Course Material for this week
Lesson 8.1: What is Motivation?
Defining motivation
Understanding why some people are motivated to work harder than others is an important topic of study for I/O psychologists. There are a variety of factors that motivate hard work including tangible factors like money and intangible factors like a sense of accomplishment.
The effects of motivation on job performance are most important, but motivation theories also explain other important job behaviors such as turnover, and organizational citizenship behaviors.
So what exactly is motivation? Well, it is difficult to define. In general, motivation is defined as an internal state that induces a person to engage in particular behaviors.
One perspective argues that motivation determined the direction, intensity, and persistence of behavior over time.
Another perspective argues that motivation is the desire to acquire or achieve some goal. This perspective argues that motivation originates from an individual’s wants, needs, or desires.
Theories of Motivation: An Overview
Work motivation theories are mostly concerned with why some people perform their jobs better than others. These theories are not concerned with differences in ability, but rather finding an explanation for work behavior based on individual motivations. If people have the necessary ability to perform a job and work constraints on performance are low, high levels of motivation should lead to effective work performance.
The theories we will discuss this week offer different explanations for how motivation influences worker behavior. Although different in focus, the theories sometimes share common behavioral predictions. Some may even be complementary. Though your book discusses several other motivational theories, the following are those that we will focus on this week:
- Need theories (need hierarchy theory and two-factor theory) assume the people’s behavior is directed toward fulfilling their needs.
- Expectancy theory believes behavior is controlled by environmental rewards.
- Justice theories (equity theory and fairness theory) assume that people inherently value fairness at work. Situations that present unfairness or inequity motivate employees to remedy the unfairness.
- Self-efficacy is concerned with the beliefs individuals have about how their own capabilities.
- Goal setting theory views behavior as being controlled by individuals goals and intentions.
You will not be expected to know the other theories discussed in chapter 9 for the quiz or for the final exam. However, if you are interested I encourage you to read more about them.
For a custom paper on the above topic or any other topic, place your order now!
What Awaits you:
• High Quality custom-written papers
• 100% Privacy and Confidentiality
• Timely delivery guarantee