From Environmental Factors to Outcomes: A Test of an Integrated Motivational Sequence

Research based on self-determination theory (SDT; E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 1985, 2000) has shown that motivation is influenced by the social environment and also leads to outcomes. Based on such research, R. J. Vallerand (1997) has posited the existence at different levels of generality of an integrated motivational sequence where environmental factors (e.g., success/failure) influence perceptions of competence, autonomy, and relatedness (psychological mediators), which in turn determine to what extent one exhibits self-determined motivation. Motivation then leads to outcomes. The present study tested the validity of this integrated sequence at the situational level using an experimental design. Participants (N = 359) were randomly assigned to conditions of success or failure on a leisure task and elements of the integrated sequence were assessed. Structural equation modeling analyses provided support for the postulated motivational sequence. Results are discussed in light of SDT.This research was supported by grants and fellowships from the Fonds pour la formation de chercheurs et laide à la recherche (FCAR) and the Social Sciences Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) to Robert J. Vallerand. We would like to thank Sandrine Passelaigue for her help in collecting the data.     

Two Kinds of Organic Unity

This paper distinguishes two interpretations of G. E. Moore's principle of organic unities, which says that the intrinsic value of a whole need not equal the sum of the intrinsic values its parts would have outside it. A holistic interpretation, which was Moore's own, says that parts retain their values when they enter a whole but that there can be an additional value in the whole as a whole that must be added to them. The conditionality interpretation, which has been defended by Korsgaard, says that parts can change their values when they enter wholes, so no additional value is needed. The paper shows that the two interpretations, which differ on such apparently important issues as the nature of intrinsic value, can always yield the same conclusions about the overall value in a state of affairs, so there is in that sense nothing to choose between them. At the same time, though, the differences between the interpretations make sometimes one and sometimes the other more appropriate for expressing a given evaluative view. In this last connection the paper considers views about beauty, posthumous achievement, vices of disproportion, deserved and compassionate pain, and undeserved and malicious pleasure.     

WHAT EPISTEMIC VALUES SHOULD WE RECLAIM FOR RELIGION AND SCIENCE? A RESPONSE TO J. WESLEY ROBBINS

Abstract. Postmodernism in science rejects and deconstructs the cultural dominance of especially the natural sciences in our time. Although it presents the debate between religion and science with a promising epistemological holism, it also seriously challenges attempts to develop a meaningful relationship between science and religion. A neopragmatist perspective on religion and science is part of this important challenge and eminently reveals the problems and reduction that arise when pragmatist criteria alone are used to construct a holism that renounces any demarcation between different areas of rationality. In this pragmatist vision for a holist culture, the cognitive resources of rationality are bypassed in such a way that a meaningful interaction between theology and science becomes impossible.     

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ON THE HOME PLANET

Abstract. Earth is the home planet, right for life. But rights, a notable political category, is, unfortunately, a biologically awkward word. Humans, nonetheless, have rights to a natural environment with integrity. Humans have responsibilities to respect values in fauna and flora. Appropriate survival units include species populations and ecosystems. Increasingly the ultimate survival unit isglobal; and humans have a responsibility to the planet Earth. Human political systems are not well suited to protect life atglobal ranges. National boundaries ignore important ecologicalprocesses; national policies do not favor an equitable distribution of sustainable resources. But there are signs of hope.     

Orientation Toward Intrinsic Motivation Mediates the Relationship Between Metacognition and Creativity

Metacognition and motivation are considered key facets of self-regulation in various contexts. Recent studies identified a link between metacognition and creative performance, with metacognitively aware students performing more creatively and exhibiting higher levels of intrinsic and identified extrinsic motivation. The present study aims to examine the relationship between metacognition, orientation toward intrinsic or extrinsic motivation, and creative performance. One hundred nineteen university students completed the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) and Scale of Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Orientation in the Classroom and performed four verbal creativity tasks (product improvement task, consequences task, and two unusual uses tasks). The partial correlation network showed that all the creativity tasks were uniquely related to at least one facet of metacognition, and that the most complex task (product improvement task) was linked to both metacognitive knowledge and regulation. Furthermore, the structural equation model indicated that orientation toward intrinsic motivation mediated the relationship between metacognition and creative performance, explaining 16% of the variance in creative performance.     

On the Relation Between Religiosity and the Endorsement of Conspiracy Theories: The Role of Political Orientation

Religious and conspiracy beliefs share the feature of assuming powerful forces that determine the fate of the world. Correspondingly, they have been theorized to address similar psychological needs and to be based on similar cognitions, but there exist little authoritative answers about their relationship. We delineate two theory-driven possibilities. If conspiracy theories and religions serve as surrogates for each other by fulfilling similar needs, the two beliefs should be negatively correlated. If conspiracy and religious beliefs stem from the same values and cognitions, this would speak for a positive correlation that might be diminished—for example—by controlling for shared political ideologies. We approached the question with a meta-analysis (N = 10,242), partial correlations from large Christian-dominated datasets from Germany, Poland, and the United States (N = 12,612), and a preregistered U.S. study (N = 500). The results indicate that the correlations between religiosity and conspiracy theory endorsement were positive, and political orientation shared large parts of this covariance. Correlations of religiosity with the more need-related conspiracy mentality differed between countries. We conclude that similarities in the explanatory style and ideologies seem to be central for the relation between intrinsic religiosity and endorsing conspiracy theories, but psychological needs only play a minor role.     

Attribute Framing and Goal Framing Effects in Health Decisions

Levin, Schneider, and Gaeth (LSG, 1998) have distinguished among three types of framing—risky choice, attribute, and goal framing—to reconcile conflicting findings in the literature. In the research reported here, we focus on attribute and goal framing. LSG propose that positive frames should be more effective than negative frames in the context of attribute framing, and negative frames should be more effective than positive frames in the context of goal framing. We test this framework by manipulating frame valence (positive vs negative) and frame type (attribute vs goal) in a unified context with common procedures. We also argue that the nature of effects in a goal-framing context may depend on the extent to which the research topic has “intrinsic self-relevance” to the population. In the context of medical decision making, we operationalize low intrinsic self-relevance by using student subjects and high intrinsic self-relevance by using patients. As expected, we find complete support for the LSG framework under low intrinsic self-relevance and modified support for the LSG framework under high intrinsic self-relevance. Overall, our research appears to confirm and extend the LSG framework.     

Work and Individual Determinants of Intrinsic Work Motivation, Emotional Exhaustion, and Turnover Intention: A Multi-Sample Analysis

This study tested the influence of personal characteristics on a pattern of specific relationships between work characteristics and psychological outcomes. The study hypotheses were: (1) Growth Need Strength has a direct effect on intrinsic work motivation and moderates the relationship between task characteristics and intrinsic work motivation; (2) Negative Affectivity has a direct effect on emotional exhaustion and moderates the relationships between workload and social support on the one hand and emotional exhaustion on the other; and (3) Upward Striving has a direct effect on turnover intention and moderates the relationship between unmet career expectations and turnover intention. These hypotheses were tested in two samples (bank employees and teachers) using Multi-Sample Analysis. The results showed that, generally, personal characteristics had a direct effect on the outcomes as hypothesized. We only found one moderating effect: Upward Striving moderated the relationship between unmet career expectations and turnover intention.     

内在动机及其前因变量

该文比较系统地介绍了目前国内外关于内在动机的概念和具体影响因素诸方面的研究进展,并对未来的研究发展方向进行了展望。内在动机主要是由于活动过程本身特性或个体内发性精神需要所引发的一种活动或工作动力。相关影响因素主要涉及个体需要兴趣情感因素、工作任务本身特性、个体成就目标设置、自我效能感、组织授权与交换以及外在激励方式等方面。未来研究的方向主要在于内在动机具体结构的深入探讨以及不同影响因素的中介变量、调节变量以及诸因素交互作用综合模型的建立等方面     

目标内容效应及其心理机制

以自我决定论为基础的目标内容理论认为,内部目标是指反映个体的内在成长趋向的目标,如自我接受、亲密关系、健康等;外部目标是指如何获得外部奖赏或社会赞许,通过获得外部的价值给别人留下深刻的印象等目标,如财富、权力、地位等。大量的研究表明内、外部目标有着不同的效应,而基本心理需要（关系、胜任、自主）是被证实的能解释内、外部目标内容效应的心理机制。在未来的研究中除了更深入地去探讨其心理机制之外,还要积极进行本土化的实证研究