Description of Self-Determination Theory
The Self-determination theory helps us understand what motivates an individual to accomplish goals. The Self-determination theory explains that people are motivated in two ways, by intrinsic sources and/or extrinsic sources. According to this theory, the source of motivation is determined by how autonomous (self-determined) the individual is (Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2002). Deci and Ryan (2000) describe motivation involving the orientation of motivation, what kind of motivation, and having different levels, or how much motivation. It is important to note that external and internal behaviors of motivation are hard to distinguish between; they look the same (O'Donnell, Reeve, & Smith, 2007). As a teacher, in order to foster learning one must understand the aspects behind motivation and the self-determination theory.
Main Motivational Patterns of the Self-Determination
Intrinsic Motivation:
An individual that is intrinsically motivated performs tasks based on personal and internal interests and enjoyment. Deci and Ryan (2000) define intrinsic motivation as “the doing of an activity for its inherent satisfactions rather than for some separable consequence…a person is moved to act for the fun or challenge entailed rather than because of external prods, pressures, or rewards” (p. 56). The individual fulfills the need for autonomy, the ability to freely take part in an activity of one's own personal choice. Autonomy relates to the self -determination, -regulation, and -initiation of the individual's behaviors (O'Donnell, Reeve, & Smith, 2007).
Examples of Intrinsic Motivation:
A basketball player shooting free-throws for enjoyment.
An individual reading a book for pleasure.
Collecting baseball cards because of an interest in baseball and baseball history.
Intrinsic motivation is said to oppose the behaviorist theory of operant conditioning which states that behaviors are purely motivated by rewards, where as behaviors which are being intrinsically motivated by the reward of doing the actual activity (Deci and Ryan, 2000). Deci and Ryan (2000) also state that intrinsic motivation satisfies natural psychological needs.
Extrinsic Motivation:
Extrinsic motivation arises from sources that are external to the individual, an activity that is completed to acquire a separable outcome (Deci and Ryan, 2000). The environment provides rewards in order to motivate the individual to complete the task. Deci and Ryan (2000) state that activities individuals partake in by being extrinsically motivated may be done with “resentment, resistance, and disinterest or, alternatively, with an attitude of willingness that reflects an inner acceptance of the value or utility of a task” (p. 55).
Examples of Extrinsic Motivation:
Receiving a gold star for reading a book.
Getting to have a party for completing chores.
Receiving an award for perfect attendance.
Extrinsic motivation, like intrinsic motivation, involves autonomy. Autonomous activities and decisions may be intentional, but only due to the reinforcements (both positive and negative) being provided (Deci and Ryan, 2000). Within extrinsic motivation there are different types/processes. These types involve different levels of autonomy and the source from where the motivation stems from.
The types are as follows:
**Not at all Autonomous**
Amotivation (outside the external types of motivation): a lack of motivation, both intrinsic and extrinsic.
Source of Motivation: None
Externally Regulated: an environmentally developed reward/reason to motivate one to perform an act
Source of Motivation: Rewards
Introjected: a pressuring inclination (or voice) that has been internalized in order to prevent an act from happening through the use of guilt and/or shame
Source of Motivation: Guilt/Shame
Identified: internalizing the motivation of doing an act because it is important and useful to the individual
Source of Motivation: Importance
Integrated: an act has been psychologically internalized and reflects the enjoyment and interest of the individual; the activity becomes a part of the individual.
Source of Motivation: Interest
**Highly Autonomous**
-- Information taken from: O'Donnell, Reeve, & Smith (2007) p. 182
----A link has been provided to help better comprehend and visualize all of the previous definitions: Types of External Motivation
Influence on Learning:
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation plays very different roles in learning. As discussed earlier, when an individual is intrinsically motivated he/she is participating in learning because of a specific level of enjoyment or interest in the subject. When an individual is intrinsically motivated he is involved in the learning at a deep level. He is enjoying the task at hand, and therefore the learning becomes a transformative experience. Creativity is also increased when a person is intrinsically motivated. According to Deci and Ryan (2000), a student who is engaged in learning that he finds enjoyable will “exhibit healthy, productive functioning, such as initiative, persistence, creativity, high-quality learning, conceptual understanding of what they are learning, and positive well being.”
Extrinsically motivated individuals, however, do not find the learning itself enjoyable or interesting. They instead are motivated to learn because of rewards or other environmentally created enforcers. An individual who is extrinsically motivated may learn the material at surface level, but transformative experiences will not likely result.
Some individuals, however, are neither intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. These individuals are amotived. When an individual is amotivated learning becomes a problem. The individual is not interested in the subject matter, nor is he interested in the possible rewards. The individual does not want to participate on any level. The lack of motivation of any sort can allow the individual to become dysfunctional and often disruptive. The individual is not interested in the subject matter nor is he interested in the possible rewards. An individual that is amotivated is normally the problem-child in the classroom.
Factors that Influence these Constructs:
Fostering instrinsic motivation includes autonomy, relatedness and competency. Autonomy describes that a student has the choice whether or not to participate and learn, so intrinsically the teacher has to make the material and the classroom student-centered and non-controlling. This will make the material seem less threatening to the student giving them more motivation to want to learn. There also has to be value in uninteresting topics. To foster intrinsic motivation the teacher has to let the student know and understand the benefit for them in learning the material; how this material will actually be important and benefit them. A few other things a teacher can do to foster intrinsic motivation that often get overlooked and ignored are to acknowledge students' perspectives, to give positive rationales to request, and to nurture students' inner motivational resources.
A teacher can influence relatedness in one very easy way; involvement. This is the best way for a teacher to foster intrinsic motivation in a student who does not feel like he or she is a part of something. Group work and group activities are a way to boost a students' confidence and make them feel like they are a working part of something. Involvement will create a visible change in the student; they will enjoy being with other students, express affection and liking for students, they share their time, attention and energy with their fellow students and they also show a caring for other students. Once again, this can be done extrinsically by offering a reward or prize for getting involved and working as a group.
Competence can be a tricky one for a teacher to foster because it is never the same between students. A teacher needs to find a way to make things fun for the student, but still challenging; something that a student likes one day because he or she is good at it, they can be bored with it the next day because it is the same thing. A teacher needs to push a student to learn more by continuing to give them something a little more challenging, but still at a level that the student can complete it. A teacher also needs to provide lots of feedback. Not only positive feedback, but feedback that reflects on the students work and then pushes them further. So intrinsically, it is obvious that a teacher needs to influence autonomy in order to influence competence in a student. They need to make them want to learn more and push themselves further.
Effective Teaching Methods:
In order to promote motivation, either intrinsic or extrinsic, there are several methods to consider.
Fostering Intrinsic Motivation
Because intrinsic motivation comes from within an individual, teachers must use methods to encourage students' psychological needs. These psychological needs include autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
In order to promote autonomy, teachers should provide an autonomy-supportive environment. Teachers can provide this type of environment by recognizing and encouraging students' interests and needs. In addition, teachers can use the following four suggestions to encourage an autonomy-supportive environment regulation (O'Donnell, Reeve, Smith, 2007, pg. 184-185).
1. Nurture inner motivational resources by asking students what their preferences are and where their interests lie.
2. Rely on informational, non controlling language by avoiding rigid, pressuring language and instead using supportive words.
3. Communicate value in unexciting activities by offering rationale as to why an assignment must be taught/learned.
4. Acknowledge and accept students' expression of negative affect by helping to figure what the resistance to the activity is and how to overcome that resistance.
Competence can be encouraged through positive feedback via a “challenge-feedback sandwich” (O'Donnell, Reeve, Smith, 2007, pg. 186-187). The way this works is by offering a lesson that starts with a challenging problem and then ends with the teacher providing positive feedback for work done well.
The last psychological need, relatedness, can be supported by teachers through providing an environment where relationships are authentic, caring, and emotionally meaningful. If students develop a strong relationship with a teacher, they are more likely to be engaged in learning activities. Also, students will also be more likely to internalize their teacher's values.
Fostering Extrinsic Motivation
Rewards
Teachers may be able to use rewards to motivate students' behaviors. These rewards may come in the form of stickers, special privileges, removal of something unpleasant (for example, a “get out of homework” pass), or any other appropriate reward. Students may be more likely to engage in the desired behavior if a reward is offered than if no reward is offered.
There are some negative sides to using rewards in order to motivate a student—the hidden cost of rewards. These may include loss of intrinsic motivation, interference in learning, and interference with the development of autonomous self-regulation (O'Donnell, Reeve, Smith, 2007, pg. 179-180). For example, if a student is offered a prize for something they like to do already, such as reading, this student is more likely to begin to only read for the reward versus reading for personal enjoyment.
Praise
Praise may be used to extrinsically motivate students. Teachers may use this method as to regulate students' behavior and/or cultivate their learning. A teacher may make the most out of praise by being clear and precise instead of using controlling language which may promote the hidden costs of rewards. For example, instead of saying, “If you read this book, you will get a piece of candy,” a teacher should say, “Good job reading that book by yourself, you deserve a sticker.” This difference in phrasing supports students' involvement in learning and self-regulation.
Other Suggestions
There are several other teaching methods that may help to promote motivation. They include encouraging engagement, prompting curiosity, building interest, inducing positive affect, and using technology to promote engagement.
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