Stirring the motivational soup: Within-person latent profiles of motivation in exercise

Background: The purpose of the present study was to use a person-oriented analytical approach to identify latent motivational profiles, based on the different behavioural regulations for exercise, and to examine differences in satisfaction of basic psychological needs (competence, autonomy and relatedness) and exercise behaviour across these motivational profiles. Methods: Two samples, consisting of 1084 and 511 adults respectively, completed exercise-related measures of behavioural regulation and psychological need satisfaction as well as exercise behaviour. Latent profile analyses were used to identify motivational profiles. Results: Six profiles, representing different combinations of regulations for exercise, were found to best represent data in both samples. Some profiles were found in both samples (e.g., low motivation profile, self-determined motivation profile and self-determined with high introjected regulation profile), whereas others were unique to each sample. In line with the Self-Determination Theory, individuals belonging to more self-determined profiles demonstrated higher scores on need satisfaction. Conclusions: The results support the notions of motivation being a multidimensional construct and that people have different, sometimes competing, reasons for engaging in exercise. The benefits of using person-oriented analyses to examine within-person interactions of motivation and different regulations are discussed. © 2017 The Author(s)

A longitudinal analysis of motivation profiles at work

This paper examines the multidimensional nature of workplace motivation and the importance of a continuum structure in self-determination theory through application of complementary variable- and person-centered approaches. This approach is taken to simultaneously model the complexity of motivation and highlight interactions between motivational factors. Additionally, this study represents an initial test of the temporal stability of work motivation profiles. A sample of 510 full-time employees were recruited from a range of occupations. Results support the central importance of a general factor representing self-determination as the most influential factor in an employee’s motivation profile. However, smaller effects associated with the motivation subscales, especially identified regulation, were also noticed. Importantly, motivation profiles were found to be highly stable over the 4-month duration of this study. Results lend support to the theoretical position that while general self-determination is an essential component of motivation, it alone does not fully describe an employee’s motivation

Motivation and commitment: towards an integrated model

Il lavoro di tesi di dottorato intende contribuire a sviluppare le conoscenze riguardo alla relazione tra motivazione, commitment e altri costrutti come il sostegno organizzativo percepito, l\u2019intenzione di abbandonare il lavoro, la soddisfazione e i comportamenti di cittadinanza organizzativa. Lo scopo del primo studio \ue8 quello di contribuire da un punto di vista empirico, alla comprensione della relazione tra motivazione autonoma al lavoro e commitment affettivo. Noi proponiamo che ci sia una relazione tra antecedenti (ad esempio sostegno organizzativo percepito, POS) e outcome (es. intenzione di turnover, soddisfazione, comportamento di cittadinanza organizzativa verso l\u2019organizzazione) mediata dalla motivazione autonoma e il commitment affettivo. Secondo Meyer, Becker e Vandenberghe (2004) il commitment \ue8 un componente della motivazione. Noi abbiamo sposato una prospettiva differenza, quella dellaSelf-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000); noi sosteniamo che la motivazione autonoma sia un antecedente del commitment affettivo. Inoltre il POS predice la motivazione autonoma, e quest\u2019ultima predice il commitment affettivo; tutti i predittori hanno un relazione diretta con gli outcome. Il secondo studio \ue8 una analisi temporale della relazione tra commitment organizzativo e motivazione al lavoro . Meyer, Becker e Vandenberghe (2004) recentemente hanno proposto un modello mettendo in relazione la motivazione al lavoro al commitment organizzativo. Loro hanno proposto che il commitment dovrebbe essere compreso come parte di un processo motivazionale pi\uf9 generale. Noi ipotizziamo, utilizzando la cross-lagged analysis, che la motivazione al Tempo1 predice cambiamenti del commitment al Tempo2 e non viceversa. Abbiamo testato queste relazioni longitudinalmente, con un campione di 81 lavoratori di una azienda metalmeccanica italiana. La teoria di riferimento \ue8 la Self-determination theory la quale propone diversi tipi di motivazione al lavoro (regolazione esterna, intrioettata, di identificazione e intrinseca). Questi diversi tipi di motivazione sono in relazione con il modello multidimensionale del commitment organizzativo di Allen e Meyer (1990). I risultati sostengono le nostre ipotesi.This dissertation has two focus; the purpose of the first study is to contribute to an empirical understanding of the relationship between autonomous motivation at work and affective commitment. We proposed that there is a relationship between antecedent (i.e. perceived organizational support) and outcome (i.e. intention to leave, satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior toward the organization), mediated by autonomous motivation and affective commitment. Meyer, Becker and Vandenberghe (2004) proposed a model linking organizational commitment to work motivation, where commitment is one component of motivation. We chose a different perspective, that of the Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000); we supported that autonomous motivation is an antecedent of affective commitment. Moreover POS predicted autonomous motivation, the latter predicted affective commitment; all predictors had direct links with outcome. The second focus is a temporal analysis of the relation between organizational commitment and work motivation . Meyer, Becker, and Vandenberghe (2004) recently proposed a model linking work motivation to organizational commitment. They proposed that commitment should be understood as part of a more general motivational process. We hypothesized that Time 1 motivation be related to changes in commitment in the long run, while Time 1 commitment be not related to motivational changes in the long run. One study tested these links longitudinally, with a sample of 81 employees of an Italian manufacture. The Self-determination theory provided the framework to measure work motivation, so that measures of external regulation, introjection, identification, and intrinsic motivation were linked to Allen and Meyer\u2019s (1990) three-component model of organizational commitment. Results support our hypotheses

I dati mancanti

Spesso i ricercatori si trovano di fronte al problema dei dati mancanti. Questo articolo presenta alcune informazioni utili a selezionare e applicare alcune modalit\ue0 di trattamento dei dati mancanti. Researchers are commonly faced with the problem of missing data. This article presents some information for the selection and application of approaches for han-dling missing data

Evidence against the continuum structure underlying motivation measures derived from self-determination theory

Self-determination theory (SDT) proposes a multidimensional conceptualization of motivation in which the different regulations are said to fall along a continuum of self-determination. The continuum has been used as a basis for using a relative autonomy index as a means to create motivational scores. Rasch analysis was used to verify the continuum structure of the Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale and of the Academic Motivation Scale. We discuss the concept of continuum against SDT's conceptualization of motivation and argue against the use of the relative autonomy index on the grounds that evidence for a continuum structure underlying the regulations is weak and because the index is statistically problematic. We suggest exploiting the full richness of SDT's multidimensional conceptualization of motivation through the use of alternative scoring methods when investigating motivational dynamics across life domains