Lectures 5-9: Psychological Needs Flashcards
Drive theories assume that
Internal state of tension pushes individuals to take action to satisfy their needs and restore homeostasis
Harlow’s monkey study results
Monkey solving could not be explained in terms of external rewards. They kept playing with the puzzle without any external incentive
What was the result of monkeys’ performance when food was presented as a reward? (Harlow)
Disrupted monkeys’ performance
Intrinsic motivation
Motivation to engage in an activity out of one’s interest and enjoyment
Psychological need ______ promotes _____ ______
Psychological need satisfaction promotes intrinsic motivation
Extrinsic motivation
Motivation to engage in activity due to some external outcome
Perspective Taking
Seeing the situation as if you were the other person
Cold-Hot Empathy Gap of Perspective taking
When in a relatively calm or “cold” emotional state, tend to underestimate how strongly we’ll feel in a highly emotional “hot” situation
Insufficient adjustment challenge of Perspective taking
Tend to overestimate the extent to which others share our opinions, beliefs, preferences (false consensus effect)
Why do we bump into false consensus effect?
We tend to believe that we see the world objectively, so “reasonable” people should share out perspectives and reactions
What is required for efficient perspective taking?
Active listening
What is the most crucial component boosting engagement and satisfaction
The feeling of choice
Is choice always beneficial?
Too much choice may lead to decision fatigue and feel overwhelming when one lacks the skill or knowledge to make the choice
Do the choices need to be significant?
No, trivial choices AND even illusion of choice is enough
Dan was put into two scenarios:
1. He is permitted to have a cheat meal
2. He is given an option of having a cheat meal
In what scenario would he display more satisfaction?
Second one lolol
Are all choices equally good?
No, not all provide autonomy support
What choices may hinder autonomy support? (4)
- Choosing from limited number of personally-limited options
- Too many choices may be overwhelming
- Depriving individuals of info needed to make an infirmed decision
- Some choices may be too stressful and conflict promoting
X does not want to make a choice (or feels resistant to doing so) what could be a reason behind such behavior?
History of controlling interactions
Internalization
Transforming a formerly externally prescribed way of thinking or behaving into an internally-endorsed one
How does acknowledging negative feelings promote internalization?
Relatedness and support serve to promote internalization
Three strategies of internalization
- Providing explanatory rationales
- Acknowledging and accepting negative feelings
- Relying on invitational language
What are the main issues with controlling approach? (4)
- Thwarts individual’s psychological needs
- Creates long-term motivational problems
- Promotes negative emotions like guilt and anxiety
- Harms relationships
Do punishments work?
Punishment or threat of punishment may lead to compliance in the short term
Compliance def
Conforming to an expectation , request, or rule, without necessarily adopting the underlying value of motivation behind the behavior
Corporal punishment has been linked to _____ ____ like ____ and _____ behavior, _____, poor _____ health
Corporal punishment has been linked to serious issues like antisocial and criminal behavior, aggression, poor mental health
Defiance
Doing the opposite of what you are expected to do just because you are expected to do it
Can defiance be considered an autonomous behavior?
No, one acts in defiance only in response to someone trying to control them
Deci’s First Study on Humans (Reward Introduction) Results
Participants who were given a reward in the second half of experiment displayed less interest in performing the puzzle task compared to controls and their own performance in the first half of the experiment
What happens when external reward is presented to people?
They lose their internal drive, it gets replaced with external reward, hence decreasing or completely wiping the need to perform the task without any external motivation
External rewards do two things
- Potentially boost external motivation
- Decrease intrinsic motivation
What brain area is activated when Ps perform a moderately interesting task with no external reward?
Ventral Striatum
What happens in the brain when external reward is presented, compared to no-reward condition?
Ventral striatum activation disappears
Extrinsic rewards ______ with ______ and _____ of learning
Extrinsic rewards interfere with process and quality of learning
When external motivation is presented, focus shifts from ________ and ________ to _________
Focus shifts from mastery and learning to getting the reward
What is the effect of external rewards on memory?
Results in poorer memory performance
What are the effects of external reward on persistence?
Persistence is only present until the reward is given
What happens to persistence if external reward is not given?
Persistence remains until the subject is satisfied or until the mastery is obtained
Do we have a tendency to help others? If yes, when can this tendency be observed?
We do, as early as 20 mo
What happens if we reward helping behaviors?
Diminished intrinsic motivation to provide help
Why external rewards have these negative effects?
They strip us of perception of autonomy. We no longer feel like we are authors of our own behavior.
Children expecting to be tested on a passage will display _______ rote memorization but _______ conceptual understanding
Greater, Lesser
Children expected to be tested on a passage exhibit a ______ _____ in rote memorization post-test
Steeper decline
When children are expected to be tested on a passage, they express feeling _______ interested and ________ pressure
Less interested, more pressure
Rewards have been shown to _______ performance on complex tasks requiring _____ ____, ______, and _______ ______
Rewards have been shown to undermine performance on complex tasks requiring deep thinking, creativity, and problem solving
Extrinsic rewards may _______ _____ for algorithmic task but ______ ______ for intrinsic motivation on heuristic tasks
Increase output, hurt performance
Let’s say you are counting grass blades, will your internal motivation be undermined by a potential for a reward?
No, since the task is dull already and has little to no intrinsic motivation
Two groups, one is given an incentive to perform, the other one is just there to have fun. The task is testing their creativity and problem solving, which group is likely to perform better
The group that is just there to have fun
You give kids crayons and ask them to draw, one group expects a reward, the other doesn’t. What outcomes are we likely to see?
Decreased drawing quality in reward group, loss of interest in follow-up task in absence of reward
The extent to which extrinsic rewards undermine creativity depends on ….
The extent to which they limit autonomy
What is one way for artists to maintain their creativity in face of monetary rewards?
Considering rewards as enabling rather than constraining
What can be considered as baseline rewards? (3)
- Adequate pay
- Satisfactory working conditions
- Job security
If baseline conditions aren’t met focus will be on ______________
unfairness of the situation
What reduces controlling nature of monetary rewards?
Making them non-contingent
You decided to incentivize your manager’s performance with monetary bonuses. They receive the bonus if they hit certain targets, what could happen in face of this incentivization?
Rise in dishonesty, kid wants that cash
Say you are in a team and you share a reward with everyone. If you see someone on your team cheating, how likely are you to report them as opposed to the scenario where the reward is not shared?
Less likely
When can rewards be useful?
When trying to motivate ourselves or others to do mundane tasks
What are alternatives to external rewards when it comes to mundane tasks?
Interest– and value-enhancing tasks.
Define competence
Psychological need for efficient interactions with one’s environment
Define contingency
If-then relationship between behavior and outcome in the world
Define instrumentality
Beliefs or perceptions of contingency
Give an example of instrumentality
If you study hard then you will get a good grade
What is required for motivation according to Deci?
Perceived connection between their actions and desired outcomes
What it required for full engagement with the task?
Belief that efforts matter and that we have a capacity to succeed
What are four key practices of competence support?
- Clear Expectations
- Optimal Challenges
- Progress-enabling guidance
- Informational feedback
COPI
Why are clear expectations important in competence support?
They outline what a good performance is
Optimal challenges of competence support require one to ______ their capacities while still feeling ______
Stretch, achievable
Why is informational feedback important in competence support? (2)
- Helps people adjust and reorganize and adjust their strategies and performances into a clear path to future progress
- Without the benefit of feedback, people find it difficult to judge their performance
What does quality assessment do? (assuming that it’s good)
Highlights strength and progress, boosting confidence and motivation
What are the two important parts of identifying weaknesses?
- Being very specific and avoiding overgeneralizing
- Keeping in mind that low self-esteem individuals tend to overgeneralize what they hear
What are the three consequences of competence need satisfaction?
- Increased motivation and engagement
- Enhanced well-being and positive emotions, better psychological adjustment
- Increased self-efficacy and confidence
Three consequences of competence need frustration
- Decreased motivation and engagement
- Reduced well-being, negative emotions, burnout
- Behavioral maladjustment (procrastination)
Where does one’s authentic competence come from?
Person’s own performance and effort
Directive support examples
Advising, reminders, problem solving
Autonomy support examples
Listening, understanding, encouraging self-determination
Between autonomy support and directive support, which one leads to better outcomes?
Autonomy support
What is invisible support?
Support that is provided but goes unnoticed by the recipient
When Ps received support and reported receiving it, what were the outcomes?
Increases in depression
When Ps receive support from their partners but did not report it, what were the outcomes?
Decreases in depression
What are the results of the directive support in the context of close relationships?
Neutral or negative, may be very detrimental for long-term goals
What does effectiveness of support depend on?
The extent to which the recipient feels understood, validated, and cared for
What type of support may have particularly detrimental effects in the long run?
Directive support
What framework does Cognitive Evaluation Theory provide?
Framework for predicting the effects of extrinsic events on motivation
What are the two functions of external events?
- Control Behavior
- Inform Competence
Which function is more _____ determines how the _____ event will affect ______ and ______ motivation
Which function is more salient determines how the external event will affect extrinsic and intrinsic motivation
What are the three qualities of controlling function?
- Decreases intrinsic motivation
- Interferes with quality of learning
- Decreases external regulation and undermines self-regulation
Three outcomes of informational function
- Increases intrinsic motivation
- Enhances high-quality learning
- Enhances self-regulation
Does praise undermine intrinsic motivation? Give an example
Praise does not undermine intrinsic motivation. In the study with helping behavior in children, there was a third condition where they received praise, helping behavior did not suffer
How can praise be used to control behavior?
It can focus on meeting external expectations rather than personal achievements, making it more pressuring
What will controlling form of praise do to intrinsic motivation?
Decrease it
How can praise be used positively?
Inform someone of their skill and competence, highlighting their effort and reinforcing their sense of mastery
How does positive praise affect internal motivation?
Increases internal motivation
What percentage of our day do we spend with our mind wandering?
50%
On average we tend to be _____ happy when mind-wandering, regardless of the _______ we are doing
Less happy, regardless of the activity we are doing
In a flow state, there is a sense of ______ with the activity
oneness
Do we have unlimited attention?
No, attention is a limited resource
How much attention do we exert when we are in a flow state?
We use all of our attention to focus on the task at hand
During flow state, we experience reductions in a __________ effect
Spotlight
Flow is an _______ experience
Autotelic experience
Autotelic experience def.
Experience that is pleasurable in itself
What are the two requirements for a flow state?
High skill and high challenge
Are all activities equally conductive to experiencing flow?
No, some are more conductive
What are the two implications of competition? 1 positive and 1 negative
- Can be a rich source of feedback and challenge
- Can involve high levels of pressure, incompetence feedback, anxiety, and stress, as well as social evaluation
How are win-focused instructions experienced at times? What are the implications?
Tend to be interpreted as controlling at times.
- Leads to a decrease in intrinsic motivation
Win-focused instructions _______ individuals towards winning rather than _______ the task
Orient individuals towards winning rather than enjoying the task
Let’s say Dan is set on winning at all costs, if we were to compare his intrinsic motivation to other participants who were not as pressured or were not pressured at all, what are we likely to see?
An increased decrease in intrinsic motivation
Recall the winning-at-all-costs situation that Dan was placed in, let’s say he won, what are we likely to observe in his intrinsic motivation when compared to no-competition people and those who are not as pressured?
A decrease in intrinsic motivation even in win condition
Why do we see a severe decrease in intrinsic motivation in win-at-all-costs condition?
The sense of autonomy plummets, leading to reductions in motivation
Dan and Alex entered a hotdog eating competition. Dan is in it for money, Alex is in it for the experience and to test their limits, who will be more motivated to win?
Alex will be more motivated to win since their drive for participation stems from the desire for partaking in the challenge and testing their limits
Recall the hotdog eating competition with Dan and Alex.
Let’s say Dan won and got the money, and Alex lost but received positive feedback. What are we likely to see when it comes to perceived competence and the desire to compete again?
Alex would feel as competent as Dan post-feedback, and will be more likely to re-enter the competition in the future, for their personal achievement
When it comes to competition, do extrinsic rewards not increase effort at all?
They do, but only for a period of time
Winning _____ intrinsic motivation by ______ competence while losing can _______ motivation by making people feel ____________
Enhances, affirming, undermine, inefficient
What are pre-competition-expectations based on?
Past experiences and opponents
Let’s say Alex re-enters the hotdog eating competition and expect to do well, how will it likely reflect on their motivation? What if they expected the competition to go poorly?
In the first condition, their motivation is likely to stay high, in the second condition, their motivation is likely to plummet
Let’s say Alex lost the hotdog eating competition again, but they feel like they improved and grew as a person, how is it likely to reflect on their motivation?
They are likely to remain motivated despite their loss
What should the competitive environment focus on to achieve the best structure of the competition?
Personal growth, mastery, and constructive feedback, rather than just winning or losing
Let’s say Justin entered a boxing competition, will be feel challenge simply by entering? If no then what is it dependent on?
He will not, the sense of challenge arises after receiving performance feedback
Recall Justin’s boxing competition. Let’s say the challenge is too high and he keeps getting negative feedback from his coach. What is this likely to lead to?
Withdrawal and decreases in motivation over time
Positive and constructive feedback is more likely when competitors are ________ matched
Evenly
Recall Justin’s boxing competition. He is faced with an opponent who is more or less equal but is still marginally better. How should Justin perceive this match in order to get the most benefit?
He should perceive it as a challenge rather than a threat.
Let’s say Laura and Alex entered a golfing competition. Laura is told to perceive it as a challenge and focus on task and performing effectively. Alex, on the other hand is told to focus on potentially being perceived negatively, what are we likely to see in their perception of this competition and anxiety?
Laura is likely to see the competition and the anxiety as driving and motivating, whereas Alex is likely to perceive the competition as a threat and perceive the anxiety as jarring
Recall Laura’s and Alex’s golfing competition, what are we likely to see in their experience of cognitive (subjective) anxiety?
Alex is likely to feel more cognitive anxiety
Recall Laura’s and Alex’s golfing competition, what are we likely to see in their experience of somatic (objective) anxiety?
Anxiety levels are likely to be the same
Recall Laura’s and Alex’s golfing competition. What are the likely effects of Laura’s positive conception of the task? (4)
Laura is likely to focus more on the ask, perform better, and have better adaptive emotional and physiological states
Define ego-involvement
The process by which one’s self-esteem becomes tied to competitive success
When does ego-involvement occur?
When external pressures are internalized
When ego-involvement occurs, people tie their __________ to winning, thereby putting _______ pressure on themselves, making failure feel _________ and __________
Self-worth, internal, demoralizing and personal
How does focus shift when ego-involvement occurs?
Focus shifts from learning and enjoyment of the task to improving one’s worth and outperforming others
What does ego-involvement lead to?
Psychological need frustration
Is self-talk relevant? Provide an example
Yes. Students using positive self-talk experienced positive effects, negative self talk paired with negative outcomes yielded more stress and negative experience in class
How self-talk ______ matters more than the ______. If it ________ supportive, it helps, otherwise, it _______
Feels, content, feels, hurts
What are the four requirements for a well-structured competition?
- Emphasis on personal growth
- Clear and elaborated feedback
- Maximization of autonomy
- Avoidance of ego-drive mistakes and unnecessary pressure
Define need for relatedness
Fundamental need to form close and meaningful bonds with others
Is the need for relatedness universal? If yes, then what is the evidence?
Yes
People around the world tend to:
- Gravitate towards small primary groups
- Form bonds early
- Experience profound distress when their relationships are threatened or lost
- Feel reluctant when it comes to cutting relationships off
What are the hallmarks of relatedness need satisfaction?
Feeling of warmth, closeness, and benevolence
What is self-disclosure and what are its effects? (2)
Self-disclosure is sharing personal information about self
- People tend to like those who share personal info with them
- Those who do the sharing tend to like those they shared the info with more
Let’s say Dan and Alex are talking to two different people. Alex is slowly sharing more and more personal details, and Dan is just small talking with the other person. What are the outcomes we are likely to see?
Alex and their conversation partner are likely to feel greater feeling of closeness relative to Dan and his conversation partner
Define perceived partner responsiveness
Feeling that someone truly listens, understands, and cares
What are the three key ingredients for a supportive response?
- Understanding
- Validation
- Caring
What does high responsiveness lead to? (2)
- Stronger trust, emotional closeness, and commitment
- Greater satisfaction is relationships, fulfilling the need for more relatedness
What are the key differences between communal and exchange relationships?
Communal relationships are based on reciprocal care for each other and exchange relationships are transactional and involve no personal feelings
Joe and Dan don’t expect anything from each other after doing each other a favor, check in on each other, find financial exchange uncomfortable, and avoid keeping score of favors or contributions. This is a prime example of:
Communal relationship
Shared ________ _______ foster deeper bonds and relatedness
Prosocial goals
Give some examples of prosocial goals
Helping each other improve
Offering meaningful feedback
Sharing knowledge and understanding
What are the benefits of relatedness support?
Boosts vitality and overall well-being, reduces depression and feeling of loneliness
Relatedness satisfaction increases ______ in school, work, and everyday life
Engagement
Relatedness satisfaction ______ dropout rates and ______ persistence in school
Decreases, increases
What is key for internalizations when it comes to relatedness?
Feeling connected to others. It helps us adopt others’ values and behaviors more easily
What is the key to engagement and well being?
Psychological need satisfaction
What are four different types of engagement?
BECA
1. Behavioral engagement (effort and persistence)
2. Emotional engagement (interest and enjoyment)
3. Cognitive engagement (strategic thinking)
4. Agentic engagement (initiative and input)
When do good days happen?
When psychological needs are met
Daily dairy studies show that people experience more joy, vitality, and less negative affect when they feel _____, ______, and ______
Autonomous, competent, and connected
Name the four types of extrinsic regulation
EIDI
1. External Regulation
2. Introjected Regulation
3. Identified Regulation
4. Integrated Regulation
What is external regulation linked to relative to other forms of extrinsic motivation?
Lower engagement and poorer performance
Introjected regulation. What is the level of autonomy, internalization, and what does this type of extrinsic motivation create?
Partial autonomy, partial internalization, creates a sense of conflict and tension within the agent
Identified regulation: Level of autonomy, what is internalized and how does one act in this state?
Highly autonomous, importance of activity is internalized despite its tediousness, acts in unity with other people’s views
Integrated regulation: Level of autonomy, results of integration
Fully autonomous, ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving are integrated into the self in a conflict-free way
What can we say about performance of people who are more autonomous in their motivation?
They tend to persist longer and perform better in different areas
Define temperament
Our predisposition to act a certain way, introversion and extraversion are prime examples
Is there a biological component to temperament?
Yes, it is estimated that there is a 40-60% heritability in introversion/extraversion
If Dan is an introvert and he is consistently going out of his way to act extraverted, that may have a …..
Negative impact on his well-being
Significant discrepancies between one’s ______ temperament and _____ behavior may lead to psychological maladjustment
childhood temperament and adult behavior
What do we see in individuals who place higher priority on extrinsic goals over intrinsic ones?
Higher levels of anxiety and depression, even if they experience success
What do we see in people who focus on their intrinsic goals?
Lower anxiety and depression, more connectedness with others and overall life satisfaction
Extrinsic goals may be _______ to achieve, leading to more ________ and stress
Harder, frustration
Extrinsic goals lead to controlled ____________ behavior
Ego-driven
Dan is really focused on extrinsic goals, which is he more likely to do in his free time: chill on the couch and rot, trying to distract himself from the stresses or engage in meaningful activities?
Rot
Focus on extrinsic goals may reflect something pertaining to emotional needs, what is it?
Focus on extrinsic goals may reflect compensation for unmet emotional needs
Define conditional regard
Making one’s affection contingent on the agent’s performance
Define Positive Conditional Regard (PCR)
Providing warmth and attention when one’s expectations are met
Define Negative Conditional Regard (NCR)
Withdrawing one’s affection when expectations are not met
Conditional regard creates conflict between needs for __________ and _________
Autonomy and relatedness
How does conditional regard undermine autonomy? (3)
- Creates pressure forcing people to act to gain approval, rather than acting freely
- Leads to doing things that go against personal interests
- Prolonged exposure blocks development of authentic inner compass
What is worse, conditional positive or negative regard? Why?
Negative regard, creates more frustration and emotional strain
What does conditional positive regard lead to in the long run? (when it comes to relatedness)
Resentment
What does conditional negative regard lead to in the context of relatedness? (3)
- Stronger negative impact on relatedness
- Low warmth and no hope for deeper connection, fear of abandonment
- Lower relatedness satisfaction in parent-child and romantic relationships
Conditional Positive Regard may lead to more behavioral ______
Compliance
What type of internalization does conditional regard produce? What does it lead to?
Introjected internalization, leads to controlled behavior and sense of pressure.
What type of motivation does CNR create?
Avoidance based motivation
Why do people comply with CNR?
To avoid rejection and losing approval
What does overuse of CNR lead to?
Loss of motivation, people stop trying altogether because the cost of failure is too high
What type of motivation does CPR create?
Approach-based motivation
Why do people comply with CPR?
To gain validation or approval
What can compliance to CPR lead to?
Intense sense of pressure to succeed
In CPR condition, what does success and failure lead to, respectively?
Success leads to temporary boost in confidence, but failure leads to guilt and self-doubt
Three outcomes linked to perceptions of parental conditional regard in college students:
- Feeling of guilt and shame after failure
- Extreme fluctuations in self-esteem
- Short-lived satisfaction following success
What is teachers’ and parents’ CPR linked to? (5)
- Lower agentic engagement
- Focus on grades rather than mastery of material and interest-focused engagement
- Strong negative reactions to negative feedback
- Academic overstriving
- Academic dishonesty
Self-critical perfectionism and its characteristics
Self-scrutiny, overly critical self-evaluation, heightened concern about social evaluations, inability to derive satisfaction from success
Narcissistic perfectionism: its focus, and aspects
Focused on projecting image of perfection to others
- Linked to grandiosity and entitlement, high expectations from other people
- Associated with proneness to anger, hostility, interpersonal conflict
What is self-critical perfectionism linked to?
Parental conditional regard
