Motivation Across Cultures

10 Key excerpts on "Motivation Across Cultures"

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  Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning

  • Sanna Jarvela(Author)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • Elsevier

    (Publisher)

  Motivation – Commonly defined as an internal state or condition and sometimes described as a desire or want that drives people’s behavior and gives it direction. Based on the expectancy-value theory, what motivates behavior is a function of the expectancies one has and the value of the goal toward which one is working. Aim, Focus, and Structure This article aims to capture the current zeitgeist of research on culture and motivation, embedded in its his-torical development. Key motivational constructs have been selected and reviewed to illustrate the diversity and richness of culture-based theorizing as well as the range of empirical studies that have examined motivation from a cultural perspective. The article also highlights the salient research trends that have emerged in the last decade and the significant contribution that culture has made to motivation research. As a background to understanding the development of recent research on culture and motivation, the first sec-tion provides a brief overview of critical milestones in the development of culture research in the broader field of psychology. The following section examines five key motivational constructs that have attracted a significant amount of research from a cultural perspective. The choice of constructs and the grouping of studies are, to a large extent, arbitrary, the aim being to illustrate a range of unique theoretical and empirical contributions that a culture-based perspective has made to motivation research. Two examples of cultural psychology research have been added to show that emic research from non-Western settings can make a unique contribution by unveiling new dimensions of learning and motivation. The article concludes with a brief discussion on the short-comings of research and future directions. Background and Historical Development of Culture-Based Research The modern epoch of cross-cultural psychology with a coherent research agenda began only in the mid-to late 1960s.

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  Organizations and Management in Cross-Cultural Context

  • Zeynep Aycan, Rabindra N Kanungo, Manuel Mendonca(Authors)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications Ltd

    (Publisher)

  we are.’

  Just because getting rich and famous are the motivating forces for some does not mean that they should be the motivating forces for all. In this chapter we will examine motivation through cross-cultural lenses and argue that cultural values, beliefs and norms have an important impact on what motivates employees and how employees are motivated. We will present a review of cross-cultural studies testing the applicability of ‘content’ (examining what motivates employees) and ‘process’ (examining how employees are motivated) theories across cultures.

  Learning Objectives

  •    To understand the extent to which and how US-based motivation theories are applicable in different cultural contexts.

  •    To identify the cultural characteristics underlying variations in motivational approaches.

  •    To discover similarities and differences across cultures in the approaches to employee motivation.

  •    To provide guidelines for culturally appropriate methods of motivating employees in diverse work environments.

  What is Employee Motivation? Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game. Donald Trump

  The greater the loyalty of a group toward the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals. Rensis Likert

  Most management literature on motivation is psychologically oriented and is based on psychological models developed and tested almost exclusively in the United States. (Fatehi, 1996, p. 231)

  The classical definition of

  work motivation

  is that ‘it is a set of energetic forces that originate both within as well as beyond an individual’s being, to initiate work-related behaviour and to determine its form, direction, intensity and duration’ (Pinder, 1998, p. 11). Traditionally work motivation theories have been categorized as content and process theories. The content theories included in this chapter (i.e., Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, McClelland’s typology of needs) explain work behaviour as the individual’s attempt to satisfy a need. The content theories postulate that when an individual’s need is not met or satisfied then that individual experiences tension which motivates the individual towards a behaviour to satisfy that need. The content theories can be said to answer the ‘what’ of motivation processes, i.e., what needs and in what order do these needs vary in their strength to initiate, energize and sustain the individual’s work behaviour? The process theories, on the other hand, explain work behaviour in terms of the cognitive process which the individual goes through before and during the behaviour. It thus seeeks to identify the process, i.e., ‘how

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  Culture, Motivation and Learning

  • Farideh Salili, Rumjahn Hoosain(Authors)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • Information Age Publishing

    (Publisher)

  Graham’s (1994) comprehen-sive review of existing motivational literature, undertaken to better under-stand motivation patterns exhibited by African Americans, bemoans the inadequate attention to cultural factors. She emphasized that motivational psychology must be explicitly concerned with the nature and definition of self among different ethnic and cultural groups. There exists, however, a vast body of research examining the relation-ship between cultural context and self-views within the field of cultural psy-chology. Researchers engaged in cross-cultural work noted that while Western culture is characterized as individualistic and the Western (e.g. United States and Europe) self as egocentric, independent, autonomous, and unique; Eastern culture is defined as collectivist and the Eastern (e.g., China, Japan, and India) self as sociocentric, connected, and interdepen-dent (Markus & Kitiyama, 1991; Triandis, 1997). One key difference between these conceptions of self is that, for the independent self, others are critical for social comparison and self-validation. For the interdepen-dent self, however, others are an integral part of the context to which the self is connected, fitted, and assimilated (Markus & Kityama, 1991, p. 227). In achievement situations, attribution biases for the independent self are 50 R. KUMAR and M.L. MAEHR likely to be self-serving and self-enhancing, while for the interdependent self they are likely to be self-effacing (Markus & Kityama, 1991). Thus, in achievement situations within a socially oriented context, the motivation to succeed often stems from a desire to fulfill the expectations of significant others. As a result of cultural psychology’s advances in understanding the self, achievement motivation theorists have broadened their focus to exam-ine how cultural forces shape and inform individuals’ causal attributions to success and failure, the goals they pursue, and the pathways adopted to achieve these goals.

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  Teaching, Learning, and Motivation in a Multicultural Context

  • Farideh Salili, Rumjahn Hoosain(Authors)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • Information Age Publishing

    (Publisher)

  We also include a discussion of acculturative pro-cesses such as ethnic identity, which is relevant to the generalization of motivational findings to different ethnic groups. Finally, given our view of culture and its potential effects on motivational processes, we conclude with a discussion of some methodological concerns when conducting research in this area. CULTURE AS A PROCESS Although the role of culture in basic psychological processes can be traced back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with the work of scholars such as Herder and Wundt, research emphasizing the link between culture and psyche was not really a focus of most psychological research until the 1980s and 1990s, when work in this area enjoyed a renewed resurgence (Schweder, Goodnow, Hatano, Levine, Markus, & Miller, 1998). At the same time, given psychology’s general focus on the individual and this relatively recent interest in cultural processes, it is not surprising that psychology’s conception of “culture” has been rather simplistic with most definitions focused on either patterns of behavior (i.e., behavioral aspect of culture) or shared beliefs (i.e., symbolic aspects of culture). In addition, much of the research on culture has conflated ethnicity with culture, or has treated cul-ture as an independent variable. In other words, there is still a tendency within psychology to treat culture as an antecedent of psychological phe-nomena, rather than an integral part of it, as represented by much of the cross-cultural work of the last two decades. Research in motivation is no exception to this general trend in psychological research on culture. However, recent work in cultural psychology has lead to a reconsidera-tion of this more simplistic approach to culture. The theory and research from this perspective advocate treating “culture as a process” (Greenfield, 1997; Schweder et al., 1998; Miller, 1997, 2002).

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  Advancing Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Educational Psychology

  • Gregory Arief D. Liem, Allan B. I. Bernardo(Authors)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • Information Age Publishing

    (Publisher)

  I conclude with recommendations for future research in the area of culture and motivation, particularly as it relates to PIT and McInerney’s program of research. ABSOLUTISM, RELATIVISM, AND UNIVERSALISM It may come as a surprise to some that scholarly research on the impact of culture on psychological processes in general and motivation in particular has a relatively brief history. Research emphasizing the link between culture and psyche did not take center stage until the end of the twentieth cen- tury, with the resurgence of cross-cultural psychology ( Jahoda & Krewer, 1997; Shweder, Goodnow, Hatano, LeVine, Markus, & Miller, 1998). Simi- larly, targeted and systematic studies on the cultural impact on motivational processes did not fully emerge until the late 1980s and 90s, primarily with McInerney’s program of research (Zusho & Clayton, 2011). Given this brief history, it is unsurprising that psychology’s conception of “culture” has been rather simplistic. For example, it is still common for psychological studies to operationalize culture mainly in terms of ethnicity or country of origin. That is, there remains a tendency within psychology to treat culture as a static antecedent of psychological phenomena, rather than an integral part of it, as represented by much of the cross-cultural work of the last several decades (see review by Oyserman, Coon, & Kem- melmeier, 2002). With the notable exception of McInerney’s research, this is still, for the most part, true of motivational research as well. However, as our classrooms become more culturally and ethnically di- verse, increased attention is being paid to the motivational processes of non-White youth (e.g., Graham & Hudley, 2005; Kaplan & Maehr, 2002; Kumar & Maehr, 2007, 2010).

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  International Perspectives on Organizational Behavior

  • Betty Jane Punnett(Author)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Taylor & Francis

    (Publisher)

  Chapter 7

  Motivation and Organizational Behavior in an International Context

  LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  The purpose of this chapter is to consider motivation and how it may differ from one location to another. Specifically, the chapter will:

  • • Define and discuss the broad concept of motivation;
  • • Explain why it is difficult to understand what motivates people, especially in different contexts;
  • • Introduce and explain the major western theories of motivation;
  • • Consider needs, equity, rewards, expectations, goals, and delegation/participation and how they relate to motivation;
  • • Examine each of the motivation theories in the context of differences around the world, including cultural differences, and the impact of millennials at work;
  • • Explore the aspects of motivation theories that seem to be universal as well as those that seem to be culturally contingent;
  • • Make suggestions about how managers can assess and address motivation in different contexts.

  Introduction

  Motivation refers to the inner urges that cause people to behave in certain ways rather than the behavior itself. In the workplace, we talk of people being highly motivated when they work hard to accomplish objectives that are consistent with the organization’s goals. In this case, we observe the behavior, but we cannot observe the cause(s) of the behavior. We talk of people being de-motivated on the job when they seem disinterested and need to be pushed to perform. What makes people motivated or de-motivated at work is complex because motivation is caused by a mix of psychological (e.g., introversion/extroversion, self-esteem) and demographic (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity) characteristics.

  It is not really accurate to talk of people being de-motivated. People are always motivated in some direction; the question is the direction of their motivation. When someone is de-motivated at work, it means that they are motivated in some non-work direction; that is, they would rather be doing something other than work. Nevertheless, the terminology of de-motivation is used frequently in everyday language, so it will be used in this chapter. When we say that someone is de-motivated, then, we mean that they are not working very hard, and their performance is less than could be expected. This is why motivation and its causes are of such interest to managers. A firm’s success and profitability are directly related, to a large extent, to the performance and productivity of the people who work for the firm; thus, a major component of a manager’s role is to ensure that employees are performing at a peak level.

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  Methods and Assessment in Culture and Psychology

  • Michael Bender, Byron G. Adams(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  Motive congruence. Cross-cultural studies on implicit motives have begun to examine cultural differences in motive strength (e.g., Pang & Schultheiss, 2005) and in contextual cues associated with the arousal of implicit motives in Western and non-Western cultural contexts (e.g., Hofer et al., 2010; Ng, Winter, & Cardona, 2011). These studies have shown that culture-bound experiences during socialization associated with distinct developmental pathways may result in behavioral tendencies that vary in strength and are linked to distinct situational cues that point to opportunities of motive realiza- tion. Yet challenging the idea that culture-bound experiences per se result in cross-cultural differences in motive strength and in variability in basic psychological mechanisms or processes associated with impli- cit motives, another line of research focused on identifying basic principles of human functioning. 184 Athanasios Chasiotis, Jan Hofer, and Michael Bender A meta-analysis has supported the notion that both motivational sys- tems are independent (Köllner & Schultheiss, 2014). This means that there may be different propensities for the implicit and explicit motivational system to be more or less aligned. The absence or presence of congruence and the respective implications for psychological function- ing are also a highly interesting topic to study in terms of its universality (Baumann et al., 2005; Brunstein, 2010; Thrash, Elliot, & Schultheiss, 2007). There is extensive evidence that incongruence between the implicit and explicit motivational system is detrimental to well-being and performance (Baumann et al., 2005; Hofer, Busch, Bond et al., 2010; Hofer, Busch, Bond, Kärtner, Kiessling, & Law, 2010; Hofer & Chasiotis, 2003; Hofer, Chasiotis, & Campos, 2006; Kehr, 2004; Schüler, 2010; Thrash et al., 2007).

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  The SAGE Handbook of Contemporary Cross-Cultural Management

  • Betina Szkudlarek, Laurence Romani, Dan V. Caprar, Joyce S. Osland, Betina Szkudlarek, Laurence Romani, Dan V. Caprar, Joyce S. Osland, Author(Authors)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications Ltd

    (Publisher)

  In this regard, Cascio (2012) provides considerable guidance to methodological challenges inherent in behavioral research in general. He explores five methodological issues, including translation, conceptual, functional, and metric equivalence when assessment or survey questions are used in different languages and cultural contexts; the use of multiple, overlapping constructs and common methods bias; limitations of measures of internal-consistency reliability (coefficient alpha); sampling strategies; and non-response bias. The article defines each issue, identifies the implications of failure to address it, and suggests alternative strategies to ensure valid inferences.

  Conclusion: Moving Forward

  During the past several years, we have witnessed some progress on the topic of cross-cultural work motivation. However, despite this progress, we are left with the conclusion that serious efforts are still required to build on these current findings in an effort to extrapolate more of the essence of culture as a predictive study variable in work motivation theory and research. We seem to remain largely mired in the realm of trying to understand what and how. What would be particularly useful at this point would be expanding our understanding of why. So, where do we go from here?

  Obviously, a first step here is to address the theoretical and methodological limitations and omissions noted above. The field deserves more rigorous theory-based research. Exploring the role of unconscious behavior in employee motivation is an important challenge in this regard. Taking a different approach, Jonsen (2018) recently advocated for researchers to maintain and preserve their status as subjective thinkers, with time to think. This could help end ‘static nation-state thinking’ and move to a different, multidisciplinary, and more dynamic set of assumptions, approaches, and research questions underlying cross-cultural research.

  In addition, increased efforts to create multicultural and multidisciplinary research teams would further not just access to more diverse samples but also more thorough explorations of the reasons behind the findings that emerge. Improved sampling and better designed and validated research instruments would complete this package of recommendation.

  There are several ways to pursue this. Latham (2012) suggests the need to build a boundaryless psychology that integrates the findings from social psychology, clinical psychology, evolutionary psychology, and neuroscience. Experts on human resource management, industrial organization, and organizational behavior should contribute to this effort in creating a vision of people that is broad and not reductive, integrated and not fragmented, in its dealing with the whole person, both conventionally and across cultures.

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  Handbook of Approach and Avoidance Motivation

  • Andrew J. Elliot(Author)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Psychology Press

    (Publisher)

  33 Approach and Avoidance Motivation Across Cultures Takeshi Hamamura and Steven J. Heine

  DOI: 10.4324/9780203888148-73

  CONTENTS

  • Cultural Variation in Self-Enhancement Motivation
  • Summary of Section
  • Cultures and Self-Regulation: Approach and Avoidance Motivation
  • Summary of Section
  • Cross-Cultural Research of Phenomena Implicated in an Approach–Avoidance Framework
  • Regulatory Fit
  • Temporal Construal
  • Anticipating Future Events
  • Motivated Information Processing
  • Emotional Consequences
  • Summary of Section
  • Mechanisms Underlying Cross-Cultural Variation in Approach–Avoidance Motivation
  • Summary of Section
  • Conclusion
  • References

  The distinction between approach and avoidance motivation has been of enormous value for understanding the functioning of the mind. It has also been of much use in aiding cultural psychologists to better understand the interplay between culture and mind. Cultural psychology has primarily been concerned with how culture and mind influence each other (Shweder, 1991 ). In particular, much research has been conducted exploring how individuals from different cultures vary in terms of how they evaluate themselves (Cousins, 1989 ; Markus & Kitayama, 1991 ). Various findings about cultural differences in the self-concept have led to a number of different accounts for why people view themselves in the ways that they do (Cohen, Hoshino-Browne, & Leung, in press; Heine, Lehman, Markus, & Kitayama, 1999 ; Kitayama, Markus, Matsumoto, & Norasakkunkit, 1997 ). It is the thesis of this chapter that the framework of approach and avoidance motivation can integrate many of the findings from the cross-cultural exploration of the self-concept.

  This chapter first introduces how the approach and avoidance distinction fits with cross-cultural research on self-evaluation. Then, we discuss how the approach and avoidance framework can be utilized in developing a number of novel hypotheses in cross-cultural research. Last, we review how cross-cultural research can, in turn, be utilized to inform the mechanisms underlying approach and avoidance motivation. As the majority of this research has contrasted East Asians and Westerners, our focus for the review is also on research with these cultures.

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  Social Motivation

  • David Dunning(Author)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • Psychology Press

    (Publisher)

  Although self-expression is considered fundamental in many individualistic cultural contexts, the same cultural emphasis is not found in other cultural contexts. For example, in more collectivistic cultures, the act of self-expression is in general neither central nor important, and consequently, common patterns of perceptions, actions, interaction, and institutions do not encourage or endow great meaning to self-expression. The goal of the present review is to summarize and discuss some of the cultural variations in the motivation behind and effect of self-expression. We will discuss how people from different cultures practice self-expression in their actions and interactions and the psychological implications that result from these expressions.

  CULTURE AND THE DEFINITION OF THE SELF

  Extensive research has shown that the dominant model of the self in more individualistic cultures, such as in the United States, is an independent self in which a person is viewed to be a unique entity that is bounded and fundamentally separate from its social surrounding. This view holds that the individual is understood, practiced, and uniquely defined as a separate or distinct entity whose behavior is determined by some amalgam of internal attributes, such as thoughts, preferences, motives, goals, attitudes, beliefs, and abilities (Fiske, Kitayama, Markus, & Nisbett, 1998). These attributes enable, guide, and constrain behavior and motivate the expression of personal thoughts and the pursuit of personal goals and wellbeing (Kitayama & Markus, 2000; Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Markus, Mullally, & Kitayama, 1997; Morris & Peng, 1994). In these contexts, individuals are expected to make decisions based on their own volition, rather than on external influences or social constraints (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). In addition, these assumptions also shape the model of social relationships, which are assumed to be freely chosen and carry relatively few obligations (Adams & Plaut, 2003; Miller, Bersoff, & Harwood, 1990). Thus, people view relationships to be a benevolent resource in which they can engage with relatively little caution (Adams, 2005; Kim, Sherman, Ko, & Taylor, 2006).

  By contrast, in more collectivistic cultures, such as in many Asian cultures, an interdependent view of the self pervades. In these cultures, social relationships define the self, and the basic motives for a person’s behaviors are sought externally, rather than internally (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Shweder & Bourne, 1984; Triandis, 1989). Thus, a person is regarded as a flexible, connected entity who is bound to others, conforms to relational norms, and views group goals as primary and personal beliefs, needs, and goals as secondary (Kim & Markus, 1999; Kitayama & Uchida, 2005; Markus & Kitayama, 1991). In these cultures, people assume that social factors, such as norms, roles, tradition, and a sense of social obligation, guide behaviors (Fiske et al., 1998; Kitayama & Uchida, 2005). Therefore, the motivation to maintain social equilibrium, to enhance others’ evaluation of oneself, and to minimize social conflict takes precedence over the enhancement and assertion of individuality (Kim & Sherman, 2007; Leung, 1987; Markus & Kitayama, 1991). The model of relationships also takes an interdependent form in which relationships with others are less voluntary but more “given” and carry greater expectation of obligations (Adams & Plaut, 2003; Miller et al., 1990). In interdependent relationships, there is a more shared sense that relationships can and do have a central impact on one’s life than is assumed in independent relationships (Adams & Plaut, 2003). Therefore, one has to be relatively more cautious in this context because of the greater implications that social relationships have (Adams, 2005; Kim et al., 2006).

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