Expectancy Theory

Valence

Valence is the force of one's preference for a certain type of reward or result. It expresses the strength of one's desire to attain a personal goal that could be a raise in salary, a promotion, a recognition, a better quality job, and so forth. The valence of a reward is unique for each individual, being conditioned to his or her experiences, and could vary substantially over a period of time. Once anterior necessities are satisfied, newer ones always emerge to take their place.

Valences may be expressed by either positive or negative values, according to whether a person pursues positive or negative preferences for a specific outcome. Within a job situation, one could expect that a salary raise would be evaluated as a positive valence while a reprimand from a supervisor would provide a negative valence. However, if a person is indifferent to a given reward, the valence can be considered as zero. When an individual fulfills a task, the individual gives himor herself a reward from the simple fact that the task was finished. This is called an intrinsic reward or outcome. On the other hand, rewards that are provided by organizations or supervisors are called extrinsic rewards or outcomes.

Valence has its focus on the relationship between personal goals and rewards. This means it is related to the degree to which rewards come to satisfy personal objectives or individual necessities and the attractiveness of these potential rewards for each person.

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