Self-Determination Theory

    This week the topic of discussion focuses on Self-Determination Theory, particularly on Cognitive Evaluation Theory (CET). Broadly, CET relates to what elements are necessary to support one’s intrinsic motivation. Throughout this blog post, we will break down the actual components of CET, and how this theory plays into the motivation of Lady Bird. 

    Cognitive Evaluation Theory is centered around three basic human needs: competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Competence refers to one’s skill or abilities, autonomy relates to one’s personal agency, and relatedness refers to personal relationships someone may have. The theory proposes that when an individual has all their basic needs met, they will engage freely in activities. Engaging freely provides the opportunity for the individual to experience intrinsic motivation, and eventually flow.

     Before diving into a deeper discussion on basic needs, I want to take a moment to offer some basic definitions of intrinsic motivation and flow. Intrinsic motivation is when one is motivated to complete a task or activity because it produces enjoyment. In other words, doing the activity is rewarding enough it itself, and does not require an external regulation to produce motivation. Flow follows when one achieves a state of being where they are so involved in a task that they do not notice fatigue, time, or other inhibitors. 

    Circling back to competence, autonomy, and relatedness, it is crucial that one understands how each of these needs play a role in motivation. When one experiences a feeling of competence, they feel they possess whatever skills they need to acquire success during a particular task. In general, when someone feels competent in a certain subject area, they are more motivated to do work in that area. Next, autonomy is the concept of having freedom to make choices. Consider this example (one I have personally experienced): a teenager is aware they have a messy room, and plan to clean it after they get home from school. Eventually they get home from school, and their parents immediately tell them that they need to clean their room. Suddenly, the teenager has no desire to clean their room anymore. Why is this? Cognitive Evaluation Theory suggests that the teenager is experiencing reduced autonomy because of their parents ordering them to clean their room, even though they were already planning to. In turn, this reduces their motivation to clean because they no longer have the choice to clean it. 

    Lastly, the basic need of relatedness emphasizes the need for interpersonal relationships. A particularly helpful approach is looking at relatedness through the lens of parenting styles. Parenting styles have two primary elements: responsiveness and demandingness.  The four parenting styles include authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and neglectful. These relate to different levels of responsiveness and demandingness on a low and high spectrum. I’ve included a chart that breaks down the different directions and styles. 

 

    Parenting styles are not just for parents, however. Teachers often form their own teaching style, which may look very similar to one of the 4 parenting styles. A teacher who is authoritative (high responsiveness and high demandingness) will most likely promote intrinsic motivation better in their students than their coworker with an authoritarian teaching style (low responsiveness and high demandingness). 

In terms of Lady Bird and her motivations, the viewers see elements of Cognitive Evaluation Theory constantly throughout the movie. Independence is the main driving force for Lady Bird because she desires to leave her hometown of Sacramento and move across the country to live in New York. Here, we see the basic need of autonomy at play. Lady Bird deeply longs for the opportunity to discover herself in a brand-new city, far away from her family who often have a negative effect on Lady Bird. She wants to have the freedom to make her own choices, not just what her mother thinks is right for her. Marion thoroughly believes that Lady Bird is not skilled or competent enough to leave Sacramento. In fact, she thinks she would be best suited for a state-school, if the family can even afford it. Understandably so, this poses as a threat to not only Lady Bird’s perceived competence of herself, but also her autonomy. By her mother telling her that she is not competent enough to attend college in New York, Lady Bird sees this as a threat to her independence. Interestingly, the words Marion says to her daughter has an opposite effect on Lady Bird’s motivation. Instead of truly believing she is not competent, she instead makes it a point to prove that she is. She will stop at nothing less than graduating and leaving Sacramento for New York. 

The last basic need that drives Lady Bird’s motivation is her search for relatedness. One example of this is how Lady Bird joins the school’s theatre program with her best friend. The two join in hopes of making friends, and as time passes, Lady Bird develops a deeper interest in theatre. In fact, her longing to move to New York shapes itself into a desire to explore the arts and culture that the city has to offer. Through joining the school play Lady Bird forms various connections, some of which end up being romantic. As a result of these connections, she finds herself more motivated to attend rehearsals and immerse herself in the play.