Psych 484 Exam 2
specificity
specific goals include: 1. what needs to be done 2. how much needs to be done 3. performance period (timeline) -specific goals produce a higher output that "do your best" goals -goal specificity does not in and of itself result in higher performance -must be combined with difficulty
self efficacy meta-analysis
-114 studies comprising of 21,616 individuals -self efficacy was significantly related to work performance (.38) -28% gain in work performance due to self efficacy
Schweitzer et al Methodology
-154 students in anagram task IV: Goal COndition -do your best -mere goal (create 9 words for each round) -reward goal (earn $2 each round you create over 9 words) -all were given cash ($10 to do your best and mere goals) -$14 to reward goal and they return some for any rounds goal wasn't met DV: unethical behavior -accurate/understated/overstated
seasickness study methodology
-25 cadets in Israel (all male) -Independent variable: specific self efficacy -measures: 1. general and specific self efficacy 2. sickness and performance
General vs Specific self efficacy
-General self efficacy: stable, trait like characteristic; self-esteem -Specific self efficacy: situation specific, focused on a particular task
results of Greenberg 1990
-Plant A: small increase in theft -Plant B: 2x increase in theft and a lot of turnover -employee theft is a predictable response to payment inequity -pay cuts that were explained in a honest and caring manner was not seen by employees as being unfair as pay cuts that were not explained
Schweitzer, Ordonez, Dogma study - anagram study purpose and hypotheses
-Purpose: does goal setting motivate unethical behavior when people fall short of their goals -Hypotheses: 1. people with specific, unmet goals will be more likely to overstate their performance than people with "do your best" goals 2. people with unmet reward goals will be more likely to overstate their performance than people with unmet mere goals (just goals, no reward) 3. people who fail to reach their goals by a small margin will be more likely to falsify their claim that they have reached their goal than people who fail to reach their goals by a large margin
Greenberg 1990 study intro
-Purpose: examined theft as a reaction to inequity among employees -Field experiment: company was forced to reduce payroll by temporarily cutting wages 15% in 2 plants -143 non union employees -Plant A: wages were cut and employees were given adequate explanation as to why -Plant B: wages were cut and employees were not given adequate explanation -Plant c: no cuts/control
research support for GRIT
-accounted for an average of 4% of the variance in success outcomes -educational attainment, GPA, ranking in the National Spelling Bee -Grit reported success over and beyond: -IQ (you can be bright and still give up fast) -conscientiousness (more long term than this) -grit is important to achievement
interactional justice
-appropriateness of the treatment one receives from authority figures. -how well are you treated? -interpersonal and informational
procedural justice
-are the procedures for distributing rewards fair? -not just the outcome, but the process to -focus on system satisfaction -procedures free from bias/favoritism? -do individuals have a say in the process? -consistency across people and time?
Facing the Giants video
-coach makes player carry teammate on his back crawling across the football field -had public aspect, was in front of everyone -was difficult physically
cognitive theories of motivation
-emphasizes the effects of thoughts, expectations, judgments -examples: -expectancy theory -equity theory -goal setting theory -self-efficacy
consequences of inequity
-equity: leads to feelings of satisfaction -underpayment inequity: induces anger (people are quite sensitive to this) -overpayment inequity: guilt -theory assumes both underpayment and overpayment are detrimental to motivation. but in actuality, overpayment doesn't cause as much stress
combinations of injustice and legal filings (Goldman 2003)
-examined justice perceptions and legal filings for discrimination -when people feel inequitable treated, they're more likely to sue -individuals were most likely to pursue litigation when all 3 forms of justice were low -if just 1 component was high, the likelihood of a legal claim dropped -ex. if a doctor made a mistake, as long as they are respectful and explain really well, people were less likely to sue
expectancy theory vs equity theory
-expectancy theory is individually oriented and equity theory is socially oriented
Classic study: Latham & Baldes (1975) - logging industry
-field experiment of logging industry truck drivers -DV: Percent of truck weight (filled to max allowable?) -Baseline performance 58%-62% under max at "do your best" -IV: Specific/Difficult goal (result: 94%) -Went from 58% baseline to 70-90% of legal, allowable limit of weight just based on goal setting -Effects lasted 7 years -Saved company over $250,000 in 9 months -conclusion: goal setting is inexpensive and very effective
Distributive justice
-focus of equity theory -is the outcome fair? -focus is on outcome -rules for allocating resources
innovative field applications of equity theory
-higher pay dispersion in major league baseball teams results in fewer runs scored, more runs given up by pitchers, and more losses -when contract expires, pay decreases in the "option year" and performance is worse as players reduce inputs -theft (Greenberg 1990, 1993) -increase outcomes -internal theft greater risk than external
Grit
-how long you stick with something -perseverance and passion for long term goals -an individual difference -grit is a trait level perseverance (somewhat stable) -self efficacy is task specific self confidence, grit is more general -does not positively correlate with IQ -positively correlation with conscientiousness (dependable, achievement oriented, hardworking)
Greenberg results
-hypotheses supported -nurses experienced higher levels of insomnia in response to underpayment -insomnia was reduced among nurses whose supervisors were trained to deal w/ subordinates in an interactionally just way (interpersonal, courteous) -improvements persisted 6 months after training -higher rebound effects from insomnia for participants whose supervisors were trained
organizational issues of equity theory
-implementation of equity theory is very difficult -equity is in the eye of the beholder and you don't know the comparison others -pay secrecy -reduces motivation; people tend to think there wouldn't be a policy if it was equitable -people tend to overestimate co-workers compensation -people tend to underestimate superiors compensation (demotivating to work hard to move up) -most people think they're above average works -CEO vs employee pay -huge difference is very frustrating
Independent and dependent variable or Greenberg 1990
-independent: wages cut -dependent variable: theft and equity measures -measures before, during, and after pay cut
elements of equity theory
-inputs: anything of value a person brings to the job. ex. intelligence, reliability, experience, etc -outputs: benefits received from the job. ex. pay, recognition, responsibility
justice vs injustice
-is it a spectrum or 2 separate things? -more likely separate b/c injustice is felt much more strongly
informational justice
-is the explanation that I received fair? -ex. Greenberg theft study -complete and timely explanations provided to employees about the course of action
interpersonal justice
-is the way I am treated fair? -degree to which employees are treated with politeness and dignity
who is the comparison other?
-it is up to the individual to decide -options: family members, people in same profession, etc. -usually who is closest in proximity such as a close coworker
is the key issue the if or how of goal setting?
-key issue: whether goals are set and what their specific attributes are, not how they are set
feedback
-knowledge of the results of one's actions -reveals whether efforts are on target -allows employees to adjust effort, persistence, and task strategies accordingly -goal setting and feedback work better together than either does separately -like goals, feedback needs to be specific
equity theory
-major proponent: Adams (1965) -general idea: how hard a person is willing to work is determined by perceptions of what is just and fair
introduction: Self-Efficacy
-major proponent: Albert Bandura -Social cognitive theory/social learning theory is broad in scope, so we will focus on the component of self-efficacy -source of motivation: belief that one can succeed on a tasks -cognitive theory
introduction to goal setting (source of motivation and goal definition)
-major proponent: Ed Locke -cognitive theory of motivation -Source of motivation: desire and intention to attain a goal -Goal: what a person is trying to attain; targets for action
cognitive ways to reduce inequity
-mental recalculation 1. distort view of one's own inputs/outcomes -ex. think that you really don't work as hard as others 2. distort view of others inputs/outcomes -ex. well my coworker does have a little more experience 3. change the comparison other -ex. find someone with a closer ratio to yours -less risky than behavioral options, but may be less effective
research support of goal setting - assigned vs participation
-mixed results -assigned goals can be as motivating as participatively set goals if accepted -the average effect from employee participation is less than 1% improvement (versus 16% for goal setting in general) Why? 1. can communicate confidence in employee (boss thinks you can do it) 2. when you "sell" the goal by sharing reasons behind it (procedural justice) 3. Some employees prefer them (inexperienced employees or employees in high power distance cultures)
research support of equity theory
-mixed support of theory -stronger support for underpayment inequity than overpayment inequity -how long does overpayment equity exist? usually make a quick cognitive adjustment/can rationalize it
meta analysis results on goal setting
-on average, performance improves by 16% following goal setting interventions -90% of the studies have found positive results for specific, difficult goals
empirical support of goal setting theory
-one of the most extensively studied topics in I/O -The most well supported motivational theory in I/O -strong research support 0ver 1,000 studies over 40+ years -over 40,000 participants -over 100 tasks -lab, simulated, and field settings (most in lab) -8+ countries -many outcomes: sales, quality, productivity, cost control -time spans from 1 min to 25 years of lasting effects
Management by Objectives
-organizational application components: 1. goal setting specificity and timeliness 2. participation (supervisors and employees set goals) 3. implementation (translate goals into action) 4. performance appraisal and feedback -research meta analysis found that 97% of 23 studies found positive results, with an average increase in productivity of 39% -management support is very important to this result
Theft as a reaction to inequity
-people try to equalize things out -not being paid enough, under appreciated -increase outcomes -internal theft is a bigger problem than external theft
Global Model of Performance
-person must have the ability to attain the goal -situational constraints must not prevent performance ability x motivation x opportunity = performance goals are the motivation part, but must have other parts
seasickness results and conclusions
-raising self efficacy reduced sea sickness and improved performance -confirmed Galatea effect -Limitations: small N (25) and self report of sea sickness -but, objective measure of performance helps -conclusion: self fulfilling prophecy costs nothing to apply, but the payoff can be invaluable
self efficacious individuals and motivation
-self efficacious individuals are more motivated Components of Motivation 1. Direction: -select tasks in which we feel efficacy -avoid tasks in which do not feel efficacy 2. Intensity: -exert more effort 3. Persistance: -persist longer in the face of failure
global model of performance and self efficacy
-self efficacy = motivational component -no amount of self efficacy will result in high performance when individuals lack the ability of the opportunity -needed to succeed
self-efficacy definition
-self-efficiacy: the belief about the likelihood of successfully completing a task or goal -task specific: ex. creative efficacy, decision making efficacy, mathematics efficacy -similar to expectancy in VIE theory; link from effort to performance
where foes (in)equity come from?
-social comparison -we compare to the "comparison other" equity if (my outcomes / my inputs) = (other's outcomes / other's inputs) -ratio of outcome to input -not just a comparison between inputs and outcome for an individual -its okay if someone else is getting more outcome if they are putting in more inputs
source of motivation for equity theory
-tension to reduce perceived inequity
goal acceptance/commitment
-the degree to which individuals accept goals and are determined to achieve them most likely when: 1.perceive that goals are attainable 2.goals are made public (increase accountability) 3. have an internal locus of control (belief that the outcomes are the result of ones own abilities)
self-fulfilling prophecy
-the expectation of an event may actually cause it to happen -people act on their beliefs, which in turn can make their beliefs come true -beliefs create reality, even if they weren't true in the beginning
Schweitzer et al. results
-the majority of participants did not overstate their productivity -goal setting alone (even without rewards) increased the tendency to overstate productivity -reward goal participants did not take money they did not claim to have earned, even though they could have anonymously done so -participants were more likely to overstate their productivity when they were close to rather than far from reaching their goal
difficulty
-the most established finding on goal setting -people performa better for a specific, difficult goal than a vague goal or no goal -effect sizes range from .42 to .8 -two conditions under which results would not be positive for difficult goals: 1. unrealistic goals (goals must be challenging but attainable) 2. lowered commitment for difficult goals (the more difficult it is, the harder it is to commit to it)
role of perceptions in equity theory
-the person's perceptions of inputs and outcomes determines motivation because it determines how they perceive equity and inequity
negative and positive inequity
-underpayment inequity (negative inequity) (my outcomes / my inputs) < (others outcome / others input) -overpayment inequity (positive inequity) (my outcomes / my inputs) > (others outcomes / others inputs)
behavioral ways to reduce inequity
-we are motivated to equal out those ratios 1. change own inputs -ex. try to work less hard, slack off, come in late if experiencing underpayment inequity 2. change own outcomes -ex. theft, ask for a raise, increase status symbols in underpayment; give more to charity if overpayment 3. persuade comparison other to change his/her inputs 4. change the outcomes of comparison other 5. withdrawal -ex. equity, absent, minimal participation -there are risks involved. ex. boss takes a request the wrong way
Greenberg 2006 ethics
1. Distributive justice -manipulated: underpayment -researches was not involved in decision to cut pay 2. Interactional justice -manipulated training -focused on this bc it's under control of individual managers 3. Procedural justice: -hospital refused to announce pay in a procedurally fair manner despite results of Greenbeg 1990
organizational implications of participative goal setting
1. assign goals for new, inexperienced employees 2. set goals jointly with employees with moderate experience 3. let employees with a proven record set their own goals
characteristics of good feedback
1. be specific 2. give behavioral suggestions for change 3. direct attention to performance, not the person -harsh, negative feedback can reduce goal striving and performance
organizations justice interventions
1. distributive justice: -avoid underpayments as much as possible 2. Procedural justice: -give employees a voice in decision making -grievance/appeals process -apply rules consistently 3. interactional justice -treat employees with dignity and respect (interpersonal) -provide adequate information to employees (informational)
potential problems with MBO
1. easy goals 2. increased stress (from goals that are too difficult) 3. short term thinking 4. ignoring non-goal areas (ignore everything that doesn't have a specific goal) 5. Dishonesty and cheating (to accomplish goals)
strengths of equity theory
1. emphasizes the social component of motivation 2. intuitively appealing 3. some research support (especially underpayment) 4. emphasizes importance of fair compensation (pay secrecy policies don't work; companies must offer equality in pay)
options for allocating resources in distributive justice
1. equity: distribute resources based on contribution 2. equality: everyone gets the same 3. need: distribute resources based on who needs more -which way is fair?
Grittier individuals are..
1. generally older 2. have higher levels of education 3. made fewer changes than less gritty peers of the same age (don't change goals)
Schweitzer et al conclusions
1. goal setting can be destructive, but it can also lead to unethical behavior 2. managers should be on the lookout for unethical behavior with goal setting -particularly when employees are close to a goal
weaknesses in goal setting theory
1. goal setting works best when tasks are simple rather than complex -for easy tasks, effort is a key determinant of performance -for complex tasks, ability and task strategies are more influential 2. theory does not address the dynamics behind goal setting -why does it work? -where do goals come from? 3. goal setting has a dark side and MBO has pitfalls
why do goals motivate behavior? (4)
1. goals direct attention and focus* 2. goals affect the intensity of effort 3. goals affect persistence 4. goals may facilitate the development of strategies -working harder vs working smarter
2 factors that weaken the relationship between self efficacy and performance
1. high task complexity 2. field settings - things are more complicated in the real world
solutions to potential MBO problems
1. motivate by goals, but reward by performance (easy goals don't result in high performance) 2. ensure ability and opportunity 3. adjust goal difficulty 4. increase time span of goals 5. make sure goals are comprehensive 6. set goals for ethics 7. be open to negative information
sources of self-efficacy
1. performance outcomes -personal experiences individuals have had in the past -the most powerful and consistent predictor of self efficacy 2. vicarious experiences -observing others' performance 3. verbal persuasion -encouragement/discouragement received from others -must be credible and believable 4. psychological and emotional reactions -sensations received during performance -ex. anxiety vs excitement
types of justice
1. procedural justice 2. distributive justice 3. informational justice 4. interpersonal justice
results of Mohammed & Billings
1. self efficacy manipulation was effective -males reported treated self efficacy than females 2. high self efficacy participants were more likely to categorize situations as opportunities 3. extensive debriefing: told people that their feedback was not actually based on performance
strengths of goal setting theory
1. the most popular theory of motivation in I/O 2. elegant and simple 3. well supported by research -goals are powerful in shaping behavior 4. generalizable
weaknesses of equity theory
1. theory does a better job of explaining past behavior than predicting future behavior -who is the comparison other? how will people specifically react to inequity? 2. research for overpayment inequity not as strong as for underpayment inequity 3. focuses on distributive inequity, but ignores other types of justice (just looks at outcomes) 4. declining interest among I/O psychologists -equity theory has evolved into a type of organization justice (which is a hot topic)
results of when employees perceive unfairness
1. they are more likely to steal 2. they are more aggressive 3. they have stronger turnover intentions 4. they are more likely to engage in counterproductive work behaviors ex. deviance, sabotage, theft, workplace bullying, etc.
results of when employees perceive fairness
1. they are more productive 2. they are more likely to go beyond the call of duty -spills over to customers -stronger in real settings than in the lab
organizational applications of self-efficacy
1. utilize the sources of self efficacy -structure assignments so that employees succeed at increasingly challenging tasks -provide role models/mentors -offer praise and encouragement 2. offer additional support for complex tasks 3. self efficacy interventions are inexpensive, easily administered, and effective
two primary questions addressed by equity theory
1. where does perceived equity or inequity come from? 2. what are the consequences of equity or inequity?
individual differences in equity sensitivity
Equity sensitives -prefer an equal outcome/input ratio to comparison other Benevolents -prefer a lower outcome/input ratio to comparison other -givers; like to be on the giving, altruistic side -more tolerant of underpayment inequity than theory would say Entitleds: -prefer a higher outcome/input ratio to comparison other -takers; want a higher ratio compared to others -dont feel guilt for overpayment
organizational justice: equity theory vs justice
Equity theory: -older -narrower in scope Justice: -more current -broader in scope -perceptions of injustice are caused by more than just comparison
how did they vary self efficacy? Experimental group vs control group
Experimental group: -verbal persuasion -modeling of commander -film (told they can overcome sickness) Control group: -Feedback/questions (no persuasion effort) -Routine procedures -Film (research of sickness)
Greenberg methodology
Field Experiment: -467 nurses in 4 private hospitals Independent variables: 1. pay (no change or underpaid) 2. Interactional justice condition (trained or not trained) -interpersonal and informational Dependent variables: 1. Insomnia as a form of stress -4 data collection points (online survey)
goals must be S.M.A.R.T.
Specific Measurable: must know when goals have been achieved Agreed-upon: important for commitment Realistic: challenging but attainable Time-based: deadline
Galatea vs Pygmalion
Galatea -man created Galatea sculpture and fell in love with her; Venus brought her to life for him -Galatean comes from an internal source; you believe in yourself Pygmalion -created duchess out of a flower girl -she was an average, uneducated person, and he believed he could make her something special and he did -Pygmalion comes from an external sources/encouragement -ex. researchers were told there were dull rats and smart rats; smart rats ended up doing better on maze test even though there was nothing different between them to begin with -lots of research support
self efficacious individuals and goal setting
Goal setting: -set more challenging goals -are more committed to difficult goals
manipulation of self efficacy in Mohammed & Billings
High Self Efficacy -Performance outcomes: positive feedback -Vicarious experience: compared to MBA's who performed poorly -Verbal persuasion: told they performed well on a difficult tasks -Physiological feedback: told it was an exercise (prevents anxiety) Low Self Efficacy -Performance outcomes: negative feedback -Vicarious experience: compared to MBA's who performed well -Verbal persuasion: told they performed poorly on a ordinary tasks -Physiological feedback: told it was a test (causes anxiety)
strengths and weaknesses of self-efficacy theory
Strengths -strong research support -easily and inexpensively administered in organizations Weaknesses -high self efficacy can lead to overconfidence and therefore lower performance in some cases
outcome feedback vs process feedback
Outcome feedback -most commonly used -information about performance outcomes of a task -informs that some change needs to be made -results in better performance for simple tasks (but can be a distraction for complex tasks) -performance goal: focus is on proving competence/performing -ex. exam score Process Feedback -information on how to change performed task -informs what to change and how to change -results in better performance on complex tasks -learning goal: focus is on improving performance -ex. going to office hours to review exams
Mohammed & Billings study - self efficacy on perceptions of threat or opportunity
Purpose: -examined the effects of self efficacy on threat and opportunity perceptions (participants diagnosing situations) -causal link -lab study -n=227 undergrads -managerial diagnostic task: reading scenarios and diagnosing the situation -manipulated self efficacy using Bandura's four sources of efficacy -told them they were doing well or poorly
Greenberg (2006) Introduction
Purpose: 1. examine insomnia as a reaction to underpayment inequity 2. assess if exposure to interactionally fair supervision improves insomnia (interactionally just) Hypotheses: 1. underpayment inequity leads to higher levels of insomnia 2. underpaid workers whose supervisors are trained in interactional justice will have less insomnia
Eden & Auk study on Seasickness in Cadets - purpose
Purpose: -Replicate Galatea and self efficacy findings in an organizational context (sea sickness in cadets, which generally results in poor performance) Hypothesis: -Raising self efficacy for coping with rough seas would reduce sea sickness and enhance performance
does goal setting have a dark side? Sears, Enron, and Dept. of VA affairs examples
Sears -set goals for automotive service -ended up repairing stuff that didn't need to be fixed to charge more Enron: -goal to make most revenue -resulted in fraud Dept. of VA -goal: bonuses to staff for providing care in 14 days -ended up falsifying records and just not seeing people to save time but said they treated them
important goal conditions
for goals to work, must be: 1. goal acceptance/commitment 2. specificity 3. difficulty 4. feedback (some indication of how you're doing)