| Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology, and Life Sciences, Vol. 11, Iss. 4, Oct, 2007, pp. 473-498 @2007 Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology & Life Sciences An Approach to the Study of Dynamics of Work Motivation Using the Diary Method Abstract: This study is concerned with work motivation as a dynamic process.
Twenty workers kept a motivation diary over a period of several weeks.
Using a PDA they recorded their level of motivation, self-efficacy beliefs
and perceived instrumentality with respect to the task being carried out.
The time series obtained were analyzed using common procedures in the study
of dynamic systems in order to determine whether motivation followed linear
or nonlinear patterns. The results revealed highly nonlinear dynamics for the
different variables studied. The implications of these findings are discussed
and questions are raised regarding the basic assumptions underlying current
theories and models of motivation, for example, the assumptions of linearity
and stability. Keywords: work motivation, nonlinear dynamics, complexity, Hurst exponent, diary method |