Extrinsic Incentives / Rewards: Short-Term Fix That Can Undermine Long-Term Motivation

Parents, teachers, coaches, physicians, and others often try to motivate others to act. Rewards, punishments, and other contingencies can get people to behave in particular ways, but that motivated action is often short-lived because these strategies do not facilitate individuals acting from their own interests or sense of value and goals. In contrast, setting up a motivationally facilitative environment means creating conditions in which individuals can satisfy their needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Teachers, parents, and others in authority can learn to provide autonomy support, structure, and involvement to help people satisfy these needs. Numerous interventions show how this may be done effectively and productively

Mothers\u27 strategies for regulating their toddlers\u27 distress

Though theories of emotion regulation acknowledge the important roles of caregivers, few studies have examined parents\u27 strategies for helping children regulate distress. In this study, 140 mothers\u27 strategies were coded during a situation in which their toddlers (12-, 18-, 24- and 32-month-olds) were required to wait (parent-active). Children were also observed in a delay situation in which they regulated distress independently (parent-passive). Mothers initiated less active engagement with their older as compared to younger toddlers, and there were age-related increases in children\u27s initiation of play activities with their mothers. Verbal strategies increased from 12 to 18 months and thereafter decreased. Controlling for children\u27s levels of distress in the parent-active situation, mothers who were more active had children who were more distressed when regulating independently. Results suggest that parents tailor their regulatory strategies to their children\u27s capacities and that children require opportunities to autonomously regulate emotions to develop regulatory skills. Copyright © 1998 Ablex Publishing Corporation

Targeting children\u27s motivational resources in early childhood education

Provides a rationale for reexamining the importance of affective goals in early childhood education. Perception of competence and control on academic performance; Examination of role of motivational factors in academic adjustment; Implications for early childhood intervention; Evaluation of goals and measures in early childhood programs

Easy to Get People to Do Things, More Challenging to Facilitate Their Motivation

People use extrinsic incentives such as rewards, threats, and punishments to stir others to act and change their behavior. Such incentives can be immediately effective, but they have drawbacks. For interesting activities, extrinsic incentives can undermine motivation, making the person feel that they are behaving only because of the incentive. For uninteresting activities, extrinsic incentives prevent people from appreciating the value and importance of the activity. In both cases, when the incentive is no longer available, the person’s motivation is at risk. In contrast, providing rationales and choices are two alternatives that facilitate both behavior and long-term motivation. Rationales and choices also allow for the person’s input and for student–teacher opinion exchange regarding the behavior

Mothers’ motivation for involvement in their children’s schooling: mechanisms and outcomes

While research has examined factors associated with parent involvement, little work has focused on why parents are involved in their children’s schooling. This study thus assessed mothers’ motivation for involvement (measured on a continuum of autonomy), their level of involvement, and their affect when involved in relation to children’s motivation and academic performance. Participants were 178 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students and their mothers. More autonomous motivation (identified, intrinsic) for involvement positively related to mothers’ levels of involvement and positive affect when involved. Identified motivation, as well as parental level of involvement, related to children’s academic perceived competence, self-worth, and reading grades. Results supported mediational models in which identified motivation was associated with higher academic perceived competence through cognitive involvement and reading grades through increased cognitive and personal involvement. For self-worth, there was an indirect path from identified motivation through personal involvement as well as a significant direct path. Results stress the importance of considering why parents are involved, especially when developing interventions to increase parent involvement

The role of parents in facilitating autonomous self-regulation for education

Self-determination theory identifies three dimensions of parenting — autonomy support versus control, involvement, and structure — as facilitating children\u27s autonomous motivation in school. Research involving children of a range of ages — one-year-olds through adolescents — and from a variety of research labs supports this theory. This work is reviewed, as is research on characteristics of children and parents and their external surrounds that facilitate and undermine parenting that is conducive to children\u27s autonomous motivation. Research suggests bidirectional and dynamic influences among context, parenting, and children\u27s motivation. © 2009, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved

The relations among parental power assertion, control, and structure

Comments on the original article by Diana Baumrind (see record 2012-14543-001). In an attempt to add clarity to the issue of parental control, the author offers a four-part commentary. The first part details what child development researchers largely agree upon and what Baumrind so effectively stresses in her article, the importance of parents helping to socialize their children by serving as authorities and providing discipline. The second part explores the construct of power assertion and its use as a way to define parental authority. The third explores how we determine what parental dimensions to focus on and suggests that focusing on dimensions that meet children’s psychological needs has the potential to clarify confusion in the field. Finally, the author address\u27s Baumrind’s advocacy of external incentives to facilitate compliance and self-regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved

Constructions of early parenting, intimacy and autonomy in young women

This study explores relations between young women\u27s patterns of intimacy and autonomy and their constructions of early relationships with their parents. Based on Bowlby\u27s (1973) notion of the \u27internal working model\u27 of attachment, it was predicted that women evidencing intimacy in current relationships would construct perceptions of their parents as having been accepting. It also was hypothesized that women exhibiting greater autonomy in their everyday functioning would describe their parents as having afforded them more encouragement of independence than those displaying less autonomy. Intimacy was measured using the Revised Intimacy Interview (Levitz-Jones & Orlofsky, 1985) and autonomy measures included the General Causality Orientation (Deci & Ryan, 1985) and Self-Reliance (Greenberger et al., 1974) scales. Results suggest that, as predicted, women displaying intimate relationships perceived their fathers as having been more accepting than those evidencing either enmeshed (merger) or superficial relationships. Further, autonomy was tied to constructions of support for independence by mothers and fathers. The findings shed light on the underlying dynamics and defenses of individuals displaying different patterns of intimacy and autonomy

Parental consideration of children\u27s experiences: A critical review of parenting constructs

The purpose of this paper is to bring together and highlight common conceptual elements and findings from constructs that involve parents\u27 consideration of children\u27s viewpoints and experiences: parental sensitivity, empathy, perspective taking, responsiveness, autonomy support, and scaffolding. Research on each of these constructs suggests that consideration in the parenting role is associated with better child development, learning, and well-being. We examine definitions and measures of the constructs to address how parental consideration has been conceptualized. We also review positive child development indicators that have been associated with it, across various periods, contexts, and domains of development. By drawing attention to this common denominator and adopting an integrative perspective, we hope to contribute to future research and help transfer knowledge to parents about this key, facilitative parenting dimension