Motivation - Key Terms

Front 1

Cognitive evaluation theory

Back 1

Offering extrinsic rewards (e.g., pay) for work that was previously rewarded intrinsically will tend to decrease the overall level of a person’s motivation.

Front 2

Continuous reinforcement

Back 2

A desired behaviour is reinforced each and every time it is demonstrated.

Front 3

Distributive justice

Back 3

The perceived fairness of the amount and allocation of rewards among individuals.

Front 4

Equity theory

Back 4

Individuals compare their job inputs and outcomes with those of others and then respond so as to eliminate any inequities

Front 5

ERG theory

Back 5

A theory that posits three groups of core needs: existence, relatedness, and growth.

Front 6

Expectancy

Back 6

The belief that effort is related to performance.

Front 7

Expectancy theory

Back 7

The theory that individuals act depending upon their evaluation of whether their effort will lead to good performance will be followed by a given outcome, and whether that outcome is attractive to them.

Front 8

Extrinsic motivators

Back 8

Motivation that comes from outside the person, such as pay, bonuses, and other tangible rewards.

Front 9

Fixed-interval schedule

Back 9

The reward is given at fixed time intervals.

Front 10

Fixed-ratio schedule

Back 10

The reward is given at fixed amounts of output.

Front 11

Goal

Back 11

What an individual is trying to accomplish.

Front 12

Hierarchy of needs theory

Back 12

A hierarchy of five needs—physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization—in which, as each need is substantially satisfied, the next need becomes dominant.

Front 13

Instrumentality

Back 13

The belief that performance is related to rewards.

Front 14

Interactional justice

Back 14

The quality of the interpersonal treatment received from a manager.

Front 15

Intermittent reinforcement

Back 15

A desired behaviour is reinforced often enough to make the behaviour worth repeating, but not every time it is demonstrated.

Front 16

Intrinsic motivators

Back 16

A person’s internal desire to do something, due to such things as interest, challenge, and personal satisfaction.

Front 17

Management by objectives (MBO)

Back 17

An approach to goal setting in which specific measurable goals are jointly set by managers and employees. Progress on goals is periodically reviewed and rewards are allocated on the basis of this progress.

Front 18

McClelland’s theory of needs

Back 18

Achievement, power, and affiliation are three important needs that help explain motivation.

Front 19

Motivation

Back 19

The intensity, direction, and persistence of effort that a person shows in reaching a goal.

Front 20

Motivation-hygiene theory

Back 20

A theory that relates intrinsic factors to job satisfaction and associates extrinsic factors with dissatisfaction.

Front 21

Need for achievement

Back 21

The drive to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of standards, to strive to succeed.

Front 22

Need for affiliation

Back 22

The desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships.

Front 23

Need for power

Back 23

The need to make others behave in a way that they would not have behaved otherwise.

Front 24

Operant conditioning

Back 24

A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary behaviour leads to a reward or prevents a punishment.

Front 25

Organizational justice

Back 25

An overall perception of what is fair in the workplace, composed of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice.

Front 26

Procedural justice

Back 26

The perceived fairness of the process used to determine the distribution of rewards.

Front 27

Self-concordance

Back 27

The degree to which a person’s reasons for pursuing a goal is consistent with the person’s interests and core values.

Front 28

Theory X

Back 28

The assumption that employees dislike work, are lazy, dislike responsibility, and must be coerced, controlled, or threatened with punishment to achieve goals.

Front 29

Theory Y

Back 29

The assumption that employees like work, are creative, seek responsibility, and will exercise self-direction and self-control if they are committed to the objectives.

Front 30

Valence

Back 30

The value or importance an individual places on a reward.

Front 31

Variable-interval schedule

Back 31

The reward is given at variable time intervals.

Front 32

Variable-ratio schedule

Back 32

The reward is given at variable amounts of input.