The paradoxical effect of controlling context on intrinsic motivation in another activity

Abstract

International audienceControlling instructions typically undermine intrinsic motivation. However, in line with an autonomy restoration process, we hypothesized that prior exposure to a controlling context could increase intrinsic motivation displayed in a subsequent task if this second task is devoid of autonomy threats. A correlational study in educational context provided support for this effect by showing that students reported more interest in their music class when it was preceded by a class that was controlling. This effect was replicated in an experiment wherein participants who learned to play a game in a controlling context reported more interest in a second game than those who learned the first game in a neutral context. However, this effect disappears when the two tasks were done in a similar environment. Overall, this suggests that autonomy deprived students would display more intrinsic motivation in a subsequent task if this task gives a glimpse of autonomy satisfaction

The Spillover Effect of Autonomy Frustration on Human Motivation and Its Electrophysiological Representation

“…At first glance, findings of this study seem to be in conflict with a line of studies conducted by Radel et al (2013Radel et al ( , 2014. As autonomy is a fundamental psychological need, when faced with autonomy frustration, it is unlikely that individuals would just sit there and do nothing.…”

“…Thus, we played audio instructions incorporating the controlling elements to induce autonomy frustration during Session 1. This approach is in accordance with a few pioneering studies (Reeve et al, 1999;Radel et al, 2014;Weinstein et al, 2017). Specifically, when participants in the experimental group were working on the first task, we played controlling audio instructions incorporating frequent deadlines, specified solutions, orders and requests.…”

“…Social environments encompassing deadlines, surveillance, orders and directives have been shown to be controlling (Amabile et al, 1976;Reeve and Jang, 2006;Radel et al, 2014) and then bring about autonomy frustration (Pelletier et al, 2001;Gagne and Deci, 2005;Hein et al, 2015). Thus, we played audio instructions incorporating the controlling elements to induce autonomy frustration during Session 1.…”

Man’s Pursuit of Meaning: Unexpected Termination Bolsters One’s Autonomous Motivation in an Irrelevant Ensuing Activity

“…However, a single task was adopted in most studies, neglecting the fact that a person may work on multiple tasks in a row, and that one's experience and psychological state in a prior task may have a considerable impact on one's motivation and engagement in a following task (Newton et al, 2020). In recent years, several pioneering studies found that frustration of the fundamental psychological needs would induce a restorative response (Radel et al, 2011(Radel et al, , 2014Fang et al, 2018Fang et al, , 2019. For instance, in an experiment with a two-session between-subject design, Fang et al, 2018 introduced competence frustration to participants in the experimental group and provided the opportunity of competence restoration to participants in both groups.…”

Self-determination and STEM education: Effects of autonomy, motivation, and self-regulated learning on high school math achievement

“…Supporting autonomous motivation has emotional, cognitive, and behavioral consequences for students and their self-regulated learning (Ng et al, 2012;Radel, Pelletier, Baxter, Fournier, & Sarrazin, 2014). Effort regulation and deep-processing of information are two specific aspects of self-regulation (Pintrich, 2004).…”