COMMENTARYThe Universal Significance of Maslow’sConcept .docx

COMMENTARY
The Universal Significance of Maslow’s
Concept of Self-Actualization
Jeevan D’Souza and Michael Gurin
DeVry College of New York
Abraham Maslow popularized the concept of self-actualization
as a process an individual
undergoes through life. He believed that most mentally healthy
individuals follow a path called
growth motivation that allowed them to self-actualize and
realize their true potential as they grow
older and mature. Maslow’s theory of self-actualization is
synonymous with seminal psycholog-
ical, philosophical, and religious theories that support the noble
human transition from self-
indulgence to selflessness and altruism. This article draws
correlations between these theories to
demonstrate the significance of Maslow’s theory and to develop
a need-based activity chart that
individuals can follow throughout their lifecycle on the path to
self-actualization.
Keywords: self-actualization, hierarchy of needs, lifecycle chart
Maslow (1943) proposed his hierarchy of needs theory that
enlists basic human needs
in the form of a hierarchy. The hierarchy of need theory is
arguably the most prominent
motivational theory in the field of psychology. The five needs

originally enlisted were
physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-
actualization. Maslow further
expanded self-actualization into four needs, namely, cognitive,
aesthetic, self-
actualization, and self-transcendence (Maslow, 1973). He called
the latter needs “being
needs” or B-needs and the former four needs “deficient needs”
or D-needs. He claimed
that mentally healthy individuals follow a path called growth
motivation that allows them
to move up this hierarchy from D-needs to B-needs. As
individuals follow this path they
feel more fulfilled, their attention shifts from self-interest to
selflessness, and they dedicate
more time to causes outside of themselves and family. Maslow
regarded the drive toward
self-actualization as beneficial to a society because it would
lead to more solidarity,
compassion, care, problem-solving, and altruism.
Prominent psychological and philosophical theories correlate
with the concept of
Maslow’s path to self-actualization and suggest that individuals
are born selfish and must
gradually move toward selflessness and compassion to create a
flourishing society. These
theories are briefly described and correlated with Maslow’s
theory of self-actualization to
validate the significance of his theory. We took advantage of
the well-enlisted needs in
Jeevan D’Souza, Engineering and Information Sciences, DeVry
College of New York; Michael
Gurin, Liberal Arts and Sciences, DeVry College of New York.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Jeevan D’Souza, Engineering
and Information Sciences, DeVry College of New York, 180
Madison Avenue, Suite 900, New
York, NY 10016. E-mail: [email protected]
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The Humanistic Psychologist © 2016 American Psychological
Association
2016, Vol. 44, No. 2, 210 –214 0887-3267/16/$12.00
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/hum0000027
210
mailto:[email protected]
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/hum0000027
Maslow’s theory to develop a need-based activity chart that
might help individuals
self-actualize through their lifecycle.
A Sampling of Prominent Theories Correlated to Maslow’s
Self-Actualization Process
At least five prominent theories correlate very strongly with
Maslow’s theory of self-

actualization and growth motivation. These theories claim that
an individual must move from
self-indulgence toward selflessness through the lifecycle to be
fulfilled and enable a flourishing
society. The theories are the Hindu stages of life (Kakar, 1968);
Erikson’s theory of psycho-
social development (Erikson & Erikson, 1998); Freud’s (1957)
theory of the id, ego,
and superego; the ancient Jewish tradition’s understanding of
human progression (Sacks,
2005); and Kohlberg’s stages of moral development (Kohlberg,
1981).
There are four Hindu stages in the life cycle of a human being
(Kakar, 1968). The first
stage, which lasts for approximately twenty years, is called
brahmacharya or the celibate
student. During this stage, individuals focus on gaining
knowledge and skills that will help
them engage in a profession and raise a family. The second
stage, which lasts for the next
twenty years or so, is called grihastha or householder. During
this stage, individuals focus
on love, family life, and pursuit of wealth by engaging in a
profession. The third stage is
called vanaprastha or social worker and lasts for approximately
the next twenty years.
During this stage, an individual reduces focus on family and
pursuit of resources, and
shifts focus toward society and social causes. The fourth and
final stage of life, which lasts
until death, is called sanyasa or ascetic. During this stage, an
individual renounces most
worldly pleasures in the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment in
solitude. Once enlightened,
the individual might return to society to preach and serve

humanity. The transition from
the householder to the social worker correlates strongly with
Maslow’s process of
self-actualization where the individual shifts focus from selfish
needs to social needs. The
transition from social worker to ascetic correlates with the
achievement of self-
transcendence, the final need in Maslow’s hierarchy.
Erikson’s psychosocial stages of human development (Erikson
& Erikson, 1998)
mention eight stages in the lifecycle of an individual. The
fundamental virtues associated
with each stage are hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity,
love, care, and wisdom. The
first six stages, which occur during the first 40 years of life, are
geared toward self-interest
and gratification. The last two stages are focused on society and
altruism. Erikson claimed
that if children were raised in a loving, caring, and free
environment, they would grow into
loving, caring, and free adults. In the last two stages of life,
they would tend to focus on
causes outside of themselves and would be highly generative. In
emphasizing the transi-
tion from self-interest to selflessness, Erikson’s theory, like the
Hindu stages of life
concept, correlates with Maslow’s theory of self-actualization.
Freud (1957) conceptualized the theory of the id, ego, and
superego. These three symbolic
entities of the psyche play an important role in his psychosexual
theory of human develop-
ment. According to Freud, the id is a set of instinctual innate
human drives, the ego is the
realistic organized part of the psyche, and the superego is the

part that is concerned with
morality and cultural rules taught by parents and other role
models. He claimed that during
infancy an individual’s ego is completely governed by the id,
which functions based on the
pleasure principle and only seeks self-gratification. As an
individual goes through the psy-
chosexual stages, the ego gets more developed. The ego seeks to
satisfy the id, but at the same
time tries to maintain a balance with the superego and reality.
The superego often contradicts
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211MASLOW’S CONCEPT OF SELF-ACTUALIZATION
the id in order to do what is morally right. The peaceful
resolution of this conflict is very
important in the avoidance of mental pathologies. If an
individual resolves all conflicts, the ego
develops more and more through life, following the superego
more than the id, thus exhibiting
moral behavior. If conflicts are not resolved successfully, it
could lead to self-absorption,
narcissism, denial, submission, or self-esteem crises. The

gradual process of the ego moving
from the id to the superego correlates with Maslow’s idea of
growth motivation and self-
actualization.
The degree to which Freud’s theory of personal development
emerged from his
personal reinterpretation of traditional Judaism has long been a
subject of debate, but
the subtle and complex nature of this link has been established
(Yerushalmi, 1993).
Freud reiterated the moral imperatives that lie at the heart of the
Jewish tradition he
apparently rejected, translating into psychological terms the
path toward psycholog-
ical health and high moral functioning that had long been
described in traditional
Jewish texts. For example, the body of mystical teachings
known collectively as the
Kabbalah serves as a kind of guide to self-transcendence,
leading the initiate toward
a life of divine service focused on the betterment of mankind.
Most striking here is
“the amazing correspondence that appears to exist between the
Kabbalah and other
longstanding spiritual traditions” focused on “the higher reaches
within each of us,”
on ethical development, and on improving the world through
individual, inner
transformation (Hoffman, 1981, p. 8). Other, less mystical texts
within Jewish
tradition, such as the 11th century Duties of the Heart and the
18th century The Path
of the Just, reinforce the idea that a healthy and fully
functioning individual is one
focused on ascending to ever higher states of awareness to

actualize innate potential
and assist in moving the world toward unity and perfection.
Similarly, the 19th
century Mussar movement, centered in Lithuania, emphasized
ethical development as
a high calling that would lead to a more cohesive, peaceful
human community. And
seminal Chassidic texts, such as the Tanya, analyzed in
exquisite psychological detail
the vital struggle of the individual to overcome instinct and
desire to achieve higher
moral purpose, echoing Freud’s later analysis of the interplay
among the id, ego, and
superego. This powerful stream within traditional Judaism has
consistently recognized
the individual as being embroiled in, and ennobled by, the
struggle to overcome
selfishness and, in general terms, views future human happiness
as increasing in direct
proportion to our collective success regarding this universal
struggle. Jonathan Sacks
(2005) referred to the universal human drive to transcend
selfishness and engage in
altruistic behavior as “the ethics of responsibility,” and found in
it the closest thing we
have to a “universal language.” He noted a study that
determined that altruistic
behavior resulted in a 24% increase in “life satisfaction” (p. 6).
In traditional Judaism,
we again recognize strong correlations to Maslow’s path toward
self-actualization.
Kohlberg (1981) developed a theory on the stages of moral
development. He isolated
six stages that healthy individuals go through during their
lifecycle. He placed the six

stages into three categories: preconventional morality,
conventional morality, and post-
conventional morality. Preconventional morality is mostly seen
in children and is re-
stricted to self-interest and gratification. This stage of morality
correlates with Freud’s
concept of the id. Conventional morality is seen in adolescents
and young adults, and is
concerned with pleasing others and following the law.
Postconventional morality is seen
in older adults and is concerned with developing social
contracts and universal ethical
principles. This stage of morality correlates with Freud’s
concept of the super ego as well
as with Maslow’s concept of self-actualization, showing an
individual’s progression from
selfishness to selflessness and universal morality.
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212 D’SOUZA AND GURIN
Need-Based Activity Chart for Self-Actualization
Because Maslow’s theory of self-actualization correlates

strongly with prominent
theories of morality, spirituality, and utilitarianism, we
developed a need-based activity
chart to guide individuals to self-actualize through the lifecycle.
Table 1 shows a
need-based activity chart describing the amount of conscious
time an individual might
devote to different needs in order to self-actualize as he or she
moves through the
lifecycle. The activities involved could vary significantly
between individuals, depending
on their geographical locations, professions, and circumstances.
The chart is intended to
demonstrate how a normal self-actualizing individual’s behavior
and actions could grad-
ually change throughout the lifecycle, with decreasing focus on
D-needs and increasing
focus on B-needs as the individual grows and matures.
For simplicity, Table 1 splits the lifecycle into four stages that
last for approximately
twenty years each. In the first stage, a normal child would spend
significant amounts of
time with friendships, family, identity resolution, and
schooling. At this stage, there is
little conscious focus on physiological and safety needs because
those needs would be
addressed by caregivers and/or the state; there is also no strong
drive toward aesthetic
self-actualization and self-transcendence at this stage. During
young adulthood, an indi-
vidual typically enters the workforce, enters into romantic
relationships and friendships,
and might choose to start a family; at this stage, he or she
would be spending most of their
time satisfying D-needs and cognitive needs. During late

adulthood, a self-actualizing
individual continues to satisfy their D-needs, but starts to shift
focus toward a socially
valued profession or cause. Finally, in late adulthood, an
individual who had faithfully
followed a path toward self-actualization would be capable of
dedicating significant
amounts of time toward B-needs.
Our lives are shaped by biological make up and social
conditions, on the one hand, and
our freely willed choices, on the other. Every individual thus
faces the danger of becoming
fixated on certain deficient needs, or the opportunity to become
a self-actualized, altruistic
human being.
Discussion
With a rapidly growing population, the constant depletion of
natural resources, a
universal emphasis on acquisitiveness rather than altruistic
giving, and advancing tech-
Table 1
Need-Based Activity Chart for Self-Actualization
Need type Need
Time spent on activities to satisfy each need
Childhood Young adulthood Middle adulthood Late adulthood
D-needs Physiological Low High Medium Low
Safety Low High Medium Low
Love and belonging High High Medium Low

Esteem High High Medium Low
B-needs Cognitive Low Medium Medium High
Aesthetic Low Low Medium High
Self-actualization Low Low Medium High
Self-transcendence Low Low Low High
Note. B-needs � being needs; D-needs � deficient needs.
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213MASLOW’S CONCEPT OF SELF-ACTUALIZATION
nology that broadly enables mankind’s destructive capabilities,
the world is careening off
course. Rebalancing can be achieved one individual at a time.
Maslow’s theory of
self-actualization posits that mentally healthy individuals are
deeply motivated to follow
a path called growth motivation that shifts focus from self-
interest to social interest,
resulting in personal satisfaction and communal peace.
Maslow’s theory correlates with
other significant theories in the worlds of psychology,
philosophy, and religion. As more

individuals self-actualize, society as a whole will recoup the
benefits and increasingly
flourish. In this article, we revisited Maslow’s powerful theory
and developed a need-
based activity chart to enable individuals to self-actualize
throughout their lifecycle.
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Hoffman, E. (1981). The way of splendor: Jewish mysticism and
modern psychology. Boston, NA:
Shambhala.
Kakar, S. (1968). The human life cycle: The traditional Hindu
view and the psychology of Erik
Erikson. Philosophy East and West, 18, 127–136.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1398255
Kohlberg, L. (1981). The philosophy of moral development:
Moral stages and the idea of justice.
New York, NY: Harper & Row.
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation.
Psychological Review, 50, 370 –396.
Maslow, A. H. (1973). The farther reaches of human nature.
Chapel Hill, NC: Maurice Bassett.
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Random House.
Yerushalmi, Y. (1993). Freud’s Moses. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press.

Author Note
Jeevan D’Souza is a professor of engineering and information
sciences at DeVry
College of New York. He received his PhD in Computer Science
from Nova Southeastern
University. His research interests include humanistic
psychology, normative ethics, and
engineering education.
Michael Gurin is a professor of liberal arts and sciences at
DeVry College of New
York. He received his PhD in literature and composition from
the University of Denver.
His research interests include Jewish philosophy and dramatic
literature.
Received October 28, 2014
Accepted July 5, 2015 �
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214 D’SOUZA AND GURIN
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1398255A Sampling of Prominent
Theories Correlated to Maslow’s Self-Actualization

ProcessNeed-Based Activity Chart for Self-
ActualizationDiscussionReferencesAuthor Note
cognition and social neuroscience (pp. 350-367). New
York, ;...JY: Oxford University Press.
.!olden, D. C., & Higgins, E.T. (2005). Motivated
thinking. In K.]. Holyoak & R. G. Morrison (Eds.),
The Cambridge handbook of thinking and reasoning
(pp. 295-317). Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press.
Zimmerman, B. A. (2011 ). Motivational sources and
outcomes of self-regulated learning and performance.
In B. ]. Zimmerman & D. H. Schunk (Eds.),
Handbook of self-regulated learning and performance
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MOTIVATION AND CULTURE
For decades, psychologists and researchers have
studied the motivational underpinnings of
achievement-that is, performance evaluated
against a standard of excellence. Interest in the
role of culture in understanding motivation-the
internal state that energizes, directs, and sustains
behavior-has reemerged. Researchers are
becoming mindful that culture, often defined as
membership in a racial, ethnic, or religious group,
is not merely one of many predictors of motivation.
Rather, individuals' motivations and behaviors
synchronize with the cultural practices, norms,
a·nd values in which they are embedded.

This entry briefly describes culture, reviews the
history of culture in the study of achievement
motivation, and surveys major theories in motiva-
tion research and the efforts to understand their
culturally situated meanings. It concludes by high-
lighting the need for a greater emphasis on socio-
cultural approaches to motivation.
Culture, Achievement Motivation, and
Cultural Psychology
Culture is the framework for human life. It is invis-
ible, unnoticed, and ubiquitous. It is a complex,
multifaceted aspect of the constructed environ-
ment that is both structural (societal institutions
and organizations) and symbolic (heritage, tradi-
tion, values, and behavioral expectations). Culture
is enacted in the ways groups perceive, represent,
interpret, and assign values and meaning to their
experiences.
Motivation and Culture 573
A situated perspective of persons in context-
that is, thinking about persons in the context of
their culture-has been evident in motivational
research since at least the 1930s when Kurt Lewin
emphasized that a person's behavior is a function
of the person and the environment. The study of
achievement motivation-the desire to perform
well in achievement situations-focused primarily
on the need to compete and excel as the root cause
of achievement.
David McClelland, for example, argued that the
key to an economically successful society is creat-

ing individuals motivated to achieve high levels of
personal success. In The Achieving Society, he
demonstrated how stressing the motive to achieve
personal success in elementary school textbooks
was related to the economic growth of a country
25 or more years later. He has since been criticized
by motivational psychologists and anthropologists
as being culturally insensitive for judging the
world's population as motivated or unmotivated
based on a male- and Eurocentric standard of indi-
vidual achievement-a criticism that is still valid
and reflected in the methods used by many motiva-
tional researchers.
Most motivational researchers study motivation
as an individual phenomenon. They emphasize
individual needs, goals, task values, and self-regu-
latory mechanisms while acknowledging that
social and cultural factors also influence motiva-
tion. Cultural psychology, however, considers the
varied ways members of a group interpret a cul-
ture's norms and values. It examines the dynamic
and reciprocal relationship between cultural and
psychological processes.
Researchers working from the cultural psychol-
ogy perspective assert that culture and psyche are
mutually constituted. From this perspective, it
stands to reason that motivation is culturally
grounded. For example, in an important study of
self-construal, Hazel Markus and Shinobu
Kitayama explored culture's role in shaping cogni-
tion, emotion, and motivation. They demonstrated
that individualistic Western culture (including the
United States and Europe) fosters an independent
self-construal characterized as egocentric, autono-

mous, and unique.
By contrast, collectivist Eastern culture (includ-
ing China, Japan, and India) promotes an interde-
pendent self-construal characterized as sociocentric
574 Motivation and Culture
and connected. Thus, in individualistic cultures,
success is defined in individual terms and arises
from a need to discover and express one's unique
attributes. In collectivist cultures, motivation to
succeed stems from a desire to fulfill expectations
of significant others and to achieve group goals. In
achievement situations, attribution biases for the
independent self are likely to be self-serving and
self-enhancing based on social comparisons, but for
the interdependent self, they are likely to be
self-effacing.
As cultural psychology advances in understand-
ing the self, achievement motivation theories, or
more specifically, sociocognitive theories of moti-
vation-namely, self-efficacy, self-determination,
expectancy value, attribution, and achievement
goal theories-have broadened their focus to
examine how cultural forces shape and inform
individuals' beliefs about autonomy and choice,
expectations of success, causes of success and fail-
ure, goals they pursue, and paths they take to
achieve these goals.
Self-Efficacy, Autonomy, and Choice

A fundamental assumption of all sociocognitive
theories of motivation is that individuals have an
inherent need for independence, personal agency,
responsibility, and control. Albert Bandura, the
original proponent of self-efficacy theory, stresses
the key role of beliefs in one's own capabilities-
efficacy beliefs-in accomplishing a task. Simply
put, when people can decide their own destiny by
shaping the environment to meet their specific
needs and goals, they develop self-efficacy and
competence.
The assertion is that perceived personal efficacy
contributes to the productive functioning for mem-
bers of both individualistic and collectivistic cul-
tures. Though self-efficacy does not necessarily
exalt the self or produce an individualistic lifestyle,
it can be argued that the underlying criteria for
self-efficacy-personal choice and autonomy in
shaping and molding one's environment-are indi-
vidualistic perspectives. Thus, people in less indi-
vidualistic cultures, where choices are often made
on their behalf, may be perceived as having lower
levels of efficacy.
Western scholars have tended to associate choice
and autonomy with motivated behavior. Learning
that stems from an internal need to achieve per-
sonal goals serves as the basis for another set of
motivational theories-namely, self-determination
and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation theories. The
underlying premise is that people value and engage
in activities they find personally satisfying. They
experience a sense of autonomy and intrinsic moti-
vation when they choose to engage in a course of

action, not when they are externally controlled.
Self-determination theory is often criticized for
adopting a Eurocentric perspective on autonomy,
as it seems to suggest that the Eastern emphasis on
doing one's duty and placing a higher value on oth-
ers' expectations and needs is tantamount to losing
autonomy and agency. Because Western thought
conflates the different dimensions of agency and
relatedness, an interdependent orientation is often
thought to exclude autonomy because it empha-
sizes relatedness. However, based on cross-cultural
research that included individualistic and collectiv-
istic nations, self-determination theorists argue
that autonomy, like relatedness, is a basic and
universal motivational need. Individuals across
individualistic and collectivistic cultures experi-
ence autonomy to the extent to which they voli-
tionally endorse cultural values and practices.
Valuing Achievement and the
Expectation of Success
John Atkinson advanced an expectancy and value
theory of achievement motivation according to
which, in achievement situations, the value of
succeeding in the task is an inverse function of the
difficulty of the task or the probability of success
or failure in performing it. Thus, people are
motivated to select a task that is perceived as
neither too easy nor too difficult but rather of
intermediate difficulty, because it provides them
the most information about their effort and
capabilities. However, Atkinson and his colleagues
paid little attention to the situated nature of these
two orientations-that is, that choices and options

for action in the real world are significantly framed
by social norms, group expectations, and the
feelings, actions, and thoughts of significant
persons and groups.
In the contemporary expectancy value theory-
the Eccles-Wigfield model-expectations of suc-
cess and subjective task value are the two most
important predictors of achievement behavior.
Subjective task value answers the question, "Why
should I do this task?" and the answers might be
interest in, the importance of, or the usefulness of
the task. Individuals are likely to have a greater
expectation of succeeding in a task they find rele-
vant, meaningful, and important.
Thus, in this model, expectations of success and
subjective task value are positively, rather than
inversely, related. Of particular relevance to under-
standing achievement motivation according to the
model is the culturally embedded nature of subjec-
tive task value. Culture plays a critical role in shap-
ing individuals' values and expectations-and
consequently, the choices they make and the
options they eliminate. Thus, culture and context
frame the opportunities for and constraints on
individuals' beliefs, motivations, and behavior.
Attributions for Success and Failure
Individuals make attributions-that is, perceived
reasons or causes-for both their successes and their
failures. People across cultures have proffered vari-

ous explanations of or attributions for their suc-
cesses and failures. An attribution in terms of ability
or effort to account for success or failure has a pro-
found effect on individuals' feelings about their
capabilities and competences, consequent affective
reactions, and future behaviors.
Studies indicate that in the West, effort and abil-
ity share a reciprocal relationship. Someone who
exerts considerable effort is viewed as possessing
lower ability, but success achieved with little effort
indicates high ability. Research provides some evi-
dence that Asian students are more likely to attri-
bute their academic setbacks or successes to effort
than to ability. However, research also suggests
that ability attributions may play a greater role in
the achievement cognitions of Asian and Asian
American children than previously thought, and
in studies where effort attributions are signifi-
cantly associated with achievement, these associa-
tions are relatively small in magnitude.
Achievement Goals
Achievement goal theory seeks to understand why
people pursue certain tasks and the ways by which
they judge and evaluate the tasks in which they
Motivation and Culture 575
engage. The theory postulates that individuals pur-
sue mastery goals or performance goals (or both).
Mastery goals emphasize learning, self-improve-
ment, and task mastery; performance goals are
focused on demonstrating ability or avoiding dem-
onstrating low ability, including interpersonal

comparisons. Considerable evidence has docu-
mented relationships between students' mastery
goal orientations and their use of cognitive, meta-
cognitive, and resource management strategies
(e.g., help seeking), and positive affect while
engaged in a learning task.
Performance goals, which can be distinguished
as either approach or avoidant, are focused on
gaining favorable judgments of ability (perfor-
mance-approach) or not doing worse than others
(performance-avoid). Performance goals have been
consistently linked to maladaptive achievement-
related outcomes, such as lower self-efficacy,
increased worry, and helpless behavior. Conceptions
of mastery, performance-approach, and perfor-
mance-avoid goals are closely tied to Western
individualistic notions of achievement behavior,
reflecting an emphasis on self-be it self-
improvement, self-enhancement, self-esteem, or
self-protection. Current research is examining
social goals in conjunction with achievement goals
to identify goals that are culture-specific versus
goals that are universal.
Cultural Minority Status and Motivation
An understanding of culture and motivation is
incomplete without a discussion of lost and
blocked opportunities for cultural minority youth
and the consequences for their motivation and
achievement. Cultural minority adolescents are
often at risk for maladaptive motivations and
behavioral choices. Such motivations and choices
are the consequence of exclusion experiences in
the school context, perceptions that education

cannot help them access blocked economic
opportunities, fear of fulfilling low-ability stereo-
types, or fear of not fulfilling high academic
expectations associated with model minority
stereotypes. Though racial discrimination has
been associated with stronger achievement moti-
vation for some African American youth, it also
has the potential to lower achievement
motivation.
576 Motivation and Personality
On the basis of a series of studies on stereotype
threat, Claude Steele suggests that such awareness
of negative perceptions about one's sociocultural
group is sufficient to undermine achievement.
Negative stereotypes ("blacks are lazy" or "girls
are bad at math") convey attributional informa-
tion that often results in long-term negative moti-
vational and psychological consequences for group
members. The attributions associated with the
stereotype impose obstacles to success for stigma-
tized youth because attributions regarding the
stigmatized group's intellectual capacity are seen
by group members and others as being relatively
stable, internal, and uncontrollable qualities. Such
attributions impair cognitive functioning as stig-
matized group members dis-identify with academic
achievement and focus their energy and efforts on
protecting self-worth.
Implications
Much of the achievement motivation research is

based on middle-class White samples and is, there-
fore, culturally bound. When included, culture is
treated as a categorical variable for cross-cultural
comparisons, with motivation still treated as an
individual and internal attribute. An expansion of
sociocognitive motivational theories that accounts
for the social and cultural aspects of motivation is
essential. There is growing recognition that
achievement motivation research needs to move
beyond cross-cultural comparisons to a sociocul-
tural and situated perspective wherein cultural
context and individual characteristics are mutu-
ally instantiating.
Revathy Kumar
See also Achievement Motivation; Cultural Psychology;
Motivation and Cognition; Self-Determination
Further Readings
Elliot, A. J., & Dweck, C. S. (2005). Handbook of
competence and motivation. New York, NY: Guilford
Press.
Kumar, R., & Maehr, M. L. (2010). Schooling, cultural
diversity and student motivation. In J. L. Meece & J.
Eccles (Eds.), Handbook of schools, schooling and
human development {pp. 308-323). New York, NY:
Routledge.
Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (2000). Expectancy-value
theory of motivation. Contemporary Educational
Psychology, 25, 68-81.
Wolters, C. A. (2004). Advancing achievement goal

theory: Using goal structures and goal orientations to
predict students' motivation, cognition, and
achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96,
236-250.
Zusho, A., & Clayton, K. (2011 ). Culturalizing
achievement goal theory and research. Educational
Psychologist, 46, 239-260.
MOTIVATION AND PERSONALITY
William McDougall stated:
Every man is constituted to desire certain goals
which are common to the species, and the attain-
ment of which goals satisfies and allays the urge
or craving or desire that moves us. These goals
are not only common to all men, but also ... r to l
their nearer relatives in the animal world, such
goals as food, shelter from danger, the company
of our fellows, intimacy with the opposite sex,
triumph over our opponent, and leadership
among our companions.
McDougall used the term instinct to refer to
universal goals deeply rooted in human nature and
common to all. Others have used the terms psy-
chological need, intrinsic motive, and basic desire.
Regardless of which term is used, universal goals
motivate significant behavior and appear to moti-
vate many personality traits. Indeed, Steven Reiss
has argued that all human motives can be consid-
ered efforts to manage an individual's experiences
with one or more universal goals and that many, or
all, personality traits are motivated by these goals.
This entry discusses the relationship between per-

sonality and motivation.
McDougall identified the following principal
instincts by studying anthropological accounts of
primitive societies and published observations of
primates:
• Flight from danger
• Repulsion by pain
• Curiosity in response to new places or things
Journal of Black Psychology
2017, Vol. 43(4) 358 –380
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/0095798416641865
journals.sagepub.com/home/jbp
Article
Internalized Racial
Oppression and Higher
Education Values: The
Mediational Role of
Academic Locus of
Control Among College
African American Men
and Women

Danice L. Brown1, Christopher B. Rosnick2,
and Daniel J. Segrist2
Abstract
A plethora of research underscores the deleterious effects that
racial
discrimination can have on the higher education pursuits and
experiences of
African Americans. The current study investigated the
relationship between
internalized racial oppression, higher education values,
academic locus of
control, and gender among a sample of African Americans.
Participants
were 156 African Americans currently attending college. All
participants
completed measures of internalized racial oppression, perceived
value of
higher education, and academic locus of control. Results
indicated that
greater internalized racial oppression correlated with a lower
valuing of
higher education and a more external academic locus of control.
Subsequent
mediational analyses showed that academic locus of control was
an
intervening variable in the relationship between internalized
racial oppression
1Towson University, Towson, MD, USA
2Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL,
USA
Corresponding Author:
Danice L. Brown, Department of Psychology, Towson
University, 8000 York Road, Towson,

MD, 21252-0001, USA.
Email: [email protected]
641865 JBPXXX10.1177/0095798416641865Journal of Black
PsychologyBrown et al.
research-article2016
mailto:[email protected]
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Brown et al. 359
and the value placed on higher education for men, but not
women. For
African American men, greater experiences of internalized
racial oppression
predicted a more external locus of control, which subsequently
predicted a
lower valuing of higher education. Implications for mental
health providers
and educators were discussed herein.
Keywords
internalized racial oppression, African Americans, higher
education, locus
of control
In spite of continued efforts to address racial oppression and
racial inequal-
ity, these factors continue to be a part of the lived experiences
of African
Americans (Brown & Tylka, 2011; Landrine & Klonoff, 1996;

Seaton,
Caldwell, Sellers, & Jackson, 2008; Utsey, 1998). Critical race
scholars
argue that the current social condition and inequality
experienced by
African Americans may have detrimental consequences for
various aspects
of their lives (e.g., legal, social, and psychological; Brown,
2003; Delgado
& Stefancic, 2012). In applying critical race theory to the
examination of
African American mental health, Brown (2003) noted that
experiences of
racial inequality and oppression may contribute to the
development of emo-
tional distress and poor psychological health among African
American indi-
viduals. One particular concern highlighted by Brown was the
development
of “antiself issues.” He argued that continued racial inequality
might lead
an African American to internalize negative, and racist,
ideology regarding
one’s racial group and identity. This internalization, in turn may
affect the
self-efficacy, perceived control, and outcome expectations of
African
American youth and young adults. Blackmon and Thomas
(2013) suggested
that internalization of racial oppression may particularly affect
the educa-
tional and career values of African Americans. The authors
noted that
developing negative beliefs about one’s racial identity may
contribute to
youth having a counterproductive approach to education, such

as disengag-
ing from school. This may also include placing less value on
higher
education.
Many authors have discussed the continued racial-ethnic gap in
higher
education attainment and achievement among college students
in the United
States (e.g., Cokley, 2002; Lynch & Engle, 2010; Steele, 1992).
The nation-
wide college graduation rates for African American students
who began in
2006 and graduated within 6 years (40%) are lower than their
Caucasian
(63%) and Asian (70%) peers (National Center for Education
Statistics
360 Journal of Black Psychology 43(4)
[NCES], 2015). While the percentage of African American
college students
rose from 10% to 15% between 1976 and 2011 (NCES, 2015),
gender differ-
ences have been observed. African American women (8.4%) are
enrolling in
college at a higher percentage than men (6.2%; U.S. Census
Bureau, 2013).
Additionally, women accounted for 64.8% of the bachelor’s
degrees con-
ferred to African American students in the 2012-2013 academic
year (NCES,
2015).

Authors have attempted to explain the discrepancy in African
American
higher education achievement with arguments ranging from
controversial
discussions of genetic influence (e.g., Herrnstein & Murray,
1994) to more
widely explored sociocultural factors, including socioeconomic
status and
experiences of racial oppression (Cokley, 2002; Sellers,
Chavous, & Cooke,
1998). The present study sought to further explore sociocultural
factors
related to the higher education gap by examining the
relationship between
internalized racial oppression and higher education values
among a sample of
African Americans. More specifically, the present study sought
to further elu-
cidate this relationship by examining the mediating role of
academic locus of
control in the relationship between internalized racial
oppression and higher
education values among African Americans. Given the
discrepancy between
African American women and men in their college enrollment
and comple-
tion, gender was also examined as a moderator.
Higher education values include the beliefs one has regarding
the educa-
tional system and how helpful further education may be for
one’s future
(Caldwell & Obasi, 2010; Luttrell & Richard, 2011). Though
many studies
examining the educational development of African American
students have

focused on academic performance (e.g., grade point average
[GPA] or school
completion), such performance may be linked to their beliefs
regarding the
value of education (Bandura, 1997; Chavous et al., 2003;
Luttrell & Richard,
2011). Few studies have focused on higher education values
among African
American college students, instead focusing on the aspirations
and achieve-
ment of children and adolescents. Higher education can lead to
greater, and
often more prestigious, career opportunities. Studies suggest
that African
American students are aware of the importance of higher
education for future
career endeavors and financial means. However, this is often
balanced with
the realities of the larger societies’ racially biased perceptions
of them and the
awareness of the oppression they may experience in higher
education settings
(Ford, Moore, & Trotman-Scott, 2011). Ford and colleagues
(2011) noted
that the realities of racial oppression may undermine the
motivation and aspi-
rations of African American students who see more barriers and
less rewards
in pursuit of higher educational goals.
Brown et al. 361
Varying levels of interpersonal and institutional racial
oppression have

contributed to difficulties, and at times exclusion, faced by
African Americans
in institutions of higher education and certain higher-status
careers (Brown &
Segrist, 2015). Such experiences may serve to create both
perceived and
actual barriers for African Americans, and other individuals of
color, in these
arenas. Additionally, awareness of the overrepresentation of
African
American individuals in low-status careers, and a lack of role
models or men-
torship in higher status career fields, may contribute to African
American
youth and young adults internalizing negative perceptions of
their racial
group and their ability to achieve higher-status careers (Brown
& Segrist,
2015; Lease, 2006). Thus, decreasing the value of the education
necessary to
achieve greater career opportunities (Blackmon & Thomas,
2013).
Internalized Racial Oppression
Racism, similar to other forms of oppression, is dynamic and
complex, mani-
festing at interpersonal, structural, and cultural levels (Speight,
2007). Speight
(2007) noted that “Racism is a process, a condition, a
relationship that violates
its victims, physically, socially, spiritually, materially, and
psychologically” (p.
127). She argued that a holistic understanding of the impact of
racial discrimina-
tion and oppression required the inclusion of discussions

regarding the ways in
which structural, institutional, and interpersonal racial
oppression are internal-
ized. Though the perpetration of racially oppressive acts by
others contributes to
the continued existence of discrimination (Carter, 2007), it is
also maintained by
the psychological internalization of racist ideology by its
victims (Bailey,
Chung, Williams, Singh, & Terrell, 2011; Speight, 2007;
Wilson, 1993).
Internalized racial oppression among African Americans is a
process by
which individuals adopt the racially oppressive beliefs and
behaviors enacted
toward Black people in the larger society (e.g., negative
stereotypes, notions of
racial inferiority, and discrimination), while rejecting positive
ideology regard-
ing African and African American cultural heritage (Bailey et
al., 2011). Though
a victim of institutionalized or interpersonal racial oppression
may disagree with
or dispute negative race-based treatment, individuals who have
internalized
their oppression may accept the limitations placed on their
humanity (Watts-
Jones, 2002). African Americans may exhibit varying levels of
internalized
racial oppression based on their exposure to racial
discrimination and inequality
(Bailey et al., 2011). Regardless, an African American
experiencing internalized
racial oppression may “think, feel, and act in ways that
demonstrate the devalu-

ation of their group and of themselves as members of that
group” (Hardiman &
Jackson, 1997, p. 21). This may manifest in negative
psychological and social
outcomes (e.g., feelings of helplessness and hopelessness).
The internalization of racial oppression may be the most
psychologically
damaging result of racism (Akbar, 1984; Speight, 2007). Once
racial oppres-
sion has been internalized, it may become self-sustaining such
that an indi-
vidual accepts notions of inferiority regarding one’s group,
identifies with the
oppressor, and forfeits the ability to define oneself and one’s
life experiences
(Bulhan, 1985; Watts-Jones, 2002). Additionally, African
Americans experi-
encing internalized racial oppression may exhibit oppressive
interpersonal
behavior toward others who belong, or are perceived to belong,
to their own
racial group (Bailey et al., 2011; Cokley, 2002). This may
involve actions
such as avoiding interactions and contact with other Black
individuals (e.g.,
predominantly Black neighborhoods or events), believing them
to be danger-
ous or low class (Bailey et al., 2011).
Earlier literature and measurement of this process focused
largely on

internalizing negative racial stereotypes (e.g., African
Americans are lazy).
However, Bailey and colleagues argued that internalized racial
oppression
may also include aspects such as belief in a biased portrayal of
history (e.g.,
early Africans were uncivilized and had no learning
institutions) and desiring
more European features (e.g., body size, facial features, hair
texture; Bailey
et al., 2011; Townsend, Thomas, Neilands, & Jackson, 2010).
Empirical studies have linked internalization of racial
oppression among
African Americans with negative outcomes such as
psychological distress, sub-
stance use, and depressive symptoms (Taylor, Henderson, &
Jackson, 1991;
Taylor & Jackson, 1990; Williams & Chung, 1999).
Additionally, recent stud-
ies have suggested adverse consequences resulting from the
internalization and
endorsement of negative racial stereotypes particularly among
samples of
African American girls and women (e.g., eating disorders and
risky sexual
behaviors; Thomas, Witherspoon, & Speight, 2004; Townsend et
al., 2010).
In a recently published study, Brown and Segrist (2015)
examined the
relationship between aspects of internalized racial oppression
and the career
aspirations of a sample of African American adults. Results
suggested that
individuals with self-reported higher levels of internalized

racial oppression
were less likely to strive for achievement or continued
education in their
career field. Interestingly, while gender was not a significant
predictor of
career aspirations in the study, results suggested that there were
significant
gender differences found for various aspects of internalized
racial oppres-
sion. Men were more likely to internalize negative racial
stereotypes and
devalue an African worldview than women. In contrast, women
were more
likely to desire Eurocentric hairstyles (see also Bailey et al.,
2011). These
findings suggest that the racial oppression faced by African
American men
and women may lead to differential experiences of internalized
racial oppres-
sion and possibly varied outcomes.
Brown et al. 363
However, few studies have examined the association between
internalized
racial oppression and higher education aspirations or
achievement. Harper
(2006, 2009) conducted related qualitative studies with samples
of high
achieving African American male college students. He
concluded that there
was no evidence of internalized racism affecting the academic
achievement
of participants. In both studies, the author noted the role that

support of same-
race peers and African American male leadership had in
participants’ ability
to cope with racial oppression. Other related studies have
focused on the
relationship between racial identity development and academic
achievement
among African Americans (e.g., Sellers et al., 1998).
Strong connections with African American culture, history, and
commu-
nity have been linked to valuing education, better educational
adjustment,
and motivation toward educational success (Bowman & Howard,
1985;
Chavous et al., 2003). Some studies suggest that African
Americans who are
more likely to view their race as a core aspect of their self-
concept have better
academic performance and academic self-concept (Chavous,
Rivas-Drake,
Smalls, Griffin, & Cogburn., 2008; Sellers et al., 1998).
In a study conducted with a sample of late adolescent (i.e., age
17 years)
African American students, Chavous and colleagues (2003)
examined the
relationship between racial identity and academic outcomes.
Results indi-
cated that participants who reported more positive feelings
toward African
Americans and being African American had more positive
beliefs regarding
academic achievement and were more likely to attend college.
The authors
noted that this was the case regardless of whether race was an

important
aspect of a participants’ identity.
With previous research suggesting a negative relationship
between inter-
nalized racial oppression and aspects of career and educational
development,
the psychological consequences of internalized racial
oppression on the
higher education values of African Americans warrants further
exploration.
More important, it is necessary to investigate potential
intervening variables
through which internalized racial oppression may be related to
the value
some African American students place on higher education.
Academic Locus of Control
Locus of control represents a set of beliefs regarding one’s level
of control
over one’s life outcomes (Lefcourt, 1982; Rotter, 1966).
Individuals who
have an internal locus of control tend to perceive that their life
outcomes and
achievements are largely influenced by their individual efforts,
whereas indi-
viduals with an external locus of control believe that the
environment largely
determines their life outcomes (Rotter, 1966; Wallston,
Wallston, Smith, &

Dobbins 1987). Perceived personal control may play an
important role in
psychological well-being (Moradi & Hasan, 2004), serving as a
coping (pro-
tective) mechanism against daily stressors (Lazarus & Folkman,
1984).
Continued exposure to racial inequality and oppression has been
linked to
the development of an external locus of control among
individuals of color,
serving to undermine their sense of personal control across
situations (Moradi
& Hasan, 2004; Pieterse & Carter, 2010; Sue & Sue, 2013). In
an examina-
tion of the relationship between locus of control and career
decision making,
Lease (2004) found that African American college students
exhibited more
external locus of control than European American students.
Additionally,
Lease noted that men, across racial groups, had a more external
locus of con-
trol than women. In an earlier descriptive study exploring levels
of locus of
control and self-esteem among a sample of at-risk African
American adoles-
cents, Wood and colleagues (1996) also found that African
American boys
were more likely to exhibit an external locus of control than
girls.
There is an extensive body of literature documenting the
relationship
between locus of control and academic achievement among
students, though

few have focused on African American students (Flowers,
Milner, & Moore,
2003; Graham, 1991). Trice (1985) noted that an academically
focused locus
of control involves one’s beliefs regarding academic success,
effort, and abil-
ity. An external academic locus of control has been shown to
relate to a vari-
ety of poor student behaviors, including non–illness-related
absenteeism
(Trice & Hackburt, 1989), ineffective approaches to homework
assignments
(Janssen & Carton, 1999), and incomplete class work (Trice &
Milton, 1987).
Additionally, an external academic locus of control has been
linked to lower
GPAs among students (Nordstrom & Segrist, 2009; Ogden &
Trice, 1986).
Studies have also suggested that, among college students,
individuals with an
internal academic locus of control may be less likely to take an
academic
withdrawal from college (Ogden & Trice, 1986) and more likely
to have
graduate school aspirations (Landrum, 2010; Nordstrom &
Segrist, 2009).
In examining the locus of control of African American students,
Flowers
and colleagues (2003) noted that many earlier studies focused
on racial com-
parisons and often reported that African American students were
more likely
than their European American counterparts to attribute their
academic perfor-
mance to external, environmental factors (e.g., luck and ease of

task).
However, the influence of life experiences, such as racial
oppression, must be
accounted for in understanding the perceptions of academic
control and edu-
cational aspirations among African American students (Flowers
et al., 2003).
For African American students, daily experiences of racial
discrimination
and possibly the internalization of such oppression may
influence locus of
control. Lambert and colleagues (2009) examined the mediating
role
Brown et al. 365
of perceived academic control on the relationship between
perceptions of
racism and depression in a sample of African American
adolescents. Results
indicated that girls who reported more perceived experiences
with racism
were less likely to believe in their ability to achieve academic
outcomes.
Additionally, low perceptions of academic control were related
to increased
depressive symptoms among girls, indicating that experiences of
racial
oppression may influence their perceptions regarding their
ability to achieve
academic successes. This mediational path was not found for
male partici-
pants, suggesting gender differences in the experiences and

behavioral out-
comes of African American adolescents (Lambert, Herman,
Bynum, &
Ialongo, 2009).
Though no published studies have examined the relationship
between
internalized racial oppression and an academically related sense
of control,
the results of a dissertation study conducted by Washington
(1997) indicated
that individuals who internalized their racial oppression
exhibited a more
external locus of control. Thus, there is still more to be
understood regarding
the ways in which internalized racial oppression may influence
male and
female African American college students’ perceptions of their
academic
control and thus their educational aspirations.
Empirical research examining the psychological influence of
internalized
racial oppression and its impact on various aspects of African
American life
is still in its infancy (Bailey et al., 2011; Speight, 2007; Watts-
Jones, 2002).
Thus, it is necessary to further explore this phenomenon to
understand the
complexity of racial oppression and the psychological
consequences of inter-
nalized racial oppression for the African American community.
Additionally,
there is more to be learned regarding the educational
achievement of African
American students and factors that affect the development of

their educa-
tional aspirations (Swail, Redd, & Perna, 2003). Although there
are several
studies that have investigated the influence of interpersonal and
institutional
racial discrimination on the educational aspirations of African
American stu-
dents (e.g., Chavous et al., 2008; Reynolds, Sneva, & Beehler,
2010), no pub-
lished studies have examined the influence of internalized racial
oppression
or the mediational role of academic locus of control.
Present Study
The present study sought to understand the influence of
internalized racial
oppression on the educational aspirations of African American
men and
women by examining the ways in which internalized racial
oppression may
influence the value African American students place on higher
education.
More specifically, the present study examined academic locus
of control as
a potential intervening variable through which internalized
racial oppression
may relate to the value African American students place on
higher educa-
tion. In order to have a more in-depth understanding of
psychosocial devel-

opment among African American students, the influence of
gender must be
taken into account (Cokley, 2001), thus, we included gender as
a moderating
variable.
Using the PROCESS macro developed by Hayes (2013), we
tested a mod-
erated-mediation model in a sample of African Americans that
examined
whether or not academic locus of control was an intervening
variable in the
relationship between internalized racial oppression and higher
education val-
ues with gender moderating every path. At the most basic level,
we hypoth-
esized that higher levels of internalized racial oppression would
be related to
higher levels of external academic locus of control which would
result in less
value being placed on higher education. Though no previous
studies have
examined this specific model with an African American sample,
previous
studies have found gender differences among African Americans
on the con-
structs under investigation. Thus, it was hypothesized that
gender would
serve as a significant moderator in every path in the proposed
model but we
did not have any specific a priori hypotheses (i.e., the gender
moderation was
exploratory).
Method

Participants and Procedure
Participants were drawn from a larger sample of 315 African
Americans par-
ticipating in a separate study on career aspirations (Brown &
Segrist, 2015).
After limiting the data to respondents who provided data on the
Academic
Locus of Control questionnaire, 184 respondents remained in
the sample. In
addition, we excluded participants who reported being
transgendered (n = 1)
and those who were not in college (n = 27). Thus, the final
sample consisted
of 156 college-attending participants with a mean age of 26.20
years (SD =
7.90; range 18-55 years). Furthermore, the respondents were
primarily
women (62.8%) and almost exclusively identifying as Black or
African
American (96.8%). With regard to education and income, 37.2%
of the
respondents completed a bachelor’s degree or higher and 62.2%
reported
making less than $50,000 a year.
Participants were initially recruited through an advertisement
sent out on
a listserv that promotes African American community and arts
events taking
place in a Midwestern metropolitan city (n = 73). Participants
from the list-
serv source had the option of entering a raffle for a $50 Visa
gift card.

Brown et al. 367
In order to increase sample size, Amazon’s MTurk was also
used to recruit
participants (n = 83). MTurk is an Internet resource that enables
partici-
pants—in MTurk parlance referred to as “workers”—to take part
in online
studies for a small remuneration—$40 in the current study. Only
those work-
ers who received a 95% approval rating or better for their work
in previous
studies were eligible to participate. Although as an Internet-
based tool MTurk
has a global reach, the current study was limited to participants
living in the
United States. Other authors (e.g., Buhrmester, Kwang, &
Gosling, 2011;
Mason & Suri, 2012) have noted that MTurk has many
advantages as a data
collection tool, including access to a more diverse group of
participants as
well as quality data that is as sound and reliable as data
collected through
traditional means. In fact, Goodman, Cryder, and Cheema
(2013) noted that
“research has not demonstrated significant differences between
MTurk par-
ticipants and traditional samples” (p. 213). There can be some
demographic
differences between the general population and MTurk samples,
however.
For example, MTurk workers tend to have slightly lower income
levels than
the general population (Goodman et al., 2013) but a higher

education level
(Paolacci, Chandler, & Ipeirotis, 2010).
Materials
Internalized Racial Oppression. Internalized racial oppression
was assessed
with the Internalized Racial Oppression Scale (IROS; Bailey et
al., 2011).
The IROS includes 28 items rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale
ranging from
1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), with higher scores
reflecting
increased experiences of internalized racial oppression. Items
address several
aspects of internalized racial oppression including negative
stereotypes (e.g.,
Black people are lazy), physical appearance/hair style (e.g., I
wished I looked
more White; Straight hair is better than my natural hair texture),
and accep-
tance of a biased representation of history (e.g., Cannibalism
was widely
practiced in Africa). The factors of this measure (i.e., Biased
Representation
of History, Alteration of Physical Appearance, Internalization
of Negative
Stereotypes, and Hair Change) were found to exhibit criterion-
related valid-
ity as evidenced by the significant negative correlations
between the factors
of the IROS and a measure of African self-consciousness (i.e.,
African Self-
Consciousness Scale; Baldwin & Bell, 1985). In the present
study, we were
interested in the overall experience of internalized racial

oppression, versus
specific facets, thus the IROS total scores were used in all
analyses. Bailey
and colleagues (2011) report a total scale coefficient alpha of
.87; in the pres-
ent study, coefficient alpha for the total scale was .91.
Valuing Higher Education. The degree to which participants
valued higher edu-
cation was assessed via the Higher Education Values Inventory
(HEVI; Lut-
trell & Richard, 2011). The HEVI consists of 30 items rated on
a 5-point
Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5
(strongly agree),
such that higher scores reflect greater importance placed on
higher education.
Items and subscales of the HEVI reflect various aspects related
to the value
individuals place on higher education, including family
expectations (e.g., I
must do well in school to satisfy my family), scholastic focus
(e.g., I party
more than I study [reverse-coded item]), achievement value
(e.g., I place a lot
of pressure on myself to do well in school), general education
value (e.g., I
understand why I am required to take a variety of courses to
graduate), and
achievement obstacles (e.g., Work-related activities interfere
with my school-
work [reverse-coded item]). The scale exhibited adequate

construct validity
in a sample of 327 college freshman. Individuals with higher
scores on the
HEVI were positively associated with participants’ overall
GPA. Luttrell and
Richard (2011) reported a coefficient alpha of 0.75 for the total
scale. Sub-
scale scores and a total score can be derived from the HEVI.
Though some of
the participants in the original study racially identified Black
(i.e., 2%), this
scale has not been utilized solely with an African American
sample. In the
present study, the coefficient alpha for the HEVI total scale was
0.82.
Academic Locus of Control. Participants completed the
Academic Locus of
Control Scale (ALOC; Trice, 1985). The ALOC is a 28-item,
true/false scale
assessing the extent to which a college student believes that he
or she …
not overburdening them with excessive specifiers
and subtypes. Thus, the revision process behind the
ICD-11 is intended to enhance, at a minimum, the
face validity of the classification.
However, the tension between clinical utility
and the possibly greater use of "unspecified" when
making a diagnosis contrasts with greater preci-
sion of more specific codes provided by subtypes
and other specifiers. Balancing this tension when
using the ICD for all classification purposes con-

tributes to overall data collection in regard to
mortality (cause of death) and morbidity (current
health problems) and enables countries to track
information for public health purposes and to con-
tribute to worldwide data collection.
Within the United States, the ICD-9-CM (1979)
is the version used currently. Transition to the ICD-
10-CM has been delayed twice, with current
implementation planned for 2015. With the cur-
rently planned release of the ICD-11 in 2017, it is
hoped that the regular updating process of the
classification will bring the ICD-10-CM closer in
alignment to the ICD-1 l so that there will not be
such a long delay between publication of the 11th
version by WHO and implementation within the
United States. Efforts have historically been made
to harmonize the ICD chapter on mental disorders
with the latest version of the DSM, such that users
of one classification will find noticeable similarities
with the other.
Lynn F. Bufka and Nathan A. Tatro
See also Anxiety Disorders; Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders; Health Psychology;
Mood Disorders; Neurodevelopmental Disorders;
Personality Disorders; Psychopathology and Stress;
Schizophrenia; Sleep Disorders
Further Readings
Goodheart, C. D. (2014). A primer for ICD-10-CM users:
Psychological and behavioral conditions. Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association.

Reed, G. M. (2010). Toward ICD-11: Improving the
clinical utility of WHO's International Classification
of Mental Disorders. Professional Psychology:
Research and Practice, 41(6), 457-464.
World Health Organization. (1992). The ICD-10
classification of mental and behavioural disorders:
Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines.
Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivation 475
Retrieved from http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/
en/bluebook.pd£
World Health Organization. (1993). The ICD-10
classification of mental and behavioural disorders:
Diagnostic criteria for research. Retrieved from http://
www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/GRNBOOK.pdf
INTRINSIC VERSUS EXTRINSIC
MOTIVATION
For more than half a century, psychological scien-
tists have used the term intrinsic motivation to
refer to the phenomenon of individuals perform-
ing an activity simply because they find the activ-
ity interesting and enjoyable. At that time, a few
psychologists had begun to realize that it is in
people's nature to be active in relating to their
social and physical environments, and intrinsic
motivation is a manifestation of this inherent
tendency.
As Harry Harlow showed 60 years ago, even
nonhuman animals can be intrinsically moti-
vated. The introduction of this concept into psy-

chology was noteworthy because, prior to that
time, motivation was addressed in terms of rein-
forcement by the behaviorist theories of B. F.
Skinner and C. L. Hull, who were very promi-
nent. Thus, when discussed, intrinsic motivation
was typically contrasted with extrinsic motiva-
tion, which pertains to performing an activity in
order to achieve separable consequences such as
rewards, avoidance of punishment, or compliance
with pressures or demands. This entry discusses
the differences between intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation.
In 1959, Robert White published a very impor-
tant paper proposing that theories focused on pri-
mary drives, such as hunger, thirst, and sex, with
the corresponding reinforcers of food, water, and
physical contact, as the source of all motivation
were inadequate for explaining a range of behav-
iors that included exploration and curiosity. White
maintained that people have an innate need to
interact competently with their environments, and
this was the beginning of theorizing about intrinsic
motivation, using the concept of competence,
which is still considered an important component
of intrinsic motivation.
476 Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivation
Another essential component of intrinsic moti-
vation is the experience of self-determination.
When self-determined, individuals experience a
full sense of willingness and choice about what
they are doing, and they perceive the locus of cau-

sality of their behaviors to be internal rather than
external, which is the case when behavior is moti-
vated by rewards and punishments. With this dis-
tinction, in 1968, Richard de Charms suggested
that when people perceive their behavior to be of
their own choice, they enjoy and appreciate the
activity more, compared with when they see them-
selves as pawns being imposed on or moved by
external circumstances.
Although neither White nor de Charms focused
on intrinsic motivation per se in their writings,
their works contributed substantially to the con-
ceptualization of this basic human experience.
Subsequently, in 1985, Edward Deci and Richard
Ryan used the concepts of both competence and
self-determination (or autonomy) in their formula-
tion of intrinsic motivation. They argued that
intrinsic motivation would flourish only when
people experience the feelings of both efficacy and
choice in their behaviors.
Are Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivations
Additive or Interactive?
After psychologists recognized the two types of
motivation, they wondered whether they were
additive so that a person's total motivation for an
activity would equal the sum of his or her intrinsic
and extrinsic motivations. To test this possibility,
Deci argued that if the types of motivation were
additive, then rewarding people who were intrinsi-
cally motivated for an activity would increase their
total motivation. Subsequently removing the
extrinsic-reward contingency would remove their
extrinsic motivation for the activity and return

them to the same level of intrinsic motivation they
were at before the rewards were introduced.
Deci reported experiments showing that giving
people tangible monetary rewards for engaging in
an intrinsically motivated activity actually
decreased their intrinsic motivation for the activity
so that after the rewards were removed, their
intrinsic motivation was lower than it had been
before the rewards were introduced. In contrast,
other experiments showed that positive feedback
(sometimes called verbal rewards) enhanced
intrinsic motivation. Thus, tangible extrinsic moti-
vators, such as money, tend to negatively interact
with intrinsic motivation, whereas interpersonal,
verbal rewards tend to be positively interactive
with it. Authority figures often use tangible
rewards, as well as threats of punishment, dead-
lines, evaluations, and surveillance, to motivate
people. The research has shown that these prac-
tices tend to have negative effects on intrinsic
motivation.
From these findings, Deci and Ryan introduced
cognitive evaluation theory (CET), which later
became a minitheory within self-determination
theory (SOT). CET suggested that the extrinsic
motivators such as monetary rewards and dead-
lines tend to initiate a shift in the perceived locus
of causality from internal (intrinsically motivated)
to external, which leads people to experience
themselves as less self-determined and thus less
intrinsically motivated. With positive feedback,
however, people experienced an affirmation of
their competence, which led them to be more

intrinsically motivated. Deci and Ryan further
suggested that extrinsic motivators have two
components: (a) a controlling component that
limits people's self-determination or choice and
undermines their intrinsic motivation and (b) an
informational component that provides positive
competence information without being limiting
and enhances intrinsic motivation.
This general area of research has been contro-
versial, and the finding that extrinsic rewards can
decrease intrinsic motivation has been the source
of considerable debate. However, a meta-analysis
of 128 experiments showed that, in fact, the find-
ing is robust and consistent and has now been
widely accepted in psychology.
Other studies looked not only at specific events
in an environment, such as the offer of a reward or
provision of choice, but also at the general ambi-
ence or climate within a setting such as a classroom
or a workgroup and found that these settings can
be characterized as either autonomy supportive or
controlling and thus tend to be either enhancing or
undermining of intrinsic motivation, respectively.
The Internalization of Extrinsic Motivation:
Becoming More Autonomous
Intrinsic motivation is observed prevalently in
early childhood, but as children grow older, part of
the socialization process requires them to adapt to
social demands and responsibilities that are often

not intrinsically motivating and yet are beneficial
in terms of functioning effectively in the world. It
is often the case that individuals carry out behav-
iors less for the fun and enjoyment of doing so
than for the instrumental value of the behaviors-
for example, to attain a personal goal, to gain self-
esteem, or to earn social approval. Engagement in
such activities is thus extrinsically motivated, and
the important question becomes whether the
children can take on the regulation of these
uninteresting behaviors in an autonomous or
self-determined way.
SDT and, more specifically, another of its
minitheories-namely, organismic integration the-
ory ( 0 IT)-posi ts that being extrinsically mo ti va ted
does not necessarily mean that people experience
an external perceived locus of causality for their
behaviors. They can internalize that type of
motivation just as they can internalize beliefs and
values from the external environment. Furthermore,
people can internalize the motivation for a behav-
ior to varying degrees, and it turns out that
the more fully they internalize a motivation or
the regulation of it, the more the behavior will be
autonomous or self-determined when they enact it.
For instance, there is a difference between going
to medical school because one's parents have pres-
sured one to do so and pursuing medical school
because one has internalized the value and impor-
tance of helping others who are sick or injured.
Although both cases involve an extrinsic motiva-
tion to obtain a medical degree, the latter entails
choosing to pursue the goal that one personally
endorses, whereas the former reflects mere compli-

ance with external demands. The two examples
differ in the degree of autonomy one experiences
while pursuing one's goals.
According to Deci and Ryan, internalization, or
the transformation of motivation that was initially
external into motivation that is internal, can
become part of a person's integrated sense of self.
They specified four types of extrinsic motivation
that reflect different degrees of internalization.
Specifically, OIT locates the four types of extrinsic
motivation on a continuum of autonomy that is
anchored on the nonautonomous end by amotiva-
tion (i.e., lack of intentionality) and, on the highly
autonomous end, by intrinsic motivation. The four
types of extrinsic motivation, in order, are external
Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivation 4 77
regulation, introjected regulation, identified regu-
lation, and integrated regulation, each with distinct
sets of associated processes and levels of perceived
external-internal loci of causality.
External regulation is a category of extrinsic
motivation that colloquially can be thought of as
the carrot-and-stick approach, whereby behaviors
are carried out mainly to receive rewards or avoid
punishments. Such behaviors are entirely dictated
by external demands and thus involve little control
by the person, who is said to have an external
perceived locus of causality (E-PLOC). External
regulation is the type of motivation central to
behaviorist theories, and it is what people most
commonly refer to when they use the term extrinsic
motivation.

The next type of extrinsic motivation is intro-
jected regulation, which is a partial internalization
that relies on internal pressures and controls rather
than external ones. With introjected regulation,
people tend to reward themselves internally with
the experience of contingent self-esteem and to
punish themselves with the feelings of shame and
guilt based on the degree to which certain stan-
dards are met. Thus, although it is not strictly a
function of external demands, it is a function of
internal demands that were initially external, and
it entails little choice and autonomy. As such, it still
has a fairly strong E-PLOC.
The other two forms of extrinsic motivation are
identified regulation and integrated regulation.
The first refers to the regulation of a behavior that
the individual personally endorses and values and
that is meaningful to his or her sense of self.
Examples are students who study hard for the
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) because
they understand the importance of the test for
their deeply valued career goals. Because identified
regulation results when people have accepted a
value and the corresponding regulatory process as
their own, the ensuing behaviors are relatively
autonomous. Holding such a value might, how-
ever, conflict with other identifications, so the final
type of extrinsic motivation involves integrating
the value with other aspects of their integrated
selves.
Once identified regulations are assimilated, they
become integrated regulations, which are the most
autonomous or self-determined form of extrinsic

motivation. They signify a state of congruence and
consistency in people's experiences and behaviors,
4 78 Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivation
and as such, they share features with the self-
determined experience of intrinsic motivation.
Thus, behaviors for which the regulation is inte-
grated have a high internal perceived locus of cau-
sality. Integrated and intrinsic types of motivation
are different, however, because integrated motiva-
tion is based in the importance and value of the
behaviors in people's lives, whereas intrinsic moti-
vation is based in their interest and enjoyment of
the behaviors.
Facilitating Organismic Integration: Basic
Psychological Needs and the Social Context
Within SDT, the issue of enhancing autonomous
motivation is addressed with the concept of basic
psychological needs. Earlier, when considering the
maintenance and enhancement of intrinsic motiva-
tion, it was noted that satisfactions of the basic
needs for autonomy and competence are essential.
When it comes to the internalization of extrinsic
motivation, the satisfaction of those two needs is
also very important, but so is satisfaction of a basic
need for relatedness. Stated differently, the inter-
nalization process occurs naturally in optimal
social contexts that facilitate growth and integra-
tion by supporting satisfaction of the autonomy,
competence, and relatedness needs. Such support is
important during children's early years, and it con-

tinues to be important across the contexts of their
later lives.
Applications to Life Domains
SDT proposes that life flourishes through the culti-
vation of intrinsic motivation and the full internal-
ization of extrinsic motivation. Researchers have
studied this premise across many domains, includ-
ing parenting, health care, education, work organi-
zations, athletics, video games, sustainability, and
personal relationships. They have observed greater
well-being, enhanced performance, better problem
solving, better physical health, and more satisfying
close personal relationships in conditions that sup-
port the satisfaction of basic psychological needs.
Social contexts can provide such support by offer-
ing choices, encouraging exploration, minimizing
pressures and controlling language, offering a
rationale when requesting a specific behavior, pro-
viding meaningful feedback, understanding peo-
ple's perspectives, and being respectful of them.
In contrast, ill-being, poorer performance, nega-
tive affect, dissatisfaction, poorer physical health,
and more superficial learning have been observed
in contexts that thwarted satisfaction of the basic
needs. Social contexts tend to do so by providing
conditional regard, administering rewards and
punishments, being critically evaluative, or prefer-
ring controlling language.
Thuy-vy Nguyen and Edward L. Deci
See also Achievement Motivation; Drive and Motivation

in the Brain; Emotion and Motivation; Employee
Motivation; Motivation and Cognition; Motivation
and Personality; Perception and Motivation;
Reinforcement; Self; Self-Determination; Social
Motives; Unconscious Motivation
Further Readings
de Charms, R. (1968). Personal causation. New York,
NY: Academic Press.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation
and self-determination in human behavior. New York,
NY: Plenum.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination
theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation,
social development, and well-being. American
Psychologist, 55, 68-78.
White, R. W. (1959). Motivation reconsidered: The
concept of competence. Psychological Review, 66(5),
297-332.
Contemporary Educational Psychology 25, 54–67 (2000)
doi:10.1006/ceps.1999.1020, available online at
http://www.idealibrary.com on
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and
New Directions
Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci

University of Rochester
Intrinsic and extrinsic types of motivation have been widely
studied, and the
distinction between them has shed important light on both
developmental and educa-
tional practices. In this review we revisit the classic definitions
of intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation in light of contemporary research and
theory. Intrinsic motiva-
tion remains an important construct, reflecting the natural
human propensity to learn
and assimilate. However, extrinsic motivation is argued to vary
considerably in its
relative autonomy and thus can either reflect external control or
true self-regulation.
The relations of both classes of motives to basic human needs
for autonomy, compe-
To be motivated means to be moved to do something. A person
who feels
no impetus or inspiration to act is thus characterized as
unmotivated, whereas
someone who is energized or activated toward an end is
considered moti-
vated. Most everyone who works or plays with others is,
accordingly, con-
cerned with motivation, facing the question of how much
motivation those
others, or oneself, has for a task, and practitioners of all types
face the peren-
nial task of fostering more versus less motivation in those
around them. Most
theories of motivation reflect these concerns by viewing
motivation as a uni-

tary phenomenon, one that varies from very little motivation to
act to a great
deal of it.
Yet, even brief reflection suggests that motivation is hardly a
unitary phe-
nomenon. People have not only different amounts, but also
different kinds
of motivation. That is, they vary not only in level of motivation
(i.e., how
much motivation), but also in the orientation of that motivation
(i.e., what
type of motivation). Orientation of motivation concerns the
underlying atti-
tudes and goals that give rise to action—that is, it concerns the
why of ac-
tions. As an example, a student can be highly motivated to do
homework
out of curiosity and interest or, alternatively, because he or she
wants to
procure the approval of a teacher or parent. A student could be
motivated
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Richard Ryan,
University of Rochester,
Meliora 492, Rochester, NY 14627.
54
0361-476X/00 $35.00
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.
INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC MOTIVATIONS 55

to learn a new set of skills because he or she understands their
potential
utility or value or because learning the skills will yield a good
grade and
the privileges a good grade affords. In these examples the
amount of motiva-
tion does not necessarily vary, but the nature and focus of the
motivation
being evidenced certainly does.
In Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985) we
distinguish
between different types of motivation based on the different
reasons or goals
that give rise to an action. The most basic distinction is between
intrinsic
motivation, which refers to doing something because it is
inherently interest-
ing or enjoyable, and extrinsic motivation, which refers to doing
something
because it leads to a separable outcome. Over three decades of
research has
shown that the quality of experience and performance can be
very different
when one is behaving for intrinsic versus extrinsic reasons. One
purpose of
this review is to revisit this classic distinction between intrinsic
and extrinsic
motivation and to summarize the functional differences of these
two general
types of motivation.
Intrinsic motivation has emerged as an important phenomena for
educa-
tors—a natural wellspring of learning and achievement that can
be systemati-

cally catalyzed or undermined by parent and teacher practices
(Ryan &
Stiller, 1991). Because intrinsic motivation results in high-
quality learning
and creativity, it is especially important to detail the factors and
forces that
engender versus undermine it.
However, equally important in the current review is the
explication of
the very different types of motivation that fall into the category
of extrinsic
motivation. In the classic literature, extrinsic motivation has
typically been
characterized as a pale and impoverished (even if powerful)
form of motiva-
tion that contrasts with intrinsic motivation (e.g., deCharms,
1968). How-
ever, SDT proposes that there are varied types of extrinsic
motivation, some
of which do, indeed, represent impoverished forms of
motivation and some
of which represent active, agentic states.
Students can perform extrinsically motivated actions with
resentment, re-
sistance, and disinterest or, alternatively, with an attitude of
willingness that
reflects an inner acceptance of the value or utility of a task. In
the former
case—the classic case of extrinsic motivation—one feels
externally pro-
pelled into action; in the later case, the extrinsic goal is self-
endorsed and
thus adopted with a sense of volition. Understanding these
different types

of extrinsic motivation, and what fosters each of them, is an
important issue
for educators who cannot always rely on intrinsic motivation to
foster learn-
ing. Frankly speaking, because many of the tasks that educators
want their
students to perform are not inherently interesting or enjoyable,
knowing how
to promote more active and volitional (versus passive and
controlling) forms
of extrinsic motivation becomes an essential strategy for
successful teaching.
56 RYAN AND DECI
We detail in this article not only the different types of
motivational orienta-
tion that exist within the global extrinsic category, but
moreover, their differ-
ential antecedents and consequences.
In sum, our aim in this article is to revisit the classic distinction
between
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and detail the conditions that
fosters each.
Second, we describe a model of differing types of extrinsic
motivation. Our
concern here is with how teachers, parents and other socializers
can lead
students to internalize the responsibility and sense of value for
extrinsic goals
or, alternatively, how they can foster the more typically
depicted ‘‘alienated’’
type of extrinsic motivation that is associated with low student

persistence,
interest, and involvement.
INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
Intrinsic motivation is defined as the doing of an activity for its
inherent
satisfactions rather than for some separable consequence. When
intrinsically
motivated a person is moved to act for the fun or challenge
entailed rather
than because of external prods, pressures, or rewards. The
phenomenon of
intrinsic motivation was first acknowledged within experimental
studies of
animal behavior, where it was discovered that many organisms
engage in
exploratory, playful, and curiosity-driven behaviors even in the
absence of
reinforcement or reward (White, 1959). These spontaneous
behaviors, al-
though clearly bestowing adaptive benefits on the organism,
appear not to be
done for any such instrumental reason, but rather for the
positive experiences
associated with exercising and extending ones capacities.
In humans, intrinsic motivation is not the only form of
motivation, or even
of volitional activity, but it is a pervasive and important one.
From birth
onward, humans, in their healthiest states, are active,
inquisitive, curious,
and playful creatures, displaying a ubiquitous readiness to learn
and explore,
and they do not require extraneous incentives to do so. This

natural motiva-
tional tendency is a critical element in cognitive, social, and
physical devel-
opment because it is through acting on one’s inherent interests
that one grows
in knowledge and skills. The inclinations to take interest in
novelty, to ac-
tively assimilate, and to creatively apply our skills is not
limited to childhood,
but is a significant feature of human nature that affects
performance, persis-
tence, and well-being across life’s epochs (Ryan & LaGuardia,
in press).
Although, in one sense, intrinsic motivation exists within
individuals, in
another sense intrinsic motivation exists in the relation between
individuals
and activities. People are intrinsically motivated for some
activities and not
others, and not everyone is intrinsically motivated for any
particular task.
Because intrinsic motivation exists in the nexus between a
person and a
task, some authors have defined intrinsic motivation in terms of
the task
being interesting while others have defined it in terms of the
satisfactions a
person gains from intrinsically motivated task engagement. In
part, these

different definitions derive from the fact that the concept of
intrinsic motiva-
tion was proposed as a critical reaction to the two behavioral
theories that
were dominant in empirical psychology from the 1940s to the
1960s.
Specifically, because operant theory (Skinner, 1953) maintained
that all
behaviors are motivated by rewards (i.e., by separable
consequence such as
food or money), intrinsically motivated activities were said to
be ones for
which the reward was in the activity itself. Thus, researchers
investigated
what task characteristics make an activity interesting. In
contrast, because
learning theory (Hull, 1943) asserted that all behaviors are
motivated by
physiological drives (and their derivatives), intrinsically
motivated activities
were said to be ones that provided satisfaction of innate
psychological needs.
Thus, researchers explored what basic needs are satisfied by
intrinsically
motivated behaviors.
Our own approach focuses primarily on psychological needs—
namely,
the innate needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness—
but we of
course recognize that basic need satisfaction accrues in part
from engaging
in interesting activities. Thus, we do sometimes speak of
intrinsically inter-
esting activities, but when we do so we are really only talking

about tasks
that, on average, many people find to be intrinsically
interesting. There is
considerable practical utility in focusing on task properties and
their potential
intrinsic interest, as it leads toward improved task design or
selection to
enhance motivation.
Operational Definitions
Intrinsic motivation has been operationally defined in various
ways, al-
though there have been two measures that have been most often
used. Basic
experimental research (e.g., Deci, 1971) has rested primarily on
a behavioral
measure of intrinsic motivation called the ‘‘free choice’’
measure. In experi-
ments using this measure participants are exposed to a task
under varying
conditions (e.g., getting a reward or not). Following this period,
the experi-
menter tells participants they will not be asked to work with the
target task
any further, and they are then left alone in the experimental
room with the
target task as well as various distractor activities. They thus
have a period
of ‘‘free choice’’ about whether to return to the activity, and it
is assumed
that, if there is no extrinsic reason to do the task (e.g., no
reward and no
approval), then the more time they spend with the target task,
the more intrin-
sically motivated they are for that task. This measure has been

the mainstay
through which the dynamics of intrinsic motivation have been
experimen-
tally studied.
The other common approach to the measurement of intrinsic
motivation
is the use of self-reports of interest and enjoyment of the
activity per se.
Experimental studies typically rely on task-specific measures
(e.g. Ryan,
1982; Harackiewicz, 1979). Most field studies have instead used
more gen-
58 RYAN AND DECI
eral, ‘‘domain’’ focused measures, such as one’s intrinsic
motivation for
school (e.g., Harter, 1981).
Facilitating versus Undermining Intrinsic Motivation
Despite the observable evidence that humans are liberally
endowed with
intrinsic motivational tendencies, this propensity appears to be
expressed
only under specifiable conditions. Research into intrinsic
motivation has thus
placed much emphasis on those conditions that elicit, sustain,
and enhance
this special type of motivation versus those that subdue or
diminish it. Self-
Determination Theory is specifically framed in terms of social
and environ-

mental factors that facilitate versus undermine intrinsic
motivation. This lan-
guage reflects the assumption that intrinsic motivation, being an
inherent
organismic propensity, is catalyzed (rather than caused ) when
individuals
are in conditions that conduce toward its expression.
Cognitive Evaluation Theory (CET) was presented by Deci and
Ryan
(1985) to specify the factors in social contexts that produce
variability in
intrinsic motivation. CET, which is considered a subtheory of
self-determina-
tion theory, argues that interpersonal events and structures (e.g.,
rewards,
communications, feedback) that conduce toward feelings of
competence dur-
ing action can enhance intrinsic motivation for that action
because they allow
satisfaction of the basic psychological need for competence.
Accordingly,
for example, optimal challenges, effectance promoting
feedback, and free-
dom from demeaning evaluations are all predicted to facilitate
intrinsic moti-
vation.
CET further specifies that feelings of competence will not
enhance intrin-
sic motivation unless they are accompanied by a sense of
autonomy or, in
attributional terms, by an internal perceived locus of causality
(IPLOC; de-
Charms, 1968). Thus, people must not only experience
perceived compe-

tence (or self-efficacy), they must also experience their
behavior to be self-
determined if intrinsic motivation is to be maintained or
enhanced. Stated
differently, for a high level of intrinsic motivation people must
experience
satisfaction of the needs both for competence and autonomy.
Much of the
research has focused on the effects of immediate contextual
conditions that
either support or thwart the needs for competence and
autonomy, but some
has recognized that the supports can, to some extent, come from
individuals’
abiding inner resources that support their ongoing feelings of
competence
and autonomy.
The tenets of CET, with their primary focus on the needs for
competence
and autonomy, were formulated to integrate a set of results from
initial stud-
ies of the effects of rewards, feedback, and other external
events on intrinsic
motivation. Subsequently, they have been confirmed in both
laboratory ex-
periments and applied field studies, many of which have been
done in class-
rooms.
Several early studies showed that positive performance
feedback enhanced

intrinsic motivation (e.g., Deci, 1971; Harackiewicz, 1979),
whereas nega-
tive performance feedback diminished it (e.g., Deci & Cascio,
1972). Others
(e.g., Vallerand & Reid, 1984) showed that perceived
competence mediated
these effects, and still others supported the hypothesis that
increases in per-
ceived competence must be accompanied by a sense of
autonomy in order
for the enhanced feelings of competence to result in increased
intrinsic moti-
vation (Ryan, 1982).
In fact, the majority of the research on the effects of
environmental events
on intrinsic motivation has focused on the issue of autonomy
versus control
rather than that of competence. And this issue has been
considerably more
controversial. The research began with the demonstration that
extrinsic re-
wards can undermine intrinsic motivation (Deci, 1971; Lepper,
Greene, &
Nisbett, 1973), which we interpret in terms of the reward
shifting people
from a more internal to external perceived locus of causality.
Although the
issue of rewards has been hotly debated, a recent meta-analysis
(Deci, Koes-
tner, & Ryan, in press) confirms that virtually every type of
expected tangible
reward made contingent on task performance does, in fact,
undermine intrin-
sic motivation. Furthermore, not only tangible rewards, but also
threats

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