Question: Recall a situation in which you and your co-workers or fellow students were highly motivated and effective. What motivation theories help you account for this high level of performance?

THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

Supervision requires an understanding of the complex needs that affect individual performance. These needs have been categorized and explained in a number of ways. At the broadest level, motivation theories are grouped as content theories, which have specific motivating factors, and process theories, which are content-free and describe the ways in which needs, behaviors, and rewards may interact. We will first review the three most common content theories of motivation, followed by a discussion of the most popular process theory: expectancy theory.