Three Categories of Motivational Theories in Organizational Psychology | PSYC 3050, Study notes of Psychology

Download Three Categories of Motivational Theories in Organizational Psychology | PSYC 3050 and more Study notes Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! I/O Psychology Chapter 9 10.20.11 Organizational Psychology  Formal beginning of Organizational Part of I/O Psychology  Systematic study of dispositional and situational variables that influence the behaviors and experiences of individuals and groups at work  Topics include: Motivation, Job Attitudes, Work Well-Being, Groups, Leadership, Organizational Theory and Development Work Motivation  Force that drives people to behave in certain ways  Energizes: creates a force that results in some level of effort  Directs: focuses effort in a particular way, towards certain objectives  Sustains: maintains effort over a period of time  Motivation does not equal performance!! 3 Categories of Motivational Theories  Need-Motive-Value Theories – emphasize role of personality, needs and values are basis of behavioral differences  Cognitive Choice Theories – assume people are active decision makers who strive to be rational in choosing behavior and effort  Self-Regulation Theories – individuals actively monitor behavior and make adjustments in pursuit of goals Need-Motive-Value Theories – Overview  Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs  Aldefer’s ERG Theory  Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory  Job Characteristics Theory Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs  We are aroused by certain needs that are biological and instinctive in nature o Lower order needs: physiological, safety, and love o Higher order needs: esteem, self-actualization  Motivated first by lower; when these are met, higher-order become more important Aldefer’s ERG Theory  Focused on subjective states of need satisfaction and desire o Existence needs – equivalent to physiological and safety needs o Relatedness needs – correspond to love needs o Growth needs – parallel esteem and self-actualization  All 3 categories can operate simultaneously  Frustration-Regression: individual frustrates at a higher level refocuses energy on satisfying lower needs Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory  Determinants of job satisfaction are different from those for job dissatisfaction o Motivators – factors that lead to satisfaction, such as recognition, interesting work, and responsibility 1 | P a g e I/O Psychology Chapter 9 10.20.11 o Hygienes – more to do with job context, lead to dissatisfaction (supervisory problems, low pay)  Two levels of needs – Hygienes deal with basic level needs, Motivators have more to do with truly enjoying and being motivated by one’s job Why is there so little research supporting need theories?  Inability to adequately measure needs presents a large methodological problem o Leads to flawed studies  While little research supports them in their own right, these theories have been instrumental in the development of other well-supported motivational theories Job Characteristics Theory  Emphasizes the fit between individuals and jobs or changing jobs to fit individuals  Motivation determined by effects of both individual personality and characteristics of the job – the nature/nurture thing  5 Core Job Dimensions influence 3 Psychological States which affect Personal and Work Outcomes Implications of Job Characteristics Model  Jobs should be designed with core dimensions in mind  Individual differences in personality will affect employee-job fit  Growth Needs strength- extent to which an individual values fulfilling higher order needs o An important moderator of relationships among variables in the model Job Characteristics – Research  Some support for parts of the model, but not overwhelming  Most experts believe that jobs characteristics play some role in motivating many EEs  Designed for intervention, but not used that way or researched in that way! Cognitive Choice Theories  People not drive by “inner needs” or their environment, but rather are rational decision-makers  Equity Theory – Adams  Expectancy Theory – Vroom; Lawler Equity Theory  Employee’s perceptions about the fairness of their treatment at work affect motivation, attitudes, and behaviors  We compare ratios of what we bring to a situation inputs) and what we get out of it (outcomes) with what others bring to and get out of the same or similar situations  Examples of inputs and outcomes? Equity Theory Postulates  People strive to maintain a state of Equity  When inequity perceived, tension results  When faced with tension, individual is motivated to reduce it  The greater the magnitude of perceived inequity, the greater the motivation to act to reduce tension 2 | P a g e