PSYC 361 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Expectancy Theory, Work Motivation, Equity Theory
20 Apr 2017
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Document Summary
Contemporary theories assume individuals are more active in choosing what to do and how much effort to exert. Assume people are passively pushed by needs and pulled by the environment. Equity theory - motivation is a social comparison process based on the desire to be treated as fairly as others in our environment: based on dissonance theory. Tension exists when individuals hold incompatible thoughts. Individuals are motivated to remove that dissonance: people compare what they put in (inputs) to what they get out (outputs) relative to what others put in and get out of similar situations, ex. Key shortcomings of person as scientist theories: presumption that motivation is rational: people are not calculators capable of achieving perfect rationality. Equity theory misinterpret inputs/outputs, don"t change behaviors when overpaid. Expectancy theory personality, values, beliefs have significant influence over expectancy and instrumentality: people engage in motivated behaviors for a purpose.
