At the extreme distal end – a construct of genetics/heredity. The genetic theory of motivation was not formally analyzed in this chapter, but we are familiar with it, since it mentioned it when considering another topic. Recall that the modern understanding of the personality is represented by the theory “Big Five”. One of the personal factors, of considerable interest for industrial/organizational psychologists, is consciousness. Another name for consciousness is “the will to achieve”. This name implies that an honest person, attentive to the details, adhering to the rules, is also distinguished by ambitiousness. According to this approach to motivation, the ability to be motivated is determined genetically, is a stable personality component and can be evaluated using written personal questionnaires. Kanfer and Akerman recently developed a similar technique, namely a questionnaire of motivational features. The study of the role of personality in motivation continues.
The basis of the theory of Maslow is a universal hierarchically ordered set of basic human needs, which are possessed by all people. Individual differences in motivation are explained by the difference in the needs that people are trying to satisfy. According to the theory of equality, motivation has a social component; T. e. how hard we are ready to work, partially depends on how we perceive other people in our environment. Based on the social comparison of what other people give and receive, we determine what efforts we are ready to make. In the theory of equality, the concept of justice or justice is implicitly present, which places this theoretical approach to motivation in the same conceptual system as the studies of organizational justice.
As you follow along the continuum in the direction of proximal constructs, the assumption is increasingly pronounced that people independently make a conscious, thought -out choice of measure of the efforts made. This is an antithesis of a genetic-dispositional approach to motivation. Proximal theories are mainly based on a cognitive explanation of motivation. According to the theory of expectations, a person is aware of the results that he would like to receive, is aware of the connection between his behavior and the achievement of these results, and also realizes the connection between his efforts and his behavior. This theory raises motivation to the level of conscious choice. The theory of setting goals is another example of this direction; In it, motivation is considered as the possibility of self -control or self -regulation. In the previous chapter, the ability to control their own life stood out as one of the determinants of mental health. The theory of setting goals postulates that one of the ways to control your life is to make decisions about how intense we are ready to work. Lock offers the following description of the importance of individual choice or will in our life:
For example, a person can solve… What are his needs and how to satisfy them; What values to confess and how acceptable the values that other people offer to follow; whether to focus on your values in a certain situation and how; what goals, how to plan their achievement and to follow these goals and plans; What are its possibilities in solving this problem and how to expand them; What are his means in solving the problem and who is responsible for them; how adequate his reward is and what is the connection between this reward and its values; What are the reasons for his emotional reactions to his own effectiveness and reward; and also how to change these reactions.
The theory of self -regulation is a continuation and modification of the theory of setting goals. The theory of self -regulation also implies a conscious setting of goals, the receipt of feedback on the degree of approaching the goal and the use of this feedback to change or preserve the selected way to achieve the goal. It is obvious that the process of self -monitoring, or self -assessment, is based on a conscious, rational strategy for using information to manage behavior. Finally, in the theory of characteristics of the work, it is stated that the parameters or components of the work contribute to motivation. Although there are individual differences regarding the response to these characteristics of the work, it is the properties of the labor environment that contribute to motivated behavior. The theory of characteristics of the work includes the most proximal constructs, constructs that the organization can actually plan or structure with the aim of motivating.