Summary 4.1 POP Attitudes and Emotions in Organizations Problem #2

#2 Attitudes and Emotions
Vignette 1: Motivation Theories

Jex & Britt (2014) - Chapter 9. Theories of Motivation

Motivation: construct that cannot be seen but its effects can be indicative of different levels
- Determines
o Form: types of activities
o Direction: path for goal accomplishment (e.g. schedule=
o Intensity: vigor & amount of energy
o Duration: length of direction pursuing
of work-related behavior
- Basic assumptions:
o Motivation involves choice
o Motivation involves allocation of resources: because they are finite
o Motivation is a multilevel process: motivation through many things at the same time

Theoretical Approaches:
Need-based theories: work motivation as extent to which employees satisfy important needs
- Maslow’s Need Hierarchy: Physiological  Safety  Love  Esteem  Self-actualization
o Poor predictor of work behavior
- ERG Theory: summarizes Maslow’s Hierarchy to “Existence  Relatedness  Growth” &
assumes less strict progression (regression & different orders)
o Only mixed support
- Need for Achievement Theory: focus on need for achievement in explaining differences
between people in goal-directed behavior
o Narrow theory that neglects other factors influencing behavior

Cognitive process theories: emphasize decisions & choices that employees make when they allocate
their efforts
- Equity Theory: type of social exchange theory that focuses on how people determine the
fairness of social exchanges
o Employees compare their ratio of inputs-to-outcomes to a comparative standard
 State of equity exist when ratio perceived as equal  satisfaction
 State of inequity exist when ratio perceived as unequal  dissatisfaction 
motivation to balance it out
o Strategies for restoring equity: Increasing outcomes, reducing inputs, cognitive
adjustments, changing the comparative standard, leaving the field
o Evolved into Organizational Justice Theory with distinctions between equity with
respect to perceived outcomes (distributive justice) and procedures (procedural
justice) & possibly treatment (interactional justice)
o Factors determining sensitivity:
 Cultural specified: what is emphasized in one’s culture
 Equity sensitivity or individual’s awareness of being treated unfairly
- Expectancy Theory: focusses on cognitive processes that drive employees decisions regarding
where they will direct their efforts
o Premise: employees will generally direct their efforts toward behaviors when:
 Probability of being able to perform the behavior is high
 Probability of behavior leading to desired outcome is high
 The resulting outcome of the behavior has value to the person
o Valence: it has value
o Expectancy: probability that you’ll get the outcome
o Instrumentality: that you can actually get it

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, #2 Attitudes and Emotions
Vignette 1: Motivation Theories


- Goal-Setting Theory:
o Goals: serve as focus points for attention or effort, help maintain task persistence, &
facilitate the development of task strategies
o Motivating attributes:
 Goal difficulty: more difficult goals are more motivating
 Goal acceptance: hinges on a persons belief that a goal is attainable
 Goal specificity: more motivating when specifying a level of performance
 Feedback
o One of the most well-validated theories in organizational psychology
o Boundary conditions:
 Tendency for tunnel vision through goals might be counterproductive
 Law of diminishing returns with respect to the number of goals
 May be more effective for simple tasks
 Individual differences in goal orientation (mastery vs performance
orientation) & regulatory focus (promotion vs prevention focus)
- Self-regulation
o Social Cognitive Theory (SCT): emphasizes that cognitive variables mediate the
relationship between environmental events & behavioral consequences
 Central component: self-efficacy: belief in one’s capabilities to organize &
execute the course of action required to produce given attainments
 Argues that goal-directed behavior involves two control systems:
 Discrepancy between current state & desired future goal
 Attempts to reduce discrepancy

Behavioral Approach: emphasizes applying principles of learning to work environment
- Reinforcements: any stimulus that increases the probability of a given behavior
o Schedules of reinforcement: various strategies that can be used to administer
reinforcements (e.g. continuous or intermittently)
- Punishment: any consequence that has the effect of reducing the probability of a behavior
- Feedback: has motivational value, particularly when positive
- Organizational Behavior Modification (OBM): incorporates the above
- Criticism:
o More applicable for simple jobs
o Ethical considerations: People are robbed of their choices

Self-determination theory: emphasizes importance of the distinction between motivation being
driven by extrinsic factors vs intrinsic factors
- Individuals develop fullest potential when they can satisfy three needs thought to be innate:
o Need for autonomy or to exercise control over their environment
o Need for relatedness
o Need for competence or to feel as having an impact on outcomes & environment
- Works well with inherently interesting jobs  recent modifications accommodate these types
of tasks
- Ryan & Deci (2000): separate extrinsic motivation into:
o Externally regulated behavior to satisfy an external demand or reward contingency 
feelings of being controlled
o Introjected regulation involves a different form of contingency, one involving self-
worth  experienced as somewhat controlled
o Identified regulation comes from a conscious valuing of the action and its intended
consequences  experienced as somewhat internal
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