Jan 29 Flashcards
contingencies
if-then relationship between BEHAVIOUR and OUTCOMES in the world
people must see a connection between their actions and an outcome they desire
instrumentalities
our BELIEFS or PERCEPTIONS of contingencies
ie. your belief that if you study hard, you’ll get a good grade
without instrumentalities, what happens?
motivation dries up
because you perceive no connection between your actions and outcomes
according to Deci, people need to see a connection between what and what in order to experience motivation?
connection between their ACTIONS and their DESIRED OUTCOMES
^ instrumentalities!
in order to experience motivation
instrumentalities: outcomes can be either…
intrinsic or extrinsic
instrumentalities are a double edged sword
they may be a source of control
but it depends on how they’re used
missing piece that is needed for instrumentalities to fully lead to helpful motivation
competence!
to feel fully motivated and engaged, must believe that our efforts matter (instrumentalities) and that we have the CAPACITY TO SUCCEED (competence)
instrumentalities rely on beliefs about our own…
competence
belief that we have the capacity to succeed
competence
the psychological need to be EFFECTIVE in one’s interactions with the environment
reflects desire to EXERCISE and EXTEND one’s SKILLS and CAPACITIES
hallmarks of competence need satisfaction
feelings of effectance, mastery, making progress
items from the competence measurement scale
(indicate how true the statements are from 1 to 7)
often, I don’t feel very competent
people I know tell me I am good at what I do
I have been able to learn interesting new skills recently
most days I feel a sense of accomplishment from what I do
in my life I don’t get much of a chance to show how capable I am
I often don’t feel very capable
consequences of competence need satisfaction
- increased MOTIVATION and engagement
- enhanced WELLBEING and positive emotions, better psychological adjustment
- increased self-efficacy and CONFIDENCE
consequences of competence need frustration
- decreased motivation and engagement
- reduced wellbeing, negative emotions, burnout
- behavioural maladjustment (procrastination, avoidance)
supporting competence: 4 key practices
- clear EXPECTATIONS
- progress-enabling GUIDANCE
- optimal CHALLENGES
- informational FEEDBACK
providing clear expectations can help foster…
competence
how to provide clear expectations
when people first begin an activity, they wonder…
“what should I do?”
“what represents good performance?”
“how good is good enough?”
communicating CLEAR EXPECTATIONS (ie. a GOAL to strive for or a STANDARD of excellence to pursue, answers these questions so that the person knows what competence functioning looks like in this situation)
it becomes clear what a good performance is
what things clarify what a good performance is?
specified standards and goals
(part of providing clear expectations)
providing guidance: as people engage in an activity or pursue a goal, they wonder…
“am I doing this correctly?”
“can I do this well?”
“how can I improve - how can I do better?”
providing guidance: can help people by offering…
how-to instructions
worked out examples
models to emulate
tips and strategies
scaffolding
resources
reminders
providing guidance is key to building…
competence
optimal challenges are important for building…
competence
optimal challenges
require you to STRETCH your capacities
but still feel ACHIEVABLE
optimal challenges: 6th grade kids study
6th grade children given ANAGRAMS of varying difficulty (4-6 letters)
CURVILINEAR relationship between task DIFFICULTY and task ENJOYMENT
MODERATELY DIFFICULT problems were the most enjoyable
optimal challenges: 6th grade kids study takeaway
MODERATELY DIFFICULT anagrams problems were the most enjoyable
feedback: lab study with behavioural expert panel
you come into the lab and are told as part of an experiment that you must give speech to judges explaining why you’d be a good job candidate
panel are “behavioural experts” and will be judging you
they act very passively - NO FEEDBACK, stoic and stone-faced
then give you a hard math task - evokes subjective and physiological stress
2 key components here: PERCEIVED SOCIAL EVALUATION and LACK OF CONTROL
feedback: as people display their skills and generate work products, they may wonder…
is this any good? what should I work on next? how can I advance from good to great?
CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK helps people ADJUST and REORGANIZE their strategies and performances into a clear path to future progress
feedback: without the benefit of post-performance commentary, people may find it difficult to…
judge their performance and products
will not know if their performance was any good
elements of constructive feedback
- quality assessment
- identifying weaknesses
- actionable advice
- encouraging self-reflection
- bolstering sense of control
elements of constructive feedback: quality assessment does what?
highlights strengths and progress
to boost confidence and motivation
elements of constructive feedback: identifying weaknesses does what?
be as specific as possible, avoid overgeneralizing (makes the feedback as actionable as possible)
note that individuals with low self-esteem more likely to overgeneralize what they hear
conundrum of directive support
authentic competence comes from person’s OWN PERFORMANCE & EFFORT, not external praise & rewards
directive support can be useful, but may BACKFIRE and FEEL INTRUSIVE or CONTROLLING
it can undermine motivation and competence
directive support
advice, reminders, problem-solving
alternative to directive support
autonomy support
autonomy support
listening, understanding, encouraging self-determination
may lead to BETTER OUTCOMES in goal achievement, goal internalization, resilience, and wellbeing
autonomy support may lead to better outcomes in…
- goal achievement
- goal internalization
- resilience
- wellbeing
prospective studies of the effects of directive vs autonomous forms of support on goal progress SETUP
measure at the beginning and then follow participants over a period of time
AUTONOMY SUPPORT: empathic perspective-taking (ie. “my friend understands how I see my goals”)
DIRECTIVE SUPPORT: positive guidance (ie. “my friend reminds me what I need to be doing”)
Ps listed multiple personal goals and were followed over period of 3 months
prospective studies of the effects of directive vs autonomous forms of support on goal progress RESULTS
- autonomy support significantly positively related to both SELF REPORTED and OTHER REPORTED PROGRESS in both FRIENDSHIPS and ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS
^ MEDIATED by experience of AUTONOMY
- AUTONOMY SUPPORT also positively related to RELATIONSHIP QUALITY and WELLBEING
- directive support not significantly related to better goal progress, or relationship quality or wellbeing
prospective studies of the effects of directive vs autonomous forms of support on goal progress RESULTS FOR AUTONOMY SUPPORT
- significantly positively related to both:
a) self reported
b) other reported
goal progress in both friendships and romantic relationships
^ this was mediated by experience of autonomy
- autonomy support also positively related to relationship quality and wellbeing
prospective studies of the effects of directive vs autonomous forms of support on goal progress RESULTS FOR DIRECTIVE SUPPORT
directive support not significantly related to better goal progress, or relationship quality or wellbeing
invisible support
support that GOES UNNOTICED by the recipient
but nevertheless exerts positive effects on recipient
invisible support daily diary setup
daily diary study with couples where one partner was prepping for the NY state bar exam
PARTNERS: daily reports of PROVISION of emotional support
EXAMINEES: daily reports of RECEIPT of emotional support & emotional DISTRESS
invisible support daily diary results
reports of support PROVISION associated with examinees’ DECREASES IN DEPRESSION
while reports of RECEIPT was associated with INCREASES
most beneficial condition: where support was provided but went unnoticed by recipient (invisible support)
directive support in close relationships
has EITHER NEUTRAL or NEGATIVE impacts on MOTIVATION and GOAL PURSUIT
may be particularly detrimental for long-term goals
some of the most helpful support may be…
support we don’t notice at all
effectiveness of both visible and invisible support depends on…
the extent to which the other person feels UNDERSTOOD, VALIDATED and CARED FOR
support must meet our RELATEDNESS NEEDS and be TAILORED to our situation
effectiveness of support may also vary by…
context
ie. coaches versus close others
expect more directive support from a coach - their job is to direct you, their guidance is helpful
cognitive evaluation theory provides…
provides a FRAMEWORK for PREDICTING the effects that any extrinsic event will have on motivation
cognitive evaluation theory explains how an extrinsic event…
explains how extrinsic events (ie. money, grade, deadline)
affects intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
as mediated by the event’s effect on the psychological needs for competence and autonomy
in cognitive evaluation theory, external events have two functions
- control behaviour
- inform competence
lots of events have elements of both of thesses
the one out of these two that is more salient is what informs our motivation levels - the more salient one determines how the external event will affect intrinsic motivation
cognitive evaluation theory: controlling function
“if you do X, then you get Y”
- decreases intrinsic motivation
- interferes with quality of learning
- external regulation increases; self regulation is undermined
cognitive evaluation theory: informational function
“because you were able to do X, that means you are effective, competent”
- increases intrinsic motivation
- enhances high quality learning
- enhances self-regulation
praise
is a form of reward, but doesn’t necessarily undermine intrinsic motivation
ie. recall helping a child study: there was an additional praise condition which didn’t negatively impact motivation to help
praise can be used to control behaviour
example: “great job, you did exactly as I asked”
this type of praise focuses on MEETING EXTERNAL EXPECTATIONS rather than personal achievement
it can feel pressuring and might reduce intrinsic motivation
praise can be used to inform someone about their competence
example: “that was an excellent presentation! you did a great job explaining the complex data in a way that was easy to understand”
this type of praise highlights SPECIFIC SKILLS and EFFORT
reinforces sense of MASTERY and COMPETENCE
^ enhances intrinsic motivation
Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi
grew up in Europe during WWII
witnessed immense suffering & tragedy
overarching question of his career: WHAT MAKES LIFE WORTH LIVING?
worked on flow
Csikzentmihalyi - quote from interview with a composer
“you are in an ecstatic state to such a point that you feel as though you almost don’t exist. I have experienced this time and again. my hand seems devoid of myself, and I have nothing to do with what’s happening. I just sit there watching it in a state of awe and wonderment and the music just flows out of itself”
early work on flow
cross-cultural and cross-domain similarity in the kinds of experiences people found most enjoyable
flow
the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter
colloquially, we may call this “being in the zone”
flow is characterized by a profound shift in…
consciousness
the moment-by-moment awareness of ongoing experiences occurring internally (thoughts, emotions) and externally in the world around us
how does it feel to be in flow state? 6 key characteristics
- MERGING of action and awareness
- COMPLETE CONCENTRATION on task at hand
- LOSS of SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS
- DISTORTION of TEMPORAL PERCEPTION
- heightened sense of CONTROL
- AUTOTELIC EXPERIENCE
flow: merging of action & awareness
by some estimates, we spend ~50% of our day MIND WANDERING
^ the contents of our thoughts are DECOUPLED from what we’re doing
on average, tend to be less happy when mind-wandering, regardless of which activity we’re engaged in at the time
in flow activities, there’s a sense of ONENESS with the activity
in flow activities, there’s a sense of ONENESS with the activity…
feel completely ABSORBED and ENGAGED
concentration on the task at hand
attention and flow
attention is a limited resource
during flow activities, all attentional resources & skills are REQUIRED to cope with challenges of the situation
all attention is concentrated on the RELEVANT STIMULI, LEAVING NO ROOM in the mind for distractions or irrelevant info
flow uses up all attentional resources: so individuals report being able to…
forget unpleasant aspects of life
flow: the loss of self consciousness
experience FREEDOM FROM SELF-EVALUATION and CONCERNS over how OTHERS evaluate the self
reduction in the SPOTLIGHT EFFECT: our general tendency to overestimate how much others notice and evaluate us
allows for SENSE OF UNION with one’s environment
flow: the loss of self consciousness suggests that happiness and sense of achievement…
may be felt in RETROSPECT
rather than during the flow state
because in acute flow state we’re attuned to the self (more reflection happens afterwards)
flow: distortion of temporal perception
experience distortions in time perception
usually feels like time passes FASTER, but the reverse also occurs
flow: heightened sense of control
people in flow state experience heightened sense of control over their ACTIONS and their ENVIRONMENT
fulfills our need to feel that our actions produce predictable and meaningful outcomes (behaviour-outcome contingencies)
contributes to the intrinsically rewarding nature of the activity (competence)
flow: autotelic experiences
autotelic experience: AN EXPERIENCE THAT’S REWARDING IN ITSSELF (intrinsically)
auto = self, telos = goal
not reliant on extrinsic rewards
Csikzentmihalyi argues that flow experiences are so intensely rewarding that…
they become ADDICTIVE in a senses
leading to neglect of other aspects of life
(flow isn’t inherently “good” or “bad”)
flow isn’t inherently good or bad
can become addictive, lead to neglect of other aspects of life
think of video games
