I saw this sign half way up a mountain path in
China. I thought this picture was relevant because it symbolizes how providing choice is not always as straight forward as it seems.
-----------------------
Reference:
Patall, E. A., Cooper, H., & Robinson, J. (2008). The effects of choice on
intrinsic motivation and related outcomes: A meta-analysis of research
findings. Psychological Bulletin, 134(2), 270-300.
Take a moment to meet the author by following the link on her name.
This is another article from a learning theories course. I find reading about motivation, well, very motivating. It gives me new ways to look at my own motivations and how they are enhanced or repressed, probably unwittingly in courses that I take.
This meta-analysis was conducted on 41 studies.
Take a moment to meet the author by following the link on her name.
This is another article from a learning theories course. I find reading about motivation, well, very motivating. It gives me new ways to look at my own motivations and how they are enhanced or repressed, probably unwittingly in courses that I take.
This meta-analysis was conducted on 41 studies.
Below are brief descriptions of two theories that shed light on the effect of choices on intrinsic motivation:
1.
Self determination theory proposes that providing the
context for students to satisfy their needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness will
enhance their intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Providing choice may be the most obvious way
to support a person's experience of autonomy (p. 271).
2.
The
self-regulatory perspective (Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Muraven, & Tice, 1998) proposes that "all acts of choice or self-control are effortful and draw on a limited resource that can be depleted, analogous to a source of energy or strength (p.272). If the choices are difficult (important/meaningful) or many they may result in a type of fatigue called ego-depletion, where the self-regulating resources are over-used,
and a decrease "in the capacity to initiate activity, make choices, or further self-regulate" (p.272).
Some different ways that choice can be presented that may affect the strength
and direction of the effect include the type of choice, the number of options in a choice, and the presence of an external reward.
I. Type of
choice
Three types of choices that support the students' autonomy include:
1. Organizational autonomy (e.g.,
students help set seating arrangements and determine classroom rules)
2. Procedural autonomy (e.g.,
students help decide how competence will be demonstrated)
3. Cognitive autonomy (e.g., allow students to generate their own solutions to a problem) (p.273).
Results:
The results showed that ALL types of
choice had a significant positive effect on intrinsic motivation as proposed by
Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory (p. 294).
There has been question of whether meaningful choices (e.g.,
about method, pace and goals of the course) would have a different impact than non-meaningful
choices on intrinsic motivation (IM).
Results:
The non-meaningful, instructionally irrelevant choices had the greatest
positive impact on IM. This may be
because the students believed the instructionally relevant part of the task had
a valid reason behind it so they were more willing to accept having no choice.
The instructionally irrelevant choices may still provide an opportunity for students to express their
individuality (p. 295).
I think that meaningful choices actually sound like an operational definition of
constructivism or student-centred learning, e.g., giving choices about method,
pace and goals of the course. When considering whether constructivism is effective perhaps we
should be looking at the literature on the impact of giving students choices.
II. Number of choices
Within a
given timeframe, if someone is given too many choices to make he/she becomes
overwhelmed. This is an example of
ego-depletion and motivation decreases. On the other side of this argument, if you give someone too few
choices then s/he may feel that s/he doesn't really have a choice and motivation
does not increase as it could (p.273). So
what is the magic number of choices to achieve the best results?
Results:
“One
of the most robust findings in the meta-analysis was that the total number of
choices moderated the effect of choice on intrinsic motivation. Choice had the
greatest effect when participants chose a single option from a list of options
and did so repeatedly, as opposed to making just a single choice or multiple
choices from a single list of options. Similarly, the largest positive effect
of choice on intrinsic motivation was found when participants made two to four
choices in a single experimental manipulation compared to when only a single
choice or five or more choices were made” (p. 295).
III. External
rewards
External
rewards are known to reduce intrinsic motivation to the extent they are seen as
controlling (p. 273). This topic was addressed in my first posting. The results
may vary depending on how the person's culture values individual choice. The
results may also vary according to age of the participants as well.
Results:
“Specifically,
the effect of choice was essentially zero when a reward external to the choice
manipulation was provided compared to when participants chose the reward they
would receive or when no reward was involved.” (p. 295)
“…as
long as individuals have some control over the reward, it is not perceived as
controlling, and the positive effect of choice on motivation remains” (p. 296).
Implications for the use of choice in the real world
1. “It is important that a choice
not be a laborious decision” (p.297).
2. “Similarly, more choices, and
possibly more options, may be better than fewer, but only up to a point
(p.297).
3. When it is not possible to
provide a choice than it is important not to appear controlling. Providing a choice that is not really a
choice, i.e., including pressure to pick a particular option, or the
alternatives are not very attractive, then the result will likely lose the
benefit of having a choice.
4. Likewise when an external reward
is also provided with the choice, the positive effects may disappear.
The article includes
other discussions about how intrinsic motivation is measured, how the control
condition was treated, and the limitations to generalizability of the
meta-analysis due to confounding variables. It is important to remember that the results of a synthesis should not be interpreted as cause and effect statements
but rather an association (p. 297).
-------------------------
TED Talk video
Psychologist
Barry Schwartz takes aim at a central tenet of western societies: freedom of
choice. In Schwartz's estimation, choice has made us not freer but more
paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied.
No comments:
Post a Comment