Contemporary Issues in Health and Exercise

HPP301 Week Two

Physical Activity Debate

Into your teams please The rules
Each team has two minutes to make an opening statement You then have four minutes for an exchange of views Finally, you have one minute each to make a closing statement Rock, paper scissors decides who starts

Emphasis will be on referring to theory or research in your arguments

Learning Outcomes
By the end of the session you should have
An understanding of the basics of SelfDetermination Theory (SDT) An appreciate of the basic psychology of SDT The beginnings of a critical approach to the theory

What is Self-Determination Theory?

Theory of
Human motivation Personality development Well-being

Particularly volitional or self-determined behaviour

Concept of a Meta-Theory
SDT consists of
Cognitive Evaluation Theory Organismic Integration Theory Causality Orientations Theory Basic Psychological Needs Theory Goal Contents Theory

What do we think about the concept of a macro- or meta-theory

Philosophy of SDT
This is the first consideration when evaluating a theory SDT is an organismic theory
Considers the concept of happiness to be unhelpful Focuses instead on well-being
vital, full-functioning Mindfulness, self-reflection, wellness

People are active organisms with a tendency towards psychological growth

Piaget, Rogers

Seek out new challenges, novelties and opportunities Propensity to integrate social practices and values

Intrinsic Motivation
Early theory recognised the intrinsic/extrinsic dichotomy Orthogonal concepts Assumption was that more motivation was better
Intrinsic motivation + extrinsic motivation = optimum motivation

Emergent evidence suggested this was not the case Addition of extrinsic rewards reduced intrinsic motivation
E.g. Lepper & colleagues (1974, 1975)

Compromising Intrinsic Motivation

By extrinsically rewarding an intrinsically motivating task the absolute motivation level drops once the reward is removed
i.e. no longer intrinsically motivated

Can we hypothesize further effects?

This drop would continue over time Extrinsic rewards will be subject to diminishing returns principle

Are Rewards Harmful?

So what do we know and what can we conclude about the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation? Rewards are not always harmful
Expected rewards have a negative effect Unexpected rewards do not compromise intrinsic motivation

IF
Rewards are administered to reward increasing competence Rewards are avoided that control
i.e. goal is to obtain reward

Cognitive Evaluation Theory

Intrinsic motivation is the central concept in CET
Doing something for its own sake Sport, leisure or play Continued in the absence of extrinsic reward

If supported by the environment intrinsic motivation will increase If thwarted by the environment intrinsic motivation will reduce Key role in perceived autonomy and competence in the appraisal of the environment

Activity One
In pairs, discuss what methods of motivation, coercion or convincing are available
Token economy Financial reward Punishment Deadlines Feedback Pressure

How effective would CET predict these to be? Is it simple that some support and some thwart?
Remember perceived and appraise

Activity Two
Take turns to interview each other and find out
What are the things they really love doing? What are the things that really motivate them? Why does it motivate them?

Give a one minute description of your partners motivation with reference to CET

Goal Contents Theory

Extrinsically orientated goals are not effective at maintaining motivation
Fame, image or materialism do not sustain motivation
Even when they are achieved

Intrinsically orientated goals are conducive to satisfaction

Volunteering, intimate relationships, personal growth Facilitating health and well-being

Adherence is higher when goals are framed towards intrinsic aims rather than extrinsic outcomes

Homework
Revise session content
Revisit Biddle & Mutrie (pages 75-99) Critically read the papers available of Moodle

Think about a situation (ideally work-related) in which you have the responsibility to set goals for other people
In 100 words maximum
Describe the situation What methods did you use? What would CET conclude about these methods?