Goal contents,motivation, psychological need satisfaction,well-being and physical activity: A test of self-determination theory over 6 months

ObjectivesThis investigation examined how Goal Contents Theory, Organismic Integration Theory, and Basic Psychological Needs Theory collectively explain well-being and behavioral outcomes related to physical activity over 6 months. Specifically we examined a model whereby changes in relative intrinsic goal contents → changes in motivation → changes in psychological need satisfaction → well-being and physical activity.Methods and designParticipants were 203 adults from the general population (68.00% female; M_age = 32.57 years, SD = 15.73). Two identical questionnaire packages containing assessments of goal contents, motivational regulations, basic psychological need satisfaction, indicators of well-being and physical activity behavior, separated by six months were given to participants. Residualized change scores were analyzed with path analysis.ResultsResults supported the hypothesized sequence of SDT. Changes in psychological need satisfaction mediated the relationship between changes in autonomous motivation and well-being. A more complex pattern of results emerged for the indirect effects of motivation and psychological need satisfaction between relative intrinsic goals → well-being. Changes in competence satisfaction mediated the relationship between autonomous motivation and physical activity behavior. Moreover, changes in autonomous motivation through competence satisfaction mediated the relationship between relative intrinsic goals and physical activity.ConclusionsFindings support a model based on 3 mini-theories of SDT and suggest that psychological need fulfillment during physical activity could be a key mechanism that facilitates increased well-being and behavior. Findings also highlight the importance of examining competence, autonomy, and relatedness independently (rather than as a composite).     

Truth is not (Very) Intrinsically Valuable

We might suppose it is not only instrumentally valuable for beliefs to be true, but that it is intrinsically valuable – truth makes a non‐derivative, positive contribution to a belief's overall value. Some intrinsic goods are better than others, though, and this article considers the question of how good truth is, compared to other intrinsic goods. I argue that truth is the worst of all intrinsic goods; every other intrinsic good is better than it. I also suggest the best explanation for truth's inferiority is that it is not really an intrinsic good at all. It is intrinsically neutral.     

大学生专业内部动机与主观幸福感的关系:专业投入与主观专业成就的中介作用

自我决定理论认为,内部动机是主观幸福感的重要影响因素。为了探究大学生专业内部动机与主观幸福感的内部机制,研究者使用专业内部动机问卷、专业投入问卷、主观专业成就问卷、主观幸福感问卷对3527名在校大学生进行了调查。研究结果表明：（1）专业内部动机正向预测主观幸福感;（2）专业投入在专业内部动机与主观幸福感之间起中介作用;（3） 主观专业成就在专业内部动机与主观幸福感之间起中介作用;（4）专业投入和主观专业成就在专业内部动机和主观幸福感之间起链式中介效应。据此得出结论：专业投入和主观专业成就在专业内部动机和主观幸福感之间起链式中介效应。     

How challenging was your work today? The role of autonomous work motivation

The main aim of this study was to investigate whether autonomous motivation for work can explain the distinctive associations between hindrance and challenge demands and work-related well-being (i.e., positive affect and work engagement) on a within-person level. Autonomous work motivation represents the degree to which motivation for putting effort in work is intrinsic (i.e., with a sense of volition and personal choice) or has been internalized (i.e., without feelings of internal or external pressure). In order to test our hypotheses, we employed a diary methodology and followed 153 secondary school teachers throughout five consecutive working days. The results of multilevel modelling provided support for the hypothesized research model. On days when teachers experienced more challenges, they also experienced more positive affect and more engagement in their work on the same day, and this relationship could be explained by (higher) autonomous work motivation on that day. In contrast, on days when teachers experienced more hindrance demands, they experienced less positive affect and less work engagement, and this process was explained by (reduced) autonomous work motivation that day. Our findings add to the literature by showing that daily autonomous motivation as a motivational process can explain why daily challenge and hindrance demands are differentially related to positive well-being at work.     

A self-determination theory account of self-authorship: Implications for law and public policy

Self-authorship has been established as the basis of an influential liberal principle of legislation and public policy. Being the author of one’s own life is a significant component of one’s own well-being, and therefore is better understood from the viewpoint of the person whose life it is. However, most philosophical accounts, including Raz’s conception of self-authorship, rely on general and abstract principles rather than specific, individual psychological properties of the person whose life it is. We elaborate on the principles of self-authorship on the basis of self-determination theory, an empirically based psychological theory that has been at the forefront of the study of autonomy and self-authorship for more than 45 years. Our account transcends distinctions between positive and negative freedom and attempts to pinpoint the exact properties of self-authorship within the psychological processes of intrinsic motivation and internalization. If a primary objective of public policy is to support self-authorship, then it should be devised on the basis of how intrinsic motivation and internalization can be properly supported. Self-determination theory identifies three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The satisfaction of these needs is associated with the support and growth of intrinsic tendencies and the advancement of well-being. Through this analysis, we can properly evaluate the significance of rationality, basic goods, and the availability of options to self-authorship. Implications for law and policy are discussed with an emphasis on legal paternalism and what many theorists call “liberal perfectionism,” that is, the non-coercive support and promotion of the good life.     

Disability,inclusive adventurous training and adapted sport: Two soldiers' stories of involvement

ObjectivesTo generate insights into the personal meaning and value of an inclusive adventurous training and adapted sport course for military personnel who have experienced physical disability as a result of injuries sustained during active service.DesignNarrative storytelling approach based on collaboratively written creative nonfictions.MethodFirst-person stories were constructed with two male soldiers on the basis of informal interviews and conversations across five days of a residential adventure training and sport course.ResultsThe stories portray the personal benefits, meaning, and value of adventurous training and sport by illuminating each individual's experiences since injury/trauma, his experiences while on the course, and how these interact to shape psychological wellbeing and future life horizons. They reveal a complex interplay between physical, psychological, and social disability among some military personnel.ConclusionsThe story as analysis expands current understanding of the psychological effects of physical activity for injured military personnel through: (i) providing an alternative analytical approach; (ii) revealing subjectivities, personal meaning, and biographical connections to generate a holistic understanding of the individual; (iii) preserving the complexity and ambiguity that characterize lived experience to support plural understandings; (iv) sharing an embodied representation as an ethical act of witnessing another's life. We suggest these kinds of understandings are necessary for physical activity practitioners who wish to support military personnel who have sustained a disability.     

The effects of intrinsic and extrinsic sources of motivation on well-being depend on time of day: The moderating effects of workday accumulation

Using self-determination theory and research on temporal aspects of work (e.g., time of day), this study investigates dynamic effects of task-specific motivation on well-being throughout the workday. We argue that the effects of task-specific intrinsic and extrinsic motivations on well-being outcomes (psychological vitality, job satisfaction) depend on the time of day in which the task is encountered, referred to here as workday accumulation. Our results showed that time of day interacted with intrinsic sources of motivation to predict job satisfaction, such that the relation was strong and positive early in the day and weak and positive later in the day. Time of day did not moderate the relationship of intrinsic task motivation with vitality, which was consistently positive throughout the day. The effects of extrinsic reasons for task pursuit on satisfaction and vitality were moderated by time of day, with extrinsic motivation having positive effects early in the day, but negative effects later in the day.     

The interplay of actual and perceived physical fitness in children: Effects on motivation and physical activity

From a sport and exercise psychology perspective, both the actual and perceived physical fitness become important for motivation towards physical activity and persistent physical activity in children no later than middle childhood (Stodden et al., 2008). To date, the effects of actual and perceived physical fitness have been investigated from a variable-centered approach (Jekauc et al., 2017). However, within this approach, the accuracy of the perceived physical fitness remains unconsidered. As actual and perceived physical fitness levels can be divergent, especially in children due to greater egocentricity and hence less comparison processes (Harter, 2006), also the accuracy of perceived physical fitness should be considered.In total, 462 children from 3rd and, approximately nine months later, from 4th grade participated in this study (M_age = 8.79 years). Third-grade students were assessed on their actual physical fitness, perceived physical fitness, and physical activity. In fourth grade, students were asked to fill out questionnaires that assess motivational regulations and physical activity. Polynomial regressions with response surface analyses were conducted to analyze main effects and accuracy effects of actual and perceived physical fitness on motivation and physical activity. Analyses revealed that children with higher actual and perceived physical fitness levels show greater autonomous motivation, higher current physical activity levels and higher physical activity levels nine months later. In addition, children who perceive their physical fitness more accurately show more current physical activity. Results indicate that the interplay between actual and perceived physical fitness does not only have an effect on physical activity but also on autonomous motivation, which is a predictor for long-term physical activity. Therefore, intervention should focus on the promotion of actual and perceived physical fitness. In addition, the ability to accurately assess fitness should be promoted in this age group.     

Obesity, cardiovascular fitness, and physically active adolescents’ motivations for activity: A self-determination theory approach

Objectives

Overweight and obesity pose significant health problems for adolescents. Rates of overweight and obesity in children have increased 45% in the last decade and have increased three-fold since 1980. Because children who are physically active are at lower risk for the development of obesity, it is important to understand some of the factors that influence children’s physical activity patterns. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between motivation, cardiorespiratory fitness, and weight status, defined as obese or non-obese. We predicted that the association between motivation and weight status would become non-significant when controlling for cardiorespiratory fitness.

Design

The study employed a correlational, cross-sectional design.

Method

Participants included physically active middle school students (N = 82. 51% female) of aged 12–14 years, who participated in the Teen Eating and Activity Mentoring in Schools (TEAMS) study aimed at improving health and preventing obesity among middle school students. Students completed attitudinal questionnaires about physical activity and self-determination on a computer-based system and participated in a number of fitness performance, health behavior, and anthropometric assessments.

Results

Non-obese adolescents showed higher intrinsic motivation scores than obese adolescents. Mediational analyses showed that cardiorespiratory fitness mediated the relationship between motivation and weight status.

Conclusions

The results of this study demonstrate differences in physical activity motivation as a function of adolescent weight status, but only for intrinsic motivation. As predicted, adolescents who were intrinsically motivated for physical activity were more fit and thereby less likely to be obese. The findings are consistent with self-determination theory.     

动机的激发与小学生创造思维的关系：自主性动机的中介作用

基于自我决定论的理论框架, 采用动机激发类型问卷、学业自主调节问卷和托兰斯创造性思维测验(图画)对305名小学五、六年级学生进行问卷调查, 考察小学高年级学生的动机激发类型、动机调节方式与创造思维的关系。研究发现：(1)中度控制/中度自主/高度自主的动机激发类型均能显著正向预测创造思维; 而高度控制的动机激发类型对创造思维的预测作用不显著。(2)自主性动机显著正向预测创造思维; 控制性动机对创造思维的预测作用不显著。(3)自主性动机在中度控制和创造思维间起完全中介作用、在中度自主/高度自主和创造思维之间起部分中介作用。在创造思维各个维度上, 自主性动机在中度控制和流畅性间、在中度自主/高度自主和独创性间起完全中介作用; 在中度自主/高度自主和流畅性之间起部分中介作用。研究结果基本支持自我决定论的有关理论预期, 但在中度控制的动机激发类型上得出了与理论预期不一致的结论, 作者对此从文化的角度进行了讨论。     

SAFER, BETTER SEX THROUGH FEMINISM: THE ROLE OF FEMINIST IDEOLOGY IN WOMEN'S SEXUAL WELL-BEING

Feminists have argued that traditional gender norms can obstruct women's sexual well-being ( Amaro, 1995 ; Morokoff, 2000 ; Tolman, 2006 ; Walker, 1997 ). Therefore, we expected feminist ideology, by virtue of this critique, to be associated with women's sexual subjectivity and sexual well-being. To test this model, we analyzed data from a survey of college-age women ( N = 424) using structural equation modeling. As hypothesized, feminist ideology was indirectly related to condom-use self-efficacy and sexual satisfaction via sexual subjectivity, and sexual motivation was directly related to sexual satisfaction. In an alternative model, feminist ideology was directly related to sexual motivation. This research indicates that feminist ideology may play a role in the promotion of women's sexual well-being.     

Substantive Equality and Equal Citizenship1

In Part 1, I argue that Watson and Hartley’s relational feminist political liberal approach – grounded in the idea of equal citizenship – produces a rather elusive liberal feminist agenda (because of its reliance on intuitions) and that it may lose track of the importance of goods whose value stems from the role they play in an individual woman’s or girl’s life rather than from the role they play in securing equal citizenship. I suggest that a distributive principle approach – like that of Susan Okin – might do better on both scores. In Part 2, I argue that Watson and Hartley may have overpromised what the state can and may do. Discussion includes focus on policy questions concerning, for example, prostitution and the gendered division of labor.     

The importance of autonomy support and the mediating role of work motivation for well‐being: Testing self‐determination theory in a Chinese work organisation

We examine relations between perceived organisational autonomy support and different types of work motivation and well‐being outcomes in 266 teachers from two government schools in China. We hypothesised that greater autonomy support would be associated with more autonomous forms of employee motivation, and that teacher motivation would in turn mediate the effects of autonomy support on indicators of work well‐being (i.e., job satisfaction, work stress and physical ill symptoms). Results generally supported the hypothesised relations between perceived autonomy support and SDT's five types of motivations. Findings also showed that perceived autonomy support predicted job satisfaction directly and indirectly through the mediating roles of intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, introjected regulation and external regulation. Perceived autonomy support predicted work stress directly and indirectly through the mediating roles of external regulation and amotivation. Autonomy support also predicted illness symptoms via the mediating roles of intrinsic motivation, introjected regulation and amotivation. The current findings highlight how perceived organisational support for autonomy relates to motivational differences in a Chinese work context, and the potential relevance of autonomy support for employee well‐being.     

Motivational Approaches to Intellectual Vice

Despite the now considerable literature on intellectual virtue, there remains relatively little philosophical discussion of intellectual vice. What discussion there is has been shaped by a powerful assumption—that, just as intellectual virtue requires that we are motivated by epistemic goods, intellectual vice requires that we aren't. In this paper, I demonstrate that this assumption is false: motivational approaches cannot explain a range of intuitive cases of intellectual vice. The popularity of the assumption is accounted for by its being a manifestation of a more general understanding of vice as an inversion or mirror image of virtue. I call this the inversion thesis, and argue that the failure of the motivational approach to vice exposes its limitations. I conclude by suggesting that recognizing these limitations can help to encourage philosophical interest in intellectual vice.     

Work,leisure, and psychological well-being in a sample of young adults

This study of 20 ‘white-collar’ workers aged 20–30 measured motivation, enjoyment and access to various categories of experience in both work and leisure, and examined their relationship with psychological well-being on a number of dimensions. The method used a short questionnaire, psychological scales and the innovatory ‘experience sampling methodology’ (ESM) where respondents answer questions in a diary on the receipt of a signal from a pre-programmed watch or radio pager eight times a day for 1 week. The results show, in line with other studies, that intrinsic motivation in daily life is correlated with happiness but that, not previously reported, when motivation at work is examined both extrinsic motivation and instances where a person had to do the activity but did not wish to be doing something else, i.e. ‘positive motivational change’, are correlated with positive aspects of psychological well-being, while instances where a person wanted to do the activity but wished to be doing something else, i.e. ‘negative motivational change’, correlated with negative aspects. The results also show that enjoyment in both work and leisure correlates with aspects of psychological wellbeing; and that macro ‘flow’ experiences, where high skills and high challenges are perceived as equal, are enjoyable and interesting and come primarily from work. The study also shows that categories of experience considered important for psychological well-being and deemed to come primarily from work can be obtained in leisure. The results are discussed in the context of person—situation interactions and processes, and it is advocated that these should be studied in a variety of samples.     

Well-Being and Moral Constraints: A Modified Subjectivist Account

Philosophia - In this paper, I argue that a modified version of well-being subjectivism can avoid the standard, yet unintuitive, conclusion that morally horrible acts may contribute to an...     

How successfully can we measure well-being through measuring happiness?

Happiness is currently the topic of a wide range of empirical research, and is increasingly becoming the focus of public policy. The interest in happiness largely stems from its connection with well-being. We care about well-being – how well our lives are going for us. If we are happy it seems that, to some extent, we must be doing well. This suggests that we may be able to successfully measure well-being through measuring happiness. The problem is that both happiness and well-being are elusive and their measurement is far from uncontroversial. What exactly does information about happiness tell us about well-being? Is there more to well-being than happiness? If so, to what extent is happiness connected to well-being? These are controversial questions, but answers to them must be given if we are to make progress in the measurement of well-being. I argue that we should view happiness as an indicator of changes in well-being. I call this the Indicator View. According to this view, someone can be doing badly yet be happy insofar as their well-being is improving (and vice versa). More precisely, the Indicator View is the view that happiness is a defeasible indicator of local changes in well-being. Thus, we can successfully measure an important aspect of well-being through measuring happiness. I argue in favour of this view on the basis of an understanding of well-being that is widely acceptable. The Indicator View, therefore, has the potential to unite divided opinion over what happiness research can tell us about well-being.     

Positive Psychological States in the Daily Life of a Sample of Working Women

This study of a sample of working women investigated where positive experiences were derived from in everyday life, focusing on the domains of work and nonwork (leisure). It examined how aspects of the situation, in terms of principal environmental influences in work and leisure, and the person, in terms of locus of control, were associated with positive subjective states and psychological well-being. The study employed questionnaires and also the experience sampling method. The results showed that both work and leisure were important for positive psychological states and that internal locus of control was associated with greater enjoyment, interest, feelings of immediate control, intrinsic motivation, life satisfaction, and affective well-being and a number of principal environmental influences.     

Identity-Neutral and Identity-Constitutive Reasons for Preserving Nature

abstract Environmental ethicists will often say that in dealing with natural entities we need the guidance of an ethic rooted in ‘the intrinsic value of nature’. They will add that subjectivist value theories are unable to account for the normativity of intrinsic value discourse. This preoccupation with normativity explains why many environmental ethicists favour value objectivism. As I see it, value theories must address not only the problem of normativity but also the problem of motivation. In fact, my approach to the question as to which type of value theory does most justice to our intuition regarding the value of nature is primarily in terms of the motivational perspective. I argue that neither the usual objectivist theories nor their subjectivist counterparts can accommodate and explain the fact that those who agree that nature has intrinsic value may well differ in motivation to support its preservation. I suggest that such difference in kinds of motivation is related to distinct kinds of value judgement in which belief in the intrinsic value of nature is expressed. To clarify my view I discuss the subjectivist value theory of Gerald Gaus[1]. Gaus regards the distinction between personal and impersonal value judgements to be deeply embedded in his theory. His internalism about the relation between reason and motivation however, leads him to the mistaken conclusion that independent impersonal value judgements do not provide reasons for action. Next, I introduce the distinction between identity‐neutral and identity‐constitutive reasons. This distinction allows me to formulate more clearly the differences between the kinds of reasons provided by personal and impersonal value judgements. The resulting theory explains how it is that people who do not (personally) value nature may still be motivated to support nature preservation. It also explains why not everyone who endorses natural values will join movements for the preservation of nature.     

Self-determined motivation in physical education and its links to motivation for leisure-time physical activity, physical activity, and well-being in general

The present study tested a trans-contextual model based on self-determination theory of the relations between motivation in physical education, motivation in leisure-time physical activity, physical activity, and psychological well-being. Participants were 329 Norwegian upper secondary school students (M age = 16.5 yr., SD = 0.7). Students' perceptions of autonomy-supportive teachers in physical education were expected to be positively associated with students' psychological needs satisfaction in physical education, which was expected to be positively related to autonomous motivation for physical education participation. In turn, autonomous motivation for physical education was expected to be positively associated with perceived competence and autonomous motivation for leisure-time physical activity, which both were expected to be positively associated with leisure-time physical activity and psychological well-being in general. Structural equation models and bootstrapping supported the hypotheses and the indirect links between variables. Sex differences indicate that more research is needed on how to motivate girls to be more physically active in leisure time.