Deck 7: Motivation Concepts

Question 1

Which of the following theories proposes the idea of a dual continuum?

A) Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory
B) McClelland's theory of needs
C) self-determination theory
D) two-factor theory
E) cognitive evaluation theory

Answer 1

D

Question 2

According to Herzberg, when ________ are adequate, people won't be dissatisfied, but they will also not be satisfied.

A) affiliation needs
B) achievement needs
C) hygiene factors
D) power needs
E) motivational factors

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs deals with satisfying one's hunger, thirst, and other bodily needs?

A) safety
B) esteem
C) psychological
D) physiological
E) social

Answer 3

D

Question 4

If we consider Maslow's hierarchy of needs in the context of Japan, Greece, and Mexico, where uncertainty-avoidance characteristics are strong then ________ needs would be on top of the hierarchy.

A) esteem
B) security
C) self actualization
D) social
E) growth

Question 5

If Alberta is a categorized as a Theory X manager, which of the following behaviors is she most likely to exhibit?

A) She will trust her employees to use their discretion in most matters.
B) She will delegate authority extensively to junior managers.
C) She will strictly control all the details of any project she is managing.
D) She will empower her subordinates.
E) She will let her employees choose their own goals.

Question 6

McClelland's theory is based on which of the following needs?

A) self-actualization, stability, and safety
B) hygiene, control, and security
C) stability, growth, and security
D) achievement, power, and affiliation
E) control, status, and self-actualization

Question 7

Which of the following is a motivational factor, according to Herzberg's two-factor theory?

A) quality of supervision
B) recognition
C) relationships with others
D) company policies
E) pay

Question 8

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which of the following is a lower-order need?

A) self-actualization
B) social
C) recognition
D) safety
E) esteem

Question 9

Which of the following needs in Maslow's hierarchy refers to the drive to become what one is capable of becoming?

A) self-actualization
B) physiological
C) esteem
D) social
E) safety

Question 10

According to the two-factor theory proposed by Herzberg, which of the following is considered a hygiene factor?

A) promotional opportunities
B) achievement
C) quality of supervision
D) responsibility
E) recognition

Question 11

The ________ theory is also called motivation-hygiene theory.

A) goal-setting
B) self-determination
C) cognitive evaluation
D) hierarchy of needs
E) two-factor

Question 12

The church you go to every Sunday is made up of people who have very different lifestyles and are at different stages in their life. Joanna is a 23-year-old, single parent who works for minimum wage and shifts from motel to motel for accommodation. Josephine is a single, 45-year-old woman who earns a decent salary and has few interests and friends outside her office. Jonathan is 60 years old, extremely wealthy, has a loving family, and enjoys his work. You have decided to apply Maslow's hierarchy of needs to determine what motivates each of these individuals.
Which of the following needs would most likely motivate Josephine?

A) safety
B) physiological
C) social
D) self-actualization
E) esteem

Question 13

Why is Maslow's theory criticized?

A) The concept of self-actualization was unfounded.
B) There is little evidence that needs are structured or operate in the way it describes.
C) The esteem need is a more powerful motivator than self-actualization.
D) It does not adequately describe how an organization can satisfy higher-order needs.
E) Its terminology tends to alienate those to whom it is applied.

Question 14

________ is defined as the processes that account for an individual's intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal.

A) Leadership
B) Management
C) Learning
D) Motivation
E) Emotional labor

Question 15

The ________ element of motivation describes how hard a person tries.

A) direction
B) intensity
C) persistence
D) experience
E) intelligence

Question 16

According to Douglas McGregor's Theory Y, a manager assumes that employees ________.

A) need to be directed
B) learn to accept responsibility
C) need to be micromanaged
D) attempt to avoid work
E) prefer to be controlled

Question 17

The church you go to every Sunday is made up of people who have very different lifestyles and are at different stages in their life. Joanna is a 23-year-old, single parent who works for minimum wage and shifts from motel to motel for accommodation. Josephine is a single, 45-year-old woman who earns a decent salary and has few interests and friends outside her office. Jonathan is 60 years old, extremely wealthy, has a loving family, and enjoys his work. You have decided to apply Maslow's hierarchy of needs to determine what motivates each of these individuals.
Which of the following needs would most likely motivate Joanna?

A) esteem
B) self-actualization
C) safety
D) physiological
E) social

Question 18

According to the two-factor theory, ________.

A) achievement, power, and affiliation are three important needs that help explain motivation
B) most employees inherently dislike work and must therefore be directed or even coerced into performing it
C) employees view work as being as natural as rest or play, and therefore learn to accept, and even seek, responsibility
D) the aspects that lead to job satisfaction are separate and distinct from those that lead to job dissatisfaction
E) there exists a hierarchy of needs within every human being, and as each need is satisfied, the next one becomes dominant

Question 19

The ________ dimension of motivation measures how long a person can maintain effort.

A) knowledge
B) experience
C) persistence
D) intensity
E) direction

Question 20

The church you go to every Sunday is made up of people who have very different lifestyles and are at different stages in their life. Joanna is a 23-year-old, single parent who works for minimum wage and shifts from motel to motel for accommodation. Josephine is a single, 45-year-old woman who earns a decent salary and has few interests and friends outside her office. Jonathan is 60 years old, extremely wealthy, has a loving family, and enjoys his work. You have decided to apply Maslow's hierarchy of needs to determine what motivates each of these individuals.
Which of the following needs would motivate Jonathan the most?

A) safety
B) esteem
C) physiological
D) self-actualization
E) social

Question 21

You manage a department of five employees. You have identified that Joe has a high need for achievement, Mary has a high need for power, and Tim has a high need for affiliation. Sarah scored high on the need for power and low on the need for affiliation. Doug scored low on both need for power and need for affiliation.
Which of these five employees is most likely to be suitable for a new assignment that involves a high degree of personal responsibility and feedback?

A) Mary
B) Doug
C) Sarah
D) Joe
E) Tim

Question 22

The concept of ________ considers how strongly peoples' reasons for pursuing goals are consistent with their interests and core values.

A) self-actualization
B) self-concordance
C) self-serving bias
D) self-efficacy
E) self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 23

MBO provides individual employees with ________.

A) generalized feedback
B) greater work supervision
C) personal performance objectives
D) predefined targets
E) clear-cut growth paths

Question 24

Which of the following theories proposes that people prefer to feel they have control over their actions, so anything that makes a previously enjoyed task feel more like an obligation than a freely chosen activity will undermine motivation?

A) motivation-hygiene theory
B) two-factor theory
C) self-determination theory
D) goal setting theory
E) self-serving theory

Question 25

You manage a department of five employees. You have identified that Joe has a high need for achievement, Mary has a high need for power, and Tim has a high need for affiliation. Sarah scored high on the need for power and low on the need for affiliation. Doug scored low on both need for power and need for affiliation.
Which of these five employees is most suitable for handling your responsibilities when you are on a vacation?

A) Sarah
B) Tim
C) Doug
D) Joe
E) Mary

Question 26

Rachel's parents used to pay her an allowance every week to feed the cats and to do a few other chores around the house. However, once her mother lost her job, her parents stopped giving her an allowance. Although Rachel quit making her bed every morning, she still continued to feed the cats. Which of the following best explains why Rachel continues to feed the cats?

A) With the intrinsic reward, the execution of the task relies on external motivation.
B) Without the intrinsic reward, the execution of the task relies on external motivation.
C) Without the extrinsic reward, the task itself is eliminated.
D) Without the extrinsic reward, the execution of the task relies on internal motivation.
E) With the extrinsic reward, the execution of the task relies on internal motivation.

Question 27

The ________ theory is also known as the social cognitive theory or the social learning theory.

A) two-factor
B) goal-setting
C) self-determination
D) self-efficacy
E) reinforcement

Question 28

Which of the following statements is true regarding goal-setting theory?

A) Goal commitment is more likely when individuals have an external locus of control.
B) Externally generated feedback is more powerful than self-generated feedback.
C) People do better when they get feedback on how well they are progressing toward their goals.
D) Generalized goals produce a higher level of output as compared to specific goals.
E) Assigned goals generate greater goal commitment in low rather than high power-distance cultures.

Question 29

Erika wants to become the head of the HR department. Although the role comes with a generous salary hike and will put her in charge of several subordinates, she is mainly pursuing this position because she believes she can do the job better than anyone else and wants people to know this. According to McClelland's theory of needs, which of the following needs is Erika primarily driven by in this case?

A) the need for stability
B) the need for achievement
C) the need for security
D) the need for power
E) the need for affiliation

Question 30

Which of following needs, as detailed by Maslow's hierarchy of needs, best corresponds to McClelland's need for affiliation?

A) social
B) physiological
C) esteem
D) self-actualization
E) safety

Question 31

MBO emphasizes goals that are ________.

A) achievable, controllable, and profitable
B) tangible, rewarding, and assigned
C) inspirational, verifiable, and creative
D) profitable, attainable, and self-set
E) tangible, verifiable, and measurable

Question 32

According to goal-setting theory, goals are more likely to have a stronger impact on performance when ________.

A) tasks are independent rather than interdependent
B) tasks are novel rather than well learned
C) goals have long time frames for completion
D) goals are easy rather than difficult
E) tasks are complex rather than simple

Question 33

Which of the following statements is true regarding the cognitive evaluation theory?

A) Extrinsic rewards, including verbal praise, significantly decrease intrinsic motivation.
B) Intrinsic rewards are almost as effective as extrinsic rewards.
C) Extrinsic rewards tend to reduce intrinsic interest in a task.
D) People need extrinsic rewards in order to be motivated.
E) Externally imposed standards of work largely improve intrinsic motivation.

Question 34

According to Albert Bandura, the most important source of increasing self-efficacy is ________.

A) cognitive learning
B) enactive mastery
C) verbal persuasion
D) vicarious modeling
E) arousal

Question 35

Which of the following sources of increasing self-efficacy involves gaining relevant experience with a particular task or job?

A) verbal persuasion
B) arousal
C) vicarious modeling
D) enactive mastery
E) cognitive learning

Question 36

Which of the following statements is true according to McClelland's theory of needs ?

A) People with a high achievement need experience great satisfaction from success that comes by luck.
B) People with a high achievement need are interested in motivating others to do well.
C) People with a high need for power and affiliation often make good managers in large firms.
D) People with a high achievement need prefer tasks that have a high level of risk.
E) People with a high need for power and a low need for affiliation often make the best managers.

Question 37

Self-determination theory proposes that in addition to being driven by a need for autonomy, people seek ways to achieve ________.

A) recognition and status
B) high rewards
C) power and control
D) career growth
E) competence and positive connections

Question 38

The investment of an employee's physical, cognitive, and emotional energies into job performance is called ________.

A) vicarious modeling
B) self-determination
C) job analysis
D) job engagement
E) management by objectives

Question 39

________ refers to an individual's belief that he or she is capable of performing a task.

A) Self-efficacy
B) Reinforcement
C) Emotional contagion
D) Affect intensity
E) Self-determination

Question 40

Unlike in the case of goal-setting theory, MBO strongly advocates ________.

A) participatively set goals
B) specific performance objectives
C) explicit time periods
D) independent tasks
E) self-generated feedback

Question 41

In equity theory, individuals assess the ________.

A) cost-benefit ratio
B) quantity-quality trade-off
C) efficiency-effectiveness trade-off
D) outcome-input ratio
E) quality of outcome

Question 42

Other-outside is a referent comparison that refers to ________.

A) another individual or group of individuals outside the employee's organization
B) an employee's experiences in a different position inside the employee's current organization
C) another individual or group of individuals inside the employee's organization
D) an employee's experiences in a similar position outside the employee's current organization
E) an employee's experiences in a different position outside the employee's current organization

Question 43

With reference to the four sources of self-efficacy as proposed by Albert Bandura, verbal persuasion involves becoming more confident ________.

A) because someone convinces you that you have the skills necessary to be successful
B) because you have gained relevant experience with the particular task or job
C) because you are rewarded for performing a similar task well
D) because you get energized or "psyched up" to perform the particular task or job
E) because you see someone else doing the particular task or job

Question 44

Helen, a high school teacher, wants her students to actively participate more in class. She has decided to use reinforcement theory to get the required results. Which of the following methods is she most likely to use?

A) She is going to model what active participation should look like, at the beginning of class.
B) She is going to yell at students, telling them that they are not making good grades.
C) She is going to give students an extra mark each time that they contribute.
D) She is going to ask the students that always participate to allow the others to have a chance.
E) She is going to call on students who never participate.

Question 45

Self-inside, one of the four referent comparisons in the equity theory, refers to ________.

A) an employee's experiences in a different position outside the employee's current organization
B) another individual or group of individuals outside the employee's organization
C) an employee's experiences in a similar position outside the employee's current organization
D) an employee's experiences in a different position inside the employee's current organization
E) another individual or group of individuals inside the employee's organization

Question 46

What is the limitation of reinforcement theory in explaining changes in behavior?

A) Most behavior is, in fact, environmentally caused.
B) It ignores the effect of rewards and punishments on behavior.
C) It does not adequately describe the original behavior.
D) It does not recognize the effect of cognitive variables.
E) It lays too much emphasis on feelings and attitudes.

Question 47

One of the sources of self-efficacy is ________, becoming more confident because you see someone else doing the task.

A) enactive mastery
B) arousal
C) vicarious modeling
D) visualization
E) verbal persuasion

Question 48

The concept of operant conditioning is a part of the broader concept of ________, which argues that behavior follows stimuli in a relatively unthinking manner.

A) expectancy theory
B) behaviorism
C) equity theory
D) humanism
E) cognitive behavioral therapy

Question 49

According to social learning theory, which of the following processes demonstrates whether an individual is capable of performing the modeled activities?

A) reinforcement process
B) attentional process
C) retention process
D) motivation process
E) motor reproduction process

Question 50

The proponents of reinforcement theory view behavior as ________.

A) a product of heredity
B) a function of one's power need
C) environmentally caused
D) the result of a cognitive process
E) a reflection of the inner state of the individual

Question 51

Karen graduated from college four years ago and has been working at Betaphy Inc. ever since. She has consistently received good performance evaluations for the quality of her work. She recently found out that her company hired a fresh college graduate with no experience at a salary higher than hers. Which of the following theories will Karen most likely use to evaluate this situation?

A) reinforcement
B) goal setting
C) equity
D) operant conditioning
E) expectancy

Question 52

________ argues that people learn to behave to get something they want or to avoid something they don't want.

A) Social cognitive theory
B) Theory Y
C) Theory X
D) McClelland's theory of needs
E) Operant conditioning theory

Question 53

A(n) ________ is any consequence, immediately following a response, that increases the probability that the behavior will be repeated.

A) conclusion
B) objective
C) referent
D) goal
E) reinforcer

Question 54

George is trying to teach his two-year old son to gently caress their cat. George softly strokes the animal and every time his son does the same, he rewards him with kind words like "good job!" The child is very attentive during the process and claps his hands when his father praises him. However, as soon as George leaves, the boy lunges for the cat and grabs it by the tail. Which process of social-learning theory is failing?

A) reinforcement processes
B) justification processes
C) retention processes
D) motor reproduction processes
E) attentional processes

Question 55

According to the equity theory, there are four referent comparisons. The referent comparison known as other-inside refers to ________.

A) another individual or group of individuals outside the employee's organization
B) an employee's experiences in a similar position outside the employee's current organization
C) another individual or group of individuals inside the employee's organization
D) an employee's experiences in a different position outside the employee's current organization
E) an employee's experiences in a different position inside the employee's current organization

Question 56

The best way for a manager to use verbal persuasion is through the ________, a form of self-fulfilling prophecy in which believing something can make it true.

A) Pygmalion effect
B) Electra complex
C) framing effect
D) anchoring bias
E) confirmation bias

Question 57

Which of the following ways of increasing self-efficacy is generally used by motivational speakers?

A) enactive mastery
B) arousal
C) vicarious modeling
D) focused training
E) verbal persuasion

Question 58

Jim is a salaried employee whose job is to develop content for online web sites. He discovers that he is paid substantially more than his colleagues, even though their jobs and levels of performance are very similar. According to the equity theory, what impact is this discovery most likely to have on his behavior and performance?

A) He will reduce the amount of work that he does on a daily basis.
B) He will compare his earnings to those of another group of employees.
C) He will seek a position within the company commensurate with his pay.
D) He will increase his productivity and/or the overall quality of his work.
E) He will begin to look for a position outside of the company.

Question 59

The Pygmalion effect is also called the ________ effect.

A) self-concordance
B) halo
C) self-determination
D) Galatea
E) pseudocertainty

Question 60

To get the best results while using reinforcement theory, rewards should be ________.

A) presented publicly with a large number of witnesses
B) large and given at irregular intervals
C) small and given only once
D) given prior to the desired behavior response
E) given immediately following the desired behavior

Question 61

Jackie thinks that she is paid a lot less than other employees in her division and feels extremely resentful. She starts taking long breaks and generally wastes time. Her actions resulted from a perceived lack of ________ justice.

A) interactional
B) distributive
C) procedural
D) associative
E) interpersonal

Question 62

Megan graduated from college three years ago and has been working at Sterba Inc. ever since. A conscientious employee, she has consistently received good performance evaluations. She recently found out that a younger colleague, who was just recruited to her team, is drawing a higher salary than she is for doing the same type of work.
Which of the following, if true, would strengthen the argument that Megan is trying to gain a sense of equity by changing her inputs?

A) She takes long breaks from work and shirks her responsibilities.
B) She constantly interrupts her colleague, refusing to let her get any work done.
C) She claims that extrinsic rewards make work seem like a chore and less enjoyable.
D) She accepts additional responsibilities but fails to carry them out effectively.
E) She asks her boss for a raise, citing her years of experience with the company.

Question 63

Why do people who perceive themselves as victims of interactional injustice often blame their immediate supervisor rather than the organization at large?

A) When people are not treated with respect they tend to retaliate against those closest at hand.
B) Interactional justice or injustice is intimately tied to the conveyer of the information.
C) Interactional injustice is in the eyes of those who perceive they are disrespected.
D) Interactional injustice usually occurs during face-to-face encounters.
E) Interactional injustice is most often the result of the impersonal policies of the organization.

Question 64

Oscar is looking for a new job. He used to be the company's top sales representative and was eagerly expecting to be promoted. However, one of the regional manager's friends was promoted to district manager instead. According to the expectancy theory, Oscar's dissatisfaction with his current job stems from a breakdown in the ________ relationship.

A) performance-reward
B) personal goal-self actualization
C) satisfaction-effort
D) reward-personal goal
E) effort-performance

Question 65

If a manager incorrectly assumes that all employees want the same thing, then according to the expectancy theory, it is most likely to result in a weak ________ relationship.

A) rewards-personal goals
B) performance-reward
C) effort-performance
D) effort-satisfaction
E) performance-achievement

Question 66

Megan graduated from college three years ago and has been working at Sterba Inc. ever since. A conscientious employee, she has consistently received good performance evaluations. She recently found out that a younger colleague, who was just recruited to her team, is drawing a higher salary than she is for doing the same type of work.
Which of the following, if true, would strengthen the argument that Megan is trying to gain a sense of equity by distorting her perception of herself?

A) She believes that her salary is not commensurate with her skills and experience.
B) She believes that she is doing a lot better career-wise compared to the people with whom she graduated.
C) She thinks that her colleague is paid more because she is an Ivy League graduate.
D) She assumes that her colleague received a higher package due to changes in industry standards.
E) She believes that she is less-capable than her colleague.

Question 67

Megan graduated from college three years ago and has been working at Sterba Inc. ever since. A conscientious employee, she has consistently received good performance evaluations. She recently found out that a younger colleague, who was just recruited to her team, is drawing a higher salary than she is for doing the same type of work.
Following this discovery, Megan starts coming to work late and her productivity begins to suffer. Which of the following is most similar to the scenario mentioned above?

A) Dawn starts coming to work early and stays late once she learns that the mid-term review is around the corner.
B) Lisa starts working longer hours after learning that her co-workers earn less than she does for the same work.
C) Beth submits her resignation after she was passed over for promotion for the second time.
D) Greg believes he works harder than any of the other members in his department as they often leave the office before him.
E) Myrtle produces a higher number of units to compensate for the lower quality of her output.

Question 68

Which of the following theories discusses three relationships: effort-performance relationship, performance-reward relationship, and rewards-personal goals relationship?

A) goal-setting theory
B) equity theory
C) self-efficacy theory
D) self-determination theory
E) expectancy theory

Question 69

Logan is an employee who processes health insurance forms. Initially he was criticized by his supervisor for sloppy work, but thereafter he improved considerably. Now he consistently processes his forms without errors and even does more than his fair share of work. However, Logan's supervisor has not responded to the extra effort he has put in, giving him no praise or monetary benefits. This leads Logan to believe that his supervisor is biased against him. According to the expectancy theory, in this situation, there is a problem in the ________ relationship.

A) performance-awareness
B) performance-achievement
C) performance-objectives
D) performance-reward
E) rewards-personal goals

Question 70

According to Maslow, lower-order needs are satisfied internally while higher-order needs are satisfied externally.

Question 71

Mark is an excellent technical writer. He has never missed a deadline and all his projects are of superior quality. He now wants to telecommute two days a week, so that he can spend more time with his family. He feels that he has proven his reliability. However, his boss is unable to comply with his request and gives him a substantial raise instead. According to the expectancy theory, Mark's disappointment demonstrates a breakdown in the ________ relationship.

A) rewards-personal goals
B) performance-reward
C) effort-performance
D) effort-satisfaction
E) performance-achievement

Question 72

According to the expectancy theory, the performance-reward relationship is the degree to which ________.

A) the individual believes performing at a particular level will lead to desired outcomes
B) organizational rewards satisfy an individual's personal goals or needs
C) organizational rewards are perceived as attractive by the individual
D) organization rewards correspond with the individual's level of effort
E) the individual believes that exerting a given amount of effort will lead to performance

Question 73

Under Theory Y, managers believe that employees inherently dislike work and must therefore be directed or even coerced into performing it.

Question 74

With reference to the expectancy theory, which of the following examples indicates a weak rewards-personal goals relationship?

A) An employee lacks the skills required to reach the desired performance level.
B) An organization's appraisal system assesses nonperformance factors such as creativity and initiative.
C) An organization rewards its employees based on factors such as seniority and skill level.
D) An employee works hard in order to be relocated to the Paris office but instead is transferred to Beijing.
E) An employee believes that his manager does not like him and hence expects a poor appraisal.

Question 75

Motivation is defined as the processes that account for an individual's intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal.

Question 76

According to the two-factor theory, adequate hygiene factors provide job satisfaction.

Question 77

Edith believes that the methods for determining salary hikes and bonuses in her company are extremely unfair. In this case, Edith perceives a lack of ________ justice.

A) distributive
B) procedural
C) interactional
D) interpersonal
E) associative

Question 78

According to Herzberg, the opposite of "satisfaction" is "dissatisfaction."

Question 79

According to Maslow, a need that is substantially satisfied no longer motivates.

Question 80

Which of the following types of justice relates most strongly to job satisfaction, employee trust, withdrawal from the organization, job performance, and citizenship behaviors?

A) integrative justice
B) associative justice
C) interactional justice
D) distributive justice
E) procedural justice