A Spectrum of Motivation

We have a tendency to overlook our preconceived notions about how systems function. If those notions are inaccurate or imprecise — as they often are — they can lead us to make decisions that result in unexpected unwanted outcomes. I'm currently reading Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci's Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness in a broader effort to improve my mental health and wellbeing. At only a couple of chapters in, I've already had a few of these inconspicuous notions challenged. One of the more meaningful of these comes from Organismic Integration Theory (OIT), one of SDT's six mini-theories.

The challenged notion is that human motivation is ultimately determined by a combination of rewards and punishments, resulting in a "push the right buttons; get the right response" kind of interpersonal dynamic. OIT recognizes this dynamic as external regulation, which it considers only one kind of motivation. The theory describes a spectrum arranged by how controlled (compelled) or autonomous (self-endorsed) an actor perceives their behavior to be. Along this spectrum are different regulatory styles, with the more autonomous styles trending as the more vitalizing and fulfilling ones. (The reason for this is related to another one of SDT's mini-theories, Basic Psychological Needs Theory [BPNT], which is rich enough to warrant a separate post; just know that autonomy is a basic psychological need which, when met, contributes to overall wellbeing.)

OIT defines the following five particular styles of motivated behavior along the spectrum, ordered by most controlled to most autonomous:

• External Regulation: Pursuit of rewards or avoidance of punishments. This style of motivation is often the weapon-of-choice for controlling behavior in schools, workplaces, and homes. Think detention, bonuses, and grounding — it's highly effective for short-term compliance, but not for long-term behavior change.
• Introjected Regulation: Behavior consistent with values taken in but not made one's own. While it typically has longer-lasting behavioral effects than external regulation, this style still feels controlled to the actor, since it doesn't come from one's authentic morals, but from morals they've been trained to accept as "shoulds". Introjected regulation can show up as avoidance of shame or guilt, or as approach towards pride or ego enhancement. For example, the child earning perfect grades out of fear of their parents' disappointment, or the rich man pursuing more wealth out of desire for a higher status.
• Identified Regulation: Desire of the outcome as it relates to a particular authentic value. The behavior itself may not be enjoyable, but it's more fulfilling than when motivated by the previous styles because the outcome is genuinely valued by the actor. This could be a hobbyist computer programmer learning Photoshop from scratch to make a graphic in their latest app look just right.
• Integrated Regulation: The value of the behavior is assimilated into the other authentic values. More fulfilling still, this is when the actor perceives the behavior as something holistically congruent with their values. This could be the altruist who volunteers every weekend to help pick up litter, because keeping the city clean is a way their altruism manifests.
• Intrinsic Motivation: Enjoyment of the behavior itself. The most fulfilling kind of motivation, often characterized by a revitalizing "flow state". This is the artist who spends hours a day painting and sculpting, yet is still energized at the end of every session.

Replacing the "click, result" notion with this motivational system can lead to better outcomes in disparate fields. For starters, people can focus on why they choose to do routine, effortful things to recover a sense of volition in their behaviors, like a person remembering they go to the gym because they value having a healthy body, not because it's something they "should" do. When parents support their children's autonomy within boundaries instead of micromanaging them, like communicating the reasoning behind their instruction then providing the children with a set of choices, those children are likelier to experience greater overall wellbeing. Managers can benefit the workplace with this model by giving workers the reason for a task instead of just saying, "this needs to get done".

Perhaps on the notion that rewards and punishments are the best and longest-lasting motivators, many budgeting apps use external regulators like streaks and prominent progress metrics in an effort to get their users to save money. In light of OIT, I declined these features in Jay, my budgeting app — I want users to continue using Jay for the same reasons they installed it.

SDT's applications in these domains extend considerably when holistically observed with all six mini-theories, and for the full picture I'd recommend reading Ryan and Deci's book — the first few chapters alone challenged a notion that brings short-term compliance at the cost of durable motivation. There's a pretty good chance I'll make more posts about this model, other psychological wellbeing systems and principles, and more obscure but deleterious preconceived notions — OIT itself is no exception to this questioning process. For now, I need to finish reading.