Why We Do What We Do Ch. 3

Question 1

Henry Murray

Answer 1

Argued that people have needs of the mind and body, one of which is autonomy

Question 2

what harms intrinsic motivation?

Answer 2

anything that undermine’s one’s need for autonomy

Question 3

Deci & Vroom punishment study

Answer 3

replicated the Soma paradigm by threatening to punish subjects if they failed to perform well. They found that threats encouraged them to solve the puzzles, but robbed them of their desire to engage in the activity for its own sake

Question 4

factors that harm autonomy & intrinsic motivation

Answer 4

• deadlines
• imposed goals
• surveillance
• evaluations

Question 5

Deci & Vroom competition study

Answer 5

modified the Soma paradigm, where one group of participants were told they were in a competition and the others were not. They found that subjects who competed displayed less subsequent intrinsic motivation for the task than those who had not

Question 6

controlled variable in Deci & Vroom’s competition study

Answer 6

participants always won the competition

Question 7

Deci et al.’s choice study

Answer 7

used a variant of the Soma paradigm where some subjects were offered a choice about which puzzles to work on and how long to spend on each, while others were assigned the puzzles and time limits selected by corresponding subjects in the first group. They found that subjects who had been offered the simple choices spent more time playing with the puzzles and reported liking them more than those not offered a choice

Question 8

Deci et al.’s choice study takeaway

Answer 8

providing choice is an important way to support a person’s autonomy

Question 9

what is the main function of control and discipline

Answer 9

to provide certain people with an easy rationalization for exerting power over others

Question 10

doctors and choice

Answer 10

• Doctors should give people choices where possible because it will help motivate patients to engage in health behaviours
• Ex. aunt who did not take her medication until she was given a choice of when to take it

Question 11

what must a person making a choice have?

Answer 11

the necessary information to make a meaningful decision

Question 12

The impact of a reward depends on ____

Answer 12

its psychological meaning for an individual

Question 13

Ryan rewards study

Answer 13

had experimenters provide participants with a reward in a controlling or non-controlling condition. He found that rewards given in a controlling style negatively impacted intrinsic motivation, but those given in a non-controlling style did not impact intrinsic motivation

Question 14

Ryan rewards takeaway

Answer 14

it is possible to administer rewards in a way that minimizes their negative effects

Question 15

problem with reward administration & example

Answer 15

• Rewards might ensure certain behaviours but the behaviours they ensure may not be what we are really after
• Ex. 6-year-old Lisa became obsessed with practicing the violin so that she could earn a treasure from her teacher, but she only cared about playing easy pieces

Question 16

what is necessary to offer non-controlling rewards?

Answer 16

honesty

Question 17

Deci & Reeve competition and pressure study

Answer 17

had one group win a competition after being pressured to win and another group win without having added pressure. They found that the competition was detrimental to intrinsic motivation when there was pressure, but not without the pressure. There was also a nonpressured group that lost the competition and they had extremely low levels of intrinsic motivation

Question 18

Deci & Reeve competition and pressure study takeaway

Answer 18

competition does not necessarily undermine intrinsic motivation, but it is a delicate matter; pressure during competition is likely to have a negative effect, especially for losers

Question 19

autonomy support

Answer 19

being able to take the other person’s perspective and work from there by actively encouraging self-initiation, experimentation, and responsibility

Question 20

autonomy support vs. control

Answer 20

Autonomy support is the opposite of control, though it may require setting limits

Question 21

how does autonomy support function?

Answer 21

through encouragement

Question 22

Koestner & Ryan control and instructions study

Answer 22

art teachers provided instructions to 5- and 6-year-olds concerning neatness in a controlling or non-controlling way. They found that the autonomy-supportive condition had a liberating effect on the children, while the control condition had a debilitating effect

Question 23

Koestner & Ryan control and instructions study takeaway

Answer 23

the limit setting is important for setting responsibility, but we can do so in an autonomy-supportive way

Question 24

Koestner & Ryan control and instructions study quality of pictures

Answer 24

The children in the autonomy-supportive condition also painted higher-quality pictures