Higher Autonomous Motivation Research Articles

College student reactions to health warning labels: Sociodemographic and psychosocial factors related to perceived effectiveness of different approaches

Objective To examine factors associated with perceiving different types of pictorial cigarette health warning labels as most effective in motivating smokers to quit or preventing smoking initiation among college students. Method We administered an online survey to 24,055 students attending six Southeast colleges in Fall, 2010. We obtained complete data for the current analyses from 2600. Results Current smoking prevalence was 23.5%. The largest majority (78.6%) consistently rated gruesome images as most effective, 19.5% rated testimonial images as most effective, and only a small proportion rated either standard (1.6%) or human suffering images (0.3%) as most effective. Subsequent analyses focused on differences between those endorsing gruesome images or testimonials as most effective. Factors related to ranking testimonials versus gruesome images as most effective included being female (p < 0.01), White (p < 0.01), and nonsmokers (p = 0.04), lower perceived smoking prevalence (p < 0.01), and greater receptivity to laws/restrictions around smoking (p < 0.01) and tobacco marketing (p = 0.01). Among smokers, factors related to ranking testimonials as most effective versus gruesome images included being female (p = 0.03), being White (p = 0.03), higher autonomous motivation (p = 0.03), and greater extrinsic self-efficacy (p = 0.02). Conclusions Understanding factors related to perceived effectiveness of different pictorial warnings among subpopulations should inform health warning labels released by the FDA.

The performance implications of ambivalent initiative: The interplay of autonomous and controlled motivations

Although initiative is thought to contribute to higher performance, researchers have called for a more comprehensive understanding of the contingencies for this relationship. Building on self-determination theory, we propose that initiative is more likely to predict performance when individuals experience autonomous and not controlled motivation. Across two studies, we find support for a hypothesized three-way interaction between initiative, autonomous motivation, and controlled motivation in predicting individual performance. In Study 1, the personal initiative reported by job applicants was most positively related to the number of job offers that they received several months later when they experienced high autonomous motivation and low controlled motivation. In Study 2, the objective initiative taken by call center employees was most positively related to the revenue that they generated in subsequent months when they reported high autonomous motivation and low controlled motivation. We discuss theoretical implications for motivation, initiative, proactivity, and performance.

Treatment motivation for rehabilitation after a sport injury: Application of the trans-contextual model

Objectives Two studies employed the trans-contextual model (TCM) to understand the relationships between sport motivation, treatment motivation, and autonomy support. Study 1 tested TCM among recreational athletes, while Study 2 examined the effects of causality orientations and autonomy support from coaches in the TCM among professional athletes. Methods In Study 1, recreational athletes ( N = 115) with ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments completed questionnaires measuring sport motivation, autonomy support from physiotherapists, and treatment motivation for injury rehabilitation. In Study 2, professional athletes ( N = 206) with experiences of moderate to severe sport injury completed questionnaires assessing sport motivation, general causality orientation, autonomy support from coaches and physiotherapists, and treatment motivation and treatment intention based on a hypothetical injury scenario. Results In Study 1, autonomous sport motivation and controlled sport motivation formed positive associations with autonomous and controlled treatment motivation, when controlling for the effect of autonomy support from physiotherapists. In Study 2, the relationship between sport motivation and treatment motivation corroborated findings of Study 1. In addition, autonomy orientation formed positive associations with autonomous sport and treatment motivation and autonomy support from coaches and physiotherapists. Controlled orientation positively predicted controlled sport and treatment motivation. Autonomy support from physiotherapists, instead of that from coaches, positively predicted autonomous treatment motivation. Conclusion The TCM is effective in explaining the transfer of motivation between sport and treatment contexts. Athletes with higher autonomous motivation in sport may be more likely to be autonomously motivated in their rehabilitation when injured.

The Impact of Self-Determination on Academic Motivation of Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists in Continuing Higher Education in Germany

This study aims to examine the academic motivation of students in two therapeutic health professions along with their individual attitudes toward professional training and continuing higher education in Germany. The self-determination theory was taken as a theoretical basis, and the intercultural validated German version of the original French “Échelle de Motivation Dans Les Études–Études Avancées” (EME) was used to show that occupational therapists and physiotherapists attending courses of continuing higher education are motivated by a specific complex of intrinsic and extrinsic motivating factors. In the sense of self-determination theory, older students already in employment feature higher autonomous motivation than younger, not yet employed students. The education of occupational therapists and physiotherapists in North America is compared with the special features of the German setting as a stimulus for further research.

Motivational Interviewing in Internet Groups: A Pilot Study for Weight Loss

Motivational interviewing is a technique for developing and maintaining motivation. This pilot study examined the feasibility and acceptability of motivational interviewing in online weight-loss treatment groups. Twenty women participated in the 8-week minimal contact intervention, received weekly e-mailed lessons, and were randomized to two online groups using motivational interviewing, either with or without a discussion of values. Acceptability of format and content was measured following the second online group. Self-reported weight and motivation were measured at baseline and 8 weeks. Qualitative analysis of group transcripts examined self-motivational statements uttered by participants during online groups. Eighty-four percent of participants reported willingness to participate again and were comfortable with the discussion topics. The average number of self-motivational statements uttered by participants did not differ by group ( P=0.85) and was correlated with an increase in autonomous motivation during the 8 weeks ( r=0.58, P=0.05). Higher autonomous motivation at follow-up was associated with greater weight loss ( r=0.51, P<0.05). This study suggests that motivational interviewing techniques are acceptable and may be useful for targeting and maintaining motivation in online weight-loss groups.

Continuing Education

Motivational interviewing is a technique for developing and maintaining motivation. This pilot study examined the feasibility and acceptability of motivational interviewing in online weight-loss treatment groups. Twenty women participated in the 8-week minimal contact intervention, received weekly e-mailed lessons, and were randomized to two online groups using motivational interviewing, either with or without a discussion of values. Acceptability of format and content was measured following the second online group. Self-reported weight and motivation were measured at baseline and 8 weeks. Qualitative analysis of group transcripts examined self-motivational statements uttered by participants during online groups. Eighty-four percent of participants reported willingness to participate again and were comfortable with the discussion topics. The average number of self-motivational statements uttered by participants did not differ by group (P=0.85) and was correlated with an increase in autonomous motivation during the 8 weeks (r=0.58, P=0.05). Higher autonomous motivation at follow-up was associated with greater weight loss (r=0.51, P<0.05). This study suggests that motivational interviewing techniques are acceptable and may be useful for targeting and maintaining motivation in online weight-loss groups.