It糖心传媒檚 a question of carrot or stick. Or possibly neither.
What really motivates us? Humans have pondered this question for decades. Is it money, power, and fame? Or rather fear and punishment? Psychologists糖心传媒� answers have varied, along with a broad transformation in prevailing views.
糖心传媒淭he whole field of motivation has changed over the last 40 years, from thinking about how you can control people from the outside to thinking how you can really facilitate and support people糖心传媒檚 commitment and engagement in activities,糖心传媒� says , a clinical psychologist and professor of clinical and social sciences in psychology at the University of Rochester.
Together with , the University糖心传媒檚 Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor in the Social Sciences, the two psychologists are the founders of (SDT) and most recently the authors of the authoritative 700-plus-page volume (Guilford Press, 2017).
Developed by Ryan and Deci nearly four decades ago, self-determination theory has become one of the most widely accepted theories of human motivation in contemporary behavioral science. Its starting point is the idea that all humans have the natural糖心传媒攐r intrinsic糖心传媒攖endency to behave in effective and healthful ways. To date, their research has been cited several hundred-thousands of times, spawning thousands of clinical experiments and studies worldwide.
Central to SDT is the distinction between two types of motivation糖心传媒攁utonomous motivation (sometimes also called intrinsic motivation) and controlled motivation. 糖心传媒淎utonomous motivation has to do with engaging in an activity with a full sense of willingness and volition,糖心传媒� Deci explains. 糖心传媒淲hereas controlled motivation means doing something with the experience of pressure and obligation.糖心传媒�
The evidence-based theory holds that all humans have a basic need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. In a nutshell: Research by the pair (and inspired by them) suggests that we need to feel that we can succeed at a task and that we are making progress towards that success糖心传媒攚hat they call competence. Meaningful options as we work toward that competence constitute our autonomy. Lastly, we need to feel that our efforts are recognized by others and that we are part of something beyond ourselves糖心传媒攚hat Ryan and Deci have termed interpersonal relatedness.
Listen to the full interview with professors Richard Ryan and Edward Deci in an interview hosted by University QuadCast host Sandra Knispel. Deci and Ryan discuss the principles of intrinsic motivation, why money is often a poor incentive, and how neuropsychology is now able to show on MRIs what they have been able to study in experiments for decades.
What糖心传媒檚 the enduring pull of the theory for today糖心传媒檚 researchers? 糖心传媒淚 think there糖心传媒檚 a lot of control in the world,糖心传媒� says Deci. 糖心传媒淭here are a lot of people who are trying to push others around糖心传媒攊n organizations, in politics, in homes. And a lot of people are paying attention to this other point of view [SDT] because they don糖心传媒檛 like the control they find in so many aspects of their lives.糖心传媒�
SDT is more than a theoretical construct. Deci and Ryan, along with independent scientists around the globe and across several sub-specialties, have found many real-life applications for SDT in areas ranging from parenting, to workplace organization, to health care, wellness, sports, education and virtual worlds.
糖心传媒淥ne of the things that we see in high-quality motivation, no matter the domain, is that people are passionate about what they are doing and they really value it,糖心传媒� explains Ryan. Regardless of whether SDT is applied to employees, patients, students, athletes, or one糖心传媒檚 own children, Ryan says, it糖心传媒檚 important that people engage whole-heartedly in what they are doing. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 that high quality motivation that comes from the inside.糖心传媒�
The two SDT pioneers have studied practical ways in which parents, managers, coaches, and teachers can help or hinder motivation in others in ways that will either improve the person糖心传媒檚 effectiveness, engagement, and sense of well-being, or have the opposite effect.
糖心传媒淲e want people as agentic as possible,糖心传媒� says Ryan. Add to that the necessary ingredient of autonomy糖心传媒攐ne of the key points on which SDT pivots and which the duo believes to be a fundamental and universal psychological need糖心传媒� and you糖心传媒檒l have the basic recipe for motivation.
Giving people a good reason to do what they are doing, why it糖心传媒檚 valuable or useful, is key to helping the individual take ownership and be excited about what they are doing. 糖心传媒淯nfortunately, so often when people try to motivate others they take responsibility rather than helping the person find responsibility themselves,糖心传媒� Ryan describes a frequent pitfall.
Now at the apex of their careers, Deci and Ryan, have not always been titans in their field. When, as young scientists in the late 1970s, they first began to question the behaviorist school of motivation, their theory was greeted by sizable skepticism, sometimes even outright condescension.
糖心传媒淵es, it was met by a lot of critiques,糖心传媒� Ryan acknowledges. 糖心传媒淏ut I think a lot of the tension in the field was about these anomalies [such as curiosity and exploration] that behaviorism just couldn糖心传媒檛 explain.糖心传媒�
For several decades beginning in the 1950s, the behaviorists dominated the study of motivation to the near exclusion of any other theory, with their research focused on how the provision of rewards affects and conditions human behavior. But Ryan and Deci doubted the veracity of the theory. They found the opposite to be true: that rewards such as prizes and money were not only less effective than behavioral psychologists had hitherto believed, but under some circumstances could actually聽diminish聽people糖心传媒檚 engagement and motivation.
Ryan and Deci糖心传媒檚 first book (Springer US, 1985) seemed a Copernican turn in itself, repudiating the dominant theory. Realizing they were on thin ice, both agreed early on to stick to things they could empirically substantiate. 糖心传媒淣o speculating,糖心传媒� Ryan sums up their early-career rule. Show糖心传媒攄on糖心传媒檛 tell became their professional mantra.
Their early work helped establish the duo as a team to be reckoned with. In 1969, the young Deci, in search of a PhD thesis and fascinated by what drives motivation, used Soma puzzle cubes, a then popular Parker Brothers game, for a study on the effectiveness of rewards. He found that when money is used as an external reward for a specific activity, the test subjects ultimately lose their intrinsic interest.
In this landmark study, Deci asked two groups of participants to reproduce the requested puzzle combinations as seen in provided images糖心传媒攁nd watched how they behaved from outside the rooms. On day one both groups performed the task without any external reward. The second day, he offered to pay the participants in one group, based on their success. As expected, the monetary reward delivered a short-lived boost to the group糖心传媒檚 attempts at solving the puzzles. But by the next day, the effect had worn off. When Deci announced that he had no more money left to pay, this group was less motivated than the group that had never been paid. Worse, the compensated group paid less attention to the puzzles on day three糖心传媒攖han they had on day one of the experiment, before money had been held out as an inducement. Meanwhile, the uncompensated group糖心传媒檚 interest in the puzzles actually increased. Deci糖心传媒檚 conclusion? Rewards such as cash can actually reduce a person糖心传媒檚 longer-term motivation to continue a given project.
At the time, the conclusion was highly controversial, but Deci was off and running. A short time later, he was joined by Ryan, a clinical psychologist who shared these sensibilities about the importance of autonomy in motivation. Together they built a broader and deeper theory, becoming lifelong collaborators.
Later, conflicts arose with cross-cultural theorists, particularly those who argued against universal truths in human motivation, recalls Ryan. He and Deci, along with many other researchers, responded to the critique by testing SDT across many cultural contexts. The results of those studies upheld the core principles of their theory.
But controversy is par for the course, they both agree. Adds Deci: 糖心传媒淚 have to say that it糖心传媒檚 been fun. I mean having controversies, and dialogues, and debates. It糖心传媒檚 an aspect of how you proceed with scientific psychology.糖心传媒�
His enthusiasm palpable, Ryan notes that in recent years, neuropsychology has opened up an entirely new window into studying (and substantiating) SDT.
糖心传媒淎ll types of motivation are reflected in the brain. When people are highly intrinsically motivated there糖心传媒檚 a lot of activation in their dopaminergic system, which really means the brain systems that are associated with pleasure and rewards.糖心传媒� When people have their basic psychological needs satisfied and difficult decisions to make, they have more access to the areas of the brain where self-knowledge is located, which is needed for effective decision making, Ryan explains. The new neuropsychological evidence, visible through magnetic resonance imaging, helps psychologists fine tune some of their thinking, making it a 糖心传媒渂eautiful interface because both can inform each other.糖心传媒�
Does he ever feel vindicated by what MRIs can now show about their theory?
糖心传媒淚f there糖心传媒檚 any sense of 糖心传媒業 told you so糖心传媒櫶切拇綌well, there糖心传媒檚 always gratification when things turn out to be right,糖心传媒� Ryan smiles. 糖心传媒淏ut I guess we糖心传媒檙e pretty much always focused on the things we still have to do and the refinements that still have to be made.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淚 think we糖心传媒檝e believed in what we are doing from the start,糖心传媒� Deci adds. 糖心传媒淎nd we keep at it.糖心传媒�
