Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T14:38:53.411Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Professional Training in the Workplace: The Role of Achievement Motivation and Locus of Control

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2013

Javier Suárez-Álvarez ,
Ángela Campillo-Álvarez ,
Eduardo Fonseca-Pedrero ,
Eduardo García-Cueto  and
José Muñiz
Javier Suárez-Álvarez*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Oviedo (Spain)
Ángela Campillo-Álvarez
Affiliation:
Universidad de Oviedo (Spain)
Eduardo Fonseca-Pedrero
Affiliation:
Universidad de la Rioja (Spain)
Eduardo García-Cueto
Affiliation:
Universidad de Oviedo (Spain)
José Muñiz
Affiliation:
Universidad de Oviedo (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Javier Suárez-Álvarez. Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de Oviedo. Plaza Feijoo, s/n. 33003. Oviedo (Spain). E-mail: suarezajavier@uniovi.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The core objective of the present work is to explore the reasons why workers from different employment sectors join training courses to improve their job. To this end we assessed achievement motivation, locus of control and professional qualifications according to the participants’ employment sector. The final sample consisted of 1460 active Spanish workers from four different employment sectors: services, catering, metal construction, and others. Of the sample, 40.1% were male and 59.9% female, with a mean age of 33.3 years (SD = 9.7). The results show that the new scale developed to assess achievement motivation, locus of control and workers’ qualifications presents adequate psychometric characteristics. Statistically significant differences were found in relation to employment sector. The areas studied showed satisfactory levels of workers’ effort and achievement motivation to perform their jobs, though their attitudes toward the training courses as a basis for improving their employability are varied. Workers in the catering sector had higher levels of external attribution and the lowest interest in training. Those in the service sector had higher levels of achievement motivation and effort at work. Future research should develop a joint program covering the public and private sectors for the modification of these beliefs, attitudes and attributions.

Keywords

achievement motivationemployeeslocus of controlprofessional qualificationsself-report
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 16 , 2013 , E35
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, the Education Council of the Principality of Asturias and by the University of Oviedo. Project references: PSI2011-28638, IB-05-02, and UNOV-11-BECDOC

References

American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and National Council on Measurement in Education. (1999). Standards for educational and psychological testing. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Amabile, T. M., Hill, K. G., Hennessey, B. A., & Tighe, E. M. (1994). The work preference inventory: Assessing intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 950–967. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.66.5.950 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Atkinson, J. W., & Feather, N. T. (1966). A theory of achievement motivation. New York, NY: Wiley.Google Scholar
Bakker, A. B., Rodríguez-Muñoz, A., & Derks, D. (2012). La emergencia de la psicología de la salud ocupacional positiva [The emergence of positive occupational health psychology]. Psicothema, 24, 66–72.Google Scholar
Balluerka, N., Gorostiaga, A., Alonso-Arbiol, I., & Haranburu, M. (2007). La adaptación de instrumentos de medida de unas culturas a otras: Una perspectiva práctica [Test adaptation to other cultures: A practical approach]. Psicothema, 19, 124–133.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice–Hall.Google Scholar
Baum, J. R., Frese, M., & Baron, R. (2007). The psychology of entrepreneurship. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Bipp, T., Steinmayr, R., & Spinath, B. (2008). Personality and achievement motivation: Relationship among Big Five domain and facet scales, achievement goals, and intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 1454–1464. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.01.001 Google Scholar
Bonavia, T., Prado, V., & Barberá, D. (2009). Spanish adaptation and factor structure of the Denison Organizational Culture survey. Psicothema, 21, 633–638.Google Scholar
Brennan, R. L. (Ed.) (2006). Educational measurement. Westport, CT: ACE/Praeger.Google Scholar
Byrne, B. M. (2001). Structural equation modeling with AMOS. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Byrne, Z. S., Mueller-Hanson, R. A., Cardador, J. M., Thornton, G. C., Schuler, H., Frintrup, A., & Fox, S. (2004). Measuring achievement motivation: Tests of equivalency for English, German, and Israeli versions of the achievement motivation inventory. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 203–217. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2003.08.012 Google Scholar
Campbell, J. P., McCloy, R., Oppler, S. H., & Sager, C. E. (1993). A theory of performance. In Schmitt, N. & Borman, W. C. (Eds.), Personnel selection in organizations (pp. 35–70). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Carraher, S. M., Buchanan, J. K., & Puia, G. (2010). Entrepreneurial need for achievement in China, Latvia, and the USA. Baltic Journal of Management, 5, 378–396. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17465261011079767 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cassidy, T., & Lynn, R. (1989). A multifactorial approach to achievement motivation: The development of a comprehensive measure. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 62, 301–312.Google Scholar
Cecchini, J. A., González, C., Méndez, A., Fernández-Rio, J., Contreras, O., & Romero, S. (2008). Metas sociales y de logro, persistencia-esfuerzo e intenciones de práctica deportiva en el alumnado de Educación Física [Achievement and social Goals, persistence-effort, and intentions of sports practice in Physical Education Students]. Psicothema, 20, 260–265.Google Scholar
Collins, C. J., Hanges, P. J., & Locke, E. A. (2004). The relationship of achievement motivation to entrepreneurial behavior: A meta-analysis. Human Performance, 17, 95–117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15327043HUP1701_5 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chell, E. (2008). The entrepreneurial personality: A social construction. New York, NY: Routledge. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203938638 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, L.-H. (2008). Job satisfaction among information system (IS) personnel. Computers in Human Behavior, 24, 105–118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2007.01.012 Google Scholar
Dorer, H. L. (2001). Motivational differences between entrepreneurs and employees: A comparison of three models. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 62, 585.Google Scholar
Downing, S. M. (2006). Twelve steps for effective test development. In Downing, S. M. & Haladyna, T. M. (Eds.), Handbook of test development (pp. 3–25). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Eccles, J. S., Adler, T. F., Futterman, R., Goff, S. B., Kaczala, C. M., & Meece, J. L. (1983). Expectancies, values and academic behaviors. In Spence, J. T. (Ed.), Achievement and achievement motives (pp. 75–146). San Francisco, CA: Freeman.Google Scholar
Gagné, M., & Deci, E. L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 331–362. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/job.322 Google Scholar
Gamboa, J. P., Gracia, F., Ripoll, P., & Peiró, J. M. (2009). Employability and personal initiative as antecedents of job satisfaction. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 12, 632–640.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Green, M. H. (1995). Influences of job type, job status, and gender on achievement motivation. Current Psychology, 14, 159–165. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02686888 Google Scholar
Hambleton, R. K., Merenda, P. F., & Spielberger, C. D. (Eds.) (2005). Adapting educational and psychological tests for cross-cultural assessment. London, UK: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Hart, J. W., Stasson, M. F., Mahoney, J. M., & Story, P. (2007). The Big Five and achievement motivation: Exploring the relationship between personality and a two-factor model of motivation. Individual Differences Research, 5, 267–274.Google Scholar
Hermans, H. J. M. (1970). A questionnaire measure of achievement motivation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 54, 353–363. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0029675 Google Scholar
Hernández, A., Araya, C., García-Meneses, J., & González-Romá, V. (2009). Leader charisma and affective team climate: The moderating role of the leader’s influence and interaction. Psicothema, 21, 515–520.Google Scholar
Hu, L.-T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cut off criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kleinbeck, U. (2003). Achievement motivation. In Fernández-Ballesteros, R. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Psychological Assessment (Vol. 1, pp. 1–5). London, UK: SAGE.Google Scholar
Lang, J. W. B., & Fries, S. (2006). A revised 10-Item version of the Achievement Motives Scale: Psychometric properties in German-speaking samples. European Journal of Psychological Assessment 22, 216–224. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759.22.3.216 Google Scholar
Langan-Fox, J., & Roth, S. (1995). Achievement motivation and female entrepreneurs. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 68, 209–218. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8325.1995.tb00582.x Google Scholar
Lorenzo-Seva, U., & Ferrando, P. J. (2006). FACTOR: A computer program to fit the exploratory factor analysis model. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments and Computers, 38, 88–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/BF03192753 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Llewellyn, D. J., & Wilson, K. M. (2003). The controversial role of personality traits in entrepreneurial psychology. Education + Training, 45, 341–345. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00400910310495996 Google Scholar
Manassero, M. A., & Vázquez, A. (1998). Validación de una escala de motivación de logro [Validation of an achievement motivation scale]. Psicothema, 10, 333–351.Google Scholar
Martínez, E., Orengo, V., & Zornoza, A. (2012). El papel del entrenamiento autoguiado en la relación entre el conflicto de tarea y la innovación en equipos virtuales [The role of self-guided training in the relationship between task conflict and innovation in virtual teams]. Psicothema, 24, 29–34.Google Scholar
McClellan, D. C. (1961). The achieving society. New York, NY: Free Press.Google Scholar
McClelland, D. C., Atkinson, J. W., Clark, R. A., & Lowell, E. L. (1953). The achievement motive. New York, NY: Appleton-Century-Crofts. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/11144-000 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McClelland, D. C., Koestner, R., & Weinberger, J. (1989). How do self-attributed and implicit motives differ? Psychological Review, 96, 690–702. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0033-295X.96.4.690 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moreno, R., Martínez, R., & Muñiz, J. (2006). New guidelines for developing multiple-choice items. Methodology, 2, 65–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1614-2241.2.2.65 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muñiz, J., & Bartram, D. (2007). Improving international tests and testing. European Psychologist, 12, 206–219. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040.12.3.206 Google Scholar
Murray, H. A. (1943). Thematic Apperception Test Manual. Cambridge, UK: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998-2007). Mplus User’s Guide. (Fifth Ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.Google Scholar
Orten, C. (1995). The multifactorial achievement scale as a predictor of salary growth and motivation among middle-managers. Journal Behavior and Personality, 23, 159–162.Google Scholar
Pérez García, A. M. (1984). Dimensionalidad del constructo locus of control [Dimensionality of the locus of control construct]. Revista de Psicología General y Aplicada, 39, 471–488.Google Scholar
Rauch, A., & Frese, M. (2007). Let’s put the person back into entrepreneurship research: A meta-analysis on the relationship between business owners’ personality traits, business creation, and success. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 16, 353–385. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13594320701595438 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80(1), 1–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0092976 Google Scholar
Sánchez García, J. C. (2010). Evaluación de la personalidad emprendedora: Validez factorial del cuestionario de orientación emprendedora (COE) [Evaluation of the enterprising personality: Factor validity of the enterprising orientation questionnaire]. Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología, 42, 41–52.Google Scholar
Schmalt, H.-D. (1999). Assessing the achievement motive using the Grid Technique. Journal of Research in Personality, 33, 109–130. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.1999.2245 Google Scholar
Schmeiser, C. B. & Welch, C. (2006). Test development. In Brennan, R. L. (Ed.), Educational measurement (4th Ed.). Westport, CT: American Council on Education/Praeger.Google Scholar
Schuler, H., Thornton, G. C. I., Frintrup, A., & Mueller-Hanson, R. (2004). Achievement Motivation Inventory test manual. Goettingen, Germany: Hogrefe.Google Scholar
Schunk, D. H. (2000). Coming to terms with motivation constructs. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 116–119. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1018 Google Scholar
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (2006). SPSS Base 15.0 User’s Guide. Chicago, IL: SPSS Inc.Google Scholar
Stewart, W. H., & Roth, P. L. (2007). A meta-analysis of achievement motivation differences between entrepreneurs and managers. Journal of Small Business Management, 45, 401–421. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-627X.2007.00220.x Google Scholar
Tempelaar, D. T., Gijselaers, W. H., Schim, S., & Nijhuis, J. F. (2007). A structural equation model analyzing the relationship of student achievement motivations and personality factors in a range of academic subject-matter areas. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 32, 105–131. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2006.10.004 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van den Berg, P. T., & Feij, J. A. (2003). Complex relationships among personality traits, job characteristics, and work behaviors. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 11, 326–339. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0965-075X.2003.00255.x Google Scholar
Van den Broeck, A., Vander Elst, T., Dikkers, J., De Lange, A., & De Witte, H. (2012). This is funny: On the beneficial role of self-enhancing and affiliative humor in job design. Psicothema, 24, 87–93.Google ScholarPubMed
Wang, K. T., Slaney, R. B., & Rice, K. G. (2007). Perfectionism in Chinese university students from Taiwan: A study of psychological well-being and achievement motivation. Personality and Individual Differences, 42, 1279–1290. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2006.10.006 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, E. A. (1997). Multidimensional of achievement motivation among employed adults. The Journal of Social Psychology, 137, 542–544. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224549709595476 Google Scholar
Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Reviews, 92, 548–573. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0033-295X.92.4.548 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (2000). Expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 68–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1015 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilson, M. (2005). Constructing measures: An item response modeling approach. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Woo, S. E., Gibbons, A. M., & Thornton, G. C III. (2007). Latent mean differences in the facets of achievement motivation of undergraduate students and adult workers in the US. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 1687–1697. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2007.05.006 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, M., & Winne, P. H. (2009). Designing multimedia to trace goal-setting in studying. In Zhenh, R. (Ed.), Cognitive effects of multimedia learning (pp. 288–311). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.CrossRefGoogle Scholar