Introduction
Motivation is a complex topic that we hear about and even talk about regularly, but I don't think most of us have ever taken the time to really understand it. I am definitely guilty of it. Thanks to my undergraduate major in psychology I had a basic understanding of motivation though reward/punishment systems, but if I’m being honest most of it was framed through Pavlov’s slobbering dogs and bells rather than people.
Now that I have had the opportunity to understand motivation more deeply, I’d like to share the most practical bits of what I’ve learned with you. The easiest way to make sense motivation is to reflect on yourself and understand what motivates you, when, and why. But a fringe benefit of learning about the different types of motivation is that you might get a glimpse of understanding of the people around you as well. Just remember, we never diagnose our friends and family with anything that we read on the internet! :)
The Pieces to Motivation
In order to make sense of all the different pieces that are involved with motivation, I am going to explain it using a conceptual framework. A conceptual framework is just a way to organize complex ideas to make them easier to understand.
This series will be using a conceptual framework of motivation call Self-Determination Theory (SDT). SDT was first coined by Deci (1971) in a study of external rewards and motivation, but was not accepted as an empirical theory of motivation until the 80’s. By the 1990’s Deci & Ryan (1991 & 1995) began expanding the work to include three intrinsic needs, individual differences, and interactions with the social environment. The interaction of these pieces creates varying levels of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, which lie along a continuum.
Needs
Self-determination theory outlines 3 basic psychological needs which play a crucial role in self-determined motivation and well-being. The satisfaction of these needs is the basis from which a person draws intrinsic motivation; an unsatisfied need decreases intrinsic motivation.
Competence – controlling outcomes through the ability to do something successfully (White, 1959)
Autonomy – controlling one’s own decisions and behaviors (Deci, 1971)
Relatedness – connection to others (Deci, 1971)
Individual Differences
Self-determination theory recognizes that needs exist in every person, but variation in autonomy occurs between individuals due to the social environment (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Although the variation is between non-autonomous to highly autonomous, the the continuum is not developmental. This means that an individual does not necessarily move through the causality orientations in a sequential manner.
Causality orientations (Deci & Ryan, 1985) and life goals (Kasser & Ryan, 1996) are the two major categories of individual differences in motivation. Deci & Ryan (1985) defines three general causality orientations:
Autonomous orientation – satisfaction of all three basic needs leads one to experience social contexts as self-determined
Control orientation – satisfaction of needs for relatedness and competence but lacks autonomy, leading one to experience social contexts as control or be controlled
Impersonal orientation – no satisfaction of needs, leads one to experience social contexts as uncontrollable
Additionally, there are two categories of life goal aspirations:
Intrinsic aspirations – personal development, generativity, etc.
Extrinsic aspirations – appearance, status, etc.
Conclusion
Self-Determination Theory provides us an excellent framework through which to explore motivation. Considerations of universal needs, variations in need satisfaction, and life goals helped Deci & Ryan to create the Self-Determination Theory Continuum (2000). Deeper exploration of the continuum will help us to understand the nuances of motivation. Hopefully the subsequent contributions in this series will help you to identify what is happening in your own motivation at work and in your personal life.
Thanks for reading!
References
Deci, E. L. (1971). Effects of externally mediated rewards on intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 18, 105–115.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.
Deci, E., & Ryan, R. (1991). A motivational approach to self: Integration in personality. In R. Dienstbier (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation: Perspectives on motivation. 38, 237–288. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1995). Human autonomy: The basis for true self-esteem. In M. Kernis (Ed.), Efficacy, agency, and self-esteem (pp. 3149). New York: Plenum.
Kasser, T.; Ryan, R. M. (1996). "Further examining the American dream: Differential correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic goals". Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 22(3), 280–287.
White, R. W. (1959). "Motivation reconsidered: The concept of competence". Psychological Review. 66(5), 297–333.
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