Towards Positive Adaptive Change: The Association of Three Typologies of Agency With Motivational Factors

Abstract

There have been many models of change, and generally they involve eight major factors: openness to opportunity, visualisation, planning, action, closure, social support, inner drive, and management of negative emotions. In this article, the question of whether groups of people vary in their application of these factors is considered. Using responses from 248 participants (154 females and 94 males; aged 18-79), cluster analysis was used to show the number of factors that are used in change scenarios. There were three groups based on the change factors: a stabiliser group, who preferred stability and were moderate to low on all factors of change; a group of adaptors, who had middle-ranging scores on all eight factors; and a group of innovators, who had elevated scores on all factors. There was a statistically significant difference between the group scores of stabilisers, adaptors, and innovators on all eight factors, and there were important relations between these three groups and motivation, self-efficacy, excuse making, and procrastination. What is already known on this topic1 Previous research has defined eight factors that facilitate adaptive change and are expected to prompt an adaptive response to stress. 2 The eight factors of adaptive change-openness to opportunity, visualisation, planning, action, closure, social support, inner drive, and management of negative emotions-correlate with motivational factors, for example, excuse making, procrastination, and self-efficacy. 3 Researchers have proposed that people usually fit into one of two or three typologies of combinations of factors when they seek to or have to change. What this paper adds1 Three groups were defined by this research: a group of stabilisers, who were low to moderate on factors of adaptive change; a group of innovators, who were consistently high on the eight factors of change; and a group called adaptors, who scored middle range on all of the adaptive change factors. 2 Of the three groups, innovators were least procrastinating and excuse making and were the most efficacious, followed by the adaptors and innovators. 3 Each typology was considered to be capable of making a positive contribution to change processes depending on the context and cause of the change.Individuals differ in their capacity to function, adapt, and change. The aim of this research is to investigate the patterns of change behaviour using the factors of the adaptive change model (ACM; Bowles, 2006Bowles, , 2010. The ACM is a transtheoretical model (TTM) that comprised eight factors that can be applied to facilitate situations of growth, learning, and difference during distressful or challenging situations. These factors are openness to opportunity, visualisation, planning, action, closure, social support, management of negative emotion, and inner drive.

Between Adaptation and Resistance: A Study on Resilience Competencies, Stress, and Well-Being in German VET Teachers

“…On the one hand, this finding could indicate that the mentioned resilience competence is most important in teacher training; on the other hand, it could be a result of sample selection. Interestingly, the three manifestations of resilience competencies showed striking similarities to the study of Bowles and Arnup ( 2016 ) and a former study conducted by Bowles and Hattie ( 2013 ). Bowles and Arnup ( 2016 , p. 147) investigated “the link between adaptive functioning and resilience in early career teachers.” The authors identified three typologies of adaptability—stabilizers, adapters, and innovators—and showed that resilience is strongly associated with these typologies of adaptive change.…”

“…Further, no statements about the assumed alterable nature of the described resilience competencies (i.e., in terms of learnability) can be made on the basis of cross-sectional data. Although we cannot draw any causal conclusions from our study, we were able to show that there are basically three manifestations of resilience competencies among VET (trainee) teachers in Germany, which are closely related to the concept of adaptive change (see Bowles and Hattie, 2013;Bowles and Arnup, 2016). In order to investigate causal relationships between resilience competencies and occupational stress in teacher training, as well as the development of resilience competencies in the course of time, a longitudinal study design or an experimental design is needed.…”

Leader strategies for motivating innovation in individuals: a systematic review

“…Similarly, leaders or managers who supported innovation tended to take a promotion focus (playing to win; Poskela & Martinsuo, 2009 ), rather than a loss prevention focus (playing not to lose; Manimala, Jose, & Thomas, 2006 ; Poskela & Martinsuo, 2009 ), thereby taking calculated risks and enabling their followers to do the same (Bowles & Hattie, 2013 ; Koch et al, 2015 ; Maria Stock, Zacharias, & Schnellbaecher, 2017 ; Sergeeva & Zanello, 2018 ; Spanjol & Tam, 2010 ). While a majority of studies found that the effect of champions was significant, Chen, Li, and Leung ( 2016 ) pointed out that two recent meta-analyses revealed that champions only had a small effect on the quantity of innovation by individuals.…”

Coélaboration De Connaissances Sur Les Facteurs D’engagement À Une Communauté De Pratique Pour Le Dp (Codp)

“…(Brennan, 2013). Par ailleurs, la communauté devrait refléter les différents niveaux de participations possibles : stabilisateur, modérateur, innovateur (Bowles et Hattie, 2013); participants leaders, participants actifs, participants en périphérie (Wenger, Mcdermott et Snyder, 2002). Même si les participants en périphérie agissent plutôt comme des observateurs, ils ne seraient pas pour autant passifs.…”

“…Le Tableau 1 présente la synthèse portant sur les niveaux de participation. (Bowles et Hattie, 2013;Brennan, 2013;Jarvela et Hadwin, 2013;Wenger et coll., 2002;Wenger et Trayner-Wenger, 2015) Interactions entre les participants de la communauté. Les espaces sociaux en ligne contiennent différentes fonctionnalités permettant l'interaction entre les participants.…”