Abstract
Despite the fact that studies on self-determination theory have traditionally disregarded the explicit role of emotions in the motivation eliciting process, research attention for the affective antecedents of motivation is growing. We add to this emerging research field by testing the moderating role of emotion differentiation –individual differences in the extent to which people can differentiate between specific emotions– on the relationship between twelve specific emotions and intrinsic motivation. To this end, we conducted a daily diary study (N = 72) and an experience sampling study (N = 34). Results showed that the relationship between enthusiasm, cheerfulness, optimism, contentedness, gloominess, miserableness, uneasiness (in both studies 1 and 2), calmness, relaxation, tenseness, depression, worry (only in Study 1) on one hand and intrinsic motivation on the other hand was moderated by positive emotion differentiation for the positive emotions and by negative emotion differentiation for the negative emotions. Altogether, these findings suggest that for people who are unable to distinguish between different specific positive emotions the relationship between those specific positive emotions and intrinsic motivation is stronger, whereas the relationship between specific negative emotions and intrinsic motivation is weaker for people who are able to distinguish between the different specific negative emotions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Highlights
Motivation is central to the functioning of organizations and their employees
In line with Hypothesis 1, we found that negative emotion differentiation negatively moderated the relation between each specific emotion and intrinsic motivation
Emotion differentiation moderated the relationship between the specific emotions and intrinsic motivation, with the moderation effect of negative and positive emotion differentiation differing in sign
Summary
Motivation is central to the functioning of organizations and their employees. Motivated employees perform well, are more satisfied and committed to their jobs, and are less absent [1,2,3,4]. Because of the central role of motivation for both the individual and the organization, a thorough understanding of the mechanisms underlying it is crucial, both from a theoretical and a practical point of view. Throughout the years, this awareness has led to the development of a series of motivation theories such as equity theory [5], expectancy theory [6], and incentive theory [7]. SDT combines insights of several of the more traditional motivation theories, and is empirically supported in numerous domains such as education [8], sports [9], psychotherapy [10], health care [11], and work and organizational psychology [12,13,14]
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