Deci and Ryan explained the self-determination theory and how the two types of motivation(autonomous and controlled) influece behavior. External and introjected regulations are forms of controlled motivation, whereas identified/integrated and intrinsic regulation are forms of autonomous motivation. Introjection is when people take in an external contingency, demand, or regulation but don't accept it as their own. Identification is when people identify with the value of the activity and willingly accept responsibility for regulating the behavior. With identification the individual does not feel pressured or controlled to do the behavior. At the beginning of the semester when I chose to learn the ukulele I would say that I had a mixture of identification and introjection extrinisically motivating me. I saw the value of learning a new occupation and relating my experiences to the material we were learning, but my desire to learn a new occupation was heavily driven by class assignments. As the semester has progressed I identify more with the introjection type of internalization which is a type of controlled motivation. The external factors of class assignments and expectations are what are driving my continuation of the occupation although most weeks practice feels more like a burden than a time of enjoyment.
Yerxa (1994) says that occupation is "engagement in self-initiated, self-directed, adaptive, purposeful, culturally relevant, organized activity." In the video "Half Man, Full Life" Jesse Stitcher demonstrated his drive to engage in occupations that give him meaning and enjoyment in life. Some of the occupations Jesse participates in include driving, performing, physical labor, four-wheeling, etc. Jesse talked about wanting to participate in occupations that challenged him. One example was when he decided to switch from just selling the satellite dishes to running his own company that included the installation of the satelite dishes as well. This relates to the concept of flow and participating in activities that provide the right amount of challenge for the set of skills one has. When Jesse made this switch in his career he found more fulfillment and enjoyment out of his job.
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ReplyDeleteHannah it seems as if Jesse Stitcher was driven my autonomous motivation for the most part especially in his desire to engage in all of the dare-devil occupations. When Jesse explained how he got involved in the sideshow business, he clearly stated that it was not for financial reasons, rather it was that he liked attention, exemplifying how he performed for self satisfaction rather than due to external regulations. Would you agree?
ReplyDeleteHannah would you say that you are an entitist or incrementalist? I ask because it could be that because of your self-theory at the moment, you are beginning to lose interest if you have met your goal of learning certain songs. If you are an entitist, it could be that you have performed to your expectations and don't feel an autonomous motivation that maybe a person with an autotelic personality would use to continue on to mastery.
I would agree that Jesse was driven by autonomous motivation in addition to controlled motivation that may come from the standards set by society. I also, would agree that Jesse's motivation for performing in the side show came from his love of performance and attention which gives him a sense of self satisfaction!
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking more about whether or not I am an entitist or an incrementalist theorist. I think for some things I am an incrementalist but for many things I am an entitist. For example: I was thinking on why I enjoy volleyball more than basketball. I perceive that I am better at volleyball than I am at basketball and I hate being the one who doesn't know what they are doing, so I don't play basketball as much as volleyball. I think with the ukulele my goal could have been on performance goals. Like I wanted to learn to play "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" because it is a classic ukulele song. I learned it, although it doesn't sound as good because I don't sing along with it. And so after that I have just found other songs to play, but haven't really had any that I really wanted to learn. So for this situation I am identifying as an entity theorist and maybe with this understanding will help me target what is necessary to change my motivation in the occupation.