Glossary

The tendency to make estimates based on an earlier initial value.

Evaluations that relate what is happening in the environment to people’s values, goals, and beliefs. Appraisal theories of emotion contend that emotions are caused by patterns of appraisals, such as whether an event furthers or hinders a goal and whether an event can be coped with.

A predisposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable way to objects or persons in one’s environment.

The cognitive process by which people interpret the reasons or causes for their behavior.

The tendency to evaluate new information based on the most recent or most easily recalled examples.

Learning to behave in a certain way to avoid encountering an undesired or unpleasant consequence.

Model of human behavior that suggests that humans try to make rational decisions but are bounded due to cognitive limitations.

The tendency to pay more attention to information that confirms our existing beliefs and less attention to information that is contrary to our beliefs.

One type of organizational justice, which refers to the perceived fairness of outcomes.

A subjective state of being often described as feelings.

The transfer or spread of emotions between or among individuals.

The capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and others’ emotions.

The regulation of feelings and expressions for organizational purposes.

In individuals, autonomy and discretion to make their own decisions, as well as control over the resources needed to implement those decisions.

The tendency of decision makers to remain committed to poor decision, even when doing so leads to increasingly negative outcomes.

Principles or standards of behavior to which we hold ourselves.

In expectancy theory, the link between effort and performance, which refers to the strength of the individual’s expectation that a certain amount of effort will lead to a certain level of performance.

The principle that suggests that undesired behavior will decline as a result of a lack of positive reinforcement.

Motivation that arises from external factors such as compensation, punishment, and tangible rewards.

Rewards that come from outside the individual—things like pay raises, promotions, bonuses, and prestigious assignments.

The tendency to be influenced by the way that a situation or problem is presented.

The act of intentionally deceiving a person or organization or misrepresenting a relationship in order to secure some type of benefit, either financial or nonfinancial.

The three factors that increase the likelihood of an individual committing fraud, as well as other forms of ethical violations; these factors are pressure, opportunity, and rationalization.

Theories of emotion that emphasize the adaptive role of an emotion in handling common problems throughout evolutionary history.

The tendency to underestimate the effects of external or situational causes of behavior and to overestimate the effects of internal or personal causes.

The reasoning that holds that if a chance event has happened less frequently in the recent past, it is more likely to happen in the near future (or vice versa).

An approach to values-driven leadership development that helps you learn how to effectively act on your values and ethical principles in the context of your professional responsibilities.

Mental shortcuts that allow a decision maker to reach a decision quickly. They are strategies that develop based on prior experience.

A group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to.

Values concerning the way we approach end-states.

In expectancy theory, the link between performance and outcome, which refers to the strength of the expectation that a certain level of performance will lead to a particular outcome.

One type of organizational justice, which refers to the manner in which an employee is treated.

Motivation that arises from internal factors such as autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Rewards that come from within the individual—things like satisfaction, contentment, sense of accomplishment, confidence, and pride.

A pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experience.

The extent to which a company conducts its business operations in accordance with applicable regulations, statutes, and laws.

The set of forces that prompt a person to release energy, or exert effort, in a certain direction.

The gap between what is and what is required.

Removing an undesirable consequence to encourage desired behavior.

The capacity of the nervous system to modify its organization.

Decisions that are novel and not based on well-defined or known criteria.

The relative strength of an individual’s identification with and involvement in an organization.

Employee perceptions of fairness in the workplace, encompassing three distinct forms of justice: distributive (fair outcomes), procedural (fair process), and interactional (the manner in which a person is treated).

A group that we don’t belong to and that we view as fundamentally different from us.

A phenomenon in which intrinsic motivation is diminished when extrinsic motivation is given.

A desirable consequence that satisfies an active need or that removes a barrier to need satisfaction.

One type of organizational justice, which refers to the fairness of the process used to determine outcomes.

Decisions that are repeated over time and for which an existing set of rules can be developed.

Anything that decreases a specific behavior.

System of decision-making in the brain that is quick and intuitive.

Another person, used for comparison purposes.

System of decision-making in the brain that is logical, analytical, and methodical.

A theory of motivation that holds that people do things because they know that certain consequences will follow.

Anything that increases a specific behavior.

The act of blaming an out-group when the in-group experiences frustration or is blocked from obtaining a goal.

An expectation held by a person that alters their behavior in a way that tends to make it true.

The tendency for individuals to attribute their successes to their own actions while attributing their failures to others.

The tendency to prefer the familiar, specifically people that look and think like us.

A widely held generalization about a group of people. Stereotyping is a process in which attributes are assigned to people solely on the basis of their class or category. It is particularly likely to occur when one meets new people, since very little is known about them at that time.

Time, energy, money, or other costs that have been expended in the past.

The fallacy of attaching a greater value to something than is warranted because a person has already invested time, resources, and/or emotion in that thing (or person).

End-state goals that we prize.

In expectancy theory, the outcome, which refers to the degree to which the individual expects the anticipated outcome to satisfy personal needs or wants. Some outcomes have more valence, or value, for individuals than others do.

An enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence.

The gap between what is and what is desired.