A synthesis of Vroom's model with other social theories: An application to nursing education
Section snippets
Vroom's expectancy theory
VET focuses very simply yet specifically on what people want and their prospect of getting it (Marriner-Tomey, 2004). Vroom's variables are subdivided into three categories to include force, valence, and expectancy. Force describes the amount of effort one will exert to reach one's goal. Valence speaks to the level of attractiveness or unattractiveness of the goal. Valence is graded between + 1, an outcome that is highly attractive to the individual, and − 1, a highly unattractive goal. A valence
Vignette with decision process
To understand how motivational forces might be predicted using Vroom's theory for persons considering a nursing career, the following theoretical scenario is offered. Jane Smith is a 21-year-old single mother of two children. She lives in a small apartment and depends on her mother to help care for her family. Her children are three and four years old. Jane is saving money to send her children to pre-school in the fall. The school is located across the street from her mother's house. Jane works
Supporting social theories
VET, like a mechanical equation from elementary physics, measures a result at a point in time. To expand its predictive ability to a life-spanning human reality such as nursing education, I set it in a theoretical framework that fits Vroom's theory first specifically to adult education (e.g., Chapman model of college choice), and then to tested models of human behavior (the SCT) and career behavior (SCCT), and finally to models of lifelong development (Super's and Perry's).
Chapman model of college choice
It seems reasonable that both valence and expectancy would be reflected partially when the student chooses a college of nursing. Thus a full elaboration of Vroom's theory would include the variables theoretically involved in college choice. The Chapman model of college choice (1984) proposes that general student expectations of college life and choice are composed of an interaction between student characteristics and external forces. Student characteristics can include socioeconomic status,
Social cognitive theory and social learning theory
Both valence and expectancy have cognitive and social dimensions, which may be explained in terms of Social cognitive theory. Bandura (1989), the originator of social cognitive theory (SCT), posits that SCT, as it is known today, is rooted in social learning theory (SLT), which dates back to the late 1800s. SCT is also rooted in behaviorism, which explains why people act the way they do, but does so without reference to invisible constructs. In 1913, Watson proposed that behavior could be
Social cognitive career theory
Other theorists have applied SCT to education. Social cognitive career theory (SCCT), applied to educational decisions, would center on students' beliefs about performing a behavior such as persisting in college. SCCT and its daughter theories in education use factors that correspond to force, valence, and expectancy in VET. SCCT posits three components. Self-efficacy is defined as student confidence in academic ability based on past performance. Outcome expectations focus on the consequences
Persistence
SCCT factors in persistence, which can be defined as perseverance, diligence, and determination to complete a goal. Many factors play a role in a student's educational persistence. Tinto, 1975, Tinto, 1987, Tinto, 1993 linked persistence with student's interactions with the college environment — a social and intellectual integration of various factors. Tied to persistence is the concept of a student's identity with regard to personal development. Erikson described identity development as a
Super's life-span theory
VET resembles the force equations of basic physics; it is a static relationship. It is enhanced when we add the time dimension, using theories of human development such as Super's and Perry's.
Using a rainbow to illustrate a combination of life's roles, Super's life-span theory includes physiological assumptions that are graphically displayed and represent the life-span, life-space approach to career development. These assumptions are said to impact other characteristics of career development
Perry's theory of intellectual and ethical development
When we think about educational mobility, we think about the person developing. Perry's theory of intellectual and ethical development is considered to be a cognitive structural theory that “focuses on how people think about experiences and issues in their lives, rather than the context of those experiences and issues” (Evans et al., 1998, p.130). Perry's theory evolves around relatively static positions between which the individual transitions. Perry identifies themes or stages of experience,
The synthesis of Vroom's theory with other social theoretical variables
Based on an interrelationship with other social theories, Vroom's definitions of force, valence, and expectancy are demonstrated in Fig. 2 with regard to an LPN's decision about further nursing education.
The LPN's perceived effort needed to become an RN is driven by Vroom's concept of force. Force, we remember, describes the amount of effort one will put out to reach one's goal. With regard to force, social cognitive theory (SCT) augments VET, in that SCT names forethought as a regulator of
Conclusion
It is conceivable that the simple use of VET linked with other motivational conceptual frameworks can help to assess how people's goals and their prospect of getting them can be achieved. Hypothetically, as discussed in the vignette, a student's force can be increased by changing valence or expectancy. This paper does not explain every career decision. But it should help nurse educators test variables that hypothetically underlie students' valence and expectancy. For example, nurse educators
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