Motivation Theory and Industrial Organizational Psychology PDF

Motivation Theory and Industrial and organizational Psychology Ruth Kanfer Overview ● ● ● ● Motivation in American psychology: ○ 1930s-40s: prominent role in drive-based learning theories ○ 1950s-60s: decline due to issues with drive-based conceptualizations & growing interest in information pr...

Motivation Theory and Industrial and organizational Psychology Ruth Kanfer Overview ● ● ● ● Motivation in American psychology: ○ 1930s-40s: prominent role in drive-based learning theories ○ 1950s-60s: decline due to issues with drive-based conceptualizations & growing interest in information processing ○ Maintained steady attention in personality, social, clinical, industrial & organizational psychology Cognitive formulations: ○ Tolman & Lewin: Emphasized personal goals, expectations, and emotions ○ Atkinson & McClelland: Developed theories on achievement motivation Recent decades: ○ Integration of various theories of motivation ○ Focus: goals, self-regulation processes, affect & distinction between dispositional & situationally based motivational determinants (basically everything from General II) ○ Unifying motivation constructs with cognitive, information processing psychology Current focus: ○ Integrating theoretical approaches from different subdisciplines ○ Developing new concepts ○ Acknowledging the significance of non-cognitive individual differences ○ Motivation field is maturing and integrating with cognitive functions ○ Major constructs: need-motive-value approaches, cognitive choice approaches, and self-regulation-metacognition approaches (explained later) ○ Integrative approaches to motivation in organizational settings - growing interest from managers Motivation: Constructs, Theories, and Paradigms ● Motivation: ○ Not directly observable - rather complex concept ○ Influenced by environment, heredity, personality, beliefs, knowledge, abilities, and skills ○ Definitions differ - willingness to engage in activities and achieve goals, human driving force etc. ○ It's tough to choose clear signs of motivation, especially for complex tasks with overlapping effects Motivational Consequences: The Dependent Variable ● ● ● ● Most common DVs: ○ Directional measures - most often used: Absenteeism, Job choice ■ Example: accepting a job offer from one company excludes the possibility of accepting another offer simultaneously ○ Intensity measures: task effort, performance ■ Applied when direction has been predetermined (e.g. lab experiments) ■ Presume that change in effort will result in change in performance ○ Persistence measures: ■ Less frequently used ■ Captures a pattern of motivational consequences that emerge over time ■ Includes elements of direction and intensity Measures of success: differentiated based on where resources are allocated: time, specific tasks, mental effort etc. Improvements in job performance are more likely due to changes in the time given to a task rather than a constant increase in mental effort It's crucial to understand what causes changes in behavior over time ○ Measures of direction and persistence don't provide much proof of mental effort ■ This suggests that the amount of effort put into a task can vary Distinction Between Motivation and Performance ● ● ● Motivation: driving force behind intentions, choices, and volitional activities Performance: evaluation of behaviors ○ influenced by a person's abilities, task understanding, situational constraints, task demands Distinction between motivation and performance often overlooked in studies assessing motivation, especially in simple tasks or laboratory settings ○ Example: Salesperson motivated to perform job - may make many customer contacts and still perform poorly on sales Heuristic Framework for Motivational Theories ● 3 paradigms of motivation theories: ○ Need-Motive-Value Theories: ■ Needs (as traits(basic requirements for survival)), Motives (internal drives that push us to act), and Values (what we consider important and worthwhile) are key factors ○ Cognitive Choice Theories: Center on decision-making processes and resource allocation ■ Some scholars argue for distinction between arousal and volitional (someones will) sources of motivation ○ Self-Regulation-Metacognition Theories: Motivational processes underlying goal-directed behaviors -> self-regulation is key ■ Carver & Scheier (1981): motivation = self-regulation Distal and Proximal Motivational Processes ● ● Distal and Proximal Theories: ○ Distal theories: indirect factors affecting goal choice and future effort (e.g. childhood experience) ○ Proximal theories: initiation and execution of actions during task engagement (e.g. current mood) Relationship between Theories: ○ Variables can have different effects in distal and proximal systems ○ Both necessary ■ Example: High self-confidence may enhance motivation in distal theories but negatively impact motivation in proximal theories Need-Motive-Value Approaches Motivational consequences of individual differences in needs, motives, and values ● Achievement Motive Theories: ○ Traditional theories view Success motive as single construct ○ Newer research investigates different types of goal-directed achievement motives ○ Nicholls proposes distinction between performance and learning motives ● Job Characteristics Theory: ○ Growth motives mediate task satisfaction and performance ○ Focus on identifying job characteristics and how the typical setup of a job influences emotional reactions Need Fulfillment Theories ● Maslow and Alderfer's need fulfillment theories: ○ Maslow: 5-tier hierarchy of needs (physiological, safety, belongingness, love, self-actualization) (Maslowsche Bedürfnishierarchie) ■ needs progress sequentially ○ Alderfer: 3 categories of needs (existence, relatedness, growth) ■ needs operate simultaneously, frustration may lead to re-emphasis of lower-level needs ● Predictive power for work behavior and performance limited ○ Little empirical support ○ Intermediary processes (steps in between) not specified ○ Operationalizing higher order needs ○ Psychometric issues in measuring need strength and satisfaction ○ Exceptions to the prepotency principle not explainable ● Need Theory ○ Focus on short-term behavioral differences rather than universal motive structures ○ Focusing on intermediate processes to influence specific behaviors Utility of need theories in organizational settings questionable ● Intrinsic Motivation Theories ○ ○ Pioneers: Multidimensional nature of intrinsic motivation (Malone, Lepper (1987), Bandura (1986)) Important: The influence of intrinsic motivation on interest in a task and behavior depends on how different motivations interact and their resulting effects 2 Intrinsic motivation theories: ● ● Cognitive Evaluation Theory (CET): ○ Intrinsic motivation influenced by how individuals interpret events ○ Broader Def: How environmental events influence perceived mastery and control, task interest, and behavior ○ Overjustification effect: decrease in intrinsic motivation when external rewards are given for a task or behavior that a person already finds internally motivating ○ 4 ways to strengthen the enjoyment of a job ■ Performance-contingent rewards: evaluation, performance feedback, and reward value ■ Feedback: type of information and whether it is viewed as positive or negative ■ Goal assignments: proximal vs distal (see above) ■ Modeling: impact on intrinsic interest and persistence Job Characteristics Theory (JCT): ○ Looks at how aggregate job characteristics impact critical psychological states ○ Previous research: ■ Positive correlation between job characteristics and job satisfaction ■ Methodological challenges (mapping objective to perceived, adequacy of job characteristics measures) ○ Technological innovations altering job tasks and roles, leading to potential issues (decreased attentiveness and performance) ○ ● Research needed: motivation, cognition, interventions(job redesign) impact job performance Relationship between CET and JCT: ○ Complementary rather than competing ○ CET has implications for tasks with a fixed structure ○ JCT has implications for job design Current Topics in Intrinsic Motivation ● 3 emerging research areas in intrinsic motivation: ○ Attributes of educational environments that foster intrinsic task interest, effort, and learning ○ Characteristics associated with long-term intrinsic task interest and persistence among expert performers ○ Differences in motivational processes between intrinsic and extrinsic orientations, and individual differences in strength of distinct components of achievement Intrinsic Motivation in Skill Acquisition ● ● ● Past: Cognitive-based theories in the 1960s diminished research on motivational learning bases ○ Focus shifted to determinants of choice processes, with presumption that motivation influences learning through pre-task decisions ○ But: Motivational processes during task engagement also significantly impact skill acquisition Recent: Renewed interest in role of motivation in skill acquisition, particularly focused on how intrinsic motivation develops and interacts with cognitive processes ○ Lepper and Dweck argue that factors like mastery control, challenge, and curiosity contribute to effective learning ○ Malone and Lepper (1987) study identified 7 distinct forms in 2 groups (individual and interpersonal) of motivation that influence learning: ■ Individual: Challenge, curiosity, control, fantasy (intrinsic motives) ■ Interpersonal: Competition, cooperation, recognition (intrinsic, extrinsic, or both) ○ Effective training involves evoking different forms of motivation at different points in the training process Future: Research Needed: ○ Clarify motivational processes underlying differences between passive and active learners ○ How different forms of motivation affect interest and rate of skill acquisition ○ How the scheduling of motivational enhancements affects learning in digital skill training Intrinsic Motivation in Expert Performance ● ● Csikszentmihayli's work on intrinsic motivation: ○ Flow: state of undivided attention, clear goals, absolute sense of control ○ Dynamic state that fluctuates over time, not static trait ○ Flow experiences more common in work contexts than leisure ○ Motivation more influenced by activity than flow/non-flow person Potential value of Csikszentmihayli's approach: ○ Intrinsic motivation best assessed through analysis of subtle changes in thought/action patterns ○ Cognitive training could improve low levels of intrinsic work motivation Intrinsic Motivation in Achievement Contexts ● ○ Personal goals shape motivated behavior ○ Different goals can influence behavior's direction and persistence ○ Feedback is interpreted differently by individuals with different goals Examples: ○ Desire to demonstrate ability ○ Seeking to enhance competence Goal Orientation ● Nicholls Task & Ego Orientation ○ Task Orientation: ■ Person focuses on task rather than the self ■ Positive correlation between effort and mastery ■ Self-evaluation to facilitate personal mastery ■ Prefer difficult tasks ■ High intrinsic motivation ○ Ego Orientation: ■ Person is less interested in task than outcome ■ Demonstrate ability through superior task performance ■ View effort and ability as inversely related ■ Lower task persistence ● Dweck & Colleagues: ○ behavior depends on assessment of ability ○ Low self-perceived ability leads to helplessness & poorer performance ○ Learning/mastery-oriented goals lead to effective achievement behavior ● Both frameworks: ○ Failed attempts to attain performance goals lead to avoidance ○ Learning goals associated with internal, controllable perceptions of ability Individual Differences in Achievement Motives ● ● ● ● Role of stable dispositional tendencies (e.g. achievement orientation) in predicting work performance: ○ Achievement motives can significantly affect long-term job behavior in certain jobs - Helmreich et. al and Day & Silverman ○ New research focuses on specific settings relevant to learning and education ■ Largely inductive rather than deductive ○ individual's goals influenceS behavior and information processing Implications of this research: ○ Orientation is partially under individual's control -> influence their strategies for task persistence ○ Diversity and flexibility of goals that individuals hold for task engagement is an important area for future research Shift in industrial and organizational research from ○ need-based models -> dispositional models (behavior based on stable, inherent personality traits) Future research to focus on the motivational mechanisms involved in these relationships Organizational Justice and Fairness Theories ● ● ● ● Adams' Equity Theory: ○ Individuals value fairness in employee-employer relationships ○ Downside: Perceived inequity can lead to tension and cognitive/behavioral responses Research Evidence: ○ Focused on pay inequity, findings generally support theory ○ But: Overpayment inequity does not consistently result in increased performance ○ Equity theory could be extended to consider outcomes other than pay ○ Effects of perceived inequity can change over time Organisational Justice: ○ Distinction between distributive and procedural fairness ○ Greenberg's taxonomy: ■ Focus on fairness of outcome (distributive justice) vs procedures used to determine outcome (procedural justice) ■ Focus on restoration of justice vs individuals seeking justice ■ Consider individual differences in fairness motives Procedural fairness in organizational settings: ○ Enhances perceptions of fairness, regardless of outcome ○ Evaluation frequency & opportunity to express opinions impact employees' perceptions ○ Consistency in evaluation standards & opportunity to provide input influence perceptions ○ Related to turnover intentions Effects of Perceptions of Fairness on Behavior ● ● ● ● Performance appraisal can affect task performance ○ Example: Input before performance evaluation can improve fairness perceptions, but can also negatively impact task performance Procedural fairness and distributive justice are important concepts ○ Greenberg's (1986b) framework distinguishes between procedural (is the process fair?) and distributive (who gets what?) fairness ○ Perceptions of unfairness can impact motivation and behavior ■ ie Procedural unfairness impacts attitudes towards supervision ■ Distributive fairness has less influence on supervision attitudes Participative decision making (PDM): ○ Example: Opportunity for employees to provide input prior to a decision (similar to above) ○ Enhances job satisfaction, but effects on task performance are unclear ○ Cognitive explanations suggest PDM can enhance task performance ○ Difficult to disentangle cognitive and motivational effects of PDM on performance PDM Explanations ○ Cognitive explanations ■ Facilitates task performance by promoting information exchange between supervisors and supervisees (Bartlem & Locke, 1981; Locke & Schweiger, 1979; Maier, 1963) ■ Knowledge exchange can enhance employees' capabilities for attaining objectives ■ Employees can also communicate information that influences the supervisor and results in a change in the objective ○ Motivational Explanations ■ PDM enhances performance by increasing goal commitment, acceptance, and difficulty ■ Social explanations suggest that the presence of others or persuasive communications can influence performance ○ Relationship between PDM and organizational justice: ■ PDM procedures that are perceived as fair can lead to higher levels of satisfaction even when the outcome is not favorable ○ Effects of PDM on task performance are inconsistent across goal-setting and justice areas ○ Potential advantages of PDM can dissipate if used too frequently ○ Understanding how PDM procedures influence performance requires attention to dynamic processes Cognitive Choice Approaches ● Expectancy x Value (E x V) theories: ○ Popular over past two decades ○ Emphasize role of subjective expectations and subjective valuation of expected consequences in decision-making ○ Various E x V theories developed, including subjective expected utility theories ○ Predict individual decisions or choice ○ Limitations: Dealing with situations where choices are significantly limited ○ Assume individuals behave hedonistically, striving to maximize positive affect and minimize negative affect ○ Individuals differ in extent to which they use expectancy and instrumentality information Three categories of E x V theories: ● ● ● Classic cognitive-interactional approach: Rotter's (1954) social learning theory , Atkinson's (1957) risk-taking model of achievement striving Elaborated cognitive-episodic approach: ie Heckhausen (1977; Heckhausen et. al., 1985t), Raynor (1969, 1978; Raynor & Entin, 1982; Raynor & Roeder, 1987), Weiner (1985, 1986t), Vroom's VIE theory Dynamics of action approach (Atkinson & Birch, 1970, 1974, 1978) Here some approaches from the categories: ● ● Classic cognitive-interactional approach ○ Guides the selection of tasks and how long individuals stick with them ○ Influenced by personal differences, success expectations, and the perceived value of success ■ The drive to succeed and fear of failure are key personal differences Cognitive-Episodic Approach: ○ Atkinson's 1957 Motivation Theory: ■ Limited to contexts where self-evaluation results were most significant ○ Heckhausen (1977) and Vroom (1964) addressed this limitation ○ Discussion focuses on Vroom's model: ■ Conceptualizes instrumentality independently of task success expectations ■ Shared by Heckhausen's model Vroom' s Valence-Instrumentality-Expectancy ● Vroom's VIE Theory: ○ Predicts choices between jobs, tasks, and effort levels based on perceived benefits ○ Three factors: ■ Valence - desirability of the outcome ■ Instrumentality - the belief that performance will lead to reward ■ Expectancy - the belief that effort will lead to performance ● ● ○ Multiplicative relation between expectancies and instrumentalities ○ Generally supported by studies in 1960s and 1970s Issues Identified: ○ Within-versus between-subject research designs ○ Measurement of model components ○ Information integration strategies ○ Individual differences Impact on Research: ○ Focus on methodological problems and tests of specific propositions Between-subject vs Within-subject Designs ● Tests of predictive validity of Expectancy Value (E x V) models: ○ Early studies (pre-mid-1970s): ■ Between-subject strategy: ■ Correlating motivational force scores with effort criterion across subjects ■ Inconsistent with Vroom's theory (force as within-subject choice) ○ Recent studies: ■ Within-subject strategy ■ Comparing both strategies ■ Higher predictive validity coefficients with within-subject procedure ■ Mean predictive validity coefficients in range of 50 to 70 Measurement of Model Components - Ilgen et. al. (1981): ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Goal: Identify best methods for measuring components of Vroom's expectancy theory (expectancy, instrumentality, valence) Tested 15 different scale measures in simulated work environment Expectancy: Frequency format most reliable ■ how frequently a given level of effort would result in each of six different levels of performance ■ simpler "maximal effort" measure also reliable Instrumentality: Frequency & probability formats best ■ how likely they think it is that good performance will lead to rewards Valence: Attractiveness & behavioral anchor formats most reliable; authors preferred attractiveness due to ease of use & comparability across studies ■ how desirable each potential reward is to them Task difficulty impacted validity of expectancy measures Raynor's Theory of Future Orientation ● Raynor's theory: ○ In a sequence of tasks (contingent path), motivation for the first task is higher ○ Motivation is lower when tasks are not in a sequence (noncontingent paths) ○ Success-oriented individuals prefer easier tasks in contingent paths ○ ○ ○ ● Achievement-oriented individuals prefer moderately difficult tasks in noncontingent settings As number of steps in a path increases, individual differences in achievement motives have a stronger impact on task performance Increase in time required to achieve goal can decrease motivation Implications: ○ Achievement-oriented individuals may choose less difficult tasks when success is necessary for goal progression ○ Intrinsic outcomes become more central in early stages of a contingent path, while extrinsic outcomes become more dominant closer to goal attainment Comparison of Raynor's and Vroom's Models ● ● Raynor's contingent-noncontingent path concepts integrated with Vroom's model: ○ Performance success seen as necessary for long-term outcomes like promotions Weiner's Attribution Theory introduced: ○ How we explain events (attribution) affects our behavior through our expectations ○ Different ways of explaining events lead to different emotional feelings Attribution Research: ● ● ● ● People explain their behavior using ○ Four causal categories: effort, ability, task difficulty, luck ○ Two dimensions: control and stability ○ Outcomes can have internal and unstable causes yet still be within an individual's control (Weiner's expanded model) Affective Responses: ○ Anger, pity, guilt, gratitude, shame ○ Influence motivation through changes in expectations and the valence of goal attainment Implications for organizational Behavior: ○ Perception of ability as controllable or uncontrollable can affect task interest and work performance Dynamics of Action Approach: ○ Past experiences shape current and future motivation ○ History influences present actions and future behaviors Assumptions and Constructs ● Atkinson and Birch's Theory: ○ Assume multiple motivational tendencies operate continuously ○ Behavior at any particular moment reflects strongest motivational tendency at that time ○ Three key forces: instigating, consummatory, and inhibitory ■ Instigating forces - elements that boost motivation over time ■ Consummatory forces - elements that reduce motivation over time ■ Inhibitory forces - tendencies to avoid elements linked to past bad experiences ● Validity: ○ Blankenship found success value greater for easy tasks than for difficult tasks ○ Fichman's study on work attendance and absenteeism among coal miners provided partial support