AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Kelli D. Whittington, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Work Force Education, presented on June 23, 2014, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: UTILIZING THE EXPECTANCY THEORY AS A PREDICTOR OF STUDENT ACADEMIC SUCCESS ON THE ILLINOIS NURSE ASSISTANT COMPETENCY EXAMINATION MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. C. Keith Waugh This study researches the relationship between motivation and academic success as measured by the Valence, Instrumentality, Expectancy Scale. Utilizing Vroom's Expectancy Theory as the framework for study, the research assessed the responses of 375 nurse assistant students in the state of Illinois to evaluate the self-report of the constructs of Vroom's Expectancy Theory in relation to their performance on the Illinois Nurse Assistant Training Competency Examination.

The disproportionate amount of mentally ill offenders in the United States’ prison system and the lack of correctional treatment they receive have been an under-addressed problems for decades. This goal of this study was to examine the various individual and institutional barriers that hinder mentally ill offenders from accessing and participating in mental health treatment services. These barriers are analyzed using an expectancy theory framework. Specifically, the factors are fit into the Valence – Instrumentality – Expectancy model in an attempt to predict the impact that these barriers have on the number of mental health contact hours the offender engages in. Data for this analysis was obtained from 165 offenders with mental illness incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Results indicate that offenders who experience fewer individual barriers (stigma and skepticism) and institutional barriers (quality of provider) are more likely to engage in more mental health services hours. Further, expectancy variables were expected to have the strongest impact on service engagement, but this hypothesis was not supported. Instead, valence variables had the strongest impact. But, the expectancy theory model with all components included is significant and useful to examine correctional mental health treatment utilization. This study is the first to apply expectancy theory to correctional mental health, and illuminates areas of policy improvements in this area.

Abstract   Title: Search Engine Marketing in SMEs Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration Authors: Kamilla Fahlström & Caroline Jensen Supervisor: Jens Eklinder Frick Date: 2016 January Purpose: The purpose of this study is to use Expectancy theory to describe and analyze small company owners’ motivations for their usage of Search Engine Marketing, in terms of their perceived Valence, Expectancy and Instrumentality. Method: To research the aim of this study a qualitative research approach was used. The empirical data was compiled through ten semi-structured interviews from a varied selection of Swedish companies in the service sector. The data was analyzed with previous research to create an understanding of the motivations for using Search Engine Marketing. Conclusions: The result of this study, when analyzed alongside Expectancy theory, indicates that small business owners are motivated to use Search Engine Marketing. Furthermore, which method of Search Engine Marketing that the owners are motivated to use is dependent on their perceptions of the different methods. Future research: Due to the lack of research into the attitudinal and psychological aspects of Search Engine Marketing and the limitations of this study, it would be interesting if more research were done into this area. For example, it would be interesting to study if trust-based companies are motivated to use Search Engine Marketing, and if demographics affect the motivations. Contribution: This study contributes with results on a previously unexplored area within the research field of Search Engine Marketing. The study also contribute with some information to practice regarding small service company owners’ thoughts about their usage of Search Engine Marketing.  Key words: Search Engine Marketing, SMEs, Expectancy theory, Motivation, Website visibility

Syftet med föreliggande kvalitativa studie var att undersöka hur ekonomiska och psykosociala faktorer kan påverka motivation på en avdelning i en statlig myndighet i Sverige. Avdelningen består av två filialer, benämnda filial A och filial B, vilka utgjorde studiens fokus. De ekonomiska och psykosociala faktorerna avgränsades till att enbart bestå av ersättning, trivsel, stöd och egenkontroll, eftersom dessa utpekats som problemområden av de aktuella filialerna som studien berör. Ämnet motivation avgränsades genom Vrooms (1964) perspektiv och undersökningen baserades på hans kognitiva processteori Expectany Theory.För att besvara studiens forskningsfråga utfördes nio stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer, fyra på filial A och fem på filial B. Resultatet visar att problemområdena trivsel, stöd och egenkontroll innehöll faktorer som bidrog till motivation och att problemområdena ersättning, trivsel och stöd bestod av komponenter som reducerade motivation. / Program: Organisations- och personalutvecklare i samhället

A proposta central do estudo foi investigar se o valor da remuneração pode influenciar na preferência ou atratividade da auditoria independente como uma alternativa de ocupação profissional no ambiente brasileiro. Teve como foco os alunos do curso de ciências contábeis que são os prováveis candidatos a optar por essa atividade profissional. Para alcançar tal objetivo, foi definido como estratégia de pesquisa o desenho quase-experimental, conduzido com 240 alunos pertencentes às instituições públicas estaduais e federais no Brasil, em que os sujeitos participantes foram direcionados aleatoriamente ao grupo de controle ou ao grupo experimental. Cada grupo recebeu algumas ofertas de trabalho nas três atividades profissionais definidas para a pesquisa, cuja tarefa dos integrantes era dizer se aceitava ou não a vaga ofertada. A diferença entre o grupo de controle e o experimental foi o estímulo da remuneração apresentada para o grupo de experimento. A metodologia aplicada nas mensurações compreendeu basicamente análises de frequência dos grupos e testes não paramétricos para verificar a existência ou não de diferenças de média entre os grupos. Os resultados indicaram o aceite da primeira hipótese de que a preferência pela atividade de auditoria é influenciada pela percepção do valor da remuneração e, em termos relativos essa influência representou 26% na taxa de aceite, o teste não paramétrico de Mann-Whitney também confirmou a existência dessa influência apontando um p-valor < 0,000. Os resultados também indicaram suporte ao modelo de valência da teoria da expectativa em que os indivíduos com alto índice de valência pela atividade de auditoria escolheram essa atividade independentemente do estímulo remuneração uma vez que já tinham valorado os atributos de trabalho mais preferidos. Com isso, a segunda hipótese da pesquisa de que a remuneração não influencia na escolha quando a valência pela auditoria for alta, também foi aceita. Por outro lado, os resultados também apontam para o aceite da terceira hipótese indicando que aqueles indivíduos com menor valência tiveram influência significativa do fator remuneração na escolha da vaga de auditoria. Apesar de não ser o foco dessa pesquisa também foi possível evidenciar os atributos de trabalho mais preferidos pelos alunos, os quais se mostraram similares aos levantados em outras pesquisas como, por exemplo, Rendell e Brown (2011) e Leschinsky & Michael (2004), esses fatores foram 1. Oportunidade de avanço na carreira, 2. Estabilidade e segurança no trabalho e 3. Conseguir alta remuneração, seguida por outros com menor grau de importância. A principal contribuição dessa pesquisa foi evidenciar a influência do fator remuneração na atração da atividade de auditoria, permitindo assim corroborar com as pesquisas que apontam a remuneração como um dos motivos da carência de auditor independente no país, como é o caso da pesquisa de Amorin (2012). / The main goal of this study was to investigate whether compensation value can influence the preference for or attractiveness towards independent auditing as a vocational choice in Brazil. It focused on students majoring in Accounting, who are the most likely candidates to opt for this professional occupation. To that end, the research strategy was defined in a quasi-experimental design, among 240 students enrolled at state and federal universities in Brazil; participants were randomly assigned to either the control or experimental group. Each group received a number of job offers in all three professional fields defined for the study, and participants had the task of declaring whether or not they would have accepted the job offer. The difference between the control and experimental groups was the compensation incentive (specific salary offer) presented to the experimental group. The methodology applied in the measurements consisted basically of frequency analyses of the groups and non-parametric tests to determine whether or not means differed between the groups. The results indicated acceptance of the first hypothesis that the preference for the auditing occupation is influenced by the perception of remuneration value; in relative terms, this influence accounted for 26% of the job acceptance rate, and the Mann-Whitney non-parametric test confirmed the existence of this influence as well, indicating a p-value < 0.000. The results also supported the value model of expectancy theory in which individuals with high valuing rates for the auditing occupation chose it regardless of the compensation stimulus, as they had already valued their most preferred job attributes. With that, the second research hypothesis - that compensation does not influence the choice whenever valence for auditing is high - was accepted as well. On the other hand, the results also indicate acceptance of the third hypothesis, indicating that those individuals with lower valence were significantly influenced by the compensation factor when choosing the auditing job opening. Although it was not the focus of this research study, it was possible to determine the students\' most preferred job attributes, which proved similar to those surveyed in other studies, such as Rendell & Brown (2011) and Leschinsky & Michael (2004). Those factors were: 1. Opportunities for career advancement, 2. Job security and stability, and 3. High remuneration, followed by other factors with lower degrees of importance. The main contribution provided by this research was to evidence the influence of the compensation factor on the attractiveness of the auditing occupation, thereby making it possible to corroborate studies that show remuneration as one of the reasons for the shortage of independent auditors in Brazil, as observed in research by Amorin (2012).

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has been suggested to facilitate organizational functioning. However, how OCB is motivated and the extent to which OCB is exhibited by highly skilled professionals remains uncertain. Very little theoretical and empirical research has focused on motivational factors that elicit the exhibition of OCB. In addition, previous research has found that information technology (IT) professionals exhibit significantly lower OCB than non-IT professionals. This particular discrepancy suggests that there is a need to study OCB exhibited by IT professionals from a motivational aspect. In order to provide a theory-based model that explains OCB, this research utilized expectancy theory to examine how an IT professional's cognitive forces affect the valence of a job outcome and how the valence of the job outcome influences his or her OCB. The hypotheses were tested using partial least squares and multiple regression techniques with a sample size of 85 IT professionals. Using IT professionals as the unit of analysis, the results indicated that the research model explained 36 percent of the variability of OCB exhibited by an IT professional. The results also confirmed the significant relationship between valence of job satisfaction and OCB and the significant relationship between OCB and actual job satisfaction. Among the five cognitive forces tested, commitment to organization and commitment to profession contributed significantly to valence of job satisfaction. Furthermore, this research found some significant relationships among trust in supervisors, trust in coworkers, job stress, commitment to organization, and commitment to profession. Finally, conclusions, limitations, and suggestions for future research directions were discussed based on the findings.

A proposta central do estudo foi investigar se o valor da remuneração pode influenciar na preferência ou atratividade da auditoria independente como uma alternativa de ocupação profissional no ambiente brasileiro. Teve como foco os alunos do curso de ciências contábeis que são os prováveis candidatos a optar por essa atividade profissional. Para alcançar tal objetivo, foi definido como estratégia de pesquisa o desenho quase-experimental, conduzido com 240 alunos pertencentes às instituições públicas estaduais e federais no Brasil, em que os sujeitos participantes foram direcionados aleatoriamente ao grupo de controle ou ao grupo experimental. Cada grupo recebeu algumas ofertas de trabalho nas três atividades profissionais definidas para a pesquisa, cuja tarefa dos integrantes era dizer se aceitava ou não a vaga ofertada. A diferença entre o grupo de controle e o experimental foi o estímulo da remuneração apresentada para o grupo de experimento. A metodologia aplicada nas mensurações compreendeu basicamente análises de frequência dos grupos e testes não paramétricos para verificar a existência ou não de diferenças de média entre os grupos. Os resultados indicaram o aceite da primeira hipótese de que a preferência pela atividade de auditoria é influenciada pela percepção do valor da remuneração e, em termos relativos essa influência representou 26% na taxa de aceite, o teste não paramétrico de Mann-Whitney também confirmou a existência dessa influência apontando um p-valor < 0,000. Os resultados também indicaram suporte ao modelo de valência da teoria da expectativa em que os indivíduos com alto índice de valência pela atividade de auditoria escolheram essa atividade independentemente do estímulo remuneração uma vez que já tinham valorado os atributos de trabalho mais preferidos. Com isso, a segunda hipótese da pesquisa de que a remuneração não influencia na escolha quando a valência pela auditoria for alta, também foi aceita. Por outro lado, os resultados também apontam para o aceite da terceira hipótese indicando que aqueles indivíduos com menor valência tiveram influência significativa do fator remuneração na escolha da vaga de auditoria. Apesar de não ser o foco dessa pesquisa também foi possível evidenciar os atributos de trabalho mais preferidos pelos alunos, os quais se mostraram similares aos levantados em outras pesquisas como, por exemplo, Rendell e Brown (2011) e Leschinsky & Michael (2004), esses fatores foram 1. Oportunidade de avanço na carreira, 2. Estabilidade e segurança no trabalho e 3. Conseguir alta remuneração, seguida por outros com menor grau de importância. A principal contribuição dessa pesquisa foi evidenciar a influência do fator remuneração na atração da atividade de auditoria, permitindo assim corroborar com as pesquisas que apontam a remuneração como um dos motivos da carência de auditor independente no país, como é o caso da pesquisa de Amorin (2012). / The main goal of this study was to investigate whether compensation value can influence the preference for or attractiveness towards independent auditing as a vocational choice in Brazil. It focused on students majoring in Accounting, who are the most likely candidates to opt for this professional occupation. To that end, the research strategy was defined in a quasi-experimental design, among 240 students enrolled at state and federal universities in Brazil; participants were randomly assigned to either the control or experimental group. Each group received a number of job offers in all three professional fields defined for the study, and participants had the task of declaring whether or not they would have accepted the job offer. The difference between the control and experimental groups was the compensation incentive (specific salary offer) presented to the experimental group. The methodology applied in the measurements consisted basically of frequency analyses of the groups and non-parametric tests to determine whether or not means differed between the groups. The results indicated acceptance of the first hypothesis that the preference for the auditing occupation is influenced by the perception of remuneration value; in relative terms, this influence accounted for 26% of the job acceptance rate, and the Mann-Whitney non-parametric test confirmed the existence of this influence as well, indicating a p-value < 0.000. The results also supported the value model of expectancy theory in which individuals with high valuing rates for the auditing occupation chose it regardless of the compensation stimulus, as they had already valued their most preferred job attributes. With that, the second research hypothesis - that compensation does not influence the choice whenever valence for auditing is high - was accepted as well. On the other hand, the results also indicate acceptance of the third hypothesis, indicating that those individuals with lower valence were significantly influenced by the compensation factor when choosing the auditing job opening. Although it was not the focus of this research study, it was possible to determine the students\' most preferred job attributes, which proved similar to those surveyed in other studies, such as Rendell & Brown (2011) and Leschinsky & Michael (2004). Those factors were: 1. Opportunities for career advancement, 2. Job security and stability, and 3. High remuneration, followed by other factors with lower degrees of importance. The main contribution provided by this research was to evidence the influence of the compensation factor on the attractiveness of the auditing occupation, thereby making it possible to corroborate studies that show remuneration as one of the reasons for the shortage of independent auditors in Brazil, as observed in research by Amorin (2012).

The central aim of the present study was to examine the role of expectancies in binge eating behavior. Two distinct statistical techniques were used to accomplish this goal. First, regression analyses were conducted using variables previously identified in the literature, as well as eating expectancies as measured by the Eating Expectancy Inventory (EEI). For both females and males, regression equations including expectancies accounted for a substantial portion of the variance in binge eating behavior. Second, memory modeling techniques were used to model the probable organization of eating expectancies. Memory modeling of hypothetical expectancy networks has lead to successful interventions in alcohol use, and preliminary work in eating revealed a fundamental difference in the way that individuals with high levels of pathology activate and store eating related messages. In the present study, Individual Differences Scaling was used to model the two-dimensional organization of an eating expectancy memory network in relation to binge eating. INDSCAL weights indicated that participants with higher levels of binge eating placed more emphasis on the positive-negative dimension, and examination of group means revealed that high binge eaters expected more change in mood in response to eating. All findings are discussed in terms of implications for enhancing assessment, treatment, and prevention strategies.

The primary goal of this study was to examine ways in which leaders can influence followers motivation. Motivation is a key construct in industrial and organizational psychology due to its impact on employee performance. Modern motivation theories adapt a more sophisticated view of motivation in terms of definition, relationships, and operationalization. In particular, one new theory of motivation is the Pritchard and Ashwood Theory (2008). This theory proposes that motivation is comprised of four perceived relationships that, in combination, reflect the extent to which employees believe that their actions on the job will lead to need satisfaction. These four relationships are called connections. The relationship between two leadership behaviors, initiating structure and consideration, and the Pritchard and Ashwood motivational connections was examined. It was hypothesized that the two leader behaviors would have differential relationships with the four motivational connections. These differential relationships should facilitate targeted behavioral feedback to leaders to improve each of the motivational connections. Additionally, motivation was hypothesized to mediate the relationship between the leader behaviors and employee outcomes. The Pritchard and Ashwood Theory is operationalized by the Motivation Assessment Questionnaire (MAQ) (Pritchard, 2006a). A secondary goal of this study was to contribute to the validity evidence of the MAQ. This recently developed questionnaire has shown good psychometric properties and initial validity evidence has demonstrated moderate relationships between the MAQ and job performance. However, this is the first study of the relationship between the MAQ and employee outcomes with a large sample of full-time working adults. Further, this study expanded potential MAQ outcomes beyond employee performance to include organizational citizenship behaviors and turnover intentions. A sample of 208 employees was recruited from two central Florida companies. These employees responded to the MAQ and other study measures via a secure, online survey. Participating employees provided contact information for their supervisors who were then invited to participate in the study by providing criteria ratings. A large number of the invited supervisors participated (n = 195). Results indicated robust support for one of the leadership behaviors: consideration. Consideration was related to performance and this relationship was partially mediated by motivation. On the other hand, initiating structure was not related to employee performance. Consideration and initiating structure were not differentially related as hypothesized to the four motivational connections. This was due in part to the strong correlation between the two leadership behaviors (r = .73). Results provided additional validation evidence for the MAQ. The overall effort scale was not related to performance as it had been in the two previous studies that used a student sample. However, the average of the motivation connections predicted performance. Additionally, the MAQ predicted both organizational citizenship behaviors and turnover intentions. As mentioned previously, the sample was drawn from two central Florida companies. Although many of the study hypotheses were supported for the overall sample, the observed relationships were very different for the two subsamples. Similarly, findings in this study differ from previous studies using the MAQ with working students. Potential reasons for these differences are discussed.

This paper tests Reiss' (1991) expectancy theory of fearfulness. Reiss' moderation model of fears speculates that individual differences in fearfulness and phobic avoidance is a function of the interaction between trait vulnerabilities (i.e., sensitivities) and beliefs about potential outcomes during exposure to phobic stimuli (i.e., expectancies). Four hundred and forty-five undergraduates completed questionnaires related to Reiss' fundamental sensitivities (e.g., "anxiety sensitivity"), expectancies (e.g., "expectancy of physical injury or harm") and the intensity of common fears. Informed by findings concerning fear-related outcome expectancies, a system for measuring expectancies was developed for this study called the Focus of Apprehension Survey Schedule (FASS). Additionally, "disgust sensitivity" and "expectancy of contamination or illness" were included to examine whether they account for fearfulness beyond that predicted by Reiss' sensitivities and expectancies alone. In Experiment 1, hierarchical multivariate regression was employed to test Reiss' moderation model of expectancy theory for four fear subtypes (animal, blood/injection/injury (BII), claustrophobic, social). For each of these fear types, results did not support Reiss' moderation model. However, disgust sensitivity improved the prediction of animal fears and contamination expectancies improved the prediction of BII fears beyond Reiss' fundamental sensitivities and expectancies alone. In Experiment 2, a competing mediation model of expectancy theory was tested in which sensitivities were expected to indirectly influence individual differences in fearfulness through outcome expectancies. Results of path analysis using LISREL 8.54 did not support a mediation model per se. However, expectancies were found to mediate relationships between sensitivities and fears in several predicted instances (e.g., contamination expectancies mediated the disgust-BII fears relationship). The results provide some encouraging replications of prior studies and are discussed in the context of implications for theories of fear as well as for future directions in research.