Understanding Motivation

Defining Motivation

• Motivation includes internal processes, needs, thoughts, and emotions that provide energy and direction to behavior
• Motivation: internal and external forces that produce the start (direction), intensity, and persistence of behaviour
• Direction determines situations that an athlete or exerciser seeks, approaches, or is attracted to
• Intensity relates to the amount of effort
• Persistence means maintaining intensity over a continuous period
• Motivation represents the reasons behind actions

Why Study Motivation

• Motivation is studied to improve behaviour through initiation, maintenance, change when needed, and cessation of activities/habits
• Understanding motivation and its sustainment helps facilitate long-term behaviour change

Approaches to Understanding Motivation

• Behavioural
• Cognitive
• Cognitive-Behavioural

Approaches to Motivation - Behavioural

• Behavioural Approach focuses on conditioning or learning from the environment to understand motivated behaviour
• Includes operant conditioning, vicarious conditioning, and operant strategies

Approaches to Motivation - Cognitive

• Cognitive Approach emphasizes the role of thoughts and cognitive habits in understanding motivated behaviour
• Focuses on how individuals interpret their external environment
• Automatic thought processes, cognitive errors, and core beliefs can be altered

Approaches to Motivation - Cognitive

• Cognitive-Behavioural Approach outlines reciprocal influence between cognitions and behaviour to understand motivated behaviour
• Cognitions influence emotions and behaviour
• Behaviour affects thought patterns and emotions

Theory of Planned Behaviour

• Theory of Planned Behaviour: Personal and social factors influencing the intention to engage in a behaviour

Theory of Planned Behaviour - Attitudes

• Attitudes refer to positive or negative evaluations of engaging in a behaviour
• A judgement about if the behaviour is a good thing to do
• Determined by consideration of the consequences of engaging in a behaviour and evaluation of these consequences
• Considers the likelihood that behavior will lead to given result
• Considers if the outcome would be rewarding

Theory of Planned Behaviour - Subjective Norms

• Subjective Norms: perceived social pressures to perform a behaviour from personal or environmental sources
• Involves what others think of someone doing the behaviour
• Determined by perceptions of the values and importance that significant others place on behavioural engagement
• Determined by motivation to comply, so a desire to do what the referent individual encourages

Theory of Planned Behaviour - Perceived Behavioural Control

• Perceived Behavioural Control: the extent to which behaviour is volitional
• How much control someone has over the behaviour
• determined by perceived barriers to and facilitators of engaging in a behaviour
• Determined by beliefs about personal competence and effort, and complexity of the task

Theory of Planned Behaviour - Intentions

• Intention: a person's readiness to perform a behaviour

Intention-Behaviour Gap

• Intention-behaviour gap: people do not always do what they intend to do
• Despite the theory's prediction, intention weakly predicts behaviour
• Gap can be reduced

Theory of Planned Behaviour - Research

• Attitude and perceived behavioural control are linked with exercise intentions
• Subjective norms are more weakly linked with exercise intentions
• Interventions can change these three variables

Theory of Planned Behaviour - The Evidence

• Meta-analysis of 161 studies found effect sizes were moderate
• All variables predicted the other variables consistently with theory
• Theory variables accounted for much more (11%) of behaviour compared to objective behavioural measures, when behavioural measures were self-report

Problems with Theory of Planned Behaviour

• Potential problems include whether people consider implications for their actions
• Does not consider emotion or past experience
• It is not known whether intentions always lead to behaviors
• Intentions and behavior are only moderately related

Health Action Process Approach (HAPPA)

• HAPPA was developed to account for the intention-behaviour gap
• HAPPA distinguishes between motivational and volitional processes
• Action plans specify when, where, and how to implement an intended behaviour
• Coping plans help people anticipate difficulties that might derail physical activity and generate behavioural or cognitive responses to overcome them

Five Theories of Motivation in SEP

• Theory of Planned Behaviour
• Self-Determination Theory
• Social Cognitive Theory
• Non-Conscious Processes
  • Mindsets
  • Affective-Reflective Theory of Physical Inactivity and exercise

Self-Determination Theory

• Self-Determination Theory is a global theory of human motivation and development
• Focuses one extent to which behaviours are undertaken volitionally or because of controlling factors
• Humans have innate tendencies for personal growth and development that flourish when social environments provide optimal conditions
• Critical is developing a sense of autonomy leads to internalization and integration so the person can better self-regulate their health behaviour

SDT and Motivation

• Quantity of motivation is about how much motivation someone has
• Quality of motivation is about the type of motivation someone has

Oganismic Integration Theory - Regulations

• External Regulation: Actions are performed to fulfil an external demand, achieve a reward, or avoid punishment
• Introjected Regulation: Activity is engaged in to avoid negative emotions
• Identified Regulation: Activity is linked to important and valued goals
• Integrated Regulation: Activity is consistent with a person's identity
• Intrinsic Regulation: Activity is undertaken because it is enjoyable, interesting, stimulating, or self-rewarding

Oganismic Integration Theory - Motivation

• Controlled Motivation: combination of external and introjected regulation
• Autonomous motivation: combination of identified, integrated and intrinsic regulation
• Amotivation: Absence of motivation, with no connection between one's actions and outcome

Self-Determination Theory - Psychological Needs

• Innate: born with them
• Fundamental: Cannot be broken down into anything else
• Essential Nutrients: Necessary for optimal psychological function
• Can be satisfied or frustration
• Impacted by interactional style, personality orientations, and goals

Psychological Needs - Autonomy

• Autonomy: the feeling that one has choice and is in control of one's behaviour
• Acting in accord with your own desires rather than through external or internal pressure; being true to yourself; fully integrating oneself

Psychological Needs - Competence

• Competence: feeling affect and capable when undertaking challenging tasks
• Feeling as though you can successfully complete optimally challenging tasks

Psychological Needs - Relatedness

• Relatedness: feeling meaningful connection with others in environments such as exercise
• Feeling a sense of belonging with important others

Self-Determination Theory and Behaviour Change - Changing Autonomy Satisfaction

• Can be tough because exercise/practice is not always inherently fun (i.e., autonomous motivation)
• Most people start exercise because of external pressure (i.e., controlled motivation)
• Being valued can provide meaningful rationales for change, do not apply external pressure
• Can still be integrated: provide support as people identify pathways to health and barriers
• Support agency
• Provide options
• Ask for someone's perspective

Self-Determination Theory and Behaviour Change - Changing Competence Satisfaction

• Provide effectance-relevant feedback
• Help people find the skills and tools for change
• Do not over challenge a person
• Help person feel mastery in small steps
• Help people find behaviours they are good at

Self-Determination Theory and Behaviour Change - Changing Relatedness Satisfaction

• Provide input and guidance to facilitate a good relationship with patient
• Respect, understand, and care for patient
• Enhance connection and trust
• Encourage activities with friends/family

Social Factors - Interactional Style

• Interactional Style: people can affect perceptions of psychological needs in any given context
• Supportive interactional style includes autonomy support, structure and involvement
• Controlling interactional style

Interactional Style

• Autonomy Support: An interpersonal style associated with the provision of choices and options
• Structure: An interpersonal style associated with the provision of feedback and the clarification of expectations
• Involvement: An interpersonal style whereby individuals feel others are invested in their health and well-being

Interactional Style - Supportive

• Provide relevant information and meaningful rationales for change
• Supporting athlete/exerciser decisions and interests
• Understanding athlete/exerciser perspective

Interactional Style - Controlling

• A treatment atmosphere that controls people's behaviours through tangible rewards or externally pressuring them toward practitioner valued behaviours/outcomes
• Leads to psychological need frustration
• Avoid incentives, using authority, rewards, and contingent approval

Personality Differences in Autonomy - Personality Orientation

• Autonomous orientation: Engagement in behaviours based on interest and personal values
• Impersonal orientation: Believing that attaining desired outcomes is beyond control
• Controlled orientation: Engaging in an activity focusing on external controls or directives

Goals

• Intrinsic Goals: Personal goals related to one's growth, community involvement, and meaningful relationships
• Extrinsic Goals: Personal goals related to wealth, fame, and image

Summary - Self-Determination Theory and Behaviour Change

• First target the change in motivation and behaviour
• Enhancement of the satisfaction of psychological needs and reduce the frustration of needs How to change psychological needs:
• Change the interactional style (social environment)
• Help people set intrinsic goals
• Help people internalize the behaviour and be more autonomous

Problems with SDT

• Potential problems include being very big and hard to test/implement
• Assumes an innate tendency for growth, development and intrinsic motivation
• All three needs do not predict behaviour as hypothesized equally
• Limited to either/or distinctions of motivation (what about combinations?)

SDT in SEP

• SDT in individual studies support in physical education classes, sport, and exercise
• Systematic reviews found 265 Physical education studies, and 66 Exercise studies

Evidence - Self-Determination Theory

• Results from a meta-analysis (Ng et al., 2012) found:
  • 184 studies testing SDT in a health domain with moderate effect sizes
  • Overall patterns supported the theoretical model
  • Autonomy supportive climates enhanced psychological need satisfaction and impacted biopsychosocial outcomes
  • Increased well-being, healthier cholesterol, glycemic control etc.
• Newest Meta-analysis on only experimental studies found:
  • 73 experiments testing SDT in a health domain with small-moderate in magnitude
  • Need satisfaction was not related to behaviours
  • Need support and autonomous motivation associated with change in health behaviours

Social Cognitive Theory

• Encompasses the personal, behavioural, and environmental factors that influence behaviour
• Exercise behaviour is influenced by both personal and environmental factors, particularly self-efficacy
• Social cognitive theory has produced consistent results in predicting exercise behaviour

Social Cognitive Theory Constructs

• Observational Learning: Learning behaviour and how to acquire it by watching the actions and outcomes of others' behaviours
• Goals: Ambitions that direct people's behaviour
• Outcome Expectations: Reflects beliefs that a given behaviour will produce a specific outcome
• Outcome Expectancies: Perceptions of how likely it is that a valuable outcome will follow a given behaviour
• Self-Regulation: Self-directed behaviour that is initiated, monitored, and evaluated by people in a that is consistent with accomplishing personal goals
• Behavioural Capacity: Behaviour is dependent on an individual's knowledge and skills
• Self-Efficacy: Situation-specific form of self-confidence that focuses on the extent to which individuals feel they will be successful in producing a specific outcome given their skills and situation

Self-Efficacy

• Motivated behaviour is influenced by self-efficacy beliefs
• Situational form of self-confidence
• Involves outcome expectations of what outcomes the person expects based on specific actions
• Involves skills

Self-Confidence vs. Self-Efficacy

• Self-confidence: A general feeling of trust in one's abilities, qualities, and judgment
• Self-efficacy: Belief in one's capabilities to organize and execute the courses of actions required to produce given levels of attainment
• Influenced by perceived cognitive and physical abilities and perceived situational demands

Changing Self-Efficacy

• Mastery Experiences: Past performance success and failure for similar behaviours influence self-efficacy
• Vicarious experience: Modelled behaviours are associated with the development and change in self-efficacy
• Social persuasion: Verbal and non-verbal feedback from significant, knowledgeable others
• Physiological and affective states: Physical and emotional cues associated with performance

Research on Social Cognitive Theory and Exercise

• SCT constructs account for 40% - 55% of physical activity behaviour.
• Self-efficacy is linked to behavioural outcomes such as exercise adherence and sport performance.
• SCT variables predicted over 50% of the individual differences in PA activity within diabetic patients.

Applying Social Cognitive Theory

• Provides opportunities to intervene at several different points, including:
  • Behaviours
  • Personal factors (e.g., self-beliefs, self-efficacy)
  • Environment
• Changing the situation can help change behaviours