1/30 Cognitive Evaluation Theory

What are some other extrinsic factors that create an external perceived locus of causality, and thereby undermine intrinsic motivation?

- Awards - Avoidance of punishment - Surveillance - Deadlines - Evaluation

According to proposition 3 of Cognitive Evaluation Theory, what are the three aspects of events relevant to the initiation and regulation of behavior?

- Informational: provides effectance-relevant feedback in the context of choice; promotes self-determined functioning. - Controlling: pressures people to behave, think, or feel particular ways; promotes control-determined functioning. - Amotivating: signifies that effectance cannot be obtained; promotes amotivated functioning.

What are two factors that promote a sense of perceived competence, and therefore facilitate intrinsic motivation.

-Provision of an optimally challenging task - Positive verbal feedback that is received as competence (NOT controlling).

What are the three propositions of Cognitive Evaluation Theory?

1: events that promote a more external perceived locus of causality will undermine intrinsic motivation, and vice versa. 2: events that promote greater perceived competence will enhance intrinsic motivation, and vice versa. 3: events relevant to the initiation and regulation of behavior have three aspects, which may vary in salience: informational, controlling, and amotivating.

How did Plant and Ryan create a state of objective self-awareness in their 1985 study?

3 conditions created 3 levels of OSA: - Control condition - Working in front of a mirror - Working in front of a video camera (strongest effect)

What is objective self-awareness, according to Duval and Wicklund?

A state in which people focus on themselves as objects by looking at themselves as if from the outside; creates control & undermines intrinsic motivation.

What is "breaking set", and what is its relationship to rewards in McGraw's research?

Breaking set: creativity; coming up with unique solutions to solving problems. Paid subjects had more difficulty breaking set.

What is reactance according to Brehm versus Deci and Ryan?

Brehm: reactance occurs when a specific behavioral option that a person believes to be available in threatened (like after a limitation of freedom). The person may rebel against the demand, thus exhibiting control-determined behavior. Deci and Ryan: Most reactance behaviors do not actually restore freedom. People tend to superficially comply with controlling feedback, but put in minimal effort.

What are the four mini-theories under SDT?

Cognitive Evaluation Theory, organismic integration theory, causality orientations theory, and basic needs theory.

According to SDT, what are the three basic needs for supporting intrinsic motivation and integration?

Competence, relatedness, and autonomy.

Explain ego-involvement vs. task-involvement.

Ego inv.: when one's self esteem rests on successful completion of a task; when one evaluates themself according to the outcome they obtain (EM, external locus of causality). Task inv.: when one is involved in a task because of the interesting aspects of the task (IM, internal locus of causality).

Self-determination theory (SDT) starts with the assumption of an organism with an innate tendency to move toward ________ing ____________ and ____________.

Increasing organization and integration.

Describe proposition 4 of Cognitive Evaluation Theory.

Internally informational events facilitate self-determined functioning and intrinsic motivation. Internally controlling events are experienced as pressure towards specific outcomes and undermine intrinsic motivation. Internally amotivating events make incompetence salient and undermine intrinsic motivation.

What is the significance of the Zeigarnik effect in the context of research on intrinsic motivation?

It could be an alternate explanation (to intrinsic motivation) as to why participants continue to work on tasks during free time (which is generally how IM is measured). It is eliminated as a possibility by giving participants the answers to unsolved puzzles after a period of time.

How can rewards be disruptive of relationships between people of unequal status, specifically?

It is difficult or impossible to be honest and transparent to someone over whom you hold the power to grant or deny important rewards. This breeds distrust and disconnection.

What is the relationship between negative performance feedback and intrinsic motivation?

Negative performance feedback undermines intrinsic motivation, whether it is controlling or competence-centered.

How does objective self-awareness relate to ego-involvement?

Objective self-awareness and ego-involvement both involve internal mechanisms of control that center on evaluation of the whole person according to the outcome of a task or behavior.

What does Kohn mean when he says that rewards punish?

Rewards and punishments are two sides of the same coin because: - Both are controlling/ behavioral manipulation - Neither foster autonomy - Not everyone can receive the reward, and those that do not are, in effect, punished - Essentially, they are problematic for the same reasons

How can rewards rupture relationships?

Rewards create artificial scarcity, which breeds competition and "strifes and jealousies".

Describe the relationship between rewards and creativity.

Rewards encourage a relatively narrow, focused, outcome-oriented approach, which is not conducive to creativity and divergent thinking. There is no point in being creative when the reward is the reason for the behavior; rather, efficiency and certainty make more sense than exploration.

Rewards are most likely to undermine intrinsic motivation when they are _______ and _______.

Salient and expected.

What is self-determination theory?

Self-determination theory is a dialectical viewpoint that concerns itself with the interaction between the proactive nature of the self and the nurturing or inhibiting features of the social context. The self is inherently motivated by a movement toward growth and integration, but it requires support and nutriments from the social environment.

What evidence does Ross' study lend to the idea that rewards do NOT undermine intrinsic motivation simply because they are distracting?

Subjects who were distracted by thoughts not relevant to a reward did not show decreased intrinsic motivation.

What is the free choice measure of intrinsic motivation, and what is the logic behind operationalizing IM in this way?

The free choice measure is the amount of time spent with the target activity during free time (which includes alternate activities). The logic is that there is no extrinsic reason to work on the task (including no perceived supervision), so it must be intrinsically motivated.

What is the Zeigarnik effect?

The tendency to be motivated to return to uncompleted tasks.

In what way can collective rewards be damaging?

They can set members of a group against each other and cause people to resent and blame those perceived to have caused failure.

What is internally controlling regulation?

Things you tell yourself to get yourself to do things.

Describe Kast's findings on the effects of gender on responses to praise.

When praise contains both controlling and informational elements, females are more likely to feel controlled, while males are more likely to feel competent. This is hypothesized to be because women are socialized to want to please others, but men are more socialized towards the salience of their big fat egos.

What is locus of control?

Whether one feels they can do certain behaviors to create certain outcomes (whether one feels competent).

What is locus of causality? What is its relationship to the undermining effects of rewards on intrinsic motivation?

Whether or not one feels free to choose the activities they engage in (whether or not they are self-determined). Rewards induce a change in perceived locus of causality from internal to external, resulting in decreased intrinsic motivation.