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Setting limits on children's behavior: The differential effects of controlling vs. informational styles on intrinsic motivation and creativity
Abstract
The imposition of external constraints on an activity has frequently been shown to undermine intrinsic motivation. Given that limits must often be set upon peoples' activities, especially in parenting and education, the present study addressed the question of whether limits can be set without undermining intrinsic motivation for the activity being limited. Using cognitive evaluation theory, contrasting limit setting styles of either a controlling or informational nature, or no limits, were placed upon forty-four first- and second-grade children engaged in a painting activity. The intrinsic motivation, enjoyment, creativity, and quality of artistic production were expected to be decreased by controlling limits relative to informational and no-limits, which were not expected to differ from each other. The results provided substantial support for these predictions, suggesting that limits can be set without undermining intrinsic motivation if they are informational in nature. Support was also found for the consensual assessment of creativity method recently developed by Amabile (1982a). Results of the study are discussed along with the general relation between creativity and intrinsic motivation.
... Autonomy support refers to parents actively encouraging the child to act in line with their personal values and interests (Joussemet et al., 2008;Soenens et al., 2018). Autonomy-supportive parents promote their child's volitional functioning by (a) recognizing and considering the child's feelings and perspectives, (b) offering meaningful choices and encouraging self-expressions, and (c) providing rationales and explanations when imposing limits or making requests (Koestner et al., 1984;Mageau et al., 2015). In contrast, control refers to parents using pressure to coerce the child to think, feel, or act in parent-prescribed ways, irrespective of the child's own needs and feelings (Mageau et al., 2015;Pomerantz & Wang, 2009). ...
Despite the well-documented developmental benefits and costs of autonomy-supportive and controlling parenting, little is known about the extent to which parents engage in both types of parenting in real life and its implications for child functioning. This study aimed to examine how combinations of these two seemingly opposite parenting dimensions may contribute to children’s perceptions of parenting and developmental outcomes. To this end, we used a data set pooled from six independent samples, involving 3,843 Canadian parents (Mage = 41; 68% mothers) to identify profiles of parenting, using parent-reported autonomy-supportive and controlling behaviors. Parent profiles were then associated with child-perceived parenting and child outcomes, as well as parent-related predictors. A latent profile analysis found four profiles of parents: In most cases, autonomy-supportive and controlling behaviors covaried, most parents simultaneously exhibiting comparable levels of these two parenting dimensions, while only 17% of the parents reported engaging predominantly in autonomy support. This subgroup of parents was perceived by their children to be most autonomy-supportive; their children also showed better school grades and fewer externalizing problems. High-earning and highly educated parents tended to be predominantly autonomy-supportive, while parents whose self-worth was tied to their child’s success (i.e., ego-involved parents) tended to resort predominantly to controlling parenting. Finally, we found that when controlling parenting is present, parents and children greatly differ in their assessments of autonomy support, with children perceiving less parental autonomy support than parents’ self-reports. These findings shed light on the implications of pairing controlling with autonomy-supportive behaviors within a single parenting style.
... Inspired by prior experiments (e.g. Koestner et al., 1984;Ryan, 1982), Ryan and Deci (2000) proposed a self-determination continuum through various forms of extrinsic and intrinsic motivations, which was later operationalised around controlled (having to) and autonomous (wanting to) motivation that are now described. ...
While social and environmental accounting studies often focus on organisational-level motivations to engage in sustainability, less is known about how controls are designed to motivate individuals (managers and non-managers) to engage in sustainable workplace behaviours that align with organisational goals and, ultimately, wider planetary concerns. Drawing on the concept of motivation and its relation to control, this study aims to deepen the understanding of the role of sustainability controls for behavioural alignment across different contexts. This is achieved through the production of a conceptual typology that elaborates: What, when and how should controls be used to motivate organisational and individual behaviours that align for sustainability performance? Drawing on (1) the classification types of organisational-level ethical motivations and (2) the regulatory styles and processes of the self-determination continuum, examples are provided from two independent case studies to illustrate the types of controls that can be used by organisations to motivate the sustainable behaviours of their employees; behaviours that extend beyond the workplace into the personal sphere. The typology has analytical potential for future sustainability control research as well as practical implications in that managers can assess organisational and employee positions and then design controls accordingly to support behavioural alignment. It is important for understanding the behavioural alignment function of control by elaborating different types of incentives that can motivate sustainable behaviour. Finally, this approach may help reduce tensions in management control by connecting individual, organisational and, ultimately, planetary levels in sustainability efforts.
... Strong classroom motivation improves comprehension, creativity, productivity, and achievement (Vansteenkiste et al., 2005;Koestner, 1984;Dolmans, 1998;Carlo et al., 2003;Boggiano, 1993;Moulaert et al., 2004). When lecturers promote involvement, devotion, and curiosity, students grasp lecture material better, get higher grades, and are satisfied (Saeed, 2023). ...
This study seeks to examine the relationship between lecturers' teaching styles and the level of motivation displayed by students in medical departments at Cihan University-Erbil. It aimed to analyze lecturers' various teaching styles, assess students' motivation, and examine their relationships. The researchers modified the Grasha-Riechmann (2002) survey, which included 20 statements divided into five styles: expert, formal authority, demonstrator, facilitator, and delegator. The survey was distributed to 25 lecturers and 247 medical students from diverse medical departments. Each style was classed based on its mean score, standard deviation, minimum score, and highest score. Students' motivation levels were tested using a t-test. In addition, ten random classroom observations were carried out. The findings demonstrated that lecturers' teaching styles varied according to their field, student cohort size, and educational environment. The most common style was expert (teacher-centered), followed by facilitator (student-centered), demonstrator (teacher-student), formal authority (teacher-centered), and delegator (student-centered). The implementation of various teaching styles by lecturers enhanced student motivation, indicating a correlation between teaching styles and student motivation levels.
... Thus, it has been shown that students who are characterized by self-determined academic motivation are less likely to drop out of school, compared to students who are characterized by extrinsic motivation (Daoust, Vallerand, & Blais, 1998;Vallerand & Bissonnette, 1992). Intrinsically motivated students also tend to: a) have higher levels of school purchases (Areepattamanil & Freeman, 2008;Areepattamanil, Freeman, & Kling, 2011a,b;Gottfried, 1985;Gottfried et al., 2007;Lloyd & Barenblatt, 1984); b) achieve better cognitive/intellectual performance (Gottfried & Gottfried, 1996; c) be capable of a more profound conceptual understanding (Ames & Archer, 1988;Grolnick & Ryan, 1987;Vansteenkiste et al., 2004); d) be more creative (Eisenberger & Shanock, 2003;Koestner et al., 1984); e) manifest higher levels of cognitive engagement and flexibility (McGraw & McCullers, 1979;Walker, Greene, & Mansell, 2006); f) persist in learning and study efforts, despite the obstacles and difficulties they face with (Vansteenkiste, Lens, & Deci, 2006;Vansteenkiste et al., 2004); g) achieve better academic results (Gottfried et al., 2007(Gottfried et al., , 2008; h) manifest lower levels of anxiety in school work (Gottfried, 1985); i) report higher levels of well-being (Burton et al., 2006;Sheldon et al., 2004;Vallerand et al., 1989); j) have higher levels of self-esteem (Deci et al., 1981;Deci & Ryan, 1995). ...
Three primary aspects of human motivation were distinguished in order to conduct a multidimensional analysis of this overall concept: cognitive, affective, and behavioral. In the early 1980s, E. L. Deci and R. M. Ryan put forth one of the behavioral theories that served as the foundation for motivation research, including that on academic motivation. This approach is based on concepts such as behavioral regulation, human needs, learning, psychological adjustment, etc. The theory’s founders began with the idea that a spectrum of self-determination levels, which serve as the foundation for the beginning and expression of behaviors in different areas of individual functioning, might be used to characterize human motivation. In education, Self-Determination Theory can be applied to foster students’ interest in learning, motivation for self-actualization, and confidence in their own skills and talents. This article examines the main concepts of Self-Determination Theory and its implications for educational psychology.
... An important interactional strategy teachers can apply to stimulate students' intrinsic motivation and achievement is autonomy support, adapted to students' needs and level of performance (Assor, Kaplan, and Roth 2002;Vansteenkiste, Ryan, and Soenens 2020;Reeve and Cheon 2021;Renwick and Reeve 2012). Autonomy support is considered beneficial for creativity too (Amabile 2018;Granott 2005;Hennessey 2019;Koestner et al. 1984). Example (left) of a possible landscape with attractors (wells) and repellors (hills). ...
... Das Anbieten einer autonomiefördernden und gut strukturierten Lernumgebung, eingebettet in einem wertschätzenden Umgang und einem gegenseitigen Interesse, wirkt sich auch günstig auf die soziale Einbindung aus (Reeve, 2018). In mehreren Untersuchungen (Early et al., 2016;Koestner et al., 1984;Niemiec & Ryan, 2009) konnten für die Befriedigung der psychologischen Grundbedürfnisse zahlreiche Outcomes wie bessere Leistungen, mehr Kreativität, höheres Wohlbefinden sowie größere Aufmerksamkeit im Unterricht und höhere Partizipationsbereitschaft nachgewiesen werden. ...
Wenn Lernende in der Schule Druck erleben, schlägt sich reduzierte Autonomie un-günstig auf Lernmotivation, Schulleistung und Wohlbefinden der Schüler*innen nie-der (Ryan & Deci, 2017). In dieser Studie wird untersucht, ob Unterschiede hinsicht-lich des motivationalen Erlebens zwischen dem Schulbesuch vor und während der Corona-Pandemie (mit Fokus auf den Frühherbst 2020) festgestellt werden können. Auf Grundlage von zwei Befragungen (n1 = 302; n2 = 304) von Schüler*innen im Alter von 13 und 19 Jahren wird eine quantitative Unterschiedsmessung zur wahrgenomme-nen Autonomieförderung, dem Druckerleben und der Wahrnehmung von Vitalität angestrebt. Darüber hinaus erfolgt eine qualitative Analyse zu den offenen Angaben zu schulischem Druckerleben, um zu identifizieren, welche Faktoren Schüler*innen unter Druck setzen und ob diese durch die Corona-Pandemie eine Verstärkung oder Verschiebung erfahren haben. Bis auf eine Zunahme von Zukunftsängsten konnten keine markanten Veränderungen konstatiert werden. Die zu beiden Erhebungszeiten konstant hohe Relevanz der Themen "Leistung" und "Versagensängste" wird in Bezug auf didaktische Überlegungen für Lehrende diskutiert, um für Lernende motivational günstige Rahmenbedingungen zu gestalten.
In adolescence, an important challenge for parents is to keep track of their adolescents’ behaviors and to create conditions in which adolescents disclose information about their routine activities and personal experiences. According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2017), dynamics of autonomy play a central role in both the effectiveness of parental monitoring and adolescents’ willingness to disclose towards parents. This chapter provides a theoretical account of parental monitoring and adolescent disclosure through the lens of SDT and a review of SDT-based empirical studies on these themes. Emerging evidence begins to suggest that, whereas autonomy-supportive communication increases the potential benefits associated with parental monitoring, controlling communication of monitoring is rather counterproductive. Further, adolescents disclose more often towards parents and do so more willingly when parents are perceived as autonomy-supportive (rather than controlling). In conversations about unfamiliar topics, adolescents additionally benefit from parental support for competence (i.e., guidance). Studies generally demonstrate the highly transactional nature of autonomy-relevant dynamics in monitoring and disclosure, with adolescents playing an agentic and proactive role in these dynamics. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.
Conducted a field experiment with 3-5 yr old nursery school children to test the "overjustification" hypothesis suggested by self-perception theory (i.e., intrinsic interest in an activity may be decreased by inducing him to engage in that activity as an explicit means to some extrinsic goal). 51 Ss who showed intrinsic interest in a target activity during baseline observations were exposed to 1 of 3 conditions: in the expected-award condition, Ss agreed to engage in the target activity in order to obtain an extrinsic reward; in the unexpected-award condition, Ss had no knowledge of the reward until after they had finished with the activity; and in the no-award condition, Ss neither expected nor received the reward. Results support the prediction that Ss in the expected-award condition would show less subsequent intrinsic interest in the target activity than Ss in the other 2 conditions. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The experiment was designed to test Deci's (1975) informational/controlling analysis with verbal rewards and to assess the joint effects of type of verbal reward and level of surveillance. Compared to a no-reward control, the informational verbal reward enhanced interest in task engagement, but the controlling verbal reward did not. Regardless of type of reward, task interest decreased in linear fashion as surveillance was increased from low to medium to high.
I: Background.- 1. An Introduction.- 2. Conceptualizations of Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination.- II: Self-Determination Theory.- 3. Cognitive Evaluation Theory: Perceived Causality and Perceived Competence.- 4. Cognitive Evaluation Theory: Interpersonal Communication and Intrapersonal Regulation.- 5. Toward an Organismic Integration Theory: Motivation and Development.- 6. Causality Orientations Theory: Personality Influences on Motivation.- III: Alternative Approaches.- 7. Operant and Attributional Theories.- 8. Information-Processing Theories.- IV: Applications and Implications.- 9. Education.- 10. Psychotherapy.- 11. Work.- 12. Sports.- References.- Author Index.
Examined the conditions under which the imposition of an extrinsic constraint upon performance of an activity can lead to decrements in creativity. 95 female undergraduates worked on an art activity either with or without the expectation of external evaluation. In addition, Ss were asked to focus on either the creative or the technical aspects of the activity or they were given no specific focus. Finally, some Ss expecting evaluation were given explicit instructions on how to make their artworks. As predicted, Ss in the evaluation groups produced artworks significantly lower on judged creativity than did Ss in the nonevaluation control groups. The only evaluation group for which this pattern was reversed had received explicit instructions on how to make artworks that would be judged creative. A possible reconciliation of these 2 disparate results is proposed, and practical implications are discussed. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
The chapter discusses the empirical exploration of intrinsic motivational processes. Intrinsically motivated behaviors, motivated by the underlying need for competence and self-determination, are investigated in a variety of ways at the physiological, psychological, and operational levels. One of the two general approaches; the incongruity theories and the competence and/or self-determination theories generally guides those focused on the psychological level. The chapter presents the performance-contingent rewards that actually enhance intrinsic motivation when administered in a way that places emphasis on effective performance rather than on reward acquisition. The research literature that explored the nature of intrinsic motivation and the effects of rewards and controls on intrinsic motivation highly support the competence and self-determination formulation of intrinsic motivation and also the propositions of cognitive evaluation theory. The results of individual studies provided the basis for greater understanding of the phenomena and greater specificity of the theory. Understanding of motivational processes is critical for explicating and predicting human behavior as well as a variety of interrelated beliefs, attitudes, and affects, the complex referred to as motivational subsystems. The chapter also describes a field study conducted in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades of four elementary schools.
Girls whose ages ranged from 7 to 11 years made paper collages during I of 2 residential parties. Those in the experimental group were competing for prizes, whereas those in the control group expected that the prizes would be raffled off Artist-judges later rated each collage on several artistic dimensions, including creativity, technical goodness, and aesthetic appeal. A high level of interjudge reliability was found, and there was a clear separation between creativity judgments and judgments of technical goodness and aesthetic appeal. The control group was significantly higher than the experimental group on judged creativity of the collages and on several other dimensions of judgment that correlated with creativity. The control group was lower, however, on some dimensions related to technical aspects of the performance. In addition, there was significantly more variability in the control group on a number of objective features of the collages. The results are consistent with the proposition that intrinsic motivation is conducive to creativity, while extrinsic motivation is detrimental.