Full Description
What motivates us as students, employees, and individuals?
If you reward your children for doing their homework, they will usually respond by getting it done. But is this the most effective method of motivation? No, says psychologist Edward L. Deci, who challenges traditional thinking and shows that this method actually works against performance. The best way to motivate people—at school, at work, or at home—is to support their sense of autonomy. Explaining the reasons why a task is important and then allowing as much personal freedom as possible in carrying out the task will stimulate interest and commitment, and is a much more effective approach than the standard system of reward and punishment. We are all inherently interested in the world, argues Deci, so why not nurture that interest in each other? Instead of asking, "How can I motivate people?" we should be asking, "How can I create the conditions within which people will motivate themselves?""An insightful and provocative meditation on how people can become more genuinely engaged and succesful in pursuing their goals." —Publisher's Weekly
Contents
Why We Do What We DoOne
Authority and Its Discontents
Part One: The Importance of Autonomy And Competence
Two
I'm Only in It for the Money: Early Experiments on Rewards and Alienation
Three
The Need for Personal Autonomy
Four
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: The Yields of Each
Five
Engaging the World with a Sense of Competence
Part Two: The Role Of Interpersonal Connectedness
Six
The Inner Force of Developement
Seven
When Society Beckons
Eight
The Self in a Social World
Nine
When Society Corrupts
Part Three: How It All Works
Ten
How to Promote Autonomy
Eleven
Promoting Healthy Behavior
Twelve
Being Autonomous Amidst the Controls
Part Four: Conclusion
Thirteen
The Meaning of Human Freedom
Notes on Works Cited
List of Research Articles
Index
