General Self-determination Research Articles

Mathematical self-determination theory II: Affine space representation

Self-determination theory is a well-established theory of motivation. This theory provides for fundamental concepts related to human motivation, including self-determination. The mathematization of this theory has been envisaged in a series of two papers by the author. The first paper entitled “Mathematical self-determination theory I: Real representation” addressed the representation of the theory in reals. This second paper is in continuation of it. The representation of the first part allows to abstract the results in more general mathematical structures, namely, affine spaces. The simpler real representation is reobtained as a special instance. We take convexity as the pivotal starting point to generalize the whole exposition and represent self-determination theory in abstract affine spaces. This includes the affine space analogs of the notions of internal locus, external locus, and impersonal locus, of regulated and graded motivation, and self-determination. We also introduce polar coordinates in Euclidean affine motivation spaces to study self-determination on radial and angular line segments. We prove the distributivity of the lattice of general self-determination in the affine space formulation. The representation in an affine space is free in the choice of primitives. However, the different representations, in reals or affine, are shown to be unique up to canonical isomorphism. The aim of this paper is to extend on the results obtained in the first paper, thereby to further lay the mathematical foundations of self-determination motivation theory.

Mathematical self-determination theory I: Real representation

In two parts, MSDT1 this paper and MSDT2 the follow-up paper, we treat the topic of mathematical self-determination theory. MSDT1 considers the real representation, MSDT2 the affine space representation. The aim of the two papers is to lay the mathematical foundations of self-determination motivation theory. Self-determination theory was proposed by Deci and Ryan, which is a popular theory of motivation. The fundamental concepts are extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, amotivation, their type of regulation, locus of causality, and especially, self-determination. First, we give a geometric description of its concepts for the regulated case (no amotivation), as the unit 1-simplex. Thereby, we derive a symmetric definition of self-determination. Second, we extend the geometric description to the regulated and unregulated case, based on a more general ternary model, in internal motivation, external motivation, and amotivation. We define gradations of amotivation (and motivation), as 1-simplexes parallel to the unit 1-simplex. The ternary representation implies the types of strong, weak, and general self-determination, as partial orders on the motivation space. Third, we study the order, lattice, and algebraic properties of self-determination. In a version of polar coordinates, strong self-determination turns out to be a complete lattice on angular line segments, weak self-determination is a complete lattice on radial line segments, and general self-determination entails a complete lattice on the entire motivation space. In addition, the modified polar coordinates are employed to obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for strong, weak, and general self-determination. We propose measures for the strength of an ordinal dependency in self-determination, which are partial metrics on the motivation space.

A longitudinal analysis of motivation profiles at work

This paper examines the multidimensional nature of workplace motivation and the importance of a continuum structure in self-determination theory through application of complementary variable- and person-centered approaches. This approach is taken to simultaneously model the complexity of motivation and highlight interactions between motivational factors. Additionally, this study represents an initial test of the temporal stability of work motivation profiles. A sample of 510 full-time employees were recruited from a range of occupations. Results support the central importance of a general factor representing self-determination as the most influential factor in an employee’s motivation profile. However, smaller effects associated with the motivation subscales, especially identified regulation, were also noticed. Importantly, motivation profiles were found to be highly stable over the 4-month duration of this study. Results lend support to the theoretical position that while general self-determination is an essential component of motivation, it alone does not fully describe an employee’s motivation.

Why do women engage in fat talk? Examining fat talk using Self-Determination Theory as an explanatory framework

This study used Self-Determination Theory to examine the motivational processes involved in individuals’ engagement in fat talk and its association with unhealthy eating behaviors. Female undergraduate students (N=453) completed an online questionnaire, which assessed general and contextual motivation, importance placed on goals, fat talk, and unhealthy eating behaviors. Structural equation modeling revealed that being generally non-self-determined and placing more importance on extrinsic goals, such as thinness, was associated with fat talk. Fat talk was further associated with non-self-determined motivation for eating regulation, which in turn was associated with unhealthy eating. General self-determination and placing more importance on intrinsic goals, such as health, were not associated with fat talk, but instead, were associated with more adaptive forms of eating regulation and diet quality. Findings further current knowledge on the respective roles of motivation and goals on the engagement in fat talk, and its consequences on eating regulation and behavior.

Internalizing emotions: Self-determination as an antecedent of emotional intelligence

An extensive body of literature indicates that people differ in the extent to which they attend to, process, and regulate emotions. The present research sought to build on this knowledge by examining whether general self-determination (GSD) could account for individual variation in emotional intelligence (EI) and psychological well-being (PWB). A simple and multiple mediation model using bootstrap analyses tested these relationships in a sample of students (Study 1, N=283) and workers (Study 2, N=265). Results supported the hypothesized mediating role of EI in the relationship between GSD and PWB across both studies. When the inter-related facets of EI were considerately separately, indirect effects emerged for mood regulation/optimism and social skills across both studies as well as for utilization of emotions, albeit negatively, in Study 2. Our findings support and extend past work on the antecedents of EI and have important implications for human functioning across a variety of settings.

The Application of Self-Determination Theory to Eating Disorders

In this article, the role of self-determination theory (SDT) is applied to eating disorders. SDT posits that individuals revolve around three specific innate psychological needs: competence, autonomy, and relatedness. For an individual to function at an optimal level of growth and integration to establish social development and personal well-being, all three needs must be met. The conclusion of this analysis is that general self-determination may create a buffer for women against the sociocultural pressures to maintain a thin “ideal body.” The level of self-determination and the type of motivation play an intricate role in how an individual copes with body dissatisfaction. We also include a section on the implications of this analysis for social work and mental health practitioners. As such, we explain training or intervention techniques that practitioners could use when treating clients with eating disorders.

Motivational “spill-over” during weight control: Increased self-determination and exercise intrinsic motivation predict eating self-regulation.

Objective: Successful weight management relies on at least two health behaviors, eating and exercise. However, little is known about their interaction on a motivational and behavioral level. Based on the Hierarchical Model of Motivation the authors examined whether exercise-specific motivation can transfer to eating regulation during a lifestyle weight control program. The authors further investigated whether general, treatment-related, and exercise motivation underlie the relation between increased exercise and improved eating regulation. Design: Overweight/obese women participated in a 1-year randomized controlled trial (N 239). The intervention focused on promoting physical activity and internal motivation for exercise and weight loss, following Self-Determination Theory. The control group received general health education. Main Outcome Measures: General and exercise specific selfdetermination, eating self-regulation variables, and physical activity behavior. Results: General selfdetermination and more autonomous exercise motivation predicted eating self-regulation over 12 months. Additionally, general and exercise self-determination fully mediated the relation between physical activity and eating self-regulation. Conclusion: Increased general self-determination and exercise motivation seem to facilitate improvements in eating self-regulation during weight control in women. These motivational mechanisms also underlie the relationship between improvements in exercise behavior and eating regulation.

The protective role of general self-determination against ‘thin ideal’ media exposure on women’s body image and eating-related concerns

Women's responses to 'thin ideal' media pending their level of general self-determination (GSD) were examined. High and low GSD women (N = 99) viewed a 'thin physique salient' (TPS) video or a 'thin physique non-salient' (TPNS) video. Following exposure to the TPS video, perceptions of pressure from the media to be thin, body dissatisfaction, and concerns over quantity of food were greater for low but not high GSD women. However, high GSD women reported greater concerns over the quality of food they eat following exposure to the TPNS video. Prevention efforts aimed at enhancing GSD are discussed.

Predictors of Psychological Well-Being during Behavioral Obesity Treatment in Women

This study examined the association of autonomy-related variables, including exercise motivation, with psychological well-being and quality of life, during obesity treatment. Middle-aged overweight/obese women (n = 239) participated in a 1-year behavioral program and completed questionnaires measuring need support, general self-determination, and exercise and treatment motivation. General and obesity-specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL), self-esteem, depression, and anxiety were also assessed. Results showed positive correlations of self-determination and perceived need support with HRQOL and self-esteem, and negative associations with depression and anxiety (P < .001). Treatment autonomous motivation correlated positively with physical (P = .004) and weight-related HRQOL (P < .001), and negatively with depression (P = .025) and anxiety (P = .001). Exercise autonomous motivation was positively correlated with physical HRQOL (P < .001), mental HRQOL (P = .003), weight-related HRQOL (P < .001), and self-esteem (P = .003), and negatively with anxiety (P = .016). Findings confirm that self-determination theory's predictions apply to this population and setting, showing that self-determination, perceived need support, and autonomous self-regulation positively predict HRQOL and psychological well-being.

Motivational “spill-over” during weight control: Increased self-determination and exercise intrinsic motivation predict eating self-regulation.

Successful weight management relies on at least two health behaviors, eating and exercise. However, little is known about their interaction on a motivational and behavioral level. Based on the Hierarchical Model of Motivation the authors examined whether exercise-specific motivation can transfer to eating regulation during a lifestyle weight control program. The authors further investigated whether general, treatment-related, and exercise motivation underlie the relation between increased exercise and improved eating regulation. Overweight/obese women participated in a 1-year randomized controlled trial (N = 239). The intervention focused on promoting physical activity and internal motivation for exercise and weight loss, following Self-Determination Theory. The control group received general health education. General and exercise specific self-determination, eating self-regulation variables, and physical activity behavior. General self-determination and more autonomous exercise motivation predicted eating self-regulation over 12 months. Additionally, general and exercise self-determination fully mediated the relation between physical activity and eating self-regulation. Increased general self-determination and exercise motivation seem to facilitate improvements in eating self-regulation during weight control in women. These motivational mechanisms also underlie the relationship between improvements in exercise behavior and eating regulation.