Expectancy Theory of Motivation by Victor Vroom

Expectancy Theory of Motivation by Victor Vroom
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Expectancy Theory of Motivation, also referred to as a Valence-Instrumentality- Expectancy Theory, is an organization based motivation theory developed by Victor Vroom in 1964. His motivation on developing the theory was based on his study regarding motivation behind decision making. The theory was further extended by Lawler and Porter in the year 1968. This theory is very popular in explaining the decision making process of an individual. In addition, the theory is popularly supported by modern researchers with regard to its proposed decision making process (Yale University, 1998).
Vroom’s expectant theory of motivation offers an explanation on why people may decide to act out on a particular behavior, instead of another. The cognitive process of this theory assesses the motivational force of the various options of behavior on the basis of an individual’s own perception of the prospect of realizing his or her desired goal. Therefore, the motivation force could be summarized in the following equation.
MF = Instrumentality X Expectancy X ∑ (Valence).
Expetancy is the relation of effort performance and therefore, an individual’s perception is the efforts put forth by him or her, and which eventually degenerate into the achievement of that performance. Such cognitive assessment is greatly weighted by personal experiences, self esteem, personality and state of emotion. Instrumentality on the other hand, refers to the relation of the performance reward whereby, an individual assesses the probability that, realizing the level of performance will in actual sense lead to the achievement of that reward. Valence refers to an individual’s relation to value with the desired outcome. A positive valance means that an individual prefers the reward while a negative one means that the individual does not prefer the reward. The negative valance may portray that an individual had perceived the reward to be significant enough, and therefore does not add value towards the achievement of the specified goals. Since the motivation force is the outcome of the multiplication of instrumentality and expectancy, it is by valence through which the perceptions that have a zero value or an individual perception that will lead to a motivational force of zero (Michigan University, 2012).
In accordance to the author, motivation is a process that governs individual decisions amidst the alternative forms of voluntary actions. This process according to the author is largely controlled by the specific individual. This individual makes decision on the basis of the estimates on how the effectiveness of the anticipated behavior will align with the expected outcome(s). The author goes on to assert that motivation is the result of an individual’s expectancy that a particular effort will lead into the anticipated performance, the instrument o...