Main Content

Syllabus

The information contained on this page is designed to give students a representative example of material covered in the course. Any information related to course assignments, dates, or course materials is illustrative only. For a definitive list of materials, please check the online catalog 3-4 weeks before the course start date.

PSYCH 484 Work Attitudes and Motivation (3 credits): Survey of theory and research with respect to attitudes, morale, and motivation of employees and management.

Prerequisite: PSYCH 100; PSYCH 200 or STAT 200 or 6 credits of GQ



Overview

This course is designed to examine issues related to employees' work motivation and job attitudes, and will focus on both the causes and consequences of these constructs. Because there are many different approaches to the study of motivation, the first portion of the course will be spent examining various theories. The latter portion of the course will be devoted to examining the factors that affect motivation and to understanding job attitudes and outcomes. Major topics include the nature of human needs, reward structures, cognitive models of motivation (e.g., expectancy, equity, and goal setting theories), and job attitudes (e.g., satisfaction, commitment).


Objectives

The goals of this course are to:

  • define motivation and job attitudes in a work context and understand how individual characteristics, work characteristics, and organizational characteristics are interrelated in motivating workers;
  • offer explanations as to what (the factors that motivate), how (mechanisms by which people are motivated), when (under what conditions) and who (individual differences, leaders) of motivation through theories and research presented in the course;
  • understand the major components of each motivational approach and assess its strengths and weaknesses;
  • evaluate each motivational approach from the perspectives of a scientist (How much research support does the theory have?) as well as a practicing manager (How can/has the theory been utilized in organizations?);
  • learn how research is conducted in this area by reading and evaluating journal articles;
  • apply the motivational approaches to work settings to understand what improves and hinders employee motivation; and
  • compare and contrast approaches to motivation to understand the unique perspective each contributes to an overall understanding of motivation.

Expectations:

Students are expected to have read the articles and lesson readings before completing lesson activities. Some weeks the lesson reading is closely related to text, while other weeks it covers different material. Students can read either the readings or the lesson first. It is expected that everyone will participate in discussion by utilizing message boards and responding to messages that other students have posted. It is also expected that all members of a group will contribute to group work. Make sure not to fall behind on assignments. Assignments and quizzes will only be posted for a short period of time and once they are taken down, you cannot make up the assignment or take the quiz (unless there are legitimate circumstances such as a death in the family, serious illness, etc.).


Materials

Most World Campus courses require that students purchase materials (e.g., textbooks, specific software, etc.). To learn about how to order materials, please see the Course Materials page. You should check LionPATH approximately 3–4 weeks before the course begins for a list of required materials.

Library Resources

Many of the University Libraries resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Libraries website, you can

  • access magazine, journal, and newspaper articles online using library databases;
  • borrow materials and have them delivered to your doorstep—or even your desktop;
  • get research help via email, chat, or phone using the Ask a Librarian service; and
  • much more. 

You must have an active Penn State Access Account to take full advantage of the Libraries' resources and service.  The Off-Campus Users page has additional information about these free services.

E-Reserves

This course requires that you access Penn State library materials specifically reserved for this course. You can access these materials by selecting Library Resources in your course navigation, or by accessing the Library E-Reserves Search and search for your instructor's last name.


Technical Specifications

For this course we recommend the minimum World Campus technical requirements listed below:

Technical Requirements
Operating System

Canvas, Penn State's Learning Management System (LMS), supports most recent versions of Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac operating systems. 

To determine if your operating system is supported, please review Canvas' computer specifications.

Browser

Canvas supports the last two versions of every major browser release. It is highly recommended that you update to the newest version of whatever browser you are using.

Please note that Canvas does not support the use of Internet Explorer. Students and instructors should choose a different browser to use.   

To determine if your browser is supported, please review the list of Canvas Supported Browsers.


Note: Cookies must be enabled, and pop-up blockers should be configured to permit new windows from Penn State websites.
Additional Canvas Requirements For a list of software, hardware, and computer settings specifically required by the Canvas LMS, please review Canvas' computer specifications.
Additional Software

All Penn State students have access to Microsoft Office 365, including Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Students will need a PDF reader, such as Adobe Reader.

Hardware

Monitor: Monitor capable of at least 1024 x 768 resolution
Audio: Microphone, Speakers
Camera (optional, recommended): Standard webcam - many courses may require a webcam for assignments or exam proctoring software.

Mobile Device (optional) The Canvas mobile app is available for versions of iOS and Android. To determine if your device is capable of using the Canvas Mobile App, please review the Canvas Mobile App Requirements.

Outreach Helpdesk

If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the Service Desk.

For registration, advising, disability services, help with materials, exams, general problem solving, visit World Campus Student Services!


Course Requirements and Grading

Quizzes

Each week an open-book quiz will be posted on ANGEL. The questions are usually multiple-choice but there are some true/false questions, too. Quizzes will cover information that was covered in class that week. For example, the quiz in lesson 2 will cover the information presented in the Lesson and readings during that lesson. There will be a total of 10 quizzes that count towards your final grade, there will be 11 available, but your lowest one will be dropped. Quizzes are worth 10 points apiece. The quizzes together are worth 100 points, or 10% of the course grade.

Wiki Projects

Over the course of the semester you will also be required to participate in three group projects where you analyze motivation and job attitude theories and concepts by editing, and creating a case application for a publically viewable wiki page (online editable encyclopedia). For each wiki project, you will be required to have a discussion with your assigned group members (assigned by your instructor after the first week of the semester.) and then to create a case application and edit the wiki page for that theory (or theories). To access the team listings, go to the Roster/Team listing section. Your grade will be determined in part by group participation and ratings of quality of work. You will be mostly graded on the process of creating the wiki; the end result will only be graded as a reflection of the group process. See the grading rubric and assignment instructions for more details. Each of your three wiki group projects is worth 100 points for a total of 300 points. For each day that the wiki projects are late, 10 points will be deducted.

These are great assignments for several reasons, but the most important is that the document lives on and it is something that you can direct a graduate school admissions person or supervisor to in order to show the quality of your work.

Weekly Discussion Board

Every week a discussion question will be posted on the message board. These questions are designed to elicit discussion from members of the class. You will need to participate in ten questions over the course of the semester (the final one is required, and there will be fourteen available for you to choose from). You are expected to put some thought into your answers for these questions by using examples from your personal life experiences, knowledge of actual people in society, and by incorporating information from the class (Lessons or readings). You will write approximately two to three paragraphs in response to the question. You will also provide a substantive reply (two to three paragraphs) to responses that other students have posted. Do not simply agree or disagree with other students, but explain why you agree or disagree. You will be graded on the thoughtfulness of your responses and your effort in getting involved in discussion. Each of the ten questions is worth 30 points total for a total of 300 points. This is 30% of the course grade. See the grading rubric and assignment instructions for more details.

Synthesis Paper

In order to help you apply the concepts that we have discussed in class, you will be required to write a final paper, which is due at the end of the semester. The paper requires application of research and theories about work motivation and attitudes to a real work situation that you (or someone that you know) has encountered. It should be approximately 9-12 pages long. The paper is worth 120 points (100 points for the paper and 20 points for related assignments) or approximately 15% of the course grade. For each day that the synthesis paper is late, 10 points will be deducted. See the Lesson 14: Synthesis Paper folder for specific instructions and additional resources.

Due Dates

Unless otherwise noted, all assignments are due by 9 am Eastern Time the day after the lesson is completed. So for instance, an assignment that addresses the topic in Lesson 3 would be due at 9 am the day Lesson 4 starts. There is one exception to this rule, the discussion boards. Your first post is due by 9 am the fourth day of the lesson (Thursday if the lesson started on a Monday, Saturday if the lesson started on Wednesday) so that your classmates have time to read and respond in a thoughtful conversation. The final post is then due by 9 am the day after the lesson is completed.

Late Policy

This is a semester-based course with deadlines. Students are expected to complete work by posted deadlines. Please check the course schedule for the times and dates that assignments are due in this course (times are listed in North American Eastern Time). Please contact your instructor to discuss legitimate and unavoidable situations that may cause lateness (such as illness, injury or family emergency). If you know that you are going to miss a deadline, please contact your instructor in advance of that deadline to discuss an extension (or if you are not able to contact the instructor before the deadline, as soon as you are able). Decisions regarding extensions will be made at the discretion of the instructor on a case-by-case basis.

In the absence of a legitimate and unavoidable situation, late work will be accepted at the discretion of the instructor and will be penalized up to 10% of the total assignment points for each day of lateness. Unless there is a legitimate and unavoidable situation that causes prolonged lateness, work more than 1 week late will not be accepted.

The final grade will be determined as follows:

Grading Categories
Assignment Type Points Percentage
Quizzes 100 points 12.2%
Wiki Group Projects 300 points 36.6%
Discussions 300 points 36.6%
Synthesis Paper 120 points 14.6%
Totals 820 Total Points 100%

The final grading scale will be as follows:

Final Grading Scale
Points Percentage Grade
763-820 93-100% A
738-762 90-92% A-
722-737 88-89% B+
681-721 83-87% B
656-680 80-82% B-
615-655 75-79% C+
574-614 70-74% C
492-573 60-69% D
0-491 Below 60% F
 

Course Schedule

Note: All due dates reflect North American eastern time (ET).

Course Schedule
Week 1
Lesson 1: Course Introduction & Introduction to Work Motivation and Job Attitudes
Readings:
  • "Getting Started" Introduction Items
  • Lesson 1 Commentary
  • Gittins (2007)
Assignments:
  • Academic Integrity Form (located under the "Activities" link)
  • Discussion 1
Week 2
Lesson 2: Need Theories: What Do I Want When I Work?
Readings:
  • Lesson Commentary
  • Adie, Duda, & Ntoumanis (2008)
Assignments:
  • Discussion 2
  • Quiz 1
  • Needs Wiki (Team 1)
Week 3
Lesson 3: Reinforcement Theory: What are the Rewards for My Work?
Readings:
  • Lesson Commentary
  • Schacter (2009)
Assignments:
  • Discussion 3
  • Quiz 2
  • Reinforcement Wiki (Team 2)
Week 4
Lesson 4: Expectancy Theory: Is There a Link Between My effort and What I Really Want?
Readings:
  • Lesson Commentary
  • Chen & Fang (2007)
Assignments:
  • Discussion 4
  • Quiz 3
  • Expectancy Wiki (Team 3)
Week 5
Lesson 5: Equity Theory: Is What I Get for My Work Fair Compared to Others?
Readings:
  • Lesson Commentary
  • Stecher & Rosse (2007)
Assignments:
  • Discussion 5
  • Quiz 4
  • Equity Wiki (Team 4)
Week 6
Lesson 6: Goal Setting Theory: What am I Trying to Achieve in My Work?
Readings:
  • Lesson Commentary
  • Bennett (2009)
  • Gergen & Vanourek (2009)
Assignments:
  • Discussion 6
  • Quiz 5
  • Goal Setting Wiki (Team 1)
Week 7
Lesson 7: Self-Efficacy Theory: Do I Think that I Can Succeed In My Work?
Readings:
  • Lesson Commentary
  • Rottinghaus, Larson & Borgen (2003)
Assignments:
  • Discussion 7
  • Quiz 6
  • Self-Efficacy and Social CognitiveWiki (Team 2)
Week 8
Lesson 8: Intergroup Theories: How do the People Around Me Influence Me?
Readings:
  • Lesson Commentary
  • Umphress, Simmons, Boswell & del Carmen Triana (2008)
Assignments:
  • Discussion 8
  • Quiz 7
  • Intergroup Wiki (Team 3)
Week 9
Lesson 9: Control Theory: How do I Regulate My Behavior?
Readings:
  • Lesson Commentary
  • Luria (2008)
Assignments:
  • Discussion 9
  • Quiz 8
  • Control Wiki (Team 4)
Week 10
Lesson 10: Job Design: Do I Find My Work Interesting and Challenging?
Readings:
  • Lesson Commentary
  • Campion & Thayer (1987)
  • Kovac (2008)
  • Bright (2008)
Assignments:
  • Discussion 10
  • Quiz 9
  • Job Design Wiki (Team 1)
Week 11
Lesson 11: Job Satisfaction: Do I Like My Job?
Readings:
  • Lesson Commentary
  • Bright (2008)
  • Shepherd (2008)
  • Swift (2008)
Assignments:
  • Discussion 11
  • Quiz 10
  • Job Satisfaction Wiki (Team 2)
Week 12
Lesson 12:  Work and Organizational Commitment: Am I Attached to the Organization?
Readings:
  • Lesson Commenatry
  • Business Daily (2008)
  • Evans, Gunz & Jalland (2009),
  • Ja-young (2008)
  • Stirling (208)
Assignments:
  • Discussion 12
  • Quiz 11
  • Work and Organizational CommitmentWiki (Team 3)
Week 13
Lesson 13: Lateness, Absenteeism, Turnover, and Burnout: Am I Likely to Miss Work?
Readings:
  • Lesson Commentary
  • Podsakoff, Lepine & Lepine (2007)
  • Brydon-Miller, M. (1997). Participatory Action Research: Psychology and Social Change. Journal of Social Issues, 53(4). 657-666.
Assignments:
  • Discussion 13
  • Lateness, Absenteeism, Turnover and Burnout Wiki (Team 4)
Week 14
Lesson 14: Synthesis Paper
Readings:
  • none
Assignments:
  • Synthesis Paper
Week 15
Lesson 15: Putting it All Together: Work Motivation and Job Attitudes
Readings:
  • NDA (2009) Case Study
  • Siemens (2009) Case Study
Assignments:
  • Discussion 14 (required participation)
 

 

Note: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please go to the Graduation Information on the My Penn State Online Student Portal.

Formal instruction will end on the last day of class. Provided that you have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password, you will continue to be able to access the course materials for one year, starting from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered (with the exception of library reserves and other external resources that may have a shorter archival period). After one year, you might be able to access the course based on the policies of the program or department offering the course material, up to a maximum of three years from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered. For more information, please review the University Course Archival Policy.


Academic Integrity

Academic integrity—scholarship free of fraud and deception—is an important educational objective of Penn State. Academic dishonesty can lead to a failing grade or referral to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to

  • cheating,
  • plagiarism,
  • fabrication of information or citations,
  • facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others,
  • unauthorized prior possession of examinations,
  • submitting the work of another person or work previously used without, informing the instructor and securing written approval, and
  • tampering with the academic work of other students.

Students are responsible for maintaining academic integrity. Violations include cheating on exams or quizzes, talking to others during an exam or quiz, getting help from others on exams or quizzes, having notes accessible during exams or quizzes, looking at another student's answers during an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and dishonesty in any aspect of course participation. Also, you may not share any information from this course (including assignments and papers) with others, nor post such information electronically without the permission of the instructor. Violations of academic integrity including charges of plagiarism) and may result in a grade of F for the course as well as other penalties (see Faculty Senate Policy 49-20).

Heads up – several note-taking/note-sharing companies approach students about “jobs” (including Nittany Notes and those that appear to be connected to PSU). If this is something that you want to do, you MUST talk with your instructor first. Unless you have permission, you risk academic sanctions related to charges of plagiarism and disciplinary sanctions.

How to avoid plagiarism in this course

  • Always place copied information within quotation marks, cite the source, and include information about the source in a bibliography.
  • Always cite paraphrased information and include information about the source in a bibliography.
  • When in doubt, cite and include the source in a bibliography.

Please make sure you submit the correct version of your paper. Whatever you hand in will be considered your final version and will be graded, even if you submit a blank document. Please note, claiming that you submitted the wrong file is NOT an acceptable excuse for work containing plagiarism.

How Academic Integrity Violations Are Handled

In cases where academic integrity is questioned, procedure requires an instructor to notify a student of suspected dishonesty before filing a charge and recommended sanction with the college. Procedures allow a student to accept or contest a charge. If a student chooses to contest a charge, the case will then be managed by the respective college or campus Academic Integrity Committee. If a disciplinary sanction also is recommended, the case will be referred to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.

All Penn State colleges abide by this Penn State policy, but review procedures may vary by college when academic dishonesty is suspected. Information about Penn State's academic integrity policy and college review procedures is included in the information that students receive upon enrolling in a course. To obtain that information in advance of enrolling in a course, please contact us.

Additionally, World Campus students are expected to act with civility and personal integrity; respect other students' dignity, rights, and property; and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their own efforts. An environment of academic integrity is requisite to respect for oneself and others, as well as a civil community.

For More Information on Academic Integrity at Penn State

Please see the Academic Integrity Chart for specific college contact information or visit one of the following URLs:


Academic Accommodations

Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has resources for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources (SDR) website provides contacts for disability services at every Penn State campus. For further information, please visit the SDR website.

In order to apply for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability resources office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation based on the documentation guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability resources office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.


Additional Policies

The purpose of course communication tools is to provide students with a quick method for contacting faculty, teaching assistants, and other students of the class, in regards to course related questions, comments, and concerns. Please note that, according to University policy AD95/AD96, course communication tools may not be used as a method for emailing unauthorized content including but not limited to: solicitation for businesses, advertisements, selling or distributing personal or class materials, transmitting offensive, obscene, or harassing materials, chain letters, news posts, or other forms of “spam” email. Doing so will be considered a violation of course and/or University policies, and might also violate the student code of conduct and the expectations expressed in the Penn State Principles. Resulting penalties might include the suspension or termination of system access, as well as disciplinary or academic sanctions. When appropriate, information about violators will be passed on to University Police Services. If you have any questions in regards to whether or not a particular email you wish to send would violate University policies, please check with your instructor before sending messages to others through the University system.

For information about additional policies regarding Penn State Access Accounts; credit by examination; course tuition, fees, and refund schedules; and drops and withdrawals, please see the World Campus Student Center website.

Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or dependents with unique circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made.


Disclaimer: Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus are subject to change, and you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. Your instructor will notify you of any changes.


 

 


Top of page