Just do it?

As promised, I'd like to talk about motivation in this post.  I chose this phrasing for the title of this post because the messaging that we often receive about behavior change is that we should just change already.  I found this satirical 'maybe do it' meme on instagram a while back and thought it was just hilarious - I wish I came up with it, but I did not, and am not sure where it truly came from.  The real 'Just do it" is the slogan for the Nike company, which seems to be telling consumers to just exercise.  As someone who has worked in the fitness industry and struggled with changing some of my own bad habits, I actually think that telling someone to 'just do it' is one of the least effective methods to get through to the majority of people.  Now, that's not to say that there aren't individuals that this messaging resonates with.  I will explain later, however, how these individuals differ from the 'average Joe'.

Motivation can be a confusing thing.  Why are some people seemingly incredibly motivated while others seem immovable?  I think that much of this can be traced back to communication error.  I would go as far as to say that the majority of individuals can be motivated to act, so long as whoever is composing the communication analyzes what motivational level an individual is at and tailors the messaging to that.

Motivation can be broken down broadly into three levels: amotivation, extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation.  The regulation styles that are needed to communicate with each level of motivation, as defined by the organismic integration theory, are as follows:

1. Non-Regulation (amotivation)
2. External Regulation
3. Introjected Regulation
4. Identified Regulation
5. Integrated Regulation
6. Intrinsic Regulation (intrinsic)

Amotivation refers to an individual who has no motivation.  They are inherently lacking the intention to act.  This invidual is the small section of the population where it is extremely challenging to motivate action.  From amotivation, we move along the spectrum into external motivation.  In the list above, number 2-5 are all included within the category of external motivation.  External regulation refers to when actions are only done to satisfy and external demand or reward, such as being paid to do something that you really don't have much interest in doing.  Introjected regulation is when actions are performed to avoid guilt/anxiety or to inflate pride.  Identified regulation is when actions are done because an individual is consciously valuing those actions as part of a goal.  And lastly, integrated regulation is when certain actions become assimiated into one's self.  This is considered to be extrinsic because they are still done to attain seperable outcomes.  For example, a runner loves to run, but is often also doing this to stay in shape.  Intrinsic motivation seems very challenging to reach and many people never reach this lofty goal.  When someone is intrinsically motivated, it doesn't matter if there is a reward.  An intrinsically motivated individual will still do an action that has no reward attached to it because they have an internal connection to that action.

These regulation styles are often utilized in tandem with the Self-Determination Theory.  This theory posits that there are three psychological needs that every individual is motivated to fulfill.  It can be said that an indidivual will seek out actions that can help them meet these three needs.  They are as follows: 

1. Autonomy
2. Competence
3. Relatedness    

Autonomy refers to the fact that people need to feel like they are in control of their own behavior.  Competence is the feeling that people have to build up the mastery over tasks that are important to them.  And lastly, relatedness refers to people needing a sense of belongingness and connection with other people.  Imagine if you will, that you have just moved to a new city and are being told by your boss that you should go and get involved in the community.  This might seem like an incredible challenge for some individuals.  In relation to autonomy, you are being told to do something, so you may not feel like you are in control.  Similarly, you know absolutely nothing about this city, so you may not feel very competent in your local knowledge.  And since you don't know anyone except your new boss, you don't feel that you have connections to others yet.  If you add this all together, it is quite possible that going out and getting involved in your new community sounds like the absolute last thing that you feel motivated to do.  If you, however, are an outgoing person who prides oneself on exploring and being adventurous, you may be able to pull from some extrinsic motivation (perhaps identified and integrated regulation), where you have a goal of becoming assimilated into the new space and also have a personal identification as someone who is outgoing and good at meeting new people.

When it comes to work motivation, it would be important for any boss or manager to be aware of who their employees are, so that they might provide motivation through proper framing.  If your boss is someone that you never see in person and rarely speak to, it would be a challenge for them to effectively inspire you to take action beyond what your work requirements might be.  Many business people are now acknowledging the advantages of relationship development and connection within a business space.  Having a level of that relatedness that I spoke of previously can help individuals work together with less friction.  If you think about it, it makes sense.  You're much more likely to easily do a favor for a work colleague who you consider your friend versus another colleague that you have never spent any time with and know nothing about.

Health care practitioners have been utilizing motivational interviewing for some time now to help foster behavior change in addiction or chronic disease management patients.  Motivational interviewing has a basic goal of having people talk themselves into change.  There are four key traits that an interviewer must convey if they want to be successful in this endeavor.  They are:

1. Partnership - Don't convey that you, as the expert, have the answer to their problem
2. Acceptance - Recognize the worth of every human being; support the autonomy of the patient; express interest in the other's internal perspective
3. Compassion - Have your heart in the right place
4. Evocation - Start with the premise that people already have what they need to change inside themselves

Once an interviewer can exude these qualities, they will gain trust with a patient/client.  The next bit is a whole lot of active listening, summarizing and repeating their own words back to them.  While you are doing so, it is important to identify two different types of 'talk'.  Change talk is a person's own statements that favor change and sustain talk is a person's own arguments for not changing.  If you hear mostly sustain talk from an individual, this may be telling you that they are not ready to make change yet.  These cues can help you tailor your communication and lead that individual slowly along the motivational spectrum.

Now, many of you may be thinking that I just threw A LOT of information at you, and that's probably because I did.  The science and theory behind motivation and why we do what we do is insanely complicated.  My hope with this post is that you get an overview of some of the concepts.  And, don't worry, I will most definitely write posts about other behavioral change theories.....because I personally find them fascinating.

If anyone has questions or wants to talk about any of these concepts, I'm happy to!

-Vicky

Sources:
Ryan, R., & Deci, E. (2000). Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78.