Behavioural Science Revision

Motivation
Motivation is the degree to which an individual wants and chooses to engage in certain
behaviours.
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
One cannot move onto the next need until the previous need has been satisfied.
Physiological
basic survival needs (food, water)
Safety/Security
more concern about safety
Affiliation
to love and be loved
Esteem
respected by others and to respect ourselves
Self-actualisation
to fulfil ones own potential
Alderfers ERG Theory
Existence
physiological and safety
Relatedness
social benefits that we get from others (love, friendship etc.)
Growth
self-actualisation (develop skills, abilities and personalities)
McClellands Acquired Needs Theory
Not born with these needs, they are acquired and learned in childhood.
Achievement
to know that our efforts are being productive seek feedback, hard working and seek
to improve
Affiliation
good relations with others need to be liked
Power
control over others make decisions that affect others




McGregors Theory X, Theory Y
Theory X
Workers are not interested or in taking responsibility they must be pressurised into
working by threats that they may lose their job etc.
Driven by:
-money
-job security
Theory Y
Workers need little supervision.
Driven by:
-achievement
-growth
-recognition
-knowledge that theyre doing a good and important job
Herzbergs Dual Factor Theory
Survey for employees to list factors that lead to satisfaction in their jobs and the factors that
lead to dissatisfaction.
Motivators
-responsibility
-personal advancement
-recognition
-nature of work
-sense of achievement
Hygiene Factors
-salary
-work conditions
-company policies
-interpersonal relationships
-security






Expectancy Theory
Expectations that the worker has concerning the outcomes of their effort to work.
Expectancy
ones effort will result in the work getting done belief in ability
Instrumentality
conviction that if the job is done satisfactorily then it will lead to outcomes of benefit
- money, job security, fame or promotion
Valence
measure of the value a worker places on instrumental benefits some will have a
higher value of money, others promotion
For an appropriate standard of work; set reasonable, understandable goals; reward good work
with whatever it is that workers value.
Equity Theory
Deals with the rewards a given worker gets and those obtained by comparable workers.
Compare their inputs (responsibility, work hours, skills and unpleasant aspects of work
endured) to their outcomes (pay, fringe benefits, status, job satisfaction) and estimate the
ratio between them.
Comparison leads to:
perception of equity worker will continue to be as motivated as they already are
perception of negative inequity others are getting a better deal, motivation will drop
perception of positive inequity others are doing less well, motivation will increase
It is not the absolute earnings that matter but the comparison.

In all humans there is an upward drive towards the ultimate goal of self-actualisation.

Groups
Collection of individuals that are in communication with each other in some kind of co-
operative venture to achieve an objective and possess a sense of group identity or loyalty.
Formal Groups
consciously set up
rules of behaviour and the roles of the members are set down openly by some
authority
members are expected to be clear about the task or tasks they are to carry out
controlled life span until its job is done, group can carry on with new members
-Types
Command Groups
Employees work on a permanent basis within command groups. It is the mechanism
through which commands and instructions are passed down to staff and acted upon.
Task Groups
Set up to perform a task and terminated when the task is completed. Set up when a
task is identified which does not comfortably fit within an existing command group.
Members drawn for their expertise from the various areas of the organisation. Only a
proportion of their time will be devoted to the task group.
Informal Groups
A collection of individuals who evolve into a group over time because they are in
communication with each other and for the satisfaction of personal needs.
-Types
Friendship Groups
Based on nothing more than the common goal of enjoying each others company.
Cliques
Involves material gain for mutual professional advantage.







Group Development
Whether we are talking about formal or informal groups, the individuals involved will have
to go through a process of development to arrive at the status of a true group.
Forming
Opportunity to communicate with each other. Stage of impression management
make a positive impression, cautious to reveal certain details (favourite band etc.) In
some cases this stage may fail to progress, overtures may not result in positive
responses and individuals may remain unfriendly and not forthcoming.
Storming
Members become more honest about their own needs and wishes. Initially everything
appeared rosy and at some point disagreements may surface, and either they are
handled or the relationship suffers and may end. When methods of resolving
differences have been arrived at the group will move onto the next stage of group
development
Norming
Rules and roles of the group have been arrived at. There is little argument or
discussion over how to decide things. When members of the group accept the roles
each person has (leader etc.) norming has been achieved
Performing
Group will devote most of its energies to getting on with its purpose. No reason to
conceal your disagreement.
Adjourning
Closing down or termination of the group, group has accomplished its purpose or
because some of the members are leaving.
Hawthorne Study
Two formal groups of workers over time evolved into two informal groups. Informal groups
in workplaces have a major impact on how workers behave. Informal groups were acting to
protect all their members (everyone behave in a similar way).
Sherif Study
When individuals were alone in the room making the judgements of movement of the light
they varied quite a lot in how much movement they perceived. When individuals were
together they had similar perceptions, they were not consciously aware of the way they were
influencing each other. Results show that to whatever groups we belong will have a major
influence on our decisions and what we do.
Asch Study
Three different lines on an easel, asked to identify which one matched a fourth line. Each
member of the group gave wrong answer when asked and high proportion of subjects went
along with the consensus. They felt it was better to conform. Individuals driven to conform.
Personality
The total pattern of characteristic ways of thinking, feeling and behaving that constitute the
persons distinctive method of relating to the environment.
Nomothetic Approach
Law-setting, conforms to a framework, remains stable throughout lifetime and can be
measured.
Type Theories
Divide people up into distinct categories based on their most obvious characteristics.
Hippocrates theory suggests there are 4 personality types, e.g sanguine, your dominant body
substance is blood and youre characteristically hopeful and confident. This isnt only
scientifically flawed but, but its too simple just to label somebody hopeful as they may be a
thousand other things like honest or dishonest. So trait theories emerged as a better approach.
Trait Theories
The mechanism through which personality is measured. On each personality trait people will
vary along dimensions of being very highly or very lowly ranked. Big Five Factor Model,
e.g neuroticism worried calm, insecure secure and self-pitying self-satisfied. Personality
traits measured mainly through questionnaires.
There are also genetic (from birth) influences and environmental (how reared) influences
on personality.
Ideographic Approach
Not measurable and stable through life but capable of change and development. Measured
through in depth analysis of individuals, Sigmund Freud tell me about your childhood.
Nomothetic perspective on personality theory, scientifically, is likely to achieve more given
its emphasis on precise measurement.

Perception
The psychological process of actively selecting and organising stimulus information detected
by the sensory organs so as to create conscious awareness.
The Perceptual Process
Sensation
Physical responses of the sense organ tissues to the appropriate stimuli.
Selection
Sense organs choose which stimuli we respond to. Crossing a busy street, we only
pick out the relative stimuli as opposed to colours of cars etc.
Organisation
Organise the sensory experience based on principles of proximity, similarity and
closure.
Categorisation
Each new experience is assigned to one or more of a set of categories we have built
up in our memories. We meet new people, categorise them as man, woman, foreigner,
student etc.
Social Perception Errors
Stereotyping
Halo Effect
Horn Effect
Anchoring