Blok 1.7
Organizational Psychology
#1 MOTIVATION
MOTIVATION
=> refers to internal factors that impel action & to external factors that can act as inducements to actions
-> concerns the factors that push us or pull us to behave in certain ways
=> concerns the conditions responsible for variations in intensity, persistence, quality, and direction of ongoing
behaviour
-> is a cognitive decision making process through which goal-directed behaviour is initiated and maintained to
fulfil a need. A need is an inborn motivator that is universal for all the humans. A goal is what you are striving for
(e.g. to fulfil the need) by behaving a certain way. Some kinds of motivation can be defined as drives: they appear
to be innate and promote survival (nature). Other kinds of motivation are motives: they appear to be socially
acquired needs (nurture)
1. Perspective
-> direction – what a person is trying to do; choice of a specific behaviour
-> effort – how hard a person is trying; amount of effort (intensity)
-> persistence – how long a person continues trying/engagement over time (duration)
2. Perspective
-> goals => motivation in terms of a desired goal -> content theory
-> decisions => motivation in terms of cognitive decision making -> process theories
-> influence => social influence process -> job-enrichment theories
-> people are usually motivated to do something (even avoiding work) -> direction is an important component
-> motivation isn’t the only important determinant of work performance (ability, quality of equipment,
coordination of team members also affect it)
-> motivation is abstract, cannot be observed
Content theories: focus on WHAT motivates human behaviour @work / what are the goals of the motivated
behaviour?
Process theories: concentrate on HOW the content of motivation influences behaviour / what decisions underlie
the motivated behaviour?
Job-enrichment theories: how can we influence you to work harder?
Motivation concerns what drives a person’s choice of what to do, how hard they try &
how long they keep trying. It’s important, but it’s not the only factor that influences
work performance.
THEORIES
NEED/CONTENT THEORIES -> no scientific evidence
-> motivation deriving from people’s desires for certain things
-> needs can differ within the same person over time & across different people
,Need Hierarchy Theory (Maslow, 1943)
-> fulfilment of human needs is necessary for both physical & psychological health
-> motivation occurs when one need is unmet
Two-Factor Theory (Heinzberg, 1968)
-> motivation comes from the nature of the job itself, not from external rewards or job conditions
1) needs that are deriving from the animal nature of human beings (-> psychological needs)
-> hygiene factors: pay, supervision, co-workers
-> extrinsic -> provided by others
2) needs that are relating to the higher level (uniquely human ability for psychological growth)
-> motivator factors: achievement, recognition, responsibility, nature of the work itself
-> MOTIVATION only occurs with motivator factors not hygiene factors
-> leads to job enrichment (making a job more interesting)
Reinforcement Theory
-> Rewards (contingent, intermittent and continuous) and reinforcement can affect behaviour
-> It is not really a motivational theory but explains behaviour according to prior awards.
-> Law of effect: the probability of the same behaviour after it is reinforced, is higher.
-> Incentive systems: workers get rewarded for every “piece” of work they finish.
-> Many companies use these kind of systems. It is not only applied in performance and finishing tasks but also in
overall behaviour (e.g. attendance).
// Criticism: gives too little insight in motivational processes (1), some people think this is manipulation (2), and it
says nothing about if the employees want the reward (3).
PROCESS THEORIES
Expectancy Theory aka VIE by Vroom, 1964 -> limited scientific support; complicated to evaluate
-> explains how rewards lead to behaviour by focusing on internal cognitive states that lead to motivation
-> explains when & why reinforcement leads to behaviour
-> motivation depends on valence of outcomes, the expectancy that effort will lead to good performance, and
the instrumentality of performance in producing valued outcome
-> people will be motivated when they believe that their behaviour will lead to rewards / desired outcomes
FORCE = EXPECTANCY x 𝛴(VALENCES x INSTRUMENTALITIES)
,Force = the amount of motivation a person has to engage in a particular behaviour (motivation to
perform)
Valence = value of an outcome / reward to a person; the extent to which a person wants / desired
something
-> how much do I care about the salary?; how important is the outcome for me?
Instrumentality = subjective probability that a given behaviour will result in a particular reward
-> if I go there, will there be money?; lohnt sich die action?
Expectancy = subjective probability that a person has about his/her ability to perform a behaviour
-> will my hard work lead to an A?; will my performance lead to high performance?
// motivation is only one element in the processes that lead to behaviour @work; doesn’t give insight into why
variables work like they work
// multiplying the formula would have the same effect
JUSTICE THEORIES -> limited scientific evidence
-> focus on norms for fair treatment of employees by their organization
-> people value fairness & are motivated to maintain fairness in relationships between themselves &
organizations
Equity Theory by Adams, 1965
-> states that people are motivated to achieve a condition of fairness / equity in their dealings with other people
-> employees who find themselves in inequitable situations -> experience dissatisfaction & emotional tension ->
motivation to reduce this tension
Inequity => psychological state that arises from employee’s comparison of themselves with others (ratios of
outcomes & input)
Equity Ratio:
𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 (𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔) 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 (𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔)
=
𝒎𝒚 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔
Outcome
-> the rewards or everything of a personal value that an employee gets from working for an organization
e.g.: pay, fringe benefits, good treatment, enjoyment, status
-> can be tangible(touchable) / intangible(untouchable e.g.: status)
Input
-> contributions made by the employee to the organization (not only work, also experience & talents that he/she
brings)
-> underpayment inequity – induces anger
-> overpayment inequity – induces guilt (less often)
Reducing Inequity by:
1) change inputs by increasing productivity
2) change inputs by decreasing productivity
3) change outcomes by seeking additional rewards from work
4) alter others’ outcome – pay her less
5) alter others’ input – let others do the more difficult tasks
6) rationalize inequity – the colleague actually works more
7) withdrawal by lateness, absence
8) quitting job
// there are different tolerance levels and perceptions, which makes the equity ratio (see formula above) difficult
to measure; it also overlooks the wider organizational context: who you compare yourself to, may differ per
individual (1), overpayment will not lead to a wish for changing the situation (2), and it ignores the organized
, inequity in our Western society (3).
// There doesn’t have to be real inequity in order to create tension in a company, it can also just be rumoured. 1
Fairness Theory
-> rather than focusing on fair allocation / distribution of rewards, it distinguishes between the distribution of
rewards & the procedures by which rewards are allocated
-> doesn’t assume that perceptions of injustice necessarily come from social comparison
-> INBALANCE
distributive justice: similar to equity, concerns the fairness with which rewards are found among people
(comparing with others)
procedural justice: concerned with the fairness of the reward distribution process as opposed to the results of
that distribution (procedure of promotions, process of something isn’t fair)
interactional justice: how someone is treated
SELF-EFFICACY THEORY by Bandura -> strong scientific evidence
-> states that motivation & performance are determined in part by how effective people believe they can be
-> like self-fulfilling prophecy in which a person behaves in a manner that fulfils his/her initial belief
-> is concerned with SPECIFIC tasks / courses of actions
-> much like expectancy theory (both predict that people will do well @tasks when they believe they can succeed
≠ but -> self-efficacy is concerned with the general feeling that a person isn’t/is capable in some domain
of life; doesn’t consider the influence of rewards
Galatea Effect
=> people’s belief about their own capabilities lead them to perform better = self-fulfilling prophecy
-> high self-efficacy contributes to both effective performance & employee well-being
Techniques
-> organizations can apply this principle by structuring the assignments of employees in a way that they succeed
@increasingly challenging tasks
1) mastery experience – providing guidance to the individual so that he/she will experience success on challenging
tasks. When the outcome is good they get more self-efficacy and vice versa
2) modelling – role models (if they’re seen as equal)
3) social persuasion – cheerleading; emphasizing someone’s knowledge
4) physiological states – reducing stress that is unrelated to the challenging task
GOAL-SETTING THEORY by Locke -> high scientific support
-> most useful (but best when compared with self-efficacy theory)
-> widely used
-> people’s behaviour is motivated by their internal intentions, objectives, or goals
-> everything you do, has a purpose & behaviour is intentional
goals: quite “proximal” constructs, which can be tied closely to specific behaviours; what a person consciously
wants to attain / achieve; either specific or general(-> associated with a number of more specific goals)
goal orientation: whether they focus their efforts on learning or achieving certain levels of job performance
-> learning orientation: primarily concerned with enhancing knowledge & skills
-> performance orientation: focuses efforts on enhancing performance on specific job tasks
how goals affect the behaviour:
1) direct attention & action to behaviours that the person believes will achieve the goal
2) mobilize effort in that the person tries harder
3) increase persistence – resulting in more time spent on the behaviours necessary for goal attainment
