Relative Autonomy Index Research Articles

Evaluating the Dimensionality of Self-Determination Theory's Relative Autonomy Continuum.

We conducted a theoretical and psychometric evaluation of self-determination theory's "relative autonomy continuum" (RAC), an important aspect of the theory whose validity has recently been questioned. We first derived a Comprehensive Relative Autonomy Index (C-RAI) containing six subscales and 24 items, by conducting a paired paraphrase content analysis of existing RAI measures. We administered the C-RAI to multiple U.S. and Russian samples, assessing motivation to attend class, study a major, and take responsibility. Item-level and scale-level multidimensional scaling analyses, confirmatory factor analyses, and simplex/circumplex modeling analyses reaffirmed the validity of the RAC, across multiple samples, stems, and studies. Validation analyses predicting subjective well-being and trait autonomy from the six separate subscales, in combination with various higher order composites (weighted and unweighted), showed that an aggregate unweighted RAI score provides the most unbiased and efficient indicator of the overall quality of motivation within the behavioral domain being assessed.

Validating an Agency-based Tool for Measuring Women’s Empowerment in a Complex Public Health Trial in Rural Nepal

Despite the rising popularity of indicators of women’s empowerment in global development programmes, little work has been done on the validity of existing measures of such a complex concept. We present a mixed methods validation of the use of the Relative Autonomy Index for measuring Amartya Sen’s notion of agency freedom in rural Nepal. Analysis of think-aloud interviews (n = 7) indicated adequate respondent understanding of questionnaire items, but multiple problems of interpretation including difficulties with the four-point Likert scale, questionnaire item ambiguity and difficulties with translation. Exploratory Factor Analysis of a calibration sample (n = 511) suggested two positively correlated factors (r = 0.64) loading on internally and externally motivated behaviour. Both factors increased with decreasing education and decision-making power on large expenditures and food preparation. Confirmatory Factor Analysis on a validation sample (n = 509) revealed good fit (Root Mean Square Error of Approximation 0.05–0.08, Comparative Fit Index 0.91–0.99). In conclusion, we caution against uncritical use of agency-based quantification of women’s empowerment. While qualitative and quantitative analysis revealed overall satisfactory construct and content validity, the positive correlation between external and internal motivations suggests the existence of adaptive preferences. High scores on internally motivated behaviour may reflect internalized oppression rather than agency freedom.

Using Bifactor Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling to Test for a Continuum Structure of Motivation

This paper explores the nature of workplace motivation by testing the continuum structure of motivation proposed by self-determination theory through the application of relatively new and advanced methodological techniques. Specifically, we demonstrate the usefulness of the overarching bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling framework in organizational psychology and discuss implications of such models over more traditional confirmatory factor analyses. This framework is applied to responses obtained from 1,124 Canadian employees who completed a multidimensional measure of workplace motivation. The results support a continuum of self-regulation and illustrate the importance of accounting for quality of motivation in addition to its global quantity. Indeed, the results showed that specific types of motivation explained variance in covariates over and above the variance already explained by the global quantity of self-determination. The current study further demonstrates the limitation of the commonly used relative autonomy index and offers alternate conceptualizations of human motivation.

English

PE teachers’ motivational styles have a substantial impact on students’ engagement in learning and can influence children to adopt physically active lifestyles. The Self-Determination Theory (SDT) seeks to explain human motivation and behaviour. Central to SDT, three basic psychological needs must be supported (the needs for autonomy, competency and relatedness) to enhance intrinsic motivation. Autonomy-support refers to the subjective experience of autonomy. Structure is important in PE as it creates the conditions whereby effective learning can take place. The current study examined the effects of a ten-week, school-based, autonomy-supportive structure (ASTS-PE) teacher training intervention in PE, on students’ PE outcomes. Psychological needs satisfaction, perceived autonomy-support, relative autonomy index (RAI), engagement and objective moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels in PE were measured. The study consists of two treatment (autonomy-supportive structure and autonomy-support only) and one control group. The results indicate that students in the autonomy-supportive structure group show better overall outcomes compared to the other two groups. The findings in this study provide strong evidence that both autonomysupport and structure are needed to maximise effectiveness in PE lessons. We further suggest practical ways in which teachers could implement an autonomy-supportive structure in their lessons.

Measuring Women's Autonomy in Chad Using the Relative Autonomy Index

ABSTRACTIncreasing women's voice and agency is widely recognized as a key strategy to reduce gender inequalities and improve health outcomes. Although recent studies have found associations between women's autonomy and a number of health outcomes, fundamental issues regarding adequate measurement of women's autonomy remain. The Relative Autonomy Index (RAI) provides a direct measure of motivational autonomy. It expresses the extent to which a woman faces coercive or internalized social pressure to undertake domain-specific actions. This contribution addresses a key critique of current measures of autonomy, which focus on decision making or ignore women's values. This study examines the measurement properties and added value of a number of domain-specific RAIs using new nationally representative data from the Republic of Chad. A striking finding is that women on average have less autonomous motivation in all eight domains compared to their male counterparts.

The Moderating Effect of Trust on the Relationship between Autonomy and Knowledge Sharing: A National Multi-industry Survey of Knowledge Workers

Purpose This research explores the impact of motivation type, relative autonomy, and trust on knowledge sharing behavior among American research and development professionals sampled from a variety of industries. Design/Methodology/Approach Knowledge sharing (KS) was measured using a scale comprised of tacit and explicit KS subscales. Motivation type was measured with a self-determination theory-based scale comprised of three extrinsic motivation subscales (external, introjected, and identified) and an intrinsic motivation subscale. A relative autonomy index was calculated using motivation subscale scores. Three scales were employed to measure institution-based, benevolence-based, and competence-based trust. Correlation and hierarchical multiple regression were used to asses the relationship between predictor variables (trust, motivation type, and relative autonomy) and KS, as well as the moderating role of trust. Findings Institution-based trust, benevolence-based trust, and competence-based trust positively affect knowledge sharing, so do relative autonomy, introjected, identified, and intrinsic motivation. External extrinsic motivation has no effect. Benevolence-based and institution-based trust moderate the relationship between relative autonomy and KS. Practical implications The findings suggest that organizations can increase KS by encouraging worker autonomy. Where this is impractical, organizations can minimize the effects of low autonomy by fostering institutional and interpersonal (benevolence-based) trust. Originality/value This paper provides a novel, empirically grounded model of knowledge sharing behavior that allows researchers and practitioners to reinterpret the existing literature in a way that integrates seemingly contradictory findings on the roles of trust and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation. Limitations Because the study did not employ an intervention, further experimental research is needed to establish the causal relationships suggested in the findings. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Could autonomous motivation hold the key to successfully implementing lifestyle changes in affective disorders? A multicentre cross sectional study

There is a need for theoretically-based research on the motivational processes linked to the adoption and maintenance of an active lifestyle in people with affective disorders. Within the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) framework, we investigated the SDT tenets in people with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder by examining the factor structure of the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2 (BREQ-2) and by investigating associations between motivation, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) scores. A total of 165 patients (105♀) (45.6±14.2 years) agreed to participate. An exploratory factor analysis demonstrated sufficient convergence with the original factor for amotivation, and external and introjected regulation. The items of identified and intrinsic regulation loaded on the same factor, which was labelled autonomous regulation. Significant correlations were found between the total IPAQ score and the subscales amotivation, external regulation, introjected regulation and autonomous regulation. The relative autonomy index (RAI) was associated with the PANAS scores. Differences in RAI were found between physically inactive and active participants. Our results suggest that in people with affective disorders the level of autonomous motivation may play an important role in the adoption and maintenance of health promoting behaviours.

Interpersonal motivation in a First Year Experience class influences freshmen's university adjustment

The present study examined the influence of interpersonal motivation on university adjustment in freshman students enrolled in a First Year Experience (FYE) class. An interpersonal motivation scale and a university adjustment (interpersonal adjustment and academic adjustment) scale were administered twice to 116 FYE students; data from the 88 students who completed both surveys were analyzed. Results from structural equation modeling indicated a causal relationship between interpersonal, motivation and university adjustment: interpersonal adjustment served as a mediator between academic adjustment and interpersonal motivation, the latter of which was assessed using the internalized motivation subscale of the Interpersonal Motivation Scale as well as the Relative Autonomy Index, which measures the autonomy in students' interpersonal attitudes. Thus, revising the FYE class curriculum to include approaches to lowering students' feelings of obligation and/or anxiety in their interpersonal interactions might improve their adjustment to university.

Evaluating the Dimensionality of the Relative Autonomy Continuum in Us and Russian Samples

We conducted a psychometric evaluation of the autonomy postulated by Self-determination theory (SDT), a continuum whose validity has recently been questioned. We started by a) examining all of the RAI items we could find, across multiple published and unpublished scales; b) extracting the core repeating words and concepts via paired-item paraphrase analysis; and c) expressing all of the resulting concepts in 38 simple, clear new items. We administered the 38 items to multiple Russian and American samples, asking participants to rate their academic motivations. Initial psychometric analyses eliminated several items, leaving 35 items for analysis. The traditional RAI dimensions of amotivated, external, introjected, identified, and intrinsic were confirmed via confirmatory factor analyses, simplex congruency analyses, and multidimensional scaling (MDS) analyses. We also tested a sixth dimension first proposed by Assor, Vansteenkiste et al. (2009), positive introjection, and confirmed its location between negative introjection and identification on the relative autonomy continuum. In addition to confirming the predicted sequence of the items and the six subscales along a primary dimension, MDS analyses also identified a second dimension corresponding to the distance of the item from the center of the continuum, suggesting that using weighting procedures when constructing aggregate motivation scores may be justified. In an attempt to provide the field with a standardized relative autonomy index (SRAI) with known properties, that can be flexibly applied to assess motivation in any and every behavioral domain, we empirically compared several methods of scoring and analyzing the data, focusing on maximizing the associations between academic motivation and subjective well-being. These scoring methods included computing and analyzing each of the six subscales separately; computing and analyzing autonomous and controlled motivation separately; computing a relative autonomy score (autonomous minus controlled motivation); and computing relative autonomy scores in which greater weight is given to subscales nearer to the two extremes of the continuum. Weighted and Unweighted RAI scores predicted SWB equally, indicating that unweighted scoring, which minimizes the number of assumptions made, should be preferred. The positive effect of autonomous motivation was stronger than the negative effect of controlled motivation; intrinsic and introjected motivation were the strongest stand-alone predictors among the 6 sub-scales.

Evidence against the continuum structure underlying motivation measures derived from self-determination theory.

Self-determination theory (SDT) proposes a multidimensional conceptualization of motivation in which the different regulations are said to fall along a continuum of self-determination. The continuum has been used as a basis for using a relative autonomy index as a means to create motivational scores. Rasch analysis was used to verify the continuum structure of the Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale and of the Academic Motivation Scale. We discuss the concept of continuum against SDT's conceptualization of motivation and argue against the use of the relative autonomy index on the grounds that evidence for a continuum structure underlying the regulations is weak and because the index is statistically problematic. We suggest exploiting the full richness of SDT's multidimensional conceptualization of motivation through the use of alternative scoring methods when investigating motivational dynamics across life domains.

Autonomy–Mastery, Supportive or Performance Focused? Different teacher behaviours and pupils' outcomes in physical education

We investigated the role of motivational climates, teacher autonomy support, perceived competence and autonomy on pupils' self‐regulated motivation in physical education (PE) classes of Norwegian 10th‐graders. Path analyses revealed that a mastery climate and teacher autonomy support both (a) positively influenced intrinsically regulated motivation as measured by the relative autonomy index (RAI) and by the intrinsic motivation subdimension, and (b) negatively influenced amotivation. Perceived competence, but not perceived autonomy, significantly and partially mediated these relationships. Unmediated by perceived competence, a performance climate was found to facilitate amotivation. A mastery climate, autonomy support, perceived competence and intrinsically regulated motivation predicted enhanced levels of interest/enjoyment in PE. Intrinsically regulated motivation and perceived competence predicted after‐school physical activity. Findings suggest that blending achievement goal theory and self‐determination theory add to our understanding of motivational, affective and behavioural outcomes in school physical education.

An Analysis of Sport Identity as a Predictor of Children's Participation in Sport.

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of sport identity within a model of children's sport participation. Participants were 238 boys and 231 girls aged 12 to 13 years from state secondary schools in Hong Kong. Questionnaires were administered in order to assess the influences of psychosocial and socioenvironmental constructs on children's sport involvement. Regression analyses and path analysis were used to assess hypothesized relationships in the model. Results indicated that sport identity was the strongest predictor of children's sport participation; perceived sport competence, peer influence, and relative autonomy index (RAI) were predictors of sport identity; and path analysis indicated that the data provided a good fit to the model featuring sport identity as the mediator between psychosocial and socioenvironmental variables and children's sport participation.