why we do what we do: Deci Flashcards
What is the word autonomy etymologically derived from?
self-governing
What does being autonomous mean?
to act in accord with one’s self. Feeling free and volitional in one’s actions
What are the two types of controlled behavior?
- Compliance
2. Defiance
What is Compliance?
means doing what you are told to do because you are told to do it
What is Defiance?
means doing the opposite of what you are expected to do just because you are expected to do it
What is Rebellion?
the outward manifestation of defiance
Give an example of a socializing agent
What is their job?
Someone in a one up position (teacher, doctor, parent)
Their job is to facilitate motivation and responsibility
What is the concept of “imperfect self defence”?
The person does not deny that they committed the acts but maintain that those actions were not volitional, they were driven by a personal environment so painful they saw no other choice
How did Harlow describe the rhesus monkeys’ behavior on the puzzle task?
intrinsically motivated: the only “reward” was the activity itself
What is the behaviorist view of motivation?
people are fundamentally passive and will respond only when the environment tempts them with the opportunity to get rewards or avoid punishment
What was the first question that Deci formulated?
What happens to people’s intrinsic motivation for an activity when they receive an extrinsic reward for doing the activity that they had previously been quite willing to do without the reward
Which psychologists work did Deci use to help interpret his results?
Richard deCharms and his concept of Personal Causation: the key to intrinsic motivation is the desire to be the “origin” of one’s own actions rather than a “pawn” manipulated by external forces
When a woman’s doctor offered her a choice about how she wanted to take her hypertension medication what two things happened that helped her follow throw in a more responsible way?
Choice led to
- She could organize the task in a way that was more suitable to her
- She was empowered by the opportunity to chose. Her inherent motivation had been enhanced because choice supported autonomy
What is an important factor for choice to be able to support autonomy
the person must be given all the information, constraints and hidden features or else a choice will feel more like a burden and lead to mistakes
What did Ryan think might make a difference in the effect of rewards?
the intention and style of the person giving the reward
Why did the introduction of rewards initially help Lisa?
because it gave her information about what would be a good amount of time to practice
What effect did competition have on intrinsic motivation in the soma experiments?
it reduced intrinsic motivation even though the participants won all their competitions
What was the starting point of Deci’s theoretical account of why rewards undermine intrinsic motivation?
DeCharms idea that people strive for personal causation - they strive to be the origin of their own behavior
for what group was competition not detrimental to their intrinsic motivation?
what about the other groups?
competition was not detrimental to the intrinsic motivation of those who were not pressured and won the competition
It had a negative effect for everyone else (those who were pressured and won, those who were pressured and lost and those who were not pressured and lost)
What was the effect on children’s learning when they were told that they would later be tested on the material compared to when they weren’t?
What were the effects after one week?
Children who were not told they would be tested on the material displayed superior conceptual understanding
Children who were told they would be tested displayed greater rote memorization
When tested again after 1 week the students who had been told about the first test forgot much more than those who weren’t.
What did Grolnick and Ryan use the term “core dump” to refer to?
memorizing material for a test and forgetting it immediately after
Were the results that Kage found in Japanese students consistent with Ryan’s results about testing?
Yes, Kage found that when students were tested as a part of their grade their learning was worse than if they were told the test would not count toward their grade and was simply to monitor their own performance
What are some important things to keep in mind before using rewards to motivate others?
- the behavior will only last as long as the rewards
2. Once people are oriented to rewards they will likely take the shortest/quickest path to get them
Give examples of pay-for-performance methods?
- piece- rate payment
- sales comission
- profit sharing stock options
