Perhaps the world cup made you think “how did these players make it so far?”, “how did he achieve so much at such a young age?”. You don’t have to look so far. Look around you and maybe you can think of friends and family members that inspire you through their ample motivation and resilience. Indeed, what drives people has always been a popular topic in many disciplines in psychology. This article will discuss how our cognitions, individual differences, and environmental influences might explain motivation. I will also discuss how personal factors and social support can build resilience.
This article contains:
- Introduction
- Self-determination Theory
- Personal Factors, Social Support & Resilience
Introduction
Motivation is simply defined as
“the psychological factor that enables action to reach a particular goal” [1].
Motivation therefore manifests itself in behaviours such as increasing persistence and effort to reach a desired goal. In the context of sports psychology, one’s goal may be to start regularly attending boxing classes, and their motivation is that they find enjoyment in how competitive it is, and how energised it makes them feel. Most of the time however we experience challenges that make us less likely to keep up with our boxing. Having good resilience is what determines you to keep going! Resilience is defined by
“the process or outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging experiences, especially through mental, behavioural, and emotional flexibility” [2].
The two therefore can be seen as complementing one another in the context of goal achievement. In order to achieve something, especially if it’s a difficult goal, one needs to have both motivation and resilience.
Self-determination Theory
Self-determination theory can explain why some people have more motivation than others to achieve a goal, or simply to continue a behaviour[3]. This section will discuss its 5 sub-theories[3]:
Organismic Integration Theory:
This theory introduces 5 types of motivation that are either
- Intrinsic - the person performs the behaviour because they simply enjoy it, or
- Extrinsic - the person performs the behaviour because of external rewards or punishments.
Intrinsic: motivation to do a behaviour because of interest and enjoyment. Going to boxing classes daily because you enjoy it is intrinsic motivation. This motivation is the most likely to be maintained over the long term because it relies very little on external factors such as rewards and punishments. In the absence of them, the behaviour is more likely to continue.
Integrated regulation: This is also motivated by the person’s inner self. The person performs the behaviour because they see it as something that “fits” well with their identity. For example, one takes regular boxing class because they see themselves as someone who is healthy and athletic.
Identified regulation: Also motivated by the person’s inner self, the person performs the behaviour because they see it as having personal significance. For example, going to boxing classes to lose weight.
Introjected regulation: This is more “externally” led because it relies on internal rewards and punishments. In their absence, behaviour is more likely to stop. An example is going to boxing classes simply because you don’t want to let your friend feel lonely at classes.
External regulation: This relies on external rewards and punishments, or compliance. An example is going to boxing classes simply because you have to (eg. to avoid being excluded by friends).
Of course, everyone is on a spectrum rather than in a specific category. The important thing for continuing a behaviour in the long run is that one has more internal motivation, instead of external motivation to achieve the goal.
But what determines a goal to be intrinsically motivated?
Basic Psychological Needs Theory:
According to this theory, the more a behaviour meets our psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness, the more likely it will be intrinsically motivated, and therefore continued in the long run.
- Competence is the extent to which we think we are able to do the behaviour, or at least able to learn the behaviour.
- Autonomy is the extent to which we feel that the goal is made by ourselves and not others.
- Relatedness is the extent to which we believe the behaviour will make us feel valued and cared for by others.
Cognitive Evaluation Theory:
How we evaluate external events can also influence whether or not we continue a behaviour. For instance, if you think your boss promoted you because he feels pity for you and not because he believes you are competent, you are not likely to feel competent and because of this, you would perform less well.
Causality Orientations Theory:
This theory emphasises on individual differences in the types of opportunities that are sought for and the ways in which external events are interpreted. There are 3 types of causality orientations:
a) Autonomy interpretation: People with this causal interpretation are more likely to seek out situations that meet their needs for self-direction, initiative, and enjoyment. They are more likely to interpret extrinsic rewards as confirmation of competence, and so they are more likely to keep up their behaviours.
b) Control orientation: People with this causal orientation are more likely to seek for situations that are regulated by social controls and rewards. An example is status. They are more likely to interpret events as controlling, reacting with either compliance or defiance.
c) Impersonal orientation: People with this orientation believe that they lack the competence to perform a specific behaviour, learn that behaviour, or achieve their desired goals. They are anxious to engage in new situations.
Goal Contents Theory:
This theory focuses on psychological needs. It states that our important basic psychological needs are wellbeing and health. It explains that intrinsic goals are compatible with those basic psychological needs. On the contrary, extrinsic goals such fame, money, or reputation do not tend to enhance wellbeing [3].
In this section, we notice that the more intrinsically motivated the behaviour, the more likely we are to perform it. This, however, does not mean that those with extrinsic motivation will never engage in their behaviours in the long run. In environments that strongly emphasise the importance of an individual and their family’s reputation, for example, they may be more likely to continue behaviour in the long run because of ample social support from their families [3].
Personal Factors, Social Support & Resilience
As mentioned, we are often faced with challenges that make us less likely to continue a behaviour. This section will highlight how personal factors and social support can influence one’s ability to continue in the face of hardships.
Personal Factors:
Personal factors include an individual’s personality and behavioural and mental skills they have exercised upon. So, remember that just because you see yourself as a person who is easily anxious when approaching new situations, this does not mean that it’s impossible to regulate that anxiety!
Improving emotional regulation or Mindfulness skills are a great way to increase resilience. This is the ability to identify emotions and be curious about their sources without judgement or jumping into conclusions. Coping with adversity by fully experiencing your emotions instead of suppressing them can make you more likely to find adaptive solutions. You would be less likely to engage in impulsive, “feel good” behaviours that only reduce those negative feelings temporarily. These are tools that can make you more resistant when facing challenges.
Self-efficacy is defined as the belief that one is competent to perform a behaviour or learn that behaviour. This is tied to past experiences of achievement and overcoming difficulties. Specifically, the more you realise you have achieved difficulties in the past, the more likely you are to believe that you are competent at handling new difficulties! However, some people don’t realise that they achieved milestones in the past. For them, they can rely on observation. They can learn how to achieve something by consulting multiple sources and making a plan to succeed.
Other personality factors that can contribute to resilience include optimism, sense of innovation, and openness to new experiences. As we can see, these traits make one more likely to believe that they are capable of change and have the ability to look for multiple ways to succeed [4].
Social Support:
Emotional and mental support from others are also important in building one’s resilience. Sometimes, you may feel incompetent and lack the belief that you can make change. When this happens, you may need that affirmation of competence from others to remind yourself. Your friends, family, or your coach can give you an alternative point of view that improves your self-image. Social support also provides a sense of belonging, acceptance, and security. With the realisation that you can turn to someone when stressed, you may feel less hopeless. Athletes who have regular social support are more likely to have high self-efficacy than athletes who lack social support [5]
In conclusion, high motivation and resilience are not impossible to achieve! Indeed, they may be very difficult to develop as developing the necessary skills requires time and effort. However, now that you’re provided with some insightful information, you can start developing your mindfulness skills and find behaviours that give you enjoyment and satisfaction!
Additional Sources:
- “8 things resilient people do” – Psych2go
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJKbr8VvvbY
- “Why we worry all the time and how to cope” — School of life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2AUI-7GRJc&t=14s
- “Learning to forgive ourselves” – School of life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxKxi8iM-lw
- “How to think more effectively – School of life
https://www.amazon.com/Think-More-Effectively-School-Life/dp/1912891131
Bibliography:
- Touré‐Tillery, M., & Fishbach, A. (2011). The course of motivation. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 21(4), 414–423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2011.04.004
- Resilience - american psychological association. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2022, from https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience/
- Tapper, K. (2021). Health psychology and behaviour change: From science to practice. Macmillan Education.
- Bicalho, C. C. F., & Noce2, F. (2019). Resilience Theory Model Applied in High Performance Athletes. Psychology and Behavioral Science, 13(2), 1–3. https://doi.org/DOI: 10.19080/PBSIJ.2019.13.555858
- Sarason, I. G., Sarason, B. R., & Pierce, G. R. (1990). Social Support, personality, and performance. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 2(2), 117–127. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413209008406425
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