LECTURE 17 - MOTIVATION Agency and Control different cultures yield different ways that people can exercise control Two questions people need to have addressed 1. Can I change? - implicit theories of self 2. Can the environment around me change - implicit theories of the world Implicit theories of the self - if I can change -> incremental theory of self - If I can't change -> Entity theory of the self Implicit theories of the world - The world can change -> incremental theory of the world - The world can't change -> Entity theory of the world · leads to feelings of powerlessness Combinations - Independent view of self is associated with entity theory of self and incremental theory of the world -> primary control · exercise agency by making changes in the environment to suit your own per- sonal needs . Assume an internal locus of control - interdependent view of self is associated with incremental theory of the self and entity theory of the world -> secondary control · Exercise agency by adjusting goals and . Assume an external locus of control differences in expression of agency -> differences in decision making - independent SC -> important decisions should be made for ourselves - Interdependent SC -> Important decisions are made by close others transmitting motivations motivations are commonly expressed in advertisements - create, feed off, and perpetuate cultural norms - part of a cultural dialogue Differences associated with self-construals 1
talked about self descriptors, self-consistency, and implicit theories of self for dis- cussion of independent vs interdependent self-construals Another factor is Self-esteem Self-esteem how positive one's overall evaluation of oneself is low -> there is nothing good about me high -> everything is great about themselves self descriptions self-consistency Implicit theories of self self-esteem independent interdependent - abstract, global, stable attributes - social catégories, affilia- tions, social roles - conformity -> negative - Adapting -> "fake" or in- authentic - Conformity -> positive - insistence on non-conform- ity -> immature or stub- born measured by "self-concept clarity" - can be measured against self esteem - European Canadians -> negative correlation - East-asians -> less negative self=stable bound entity - leads to entity theory of self Self=malleable, fluid - incremental theory of self - abilities can change with effort - abilities -> fixed, reflect- ing innate qualities - leads to unstable, external evaluation of failure - leads to stable, internal evaluations of failure strong emphasis on having and maintaining high self-es- teem emphasis on social roles, affiliation - self effacement - self-enhancement - Motivated by a desire to fit in with others, self-improve - motivated by desire to bol- ster self image and demonstrate unique at- tributes Self-enhancement: - more emphasis on positive traits Self-effacement - more attention given to negative attributes - Perceive more actual-ideal discrepancy - Not as concerned about the discrepancy - try not to think about dis- crepancy between ideal self and actual self - associate with higher lev- els of depressive