Motivation From A Self-Determination Viewpoint
By Dr. Andrew Dutra
Motivation, the reasons that cause a person
to act in a particular way and the processes
that initiate, guide, and maintain such
behaviors, is a psychological construct that
has received a great deal of attention in the
research literature. Although a complete
review of that body of literature is beyond
the scope of this article, attention will be
given to a discussion of motivation from an
SDT perspective, as this theory is relevant
to our role as collegiate educators. SDT
was originally developed in an effort to
describe how varying levels or degrees of
motivation explain the different types of self-
determined behavior. Their theory includes
intrinsic and extrinsic sources of motivation,
the importance of social and cultural factors
in affecting an individual’s well being, and
the influence of autonomy, competence, and
relatedness in fostering highly motivated
individuals
Within the SDT framework (Figure 1),
motivation is viewed uniquely as a
continuum that spans from amotivation
(lowest level of self-determination, absence
of autonomy), through extrinsic motivation,
to intrinsic motivation (highest level of
self-determination, performing tasks for
pleasure and satisfaction). Individuals who
are amotivated are far less likely to complete
tasks due their perceived lack of relevance/
importance regarding such activities. For
example, an amotivated individual is more
likely to sit on the couch or play video games
rather than study or exercise due to the lack
of importance such academic and fitness
tasks provide.
Extrinsic motivation, at the lower end of
the SDT continuum nearest to amotivation,
is motivation that comes from a source
outside of a person, such as external
rewards (e.g., money, medals, trophies,
attention, and praise). Behaviors stimulated
by an extrinsic source are perceived by
individuals as originating outside the
individual and their control and are often
associated with decreased levels of overall
satisfaction and enjoyment, ending once
the external rewards diminish. Unique to
SDT, extrinsic motivation is postulated to be
a multidimensional motivation facet that
is further broken down into four levels of
behavioral regulation: external regulation,
introjected regulation, identified regulation,
and integrated regulation. At these varying
levels of extrinsic motivation, the amount of
internalization and autonomy increases as a
person moves through integrated regulation
and closer to intrinsic motivation. This
differentiation allows for a more detailed
and specific understanding of a person’s
externally motivated behaviors.
In SDT, intrinsic motivation is the highest
level of self-determination. To be truly
intrinsically motivated, an individual must
see the activity as being truly enjoyable and
interesting from an internal perspective.
Individuals who are truly intrinsically
motivated perform action or behaviors
for the pleasure and satisfaction that
results from participation in a particular
activity without any concern for reward
or praise. The action performed is rooted
in interest and inherent satisfaction. This
level of motivation has the greatest level
of autonomy and self-determined/self-
regulated control, often associated with high
levels of personal metacognitive behavior.
All in all, by viewing motivation as more than
simply internal and external, an educator is
able to assist each student on their academic
journey moving away from amotivation and
extrinsic motivations, towards truly sincere
intrinsic motivation. Keeping this mindset at
the forefront of an educator’s mind, provides
an ability for each student to be viewed
as a dynamic individual moving towards
perpetual success both within the walls of
the classroom and in their lives outside of
EFSC. Providing students with transferable
tools to be more “gritty” will ultimately
benefit them in a professional setting as well.
Figure 1. Self-Determination Theory. Graphical schematic representation of Self-Determination Theory
by Sanli, Patterson, Bray, and Lee, 2012, p. 2.
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