Expectations Are: Definitions and Theories According to Psychological Studies

Expectations Are – Today, the term “expectations” is often used by many people, especially when talking about expectations for life that must be balanced with reality. Yep, expectations are basically the same as expectations, which are things or ideas that we want in the future. What’s more, if the expectations that arise from within are further strengthened by supporting factors, one of which is self-esteem.

Even though the existence of this expectation is natural for an individual, it should not be excessive, especially if you are reluctant to look at the existing reality. As Sinaumed’s gets older, he must realize that an expectation within us, regarding whatever it is, must be balanced with the course of reality in everyday life. So, what are those expectations?

Is the discussion about expectations included in the study of psychology? What are the factors that influence the emergence of expectations in humans? So, so that Sinaumed’s understands these things, let’s look at the discussion below!

What is Expectation?

If Sinaumed’s looks at the Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI), the word “expectation” means ‘expectation’. Yep, expectation is the same as hope, which is something we want to happen or materialize in the real world. An expectation or hope, does not only apply to an individual, but also in a group which will certainly have a positive impact. In psychological studies, there are several experts who have put forward the definition of this expectation. Reporting from education.co.id , here are some expert opinions about expectations.

`1. According to Fleming and Levie (1981)

Expectations are all the desires, hopes and aspirations regarding something to be achieved with real behavior and actions.

2. According to Sutisna (2001)

Expectation is a belief or belief from an individual about things that should happen in a certain situation.

3. Farmer (2005)

Expectation is a pleasure that occurs inconstantly, which arises from having an idea about something in the future or the past, especially about the problem that is being worried about.

So, since this time we are going to discuss expectations in psychological studies, there is nothing wrong with looking at the definition of “expectation” according to the psychological dictionary. Based on the psychology dictionary, expectations can be a learned tendency, where an organism can predict how a certain situation will appear by responding to a stimulus (Kartono, 1987).

Meanwhile, according to Riggio (1990), “expectancy is the perceived relationship between the individual’s effort and performance of the behavior” . That is, this expectation becomes the relationship felt by an individual between effort and reality that occurs in everyday life. Expectations will be considered as estimates from an individual to another individual or group (and vice versa), so that it will have a positive impact on the individual himself.

It is different from Snyder’s opinion, who argues that expectations can be defined as expectations that are driven by only one goal. According to him, these expectations or expectations are “the process of thinking about one’s goals, along with the motivation to move toward those goals (agency), and the ways to achieve those goals (pathway)”. That is, the process of thinking about a goal with the motivation to get these goals, accompanied by ways to achieve these goals. The concept of expectations also emphasizes 3 components, namely motivation ( agency ), strategy ( pathways ), and goals ( goals). So, if an individual cannot fulfill these 3 components, then his ideas cannot be called expectations. So, it can be concluded that,

“Expectation is the expectation of something that an individual wants to achieve so that it will happen in a certain situation, especially regarding the problem that is being worried about.”

Even though expectations within yourself are excessive, they can lead to disappointment and feelings of sadness, but for some people, their very existence determines success, you know… That’s why having expectations and optimism, especially in living life, must really be well related. If you only have high expectations, without carrying out a clear strategy, goals, and sense of optimism, then all of these expectations will be in vain.

Understanding Expectation Theory in Psychological Studies

Previously, it has been briefly explained that expectations have been developed in the form of theory, especially in psychological studies. In general, this theory of expectation has been developed by several psychologists, but the most popular are those of Victor Vroom, Edward Lawyer, and Lyman Porter.

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Victor Vroom put forward this expectation theory or theory of hope as Expectancy Theory and written in his book, it reads “expectancy theory is a theory about work motivation that focuses on how employees make choices among alternative behaviors and levels of effort” . That is, this expectation theory is a theory of work motivation that focuses on how a person can make a choice between the chosen behavior and the level of effort that will be carried out later.

Not only that, Victor Vroom also argues about his systematic theory of expectations in a book entitled Work and Motivation (1964). In his theory it states that expectations become a strong tendency to be able to act in a certain way, depending on how strong the hope is, with certain actions must be followed by certain consequences for the individual.

The existence of Expectancy-Value Theory which is in the psychological dictionary also defines it as “a theory of motivation in humans, which explains how human behavior is viewed in terms of the norms of individual expectations in achieving a goal, with a a situation where the motives can be aroused, as well as related to the incentive value of the goals of the target.

Meanwhile, according to Siagian (2004), argues that the essence of the theory of existing expectations will relate to the strength of an individual’s tendency to act, in a certain way, depending on how strong the expectation is, but must still be followed by realistic and rational actions. . That is why, the existence of the theory of expectations will always focus on things that are realistic and rational.

In a theory of expectations it also explains that all individuals in this world must have a certain way to achieve something or expectations that are indeed different, so they can be motivated especially if they believe that:

  • There is a positive relationship between efforts and the results to be achieved.
  • Positive results will definitely produce a return that is in accordance with expectations.
  • The results to be achieved can satisfy individual needs.
  • A strong desire to satisfy these needs can make his business more meaningful.

Actually, the existence of expectations from within an individual will always be there, especially because of the desire to achieve goals. Expectations are also one of the drivers that underlies a person to carry out an action. Yep, not infrequently, someone can achieve success after expectations are carried out logically first. After that, he began to think of ways or strategies that were appropriate and suitable for achieving these goals.

According to Tosi (1990), this expectation theory can be divided into 2, namely:

1. Effort-performance Expectancy (E-P)

In this expectation theory model, presenting the possibility of a given level of effort in order to produce a successful goal from the effort. Example: a sales worker who is trying to work (business) to be able to sell his goods and thinks how many items he can sell if he works hard (expectations).

2. Performance Outcome-expectancy (P-O)

In this second expectation theory model, it is possible that the display results will affect the results obtained, so that they are related to the achievement of their needs.

Actually, this expectation theory will always be related to motivation. Motivation can be something that ‘if someone really wants something and there is an open way of opportunity to get it, then that person will really try to get that desire’. Still in the opinion of Victor Vroom, the existence of motivation certainly leads to decisions about how much effort is expended in certain situations. However, the motivation itself is also based on a sequence of expectations in 2 stages, namely effort-achievement; and achievements.

Factors Influencing the Emergence of Expectations Within

Discussion about the factors that influence the emergence of expectations in a person is put forward by several experts.

According to Kreitner

According to Kreitner (2001), there are several factors that influence the emergence of expectations in a person, namely self-esteem, one’s degree, success from the past, help from others, information, and materials. Well, here is the description.

a. Pride

Actually, the expectations that exist in a person will definitely be influenced by that person’s self-esteem. A little trivia, self-esteem is a person’s impression of how good he is. Therefore, if someone has a high sense of self-esteem, then they will also tend to have high expectations, especially to raise their self-esteem in their surroundings.

b. Self Degree

The degree of self in a person will be recognized by the environment if that person can indeed get maximum results, especially when doing a job. Not infrequently, the degree of self can also affect a person’s expectations for doing his job.

c. Past Success

Usually, someone who has had success in the past, their expectations will increase. However, all of this must also be accompanied by harder efforts (strategies) so that these expectations can be realized. What’s more, if you have had success in the past, then that person has experience that can be used to meet their higher expectations.

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d. Help From Others

Through the help of others, one’s expectations of what one wants can also be realized. Yep, with the help of other people, expectations for maximum results will be easy to achieve.

e. Clear Information

Information is very useful for influencing expectations in a person, especially to get maximum results.

According to Jewel

According to Jewel (1998), there are 4 factors that influence expectations from within a person, namely.

a. Ability, Experience, Knowledge, and Expertise

The ability, experience, knowledge, and expertise possessed by a person also greatly influences the expectations that arise. Yep, someone will see and interpret something based on what they know, so it greatly influences expectations of what is expected.

b. Learning Process

An individual can form an expectation about the things he has learned, especially in the surrounding environment.

c. Physical Conditions of the Environment, Human Resources, and Others

An expectation turns out to be heavily influenced by the physical conditions and human resources around it. The environment must be seen whether it really supports expectations or not.

d. Other People’s Ratings

In this case, expectations are strongly influenced by other people’s evaluations. Because, the results they want also “want” to be seen by others.

Aspects of Existence of Expectations

The expectations or expectations embedded in the individual have several aspects contained in the expectation theory itself. According to Snyder (2000), the component aspects of this expectation theory are:

1. Goals _

Goals or goals are the goals of the stages of mental action that produce a cognitive component. According to Averill et al (in Snyder, 2000), suggests that these goals or objectives are the end point of the stages of individual mental behavior regarding expectations. This goal or goal must of course be valuable enough so that it can be achieved logically and can be in the short term or long term.

2. Pathway Thinking

According to Snyder (2003), pathway thinking is when a person’s way of thinking is in order to achieve a goal or goal, then he must also view himself as an individual who has the ability to develop a “path” to achieve it. Pathway thinking is marked as a message statement internally to convince oneself about what it is like to find ways to solve problems.

3. Agency Thinking

The existence of agency thinking is so important, especially for goal-oriented and facing obstacles. Agency reflects more on how a person perceives how to be able to achieve his goals, especially with the paths he has thought of. Usually, people who have high expectations often do self-talk, for example “Can I do this?”, “I can definitely do this,” and “I’m not going to stop here.” Well, when a person faces obstacles, then indirectly, his mind will motivate him to find the best alternative path.

4. Combination Between Pathway Thinking and Agency Thinking

Based on the expectation theory, the components of pathway thinking and agency thinking are 2 important components. Although in reality, if one of these components cannot be achieved, then the ability to maintain the achievement of goals will also not be sufficient. That is why, the components of pathway thinking and agency thinking must complement each other, have a positive correlation, and be reciprocal.

Unfortunately, not everyone has these components of pathway thinking and agency thinking . In fact, if a person has both of these components, the expectations are very high. According to Snyder, there are 4 categories in the pathway thinking and agency thinking components , namely:

1. The components of pathway thinking and agency thinking are low

Such a person has little faith that he can achieve his goals. Not infrequently, someone with low pathway thinking and agency thinking components , lives life without any purpose at all and feels depressed. The feeling of depression arises because he does not have the ability to achieve his goals.

2. The components of pathway thinking are low and agency thinking is high

Such a person becomes an individual who does not have enough mental energy to realize his goals. In fact, not infrequently, he feels burnout because he does something just to impress other people.

3. Components of high thinking pathways and low agency thinking

Such a person is more confident in achieving the desired goal. However, he often encounters problems in the process of achieving his goals, such as anger and frustration.

4. The components of pathway thinking and high agency thinking

Such a person can actually arrange clear goals and ways to achieve these goals in their minds. This person is even easy to interact with other people, and often will take advantage of opportunities to achieve their goals. Because his expectations are so high, his mind is active and has the belief that there are various options to achieve that goal.