Expectancy theory proposes that job effort is a function of the values individuals place on work outcomes and the expectations they have concerning the likelihood of attaining these outcomes. Another hypothesis is that effort or work motivation produces changes in performance level. Utilizing cross-lagged correlations to evaluate the expectancy-effort and effort-performance relationships, it was found that grades in an introductory psychology course may have affected effort. Some support was also indicated for the contention that performance causes attitudes toward both performance (good grades in psychology) and work (studying psychology).
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