Supervisors' beliefs and subordinates' intrinsic motivation: A behavioral confirmation analysis.

Abstract

Numerous studies have documented that when supervisors are more supportive of autonomy and less controlling, subordinates demonstrate higher levels of intrinsic motivation. The present research examined the role of supervisors' beliefs about a subordinate's intrinsic or extrinsic motivation in explaining this relation. A teaching paradigm was used in which participants were assigned the role of supervisors or subordinates. Supervisors were given no information regarding the subordinate, told that the subordinate was extrinsically motivated, or told that the subordinate was intrinsically motivated. Results revealed that subordinates who were believed to be intrinsically motivated perceived their supervisor as being significantly more supportive of autonomy, reported significantly more intrinsic interest, and spent significantly more time on the task during the free-choice period than subordinates whose supervisors believed them to be extrinsically motivated. Theoretical implications of the behavioral confirmation process for social perception and intrinsic motivation research are discussed. Intrinsic motivation energizes a wide variety of behaviors and psychological processes for which the primary reward is the experience of competence and autonomy (Berlyne, 1966; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Hunt, 1971; White, 1959). It is postulated that the fulfillment of these needs motivates an ongoing process of seeking situations that are interesting, that represent optimal challenges, and that require the use of creativity and resourcefulness (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Over the last 25 years, research has tried to identify the factors that could either facilitate or undermine intrinsic motivation. According to Deci and Ryan (1985, 1987), the central parameter mediating the effects of external events on intrinsic motivation is whether an individual perceives contexts as supportive of his or her autonomy (i.e., encouraging the individual to make his or her own choices) or as controlling (i.e., pressuring the individual toward a specific activity or toward particular outcomes). It has been shown that when supervisors or teachers behave in an autonomy-supportive manner (i.e., provide subordinates with options and use rewards to reflect competence) rather than a controlling manner (i.e., use threats and deadlines and use rewards to control behaviors), subordinates display high levels of intrinsic motivation (Deci, Nezlek, & Sheinman, 1981; Deci, Schwartz, Sheinman, & Ryan, 1981; Pittman, Emery, & Boggiano, 1982; Ryan, 1982).

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