Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of Motivation

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of Motivation

What is Vroom’s Expectancy Theory?

In 1964, Canadian professor of psychology Victor Vroom developed the Expectancy Theory. In it, he studied people’s motivation and concluded it depends on three factors: Expectancy, instrumentality and valence. Abraham Maslow and Frederick Herzberg also researched the relation between people’s needs and the efforts they make. Vroom distinguishes between the effort people put in, their performance and the final result. His theory primarily relates to motivation within a work environment. When employees can make choices in their work, Victor Vroom argues that they will mostly choose that what motivates them the most.

Motivational force formula

Victor Vroom uses a formula to calculate the motivational force:
Motivational force = Expectancy x Instrumentality x Valence

Expectancy is the belief that increased effort will lead to increased performance i.e. if I work harder then this will be better. This is affected by such things as:

1. Having the right resources available (e.g. raw materials, time)
2. Having the right skills to do the job
3. Having the necessary support to get the job done (e.g. supervisor support, or correct information on the job)

Instrumentality is the belief that if you perform well that a valued outcome will be received. The degree to which a first level outcome will lead to the second level outcome. i.e. if I do a good job, there is something in it for me. This is affected by such things as:

1. Clear understanding of the relationship between performance and outcomes — e.g. the rules of the reward ‘game’
2. Trust in the people who will take the decisions on who gets what outcome
3. Transparency of the process that decides who gets what outcome

Valence is the importance that the individual places upon the expected outcome. For the valence to be positive, the person must prefer attaining the outcome to not attaining it. For example, if someone is mainly motivated by money, he or she might not value offers of additional time off.

The three elements are important behind choosing one element over another because they are clearly defined: effort-performance expectancy (E>P expectancy) and performance-outcome expectancy (P>O expectancy).

Read More:

1. What is Organizational Behavior? | Definition, Importance, Model
2. Personality in Organisational Behavior | Determinants, Nature, Definition
3. Theories of Personality | Psychoanalytic, Type, Trait, Self Theory
4. Perception | Definition, Nature, Factors Influence Perception What is
5. Learning? Definition, Nature, Learning Process, Types
6. Theories of Learning | Classical, Operant Conditioning, Cognitive, Social
7. What is Attitude? Meaning, Functions, Types, Importance, Components
8. What is Motivation? | Definition, Types, Theories, Importance
9. Motivation Theories in Management | Explained
10. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs | Definition, Example
11. Two Factor Theory | Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory
12. Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of Motivation