies?
The anticipated satisfaction or dissatisfaction that an individual feels towards an outcome.
How can E-P expectancy be increased?
- Ensuring employee’s they are compotent for their tasks
- Training and selection
- Role clarification
- Reasonable workload
How can P-O expectancies be increased?
- Using valid performance measures
- Explain how successful individual performance is linked to desirable outcomes
- Provide timely and accurate feedback on how invididual’s rewards were related to past performance
- Provide examples, anecdotes.
How to increase expected outcome valiences?
- Find out what the person values
- Individualise rewards
- Minimise counter-valent outcomes
What is the ABC model?
Give a brief explination of the components.
Models how behaviors are changed.
Looks at:
- Antecedents - Events proceding behavior that signal to the person what the consequences of behavior will be.
- Behavior - The behavior the person enacts as a response to the antecedents.
- Consequences - Events that result from the behavior and effect the employee.
Through what processes do people learn through observation?
- Feedback
- Experience
What are the characteristics of effective feedback?
SeRTeCeF
- Specific, connected to goals
- Relevent
- Timely
- Credible
- Sufficiently frequent
What is Social Cognitive Theory?
The idea that people learn through observation of others, and use this to form expectancies for outcomes of their own actions.
What is self-efficacy?
A persons belief that he or she has the ability, motivation and resources to complete a task succesfully
What is goal setting theory?
The process of motiviating employees by setting task objectives
How can goals motivate an individual?
- Directs attention
- Regulates effort
- Increases persistance
- Encouraging the development of goal attainment strategies or action plans
- Goals can increase E-P, P-O, and satisfy higher order and lower order needs.
What are effective goal setting characeristics?
SMARTER
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-framed
- Exciting
- Reviewed
What are some problems with goal setting?
- Focus’s employees only on measurable output
- Motivates employees to set easy goals
- Intefers with the learning process in complex tasks
- May lead to unethical behavior
What is distributive justice?
A model of Perceived fairness, in which the individuals compares their own ratio of outcomes (rewards) to contributions compared with others.
What is procedural justice?
The perceived fairness of the procedures used to decide the distribution of resources.
What might a person do to reduce inequity tension?
- Reduce inputs.
- Increase outcome (e.g. ask for pay rise).
- Increase others inputs (e.g. ask coworker to work harder).
- Try to reduce others outputs.
- Change perceptions.
- Change comparison other.
- Leave (fuck off).
