Why We Do What We Do Ch. 10

Question 1

how should you engage with people in a one-down position?

Answer 1

through autonomy support

Question 2

being autonomy supportive involves:

Answer 2

• Taking others’ perspectives
• Providing choice
• Setting autonomy-supportive limits about one’s rights and constraints
• Setting goals and evaluating performance
• Be careful about how and why you are administering rewards and recognition
• Recognizing the obstacles

Question 3

ways to provide choice

Answer 3

it can be done at the individual or group level

Question 4

what is the easiest way to provide choice?

Answer 4

providing a choice about how to do a task rather than what task to do

Question 5

Deci, Ryan, and Sheinman autonomy support in schools study

Answer 5

used observational data and systematic questionnaires and found that teachers who were oriented toward supporting their students’ autonomy had a more positive impact on their students than control-oriented teachers. The students of autonomy-supportive teachers were more curious, mastery-oriented, and had higher self-esteem

Question 6

Deci, Ryan, and Connell autonomy support in the workplace study

Answer 6

used observational data and systematic questionnaires and found that autonomy-supportive managers had workers who were more trusting of the corporation, had less concern about pay and benefits, and displayed higher levels of satisfaction and morale

Question 7

advantages of providing choice

Answer 7

• The decisions may be of higher quality
• It enhances people’s intrinsic motivation

Question 8

considerations when determining whether to provide choice

Answer 8

• Whether the decision would be too stressful and conflict-promoting if others participated
• Whether the decision is an appropriate one for people to decide given their level of maturation
• The need for secrecy
• Whether the decision has relevance to a person
• The speed at which the decision needs to be made

Question 9

Haddad autonomy support and desire for control study

Answer 9

had elementary school students work on anagrams. She was controlling toward half of the students and autonomy-supportive toward the other. Then, she told the students that they would be working on more anagrams and asked how many they would like to choose for themselves and how many they would like the experimenter to choose for them. She found that the students who had been controlled wanted less choice and those who were autonomy-supportive wanted more choice

Question 10

Haddad autonomy support and desire for control study takeaway

Answer 10

people adapt to being controlled and act as if they don’t want to be autonomous

Question 11

ways to ensure limit-setting doesn’t undermine autonomy

Answer 11

• Have people set their own limits
• Provide a rationale for the limits
• Make the limits as wide as possible to allow choice within the
• Setting consequences for transgressing

Question 12

purpose of limit-setting with children and students

Answer 12

to communicate that life is full of choices and every choice has its consequences

Question 13

the most effective goals are:

Answer 13

• Individualized
• Optimally challenging
• Reasonable

Question 14

benefits of involving work group members in the goal-setting process

Answer 14

• It leads to optimal goals
• It helps people reflect on the way they are doing their jobs
• It encourages them to take on new challenges
• It enhances their motivation to attain their goals
• It provides a standard against which performance can later be appraised

Question 15

what are optimal performance evaluations according to Deci and Ryan?

Answer 15

performance evaluations where people evaluate themselves

Question 16

how do Deci & Ryan view situations where people don’t achieve a standard

Answer 16

it is a problem to be solved, not a basis for criticism

Question 17

negative consequences of competition

Answer 17

Competitions mean that many superb performers become considered losers

Question 18

Deci and Ryan autonomy support and employee attitudes study

Answer 18

trained managers to be more autonomy-supportive and during the intervention, the employees of these managers became more positive in their perceptions and attitudes about the workplace

Question 19

Deci et al. standards and use of control in teachers study

Answer 19

had teachers come into the lab and provide a lesson to students. One group of teachers was reminded of the importance of getting their students to perform up to high standards and the other group received no mention of high standards. They found that the teachers to whom they had mentioned performing up to high standards spent twice as much time talking during the teaching session and made three times as many directives and controlling statements

Question 20

Deci et al. standards and use of control in teachers study takeaway

Answer 20

Controlling others seems to be the “knee-jerk” reaction to feeling stress in any one-up position