According to identity-based motivation theory, interpretation of experience difficulty matters. How does this affect behavior?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

According to this theory, experiencing difficulty in the workplace, such as exclusion, can affect employees’ motivation to undertake or complete tasks. For example, when an employee experiences difficulties and adversity she or he may conclude that the task is impossible, or “not for me,” indicating that effort is a waste of time and that one should turn one’s attention elsewhere. Alternatively, the difficulty could signal task importance because worthwhile goals are often difficult to attain—“no pain, no gain.” Interpretation of experienced difficulty matters. If the difficulty associated with the behavior is understood as underscoring its importance, then one would feel motivated to act and exert effort. In contrast, if an individual perceives that the difficulty associated with a behavior underscores the base rate for success, then experiencing difficulty indicates that “this is not for me,” which can result in disengagement and abandonment of the behavior. Individuals carry multiple identities and different workplace situational cues make certain identities more or less salient for an employee.