fei75766_ch18_569-609.indd 580  02/24/20 10:50 AM
Part VI    Learning-Cognitive Theories580
Freedom of Movement  Behavior ispartly determined byourexpectancies: thatis,
ourbestguess thataparticular reinforcement willfollow aspecific response. Inthe
general prediction formula, freedom of movement (FM)isanalogous toexpectancy. 
Itisone’s overall expectation ofbeing reinforced forperforming those behaviors 
thataredirected toward satisfying some general need. Toillustrate, aperson with
astrong need fordominance could behave inavariety ofways tosatisfy thatneed. 
Shemight select herhusband’s clothes, decide what college curriculum hersonwill
pursue, direct actors inaplay, organize aprofessional conference involving dozens 
ofcolleagues, orperform anyoneofahundred other behaviors aimed atsecuring 
reinforcement forherdominance need. Theaverage ormean levelofexpectancies 
thatthese behaviors willleadtothedesired satisfaction isameasure ofherfreedom 
ofmovement intheareaofdominance.
Freedom ofmovement canbedetermined byholding need value constant 
andobserving one’s need potential. Forexample, ifaperson places exactly the
same value ondominance, independence, loveandaffection, andeach oftheother 
needs, thenthatperson willperform those behaviors judged tohave thegreatest 
expectancy ofbeing reinforced. Iftheperson performs behaviors leading tophysi -
calcomfort, forexample, thenthere willbemore freedom ofmovement inthat
need complex thaninanyoftheother need complexes. Ordinarily, ofcourse, need 
value isnotconstant, because most people prefer thesatisfaction ofoneneed over
others.
Need Value  Aperson’s need value (NV)isthedegree towhich sheorheprefers 
onesetofreinforcements toanother. Rotter, Chance, andPhares (1972) defined 
need value asthe“mean preference value ofasetoffunctionally related reinforce -
ments” (p.33).Inthegeneral prediction formula, need value istheanalog of
reinforcement value. When freedom ofmovement isheldconstant, people willper-
form those behavior sequences thatleadtosatisfaction ofthemost preferred need. 
Ifpeople haveequal expectancies ofobtaining positive reinforcement forbehaviors 
aimed atthesatisfaction ofanyneed, thenthevalue theyplace onaparticular need 
complex willbetheprincipal determinant oftheirbehavior. Iftheyprefer indepen -
dence toanyother need complex, andiftheyhaveanequal expectation ofbeing 
reinforced inthepursuit ofanyoftheneeds, thentheirbehavior willbedirected 
toward achieving independence.
General Prediction Formula
Thebasic prediction formula islimited tohighly controlled situations where expec -
tancies, reinforcement value, andthepsychological situation areallrelatively sim-
pleanddiscrete. Inmost situations, however, prediction ofbehavior ismuch more 
complex because behaviors andreinforcements usually occur infunctionally related 
sequences. Consider again thecaseofLaJuan, thegifted student whowashaving dif-
ficulty staying awake inadullandboring class. Thebasic prediction formula offers 
some indication ofthelikelihood that,inthespecific situation ofaboring lecture, 
LaJuanwillrestherhead onherdesk. However, amore generalized prediction for-
mula isneeded topredict herneed potential forgaining therecognition-status thatFinal PDF to printer