Psychology lecture 16- Self-determination theory PDF

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lecture notes on self-determination theory, the surrounding sub-theories, the impact this can have on motivation, measures of self-determination and how to increase self-determined motivation...

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Sport & Exercise Psychology- Lecture 16- Self-determination Theory Self-determination is a meta-theory comprising three sub-theories that aim to explain human motivation & behaviour based on individual differences in motivational orientations, contextual influences on motivation and interpersonal perceptions:   

The cognitive evaluation sub-theory The organismic integration sub-theory The basic psychological needs sub-theory

Cognitive Evaluation Sub-Theory This theory outlines the environmental or contextual contingencies that support or hinder self-determined motivation. It hypothesises that an individual performing a behaviour for external rewards (for example money) will persist if the reward is always present. Withdrawing this reward will most likely result in discontinuation. This is called the undermining effect which occurs because the reward significantly lowers levels of intrinsic motivation. Deci & Ryan (1987) suggest that the mechanism responsible for lowered intrinsic motivation is a shift in perceptions of the reason/control of their behaviour. The athlete no longer performs the behaviour for intrinsic reasons and their perception of the reason for the behaviour shifts from being motivated intrinsically to extrinsic reasons.

The Organismic Integration Sub-Theory Continues the cognitive evaluation theory distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and explains the processes by which people integrate behaviours that are externally regulated and incorporate them into current self-determined behaviours into their system.

The Basic Psychological Needs Sub-Theory This theory provides a framework for explaining the origins of self-determined forms of motivation based on innate psychological needs. Self-determined motivation arises from individuals innate tendency to satisfy three basic psychological needs:   

Autonomy- the sense of control over outcomes & behaviours. Competence- experiencing high ability. Relatedness- ability to relate to and care for others.

The needs are considered fundamental for all humans and people perform certain behaviours due to an intrinsic motivation to satisfy these psychological needs. People will be more or less intrinsically motivated for numerous activities based on if they experience satisfaction of these needs during the activity. Importance of Self-Determination theory & evidence to support

Self-determination theory has become an important approach in exercise psychology, specifically exercise adherence. It has aided researchers view intrinsic & extrinsic motivation on a continuum rather than a dichotomy (one or the other). This is interesting as exercise is not intrinsically motivating for many people, which has caused numerous researchers to investigate self-determination theory in exercise contexts. Hagger & Chatzisaranti (2007, 2008) summarised research that used selfdetermination theory to predict exercise behaviour. Studies generally show that participants who display autonomy in exercise behaviour & have strong social support show stronger motivation & exercise adherence (Standage et al., 2008).

Measurement in self-determination theory Previous research used the original measure of motivational orientations suggested by Ryan & Connell (1989). However, in an exercise domain, researchers have tended to use the same inventory & reword the items to exercise context. This was not validated in a systematic or rigorous manner for this research context, therefore meaning the results are questionable.

Research has failed to see the importance of assessing perceptions of autonomy support and its effects on behaviour. Hagger & Chatzisarantis (2008) developed the perceived autonomy support scale for exercise settings (PASSES) for this reason. The inventory was developed with regard to key supportive agents (parents, teachers & peers) and supported across cultures. They concluded the PASSES was a useful measure of perceived autonomy. Developing & validating these inventories is essential to progress research into adopting self-determination approach in the exercise domain for two reasons:  

They tightly define the construct under scrutiny and provide framework for constructs & theories. They provide researchers with the means to use these constructs in subsequent research and to evaluate the effectiveness of manipulations.

Building motivation There are 5 guidelines that can be followed to build motivation in all individuals:     

Consider both situations and traits in motivating people. Understand peoples multiple motives for involvement. Change the environment to enhance motivation. Influence motivation. Use behaviour medication to change undesirable motives.

‘Consider both situations & traits in motivating people’- when trying to enhance motivation, consider both situational and personal factors. Personal factors do cause people to lack motivation, but so does environment. It may be easier to change the situations or create an environment than to change personalities. Important to consider the interactions of personal attributes. ‘Understand peoples multiple motives for involvement’- consistent effort is needed to identify and understand participants reasons for taking part in sport & exercise. People may participate for different reasons, have competing motives for involvement, or have different motivations due to gender or cultural beliefs. Therefore it is important a practitioner continues to observe and ask participants about their motives. ‘Change the environment to enhance motivation’- it is important to use knowledge about the athlete to structure the environment they participate in to meet their needs. This can be done for both competition and recreation- not all athletes want to compete. ‘influence motivation’- a practitioner can play a pivotal role in influencing athlete motivation. The influence may be indirect and the importance of the actions may not be noticed. Such behaviour may become expected but a bad day may influence this typical behaviour & therefore the athlete. ‘use behaviour modification to change participants undesirable motives’- despite the potential to modify environment is emphasises, this shouldn’t imply it is inappropriate to try to change motives. Using behaviour modification techniques to change undesirable motives is appropriate in some settings....